Events 2017 - 2019

November 2, 2019 Saturday
Deepawali Celebration:
This year Deepawali fell on Saturday, October 27th. On Saturday, November 2nd, a grand celebrations of the festival was held at Arya Samaj Greater Houston.  In Arya Samaj, this is also celebrated as the Nirvanostav of Swami Dayananda Saraswati, the founder of the Arya Samaj.  The program included traditional havan, bhajans, a cultural program by the children of D.A.V. Montessori and Sanskriti schools.  Mrs Gayatri Kapoor presented a brief talk on the importance of bone marrow donation.  Mrs. Rita Gulati, a dedicated member of the Arya Samaj, was recognized for her donation of bone marrow to help a child with cancer.  She registered for bone narrow donation almost eight years ago. After arti, the festivities moved outside for a Diwali mela with food stalls, games etc.. To view some pictures from the celebration, please click here.

April 14, 2019, Sunday
Arya Yuva Mandal Seva Project:
On Sunday, April 14th, members of Arya Yuva Mandal, an organization of older teenage and young adult members of Arya Samaj Greater Houston undertook a service project of washing cars of the congregation attending the satsang that day.  The project was a service as well  as a means to raise funds for the organization.  An article by Sid Arorra on the actvity can be viewed here.

 

April 6-7, 2019, Saturday-Sunday
Arya Samaj Celebrates 28th Sthapna Divas:
Arya Samaj Greater Houston celebrated its 28th Sthapna Divas (Foundation Day) on April 6th and 7th with a health fair and a cultural program.  The celebrations started with a walk for peace and a health fair on the morning of Saturday, April 6th.  The fair included check ups and talks on medical issues common to our community.  The next day, Sunday, April 7th, started with a traditional havan followed by a cultural program presented by children from the D.A.V. Sanskriti School and the D.A.V. Montessori and Elementary School.  An article by Mahi Tomar on the celebrations can be viewed here.  Also, two presentations by Dr. Patel and Dr. Wani can be viewed by clicking on the links below.

Healthy Diet-Nutrition and Practice

Snoring and Sleep Apnea

November 22, 2018, Thursday
Arya Samaj Volunteers Serve Meals on Wheels:
The Interfaith Ministries of Houston has a program under which hot meals are served to more than 4000 senior citizens who are more or less homebound. As in previous years, many volunteers from Arya Samaj and Arya Yuvak Mandal (AYM), celebrated Thanksgiving Day (Thursday, November 22nd) by volunteering for this noble cause.  A copy of an article in a community newspaper on this event can be viewed by clicking here.

November 10, 2018 Saturday
Deepawali Celebration:
On Saturday, November 10th, a grand celebrations of our well known festival, Deepawali, was held at Arya Samaj Greater Houston.  In Arya Samaj, this is also celebrated as the Nirvanostav of Swami Dayananda Saraswati, the founder of the Arya Samaj.  The program included traditional havan, bhajans, a cultural program by the children of D.A.V. Montessori and Sanskriti schools.  It was followed by a Diwali mela outside with food stalls, games etc. and a professional fireworks display. This year, in spite of unsually cold weather, it was pretty well attended. For a copy of an article on the celebrations in a community newspaper, please click here.

October 25-28, 2018 Thursday-Sunday
International Arya Mahasammelan Honors Arya Samaj Houston:
From October 25th through 28th, Sarvadeshik Arya Pratinidhi Sabha, held a grand Intenational Arya Mahasammelan in New Delhi, India.  This event is held every six years.  It was indeed a grand event with more than 300,000 people from India and many countries attending variety of programs and events. A brief review of the celebration is available at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lJ3STY4Dkes. A highlight of particular interest to members of ASGH was that, in a letter dated July 25, 2018, Sarvadeshik Arya Pratinidhi Sabha declared to recognize Arya Samaj Greater Houston as the Model Arya Samaj in countries other than India.  Shri Dev Mahajan, the Management Coordinator, and other memebers of ASGH family attended the Mahasammelan and presented a video about Arya Samaj Houston.  Shri Mahajan was presented a plaque bestowing honor on this Arya Samaj. Some pictures from the sammelan including the presentation of the plaque can be viewed here.

