Highlights: (Click on link to go directly to that section) Ambani Family comes to Parmarth Acupressure Camp  Ujjain Kumbha Mela Swaminarayan Functions in Gujarat Pujya Swamiji in Los Angeles Pujya Swamiji in Florida UPCOMING EVENTS: Pujya Swamiji at the Parliament of World Religions YOUTH CAMP in Lisbon, Portugal Satsang in London Divine Message by Pujya Swamiji -  The Tree which bears the fruit of our destiny Links to Previous Newsletters  and Divine Messages

April -- Rishikesh

Shri Mukeshbhai Ambani and Smt. Nita Ambani came to Parmarth Niketan with their family for the divine Ganga yagna and aarti and to have satsang with Pujya Swamiji.

	Shri Mukeshbhai Ambani and his family perform aarti with Pujya Swamiji

	April 15 - 25   -- Rishikesh An annual Acupressure Camp led by Dr. Suman Shah and his team from Allahabad and Calcutta took place at Parmarth. Hundreds of patients received free treatment for every ailment, through the ancient science of acupressure.

April 28-29 -- Ujjain

Pujya Swamiji travelled to the sacred site of the Kumbha Mela in Ujjain where he spent time with Pujya Swami Gurusharananandji Maharaj and also attended the Shri Ram Katha by Pujya Shri Morari Bapu

April 30 - May 1 -- Rajkot and Baroda

Pujya Swamiji was a Chief guest at the Swaminarayan Atmiya Parva Festival in Rajkot, headed by Pujya Shri Hariprasad Swamiji.  Then, he traveled to Baroda where he was a Chief Guest at the Preetham Prana Pratishtha Mahotsav at the Shree Swaminarayan Temple.

Pujya Swamiji gave a beautiful lecture in which he said that gardens bloom in the springtime, but our lives bloom when a Saint comes into them. He spoke about the beauty of Indian culture as a culture of peace and universal brotherhood. "While the world may look on India as a market (bazaar), Indians look on the world as a family (parivar)." He emphasized the importance of these divine functions of culture and said that if the roots of a tree are cut, the tree will fall. However, if the roots of our culture are broken, then life and its entire value structure will crumble. 

	Pujya Swamiji and Pujya Hariprasad Swamiji greet each other with love, affection and respect

May 3-5 -- Ujjain and Indore

Pujya Swamiji returned to the holy land of Ujjain for the special, final snan (holy bath) on the 4 May. He traveled with Pujya Swami Gurusharananandji Maharaj to a sacred place on the banks of the Narmada river where they performed meditation and japa throughout the entire night in the light of the holy full moon. 

May 22-24 -- Los Angeles, CA

Pujya Swamiji spent 3 days in Los Angeles during which time gave a public lecture, several private lectures/satsangs at devotees' homes and also led a special yagna ceremony. His public lecture was at Golden Bridge Yoga where the theme was "An Evening with a Saint." He talked about the importance of the role that "satsang" (being in holy company) has in our lives. 

	He shared His own experiences and He emphasized that the "food" we eat through our eyes and ears is just as important for our health as the food we eat through our mouths. " We know that eating certain foods or smoking cigarettes causes cancer in the body. But what about cancer of the soul? Do you know what causes cancer to your  soul?" He explained that Satsang and a daily appointment with God were the prevention and cure for cancer of the soul.

He also talked about what it means to be a yogi and to be one with God. "Realizing one's own true divine nature means that we also realize the divine nature of others. Enlightenment is not 'I am Brahman and you are dirt.' Rather it is the awareness that we are all part and parcel of God and part and parcel of one another."

	Pujya Swamiji blesses Gurmukh and Gurushabd with sacred rudraksh malas and Paloma Baillie with a special flower mala

A divine yagna ceremony was held in which approximately 250 people from every background, every culture came together to offer their prayers. Hindus, Sikhs, Christians, Buddhists, and Jews joined hands in a divine yagna for peace and harmony. 

May 27-28 -- Columbia, South Carolina, USA

Pujya Swamiji traveled to the headquarters of the Encyclopedia of Hinduism project where He met with Dr. K.L. Seshagiri Rao, the Chief Editor, Dr. Kaushal Sinha, the C.E.O., Prof. Girish Yagnik, operations manager, and others to discuss the progress of this divine work. Please see www.ihrf.com for more details of this monumental project. 

