Sri Satyanarayana Vratam/Pooja was celebrated in Austin to mark the commencement of Austin Hindu Temple Project on an auspicious note. It is a tradition to Perform Satyanarayana Pooja before undertaking any Auspicious or religious undertaking. Lord Satyanarayana is another form of Lord Vishnu who is commonly worshipped by the Hindus. Sri Satyanarayana Vratam/Pooja is usually performed on a full moon (poorNima) day or any other auspicious day. It is performed by reciting the Lord’s holy names and his gracious story, which was once told by Lord Vishnu himself to the sage Narada explaining the benefits of performing this Vratam/Pooja. The Lord's grace is described in a Hindu book called Skanda Purana.

Date & time Pooja performed:
17 March 2002, 09:30 to 14:00 hrs
Venue: Murchison Middle School Cafeteria, 3700 North Hills Dr. Austin, Texas 78731.

Pooja started a few minutes behind schedule and went on up to 1:30pm. Sriman Lakshmi Narasimha Charyulu, priest of the Hindu Temple of San Antonio, performed the Vratam/Pooja and approximately 500 devotees took part in the Pooja/Sankalpam. We are glad to inform that the number of devotees who came to the Pooja not only exceeded the expectation of the Austin Hindu Temple Working committee but was more than double in number. We are very happy to know that more and more people are acknowledging the need for a Temple and a Community Center in Austin. This Pooja also included few stage performances by noted as well as budding artists and singers as young as 3 years old. Discourse by Sri Ramakrishna Rao  was enlightening. Prashad was served at 1:30pm.

---