Dr. Jananiji’s satsangs in Australia & New Zealand
BRISBANE
Dr Janani Vasudevan’s tour of Australia and New Zealand 2019 started on April 7 in Brisbane, QLD.
She gave a public lecture on the glories of Lord Venkateshwara of Tirumala entitled “Gambhira Srinivasa”. The lecture was based on Sri Guruji’s numerous kirtans on Lord Srinivasa.
On April 8 and 9, Dr Janani conducted “Friends of Krishna”, a school holiday camp for children aged 5 to 12, at Taigum State School. Thirty children attended on each day of the camp.
Day 1 activities started with Mahamantra chanting followed by yoga with local yoga instructor, Mrs Kalpana. The true value of friendship was taught through the story of Krishna and Sudhama. All kids took part in traditional crafts such as toranam-making and Rangoli. There was a live demonstration of prasadam-making for Krishna- the kids learnt how to make Krishna’ favourite, aval-vellam. The kids learnt dandya dancing with local dance teacher, Mrs Swina Kalwar. Each day’s activities were interspersed with games from ancient India. The children also learnt Madhurashtakam chanting and some Bhajans with music teacher, Mrs Sridevi.
Day 2 started with Mahamantra chanting. There was a story-telling workshop based on the Vanabhojanam Krishna-Aghasura story. The children were divided into small groups and encouraged to use creativity and imagination to retell and re-enact this story. Next there was a Puranava session. The group was split into several teams and a Puranava-style quiz was conducted with charades,
hangman and rapid-fire rounds. They then learnt a shloka to express their gratitude and salutations to their parents and made Thank-you cards which they presented to their parents at the end of the camp. There was vastram-designing workshop where the kids learnt how to design vastra for Krishna. There were follow-up sessions for dancing, bhajans and Madhurashtakam where the previous days’ lessons were consolidated. The camp ended with a short presentation for parents, where the kids displayed what they had learnt over the two days. Dr Janani concluded with a brief presentation on the objectives and vision of the Gopa Kuteeram program for the parents.
MELBOURNE
Dr. Jananiji commenced the satsangs/activities at Melbourne on April 11th.
With School holidays during the period, it was ideal for children’s camp / workshop. The organisers seized the opportunity and organised a creative workshop for the children in Glen Waverley on 11th and 12th of April. The objective of the camp was to bring out the creativity in children. Appropriate activities, group plays and games were carefully chosen to enable children exercise their creativity through verbal and non-verbal means. The workshops catered for children from the age of 5 to 15 and the activities took in to account the age group and their abilities. A similar children’s workshop / camp was also organised for the children in Point Cook area on the 17th of April.
The satsang talks given by Dr Janani ji at Melbourne Namadwaar was like divine nectar. The talks on Gems of Ramayana were held in the Sannidhi of Sri Premika Varadhan and Maduri Saki for four days following the auspicious celebration of the Sri Ramanavami, Tamil new year and Vishu on the 14th of April. Dr Janani Ji beautifully brought out the Guru Bhakthi and the Nama Mahima from the stories of Ramayana to the delight of the audience. She concluded the talks with Hanumath Prabhavam depicting the heroic and pious actions of Sri Hanuman.
The Family retreat at the Krishna Valley farm, near Winchelsea was like icing on the cake for Melbourne Satsangis. The Easter Weekend of 19, 20 and 21st April was the perfect time with the optimum autumn weather. Dr. Janani Ji crafted a schedule for the retreat in a such a way that there was never a moment without a laugh, a divine message, reflection or Guru Krupa. The activities such as photo scavenging, graffiti art, Truth or Dare, finding the black sheep brought a lot of fun and the opportunity to know and work with each other and importantly to enhance the bonding amongst us. Everyone enjoyed the retreat so much that they planned for a second camp soon in that location.
GOD organised a public program for the Mental health professionals consisting of Doctors, Nurses , and Counsellors. Dr Janani Ji delivered a talk on Mindfulness. The participants were keen on the spiritual aspects for dealing with mental health.
Dr Janani ji also did a number of satsangs in the Homes of GOD members and delivered talks on Meera, Pandu Ranga and other saints and sages.