May 29-31 -- Tampa, Florida, USA

Pujya Swamiji traveled to Tampa, Florida for the memorial holiday weekend. The weekend began with a somber and pious time at the home of Dr. Kiranbhai and Smt. Pallaviben Patel. Smt. Pallaviben's divine and respected father, Shri Rasikbhai Shah had passed on to the Heavenly Abode just the previous day, so Pujya Swamiji chanted Gita Paath, sacred mantras and prayers for his departed soul. 

	Pujya Swamiji gives Dr. Kiranbhai and Smt. Pallaviben a special Radha-Krishna picture and blesses their young granddaughter

In the evening there was a satsang session at the Lakeland Swaminarayan Mandir where the beautiful children in the youth group performed an impressive line up of Vedic prayers and mantras for Pujya Swamiji before His pravachan. 

May 30 evening there was a function at the Indian Cultural Center. Pujya Swamiji gave a beautiful lecture on how to be at peace even amidst the noise in our environment. The audio sound system had this humming noise in it which distracted the audience at first. Therefore, Pujya Swamiji changed what He had thought He would speak, and immediately began with "Yes, in our lives there is always humming. There is always noise. But how can we be focused and peaceful even with the humming? Today the humming is coming from outside, but what about the constant humming of our own desires, our own temptations, our own egos?" Within a few minutes everyone completely forgot the humming of the sound system and was transfixed on His beautiful lecture. 

		May 30 morning was a program at the Shree Sanatan Mandir where Pujya Swamiji talked about how to bring "Shree" (glory of God) into our lives, and how to really make "Shree" Sanatan (eternal), by encompassing the attributes of the Divine in our own lives. He said that the purpose of temples is not only to worship God but to bring God into our very hearts and lives.

On May 31 evening there was a special program held at the home of Smt. Bellaben and Shri Yogeshbhai Patel (our divine hosts for the weekend) in which after Pujya Swamiji's satsang they arranged for a beautiful Ganga Aarti on the banks of the creek which runs through their back yard. We poured Ganga jal (water) into the creek and then performed the joyous aarti ceremony. 

	Pujya Swamiji gives out prasad after satsang at the home of Dr. Jayendra Chokski.

FILM ON PUJYA SWAMIJI'S TEACHINGS:

On April 17 at the Arclight Theater in Hollywood, a film on the life and teachings of Pujya Swamiji premiered to a sold out audience. The film, titled, "A Day in the Light" is produced and directed by Christopher Miglino.  The film has already been shown to delighted and inspired audiences at the Sedona Film Festival and the Indian Film Festival in Los Angeles. See www.adayinthelight.com  to order your own copy of the beautiful film. If your browser doesn't open the page (some browsers have trouble with it) you can email Christopher directly at chris@yogamates.com to order a copy.

july 7-13: barcelona: PARLIAMENT OF WORLD RELIGIONS

		Pujya Swamiji will be speaking, sitting on panels and leading a universal meditation at the Parliament of World Religions in Barcelona, Spain.  His Holiness the Dalai Lama and other revered leaders of all the world's traditions will be present. The Parliament which was first convened in Chicago in 1893 was the event that made Swami Vivekananda famous in the West, with his opening lines of "My brothers and sisters of America."
	Pujya Swamiji with His Holiness the Dalai Lama at the 1999 Parliament in Capetown

The Parliament reconvened after 100 years in 1993 in Chicago and then in 1999 in Capetown, South Africa. Pujya Swamiji was a speaker at both of those Parliaments as well. 

July 17-18: bUDAPEST, HUNGARY
Pujya Swamiji is the Chief Guest at the International Yoga Festival Esztergom in Budapest.

july 22-24: lisbon, portugal - youth camp
A special, divine YOUTH CAMP is being organized in Lisbon, Portugal. Everyone is welcome. The activities will include yoga, meditation, pranayama, nature walks, lectures, question-answer sessions, games and much more.  The camp will be in English (with Gujarati sprinkled in...). For more information or to register, please contact Mitesh Jamnadas at Mitesh.Jamnadas@dancake.pt or Jitesh at jitex@net.sapo.pt

Click Here to See Mansarovar Yatra in the News