We will have a little shorter day at balvihar so that those interested in Super Bowl could reach home on time.

We will skip Satsang part. After the religion class we will head for Aarti.

bowling trip on Sunday, Jan 26, 2014. As always the event will include bowling as well as breakfast and will be held at Playdrome Rosebowl on 15th Street in Allentown. The event will start at 9 am and will end at 12 pm. If you pay in advance, the price is only $3 each for kids and $5 each for adults. If you choose to pay after Jan 22, the price will be $5 and $7 for each kid and adult respectively. Bring your friends and family to join the fun.

Religion-2 had mid term exam today. Here is a picture. Please take a look at the exam result and follow up where kids need help.

Namaste Bal Vihar Families.  Our first balvihar class for 2014 (since Jan 5 was cancelled due to inclement weather) will be today Jan 19. Please join us to have a great time while embracing our culture and heritage. Please also do remember to carefully read some important announcements including bowling trip information that follow later in this newsletter.

Annual bowling trip:
We will be having our annual balvihar bowling trip on Sunday, Jan 26, 2014. As always the event will include bowling as well as breakfast and will be held at Playdrome Rosebowl on 15th Street in Allentown. The event will start at 9 am and will end at 12 pm. If you pay in advance, the price is only $3 each for kids and $5 each for adults. If you choose to pay after Jan 22, the price will be $5 and $7 for each kid and adult respectively. Bring your friends and family to join the fun. Please see Jitesh Rohatgi during balvihar today to make a payment and sign the permission slip. We hope to see you there!.

More information and permission slip can be found on our website at:http://www.balviharallentown.org/uploads/1/5/8/0/15809204/bowling_trip_permission_slip.pdf

Lohri  (Jan 13, 2013)
Lohri is a bonfire festival originating from Indian state of Punjab, and is celebrated on 13th of January every year. This festival is celebrated to mark the journey of the sun towards north. This festival is celebrated with lots of zeal and enthusiasm with bonfires, songs and special foods. Families where a child is born or there has been a marriage celebrate this festival with even more enthusiasm..

Pongal/Makar Sankranti (Jan 14, 2013)
Pongal/Sankranti is a popular harvest festival out of the many harvest festivals in India and is based on solar calendar. This festival indicates the end of the winter season and beginning of the harvesting season. Pongal/Sankranti falls on the 14th of January every year, and this is widely celebrated all over India. 

Important Announcements
* It seems like kids are making a mess in the Temple after eating Prasad or snack. Please remember that this is your temple and its everyone's responsibility to keep it clean. Parents, please make sure that kids clean up after themselves.
* We are still looking for volunteers for Prasad. Please sign up online using the link on our website.
* It has been brought to our attention that some families have complained about not receiving this newsletter. It should be noted that this is because either the email address was not provided to us during registration, it was provided wrongly or the email is being delivered to their junk email box. If you have a friend which complains about this, please feel free to forward them the newsletter, ask them to check their junk folder or encourage them to send an email tohtsbalvihar@gmail.com for inclusion.

For other information please visit our website: http://www.balviharallentown.org

Sri Swami PratyagbodhanandaSwami Pratyagbodhananda, a disciple of Pujya Swami Dayananda Saraswati, follows the traditional methods of the teaching of Vedanta. Swami Pratyagbodhananda is at home in handling three languages - English, Gujarati and Hindi. He teaches in all these languages, not only Vedantic texts like the Gita, Upanisads, Panchadasi, and the like, but also Tulsi's Ramayana and the Bhagavata Purana.


Swami Pratyagbodhanada has had extensive satsang with Swami Akhandananda Saraswati and his disciples in Brindavan. His discourses on Ramayana and Bhagavatam reflect these invaluable devotion-rich satsangs. He has been teaching Vedanta for the past 22 years in Surat, India under the auspices of Viswa-Mangalam. He also teaches at Arsha Vidya Gurukulam in Saylorsburg, Pennsylvania. In his tours of North America, sponsored by the Gurukulam, he has touched the hearts of a number of people. With his love and understanding, he has endeared himself to all those with whom he has come in touch.

Swamiji may be reached  by email at pratyag@gmail.com. Swamiji will be in the USA from Dec 25, 2013 tio Apr 26, 2014.

Contact Person:Sri.Suddhatma, Ph# 570-992-2339 Extn 1-234; E-mail: suddhatma@gmail.com
Swami Pratyagbodhananda, Ph # 570-992-7623 or  570-992-2339 Extn 1-463; E-mail: Pratyag@gmail.com

Swamiji's Itinieary for 2014

Swamiji's Flyer Sample