Hindu Council of Australia is celebrating International Yoga day in Sydney, Melbourne and Adelaide. Details of the events are given in the brochures below.
Ram Sita Kalyanam Vivah in Parramatta 3rd November 2018
Hindu Council of Australia is celebrating Deepavali festival on 3rd and 4th of November 2018 in Parramatta Park this year also.
A special attraction of this year is likely to be an elaborate performance of Rama Sita Kalyanam or Ram Sita Vivah (marriage of Ram and Sita) being planned for 3rd November in Parramatta park location.
Ram Sita Kalyanam volunteers team meets to plan the event
This is going to be a huge event and the planning has already started. Our Sai Ji is leading the initiative. A team of volunteers has already started preparations for this grand occasion. Some of the suggestions circulating among the team is to
- perform Rama Pattabishekam
- procession/kolatam to carry idols to the mandapam in a palaki
- Kalyanam or Vivhah before sunset.
We welcome your suggestions about this event and encourage you to come and join the volunteers team and shape this event.
To participate in making the event happen, please leave a comment at the bottom of this post. You can also visit Hindu Council web site and sign up as a volunteer specifying your interest in Ram Sita Kalyanam event.
Ashraya Band celebrates International Day of Yoga with concerts in Darwin
To celebrate International Day of Yoga, the kirtan band Ashraya will be joining the festivities in Darwin. On their second tour to the Top End, they bring their world grooves and mellow sounds with beautiful ancient mantras that soothe the soul’s inner-most needs. 
Weaving together the mantras with amazing music, Ashraya brings a unique and creative approach to kirtan – from heart-warming, mellow harmonium chants to upbeat kirtan dance grooves. They will be performing at a number of events:
21st June | Kirtan at Mindil Beach Markets
22nd June | Mystic Journey: Meditation & Sacred Music
23rd June | World Yoga Day – Darwin
23rd June | Sacred Sounds with Ashraya
24th June | Habit Breaker ~ Freedom Maker
Ashraya is a Sanskrit word meaning shelter. In the beautiful, heartwarming mantras sung in kirtan, we find our shelter from the storms of life. They have performed at a number of locations including the MindBodySpirit festival recently in Sydney and with Hindu Balinese community in the north east region of Bali.
The band members are all long term practitioners of Bhakti Yoga in the Vaisnava tradition. Their passion is share the joy that kirtan and the deeper spiritual aspect of yoga bring to others regardless of their backgrounds. They have been inspired to share the yoga wisdom and teachings so that others may apply these in their own lives to optimise their whole well being. You can also catch Ashraya performing regularly on the Gold Coast at the Mantra Room in Burleigh Heads.
Spoken Sanskrit in Canberra – a roaring success
A basic sanskrit language course was held with the objective to give students a taste of Sanskrit as a living language by introducing them to its basic grammatical structures so that they can start understanding simple texts as well as allow them to use it in daily life.
Participants got an understanding and appreciation of the beauty of the different aspects of this language from its sounds to its rich content and after the course felt enthused to probe further into it.
Hindu Council supports Girmit day celebrations
Commemoration of Girmit Dewas at Hindu Temple and Cultural Centre of ACT Inc. (HTCC) – Canberra
19 May 2018.
Members of Fiji Community who are members/devotees of HTCC have been marking Girmit Dewas (arrival of the first ship load of Indians to Fiji on 14 May 1879) by hosting a prayer meeting at HTCC premises for some years now and this year it was held on Saturday 19 May. On this occasion, The Hindu Council of Australia (HCA) lended its full support for the event.
The function was officiated by Temple Priest, Acharya Prakash Chandra Pandey, and presided over by vice president of HTCC, Shri Kamal Singh. The program included puja, recital of Ramayana by three mandalies and addresses by Pandits, Anil and Rama Sharma, Shri Prakash Mehta, President, Hindu Council of Australia and Shri Basu Banka, President, HTCC.
In his message Shri Prakash Mehta reminded the congregation that the Indians had Lord Rama with them in the form of Ramayana which they had brought with them and this gave them the strength and courage to face the adversities which they encountered. Regular recital of Ramayana has not only helped to preserve Hindu culture, but also supported to pass language to next generation. It is really inspiring lessons for new migrants. He thanked the organizers’ for hosting the ceremony in memory of their ancestors and the Hindu Council of Australia was happy to support the event.
Approx. 150 people, mainly Indo-Fijians but a growing number from India attended the function. It was also attended by Shri Kanti Jinna, Vice President HCA and Santosh Gupta, coordinator of ACT chapter of HCA
Bandeesh music group raises funds for a Hindu charity
A bollywood music charity program was held on 19th May 2018 in Sydney. It was a house full with people dancing to the tunes of yesteryears. Part of the ticket proceeds is being shared by Hindu Benevolent Fund (HBF) of Hindu Council of Australia. HBF fund was established to provide financial support to individuals and families in dire need of financial help to meet their day to day needs.
