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| SWAMI
TEJOMAYANANDA HONOURED AS "HINDU OF THE YEAR" |
| June
12, 2005, Report By Archana Dongre |
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TUSTIN,
CALIFORNIA, June 12, 2005: Even the skies had become softer,
shielding everyone with a blanket of clouds from the harsh
summer Sunday, June 11, when the inauguration ceremony of
the Chinmaya Mission's new center "Mithila" began
at 10.30 a.m., under specially erected white canopies in the
parking lot of Mithila's premises at 655 South B Street here.
The event began promptly when Swami Tejomayananda arrived,
accompanied by resident acharya Swami Ishwarananda and Br.
Girish Chaitanya and was welcomed by rows of white clad lady
volunteers of the center with diyas (lit oil lamps) in hand.
The ceremony began with the children's choir singing welcome
songs and Sanskrit prayers, and after some customary speeches,
the highlight of the day came when Swami Tejomayananda was
announced as being chosen to receive the "Hindu Renaissance
Award" as "Hindu of the Year" for 2005 by Hinduism
Today magazine. The entire audience of over 700 people stood
in ovation, and w armly applauded, with renewed enthusiasm,
a sense of joy and pride in the Chinmaya Center as well as
its leadership. A plaque was handed over to him by a representative
of Hinduism Today, along with a saffron shawl enveloping him
with the warmth of the honor, and a letter from Hinduism Today
was read from the lectern.
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plaque reads: "Presented by Hinduism Today to Hindu of
the Year, 2005, Sri Sri Swami Tejomayananda, spiritual leader
of Chinmaya Mission Worldwide, for fulfilling the vision of
his guru, Swami Chinmayananda, guiding the Chinmaya Mission's
exemplary teaching programs, inspiring the dynamic expansion
of the monastic order (including new swamis from the diaspora)
and teaching hundreds of thousands to be better Hindus."
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in 1990, Hinduism Today has honored one eminent Hindu each year
who has most impacted the faith and spread its values, compassion
and profundity across the globe. Past renaissance winners are:
Swami Paramananda Bh arati ('90), Swami Chidananda Saraswati,
"Muniji " of Parmath Niketan ('91), Swami Chinmayananda
('92), Mata Amritanandamayi Ma ('93), Swami Satchidananda ('94),
Pramukhswami Maharaj ('95), Sri Satya Sai Baba ('96), Sri Chinmoy
('97), Swami Bua ('98), Swami Chidananda Saraswati of Divine
Life Society ('99), Ma Yoga Shakti ('00), priest Sri T. S. Sambamurthy
Sivachariar ('01) and Dada Vaswani ('02), Sri Tiruchi Mahaswamigal
('03) and priest Pichai Sivacharya ('04). |
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The
honor had sparked much love and admiration throughout the event
that ended around 12 noon with a Chinmaya Pledge. Then Swami
Tejomayananda formally opened Mithila, leading everyone into
the main shrine of Rama, Seeta, Lakshman and Maruti. In his
speech, Swami Tejomayananda, 55, said, "This is the center
of spiritual power, a real powerhouse, to create our future
for according to our vision.
The vision should lead to positive action, good ideas need the
support of many hands and feet to bring them int o reality."
Swami Ishwarananda, 40, said in his speech that this new 7,000
sq. ft. facility is named Mithila, the birthplace of Seeta,
after the kingdom that shaped her exemplary character. The name
is in feminine gender, and "women will be given a chance,
even a priority, to worship the Deities here. Shri Rama stands
for Viveka, the sense of discrimination between right and wrong,
Lakshman for non-attachment, Seeta for purity (the word also
signifies the color white in Sanskrit), and Maruti is selfless
service incarnate. The Chinmaya Mission has 243 centers worldwide,
30 in US, and five in California including Mithila. |
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Chinmaya Mission UK, Chinmaya Kirti, 2 Egerton Gardens, Hendon, London NW4 4BA
Tel: 0208 203 6288
Registered Charity No :1077622
E-mail : info@chinmayauk.org
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