Maine Hindu Temple (MHT) is celebrating Hindu festival Maha Shivaratri with devotion and religious fervor in honour of the Lord Shiva on Feb 24th, 2017. Celebrating the festival of Maha Shivaratri,  devotees observe day and night fast and perform ritual worship of Shiva Lingam to appease Lord Shiva. Background* : The fourteenth day of every lunar month or the day before the new moon is known as Shivratri. Among all the twelve Shivarathri that occur in a calendar year, Mahashivratri, the one that occurs in February-March is of the most spiritual significance. On this night, the northern hemisphere of the planet is positioned in such a way that there is a natural upsurge of energy in a human being. This is a day when nature is pushing one towards one’s spiritual peak. It is to make use of this, that in this tradition, we established a certain festival which is nightlong. To allow this natural upsurge of energies to find their way,one of the fundamentals of this nightlong festival is to ensure that you remain awake with your spine vertical throughout the night. * Courtesy of Isha Sadhguru The day of Maha Shivaratri is spent in meditation on Lord Shiva and fasting. The Shiva Linga at the temple is bathed with milk, honey and water, and offerings are made to Lord Shiva in the form of fruits, and other specially prepared foods. Devotees sing and chant the sacred Panchakshara mantra "Om Namah Shivaya" mantras. Program Details : February 24, 2017 – Friday (Maha Shivaratri day) 07:00 pm - 08.30 pm : Rudra  Abhishekam 08:30 pm - 09.00 pm : Alankaram & Shiva Archana 09:00 pm - 09.30 pm : Prasadam distribution 09:30 pm - Cleanup Lord Shiva Bhajan  MHT is planning to keep temple open until midnight and after that if required. Devotees can sing Lord Shiva Bhajans throughout the night. Sponsorship Rudra Abhishekam    :        $21.00 (members) and $26 (non-members) Maha Shivaratri Abhishekam is done with panchamrutham using Milk, Ghee, Curd, Honey, and Coconut Water to please Lord Siva. All devotees are requested to bring Milk, Sugar, Ghee, Honey, Water, Flowers, variety of Fruits and Prasadam. We need volunteers for celebrating  Maha Shivaratri, so please contact MHT to discuss the event in details.  Volunteers are needed for registration, decoration, perform Puja, crowd control, Prasad distribution and clean up. Please sign up for any of the seva as soon as possible. Please email info@mainehindutemple.org or call (207) 370-0475 if anyone needs more details or clarifications. Thank you for your continued support. We are looking forward to seeing you all at  Maha Shivaratri Celebrations. Sincerely, MHT Board

Maine Hindu Temple (MHT) is hosting Lord Shri Ayyappa Swamy pooja.  Lord Ayyappan is worshiped to attain great success in all aspects of life which is followed by Bhajans. At the Lord Shri Ayyappa Swamy pooja, all devotees will experience the sheer pleasure of the supreme bliss after having a glimpse of the religiously decorated presiding deity Lord Shri Ayyappa. Poojari Pradeep Sharma from Boston will be performing Lord Shri Ayyappa Swamy pooja, on Sunday, Feb 5th , 2017. Lord Shri Ayyappa Swamy is also called as "Hariharasuta", the son of Vishnu (Hari), the saviour and Hara (Shiva), the destroyer AS WELL AS 'Dharma Sastha', for he is considered by some to be born out of the union between Mohini (an avatar of Vishnu) and Shiva. Program details (Tentative) 11:00 am - Kalash Puja & Abhishekam 11:30 am - Alankaram & Ashthoram 11:45 am - Padi puja 12:00 am - Naivedyam & Aarati 12:15 am - Harivarasanam 12:30 pm - Prasad 01:00 pm - Cleanup Grand sponsorship of the event        -  $501.00 Lord Shri Ayyapa Swamy Abhishekam is  - $51.00 (non-members - $75)  Please RSVP as soon as possible to confirm your attendance. All community members are encouraged to bring the flowers, prasad for the above event. Volunteers are needed for registration, decoration, perform Puja, crowd control, Prasad distribution and clean up. Please sign up for any of the seva as soon as possible. Please email info@mainehindutemple.org or call (207) 370-0475 if anyone needs more details or clarifications. Thank you for your continued support. We are looking forward to seeing you all at Lord Shri Ayyapa Swamy Abhishekam pooja. Sincerely, MHT Board

MHT wishes all devotees a Happy, Healthy, Prosperous & Joyous New Year 2017! Upcoming January events New Year Day – Sunday (1/1/2017) Temple opening hours and New Year Aarti :  Morning  - 10.00 AM to 12 PM  and Evening - 6:00 PM to 8:00 PM Need volunteers to prepare Garlands.  We already have a volunteer signed up for opening temple in the morning and need a volunteer for opening in the     evening. BalaGokulam for kids/Spiritual learning for adults -Saturday(1/7/2017) Ages                             : Kids well as adults Monthly Fees                 : $20 for MHT members and $30 for non-members Those who are interested in signing up their kids please do so as soon as possible. Adults can join spiritual learning and discussions too. MHT will soon start the BalaGokulam program for Children session and communicate exact timing through a BalaGokulam what's App group. MHT Wellness (Adults) - Saturday (1/7/2017) Monthly Fees                    : $15 for MHT members and $25 for non-members. Exact timing will be communicated through MHT Wellness what's App group. Vaikuntha Ekadasi - Sunday (1/8/2017) Ekadasi day is auspicious to Lord Vishnu. The Ekadasi day that falls during the Sukla Paksha of Dhanurmasa/Margahi (December middle to January middle) is very special and on this day, it is believed, that the gates of Vaikuntha are ceremoniously open for devotees to enter. This day is celebrated as Vaikuntha (Abode of The Lord Sriman Narayana) Ekadasai in all the Temples. Need volunteers to prepare Garlands.                     Program details: 10:00 AM to 10:30 AM         Govinda Namalu Chanting 10:30 AM to 11:00 AM         Sri Vishnu Sahasranama Parayanam Chanting 11:00 AM to Noon                Aarti and Nivedyam Noon to 1:00 PM                  Prasadam distribution and cleaning Makara Sankranti - Sunday (1/15/2017) Makar Sankranti is one of the most auspicious occasions of the Hindus, and is celebrated in almost all parts of the country in myriad cultural forms, with great devotion, fervour and gaiety. Makar Sankranti is a festival celebrated in India during the harvest season when the Sun enters the Tropic of Capricorn or 'Makar'. It usually coincides with 14th or 15th of January every year corresponding to the month of 'Magh' according to the Hindu solar calendar. Program details: 10:00 AM  to 11:00 AM         Rangoli Decorations, Deeparadhana 11:00 AM  to 11:30 AM         Nivedyam and Aarti 11:30 AM  to Noon                Prasadam Distribution and Cleaning All community members are encouraged to bring flowers, prasad for the above event. We also need volunteers for preparing Garlands for the New Year, Vaikuntha Ekadasi, Makara Sankranti, decoration, perform Puja, prasad distribution and clean up. Also, be sure to get involved with all the MHT programs to the community and go even further. Please email info@mainehindutemple.org or call (207) 370-0475, if anyone needs more details or clarifications regarding BalaGokulam program or various fundraising campaigns. Thank you for your continued support. Sincerely, MHT Board