August 19, 2018 Sunday
India's Independence Day Celebration and Start of 2018-2019 Year at DAVSS:
On Sunday, August 19th, Arya Samaj Greater Houston celebrated the start of the new academic year of the D.A.V. Sanskriti School, Arya Yuvak Mandal with a joint satsang with children of the schhol and the yuvak mandal.  The program included traditional havan, bhajans, pravachan and a cultural program by the students. After the actvities, the congregation moved to the front lawn of the temple for flag hoisting and singing of India's national songs.  For a copy of an article on the celebrations in a community newspaper, please click here.

May 20, 2018 Sunday
D.A.V. Montessori School Annual Day:  Arya Samaj Greater Houston celebrated the 2017-2018 school year annual day of the D.A.V. Montessori School on Sunday, May 13th.  Deputy Consul General of India in Houston, Shri Adhana, his wife and their son were the honored guests at the celebrations. The program started with our traditional havan performed mostly by the students. It was followed by a cultural program where students (some very very young) gave demonstration of their skills in dance, music and comedy etc. Mrs. Arti Khanna, the Director of the School, talked about the progress the school has made.   A copy of an article on the celebrations for community newspapers can be viewed here.  Also, a few pictures from the program can be seen by clicking here.

May 13, 2018 Sunday
D.A.V. Sanskriti School Annual Day:  Arya Samaj Greater Houston celebrated the 2017-2018 school year annual day of the D.A.V. Sanskriti School on Sunday, May 13th.  Joseph and Christina Emmett of Vedanta Institute Houston were the Chief Guests at the celebrations.  The program started with our traditional havan and a message by Acharya Ji to the students, specifically to the graduating seniors who are transitioning from their high schools to colleges and universities. It was followed by a cultural program where students gave demonstrations of their skills in dance, music and yoga etc. Acharyaa Kavita Vachaknavee, the Director of the School, talked about the progress the school has made and about the plans for the next school year. All the graduationg seniors briefly talked of their association with the school and of Arya Yuvak Mandal (AYM).  The Chief Guests presented President’s Voluntary Service Certificates to a number of members of the Arya Yubak Mandal for their volunteering in service to the community.  Acharya Harish Chandra briefly talked about the importance of harmony in the family in raising well adjusted children.  A copy of an article on the festivites for community newspapers can be viewed here.  Also, a few pictures from the program can be seen by clicking here.

April 7 and 8, 2018 Saturday and Sunday
27th Sthapna Divas Celebration:  Arya Samaj Greater Houston celebrated its 27th Sthapna Divas (Foundation Day) with a two day program on April 7th and 8th, 2018.  The program started with a health fair on Saturday, April 7th, that included a 5k walk by participants followed by blood testing, blood donations and talks on health issues specific to our community.  The program on Sunday, April 8th, started with Yoga to prevent Obesity, and included traditional Havan, Bhajans, Pravachan by Acharya Ji, and a cultural program by students of D.A.V. Sanskriti and Montessori schools.  A copy of an article on the festivites in a community newspaper, Indo-American News, and slides of presentations by physicians on health topics are given below.

27th Sthapana Divas With 2nd Annual Health Fair

Power of dietary discipline

Effects of Stress on Our Health

AryaSamaj_OrganAndMarrowDonation_T

November 11, 2017 Saturday
ASGH Volunteers Join Habit for Humanity in Building a House: 
Arya Samaj of Greater Houston, under the guidance of Anil Gupta ji, worked with Houston Habitat to help out in signing up, volunteering, raising funds to buy materials, and helping build a new home for Jacklyn and her family. ASGH’s strong team of 30 members, including 10 AKM youth members, signed up to help build this new house on November 11th at 8700 Texas Acorn Drive in Tidwell. A write up on the subject can be viewed by clicking here

July 23, 2017 Sunday
Anti-Cancer Living: Indian American Cancer Network(IACAN), a Houston based cancer resource network for people of Indian origin, organized a seminar on cancer related subject, Anti-cancer Living, for Indian community  at Arya Samaj. The seminar was presented by Dr. Lorenzo Cohen, Professor, Department of Palliative, Rehabilitation and Integrative medicine at M.D. Anderson Cancer Center. A write up on the subject can be viewed by clicking here.

April 9, 2017 Sunday
26th ASGH Sthapana Divas: This Sunday Satsang was a very special day, a day for 26th celebration of founding of Arya Samaj in Greater Houston.  The actual foundaing day was in July 1991, but this celebration was moved to April to coincide with founding day of Arya Samaj in Mumbai in 1875.  An article on the celebrations by Acharya Harish Chandra Ji was published in local community papers.  A reformatted version can be seen by clicking here.