Vedic Cultural Center opens

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Vedic Cultural Center opens

 

August 6, 2008

By Kendra Abernathy

http://sammamishreview.com/2008/08/06/vedic-cultural-center-opens

 

New facility to act as a hub for the Vedic community

 

Anadagopao Peacock, of Lynnwood, is a patron of the culture center and a third generation Hare Krishna practioner. The tattoo is of the spiritual master, A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada. Photo by Kendra Abernathy

Upon entering the Vedic Cultural Center, everyone is ushered into a small side room to remove their shoes, before entering the center and participating in the numerous activities being orchestrated all at the same time. People can chose to hear the congregation president lecture upstairs, enjoy a free vegetarian meal or watch a drama enacted by children. Whatever you want to do or need, the volunteers and patrons of the Vedic Cultural Center do everything they can to meet your needs.

The Vedic Cultural Center, located at 1420 228th Avenue SE, has been there since 1989, yet has become a more prominent monument in Sammamish since its newly completed remodel.

The Vedic Cultural Center embarked on the mission to create a larger “more attractive” building due to the growth of the Indian community in the region and because more people have become interested in the philosophy, volunteer and practitioner Ramesh Yerramesetti explained.

“We used to only have meetings on Sundays, but now we are open seven days a week.” Yerramesetti stated. The center has grown from a single family home to a building that can hold 840 people. Yerramesetti estimates that at least 200 people visit the center daily.

Growth in the congregation also helped pay for $2.5 million of the $4 million total construction costs, which was all collected by donation.

“People are very generous and nice,” Yerramesetti said. “We also attract donors by showing them the value of the Vedic education.”

A Vedic education, based on 5,000 years of tradition, teaches people through arts, music, dance and drama to lead a life of social harmony and respect for basic human dignity.

The names of the people who donated $2,000 or more are engraved in the floor tiles of the building.

As explained at the Vedic Cultural Center web site, Vedas are ancient scriptures from India that provide spiritual and material knowledge to uplift all people. Therefore, the goal of the center is to connect people with the original teachings of the Vedas, the principles of right action and right thought, which promote peace and social harmony.

Members of the center are lead by President Harry Terhanian, more commonly referred to as Harivilas, who has lead the congregation since 1990 by way of the Bhagavad Gita. The Bhagavad Gita is described by Yerramesetti as “guidebook for complete living” accepted by the International Society for Krishna Consciousness.

There are five main topics explored in the Bhagavad Gita: Isvara, the Supreme Lord; jiva, the living entitity; prakrti, nature; kala, external time; and karama, activity.

There are also three modes of material nature that impact people’s present and future lives. The modes of ignorance, passion and goodness can be used to describe people based on their propensities, with ignorance being the least attractive mode, Yerramesetti explained.

“The Lord establishes laws of nature and we work within them,” Yerramesetti said. “The ultimate goal, however, is to raise yourself to the mode of goodness.”

People can change the mode through the process of bhakti, or devotion, which may include chanting, attending services or completing services for the center.

“His devotion and sincerity has brought about the growth of this institution,” Don Porterfield, a patron of the center for 30 years, said of Harivilas. “He wants these people to be leaders in the community.”

Patrons of the center are volunteering their time to help our community through various projects including: mercy meals, which delivers meals to immobile seniors; teen feeds, which provide food and entertainment for local teens; free lunch and dinner seven days-a-week; and the center also runs a free vegetarian restaurant near the University of Washington named My Sweet Lord’s.

Volunteers at the center make the food for all of the various events in the full-sized industrial kitchen.

The center also hosts various ceremonies, such as the auspicious bathing ceremony for Lord Jagannath, Baladev and Subadra on July 27. The once a year bathing ceremony of the figurines was completed in preparation for the Lords appearance at the Jagannath Rath Yatra parade at Alki Beach Park on August 3.

More information about the Vedic Cultural Center and their upcoming events can be found at www.vedicculturalcenter.org.

Grand opening ceremony

 

The Vedic Cultural Center, which hosted a pre-grand opening on July 6, welcomes people of all religions and ethnicities to participate in their second grand opening with the ceremonial appearance of Lord Krishna on Aug. 23-24. Aug. 23 is recognized as Krishna’s birthday.

The event will include free food, entertainment, activities, yoga, meditation, dramas, musical performances and more.

Intern Kendra Abernathy can be reached at samrev@isspress.com.