Positives from the lockdown – Part 2

Daily chanting of mantras / slokas is a ritual practiced by the followers of Sanatana Dharma. Group chanting with extended family members brings families together and improves bonding. We all know how difficult it is to do group chanting with friends and families once a month or even once a year. How about doing it continuously for several months without a break? Won’t that be a great achievement?

Today’s article is about an individual who initially started teaching slokas to a few close friends which has now expanded to organizing live sessions with hundreds of participants. In fact this lockdown is also a reason for making it a daily affair.

Know about Smt. Vanisri Ragupati – A Multi-tasker

Being an IT professional and a mother of three kids didn’t stop Smt. Vanisri Ragupati from pursuing her passion – conducting online sloka sessions. Starting with just 10 members in 2018, she is now teaching slokas to more than 4000 members of all ages (5 yrs to 80 yrs) through various social media such as Whatsapp (11 groups) and Telegram (2 channels – LearnSlokas and LearnSlokasOnline ) All of this without taking a single penny as fees from the participants. 

Even after achieving such great heights, she remains forever humble and dedicates her kainkaryam to Kanchi MahaPeriyava. She also expresses her gratitude to Sri Venkatrama Mama from Ambathur who was a great source of inspiration for her. She quotes that despite issues with his eye-sight, he taught her Vishnu Sahasranaamam at a tender age of 9. Her passion was re-kindled many years later by Smt. Rama Ramakrishnan, an ardent devotee of MahaPeriyava and Smt. Lakshmi Seshan.

We, at Thedal had an opportunity to speak to Smt. Vanisri about her wonderful spiritual journey. Here are a few excerpts:

When did you start this Sloka group? What motivated you to do this?

It was in July 2018. The seed was sown a few years ago when a couple of my friends who were interested in learning slokas but could not come in person. At their insistence, I made an attempt to record the audio for them to learn via WhatsApp. We have participants not only from India but also from Australia, USA, Ireland, Germany and Singapore. Never realized it would gather momentum to this extent. 

How many participants did you start with and how many are active today?

We started as a small group of 10 with Adi Sankarar‘s Subramanya Bhujangam. Today, more than 4000 Aasthikas are learning various slokas through Whatsapp and Telegram. There are also live sessions every day wherein close to 100 participants join.

We have kids as young as 5 years old learning through posted audios. Adults as young as 20 year old and as experienced as 80+ years old. Group mostly consists of women. However, a few men are also active participants. In fact, I have my teachers from school in the Satsang. It is an absolutely honour to play the reverse role!

What exactly happens in the session?

On a regular day, I post the recorded sloka (usually one or two) in slow repeat mode along with the text (n Sanskrit, Tamil and English) and its meaning. During the course of that day, members listen to the sloka and learn to read by looking at the text. The goal is to read the slokas fluently without mistakes. Memorizing is completely optional. After completing an entire sloka, we set a date/time to meet at a temple (locally in Chennai or elsewhere) and group chant the sloka.  Joining us for group chanting is not a must.

Few of us got together and visited Saptha Sthaana Temples in Mylapore (2019) and Pancha Bootha Sthala Temples in North Chennai (2020) during the night of Shivaraathri.

When did you start the live sessions?

During this Covid-19 lockdown, we started live classes everyday via Free Conference Call app based on suggestions from the members.  While I recite, everyone takes turns in repeating the sloka. It helped us immensely in correcting our mistakes in pronunciation. Apart from slokas, we all read the text from Kanchi MahaSwami MahaPeriyava’s Deivathin Kural.

We do group chanting of Subramanya Bhujangam (Kootu Prarthanai) when someone known to us is unwell. This has really helped ease the situation for many including Covid-19 affected families. Power of Mantra chanting can be realized first-hand during such situations.

Are there any next steps after learning a sloka?

After completing a topic, we get into spiritual discussions on the topic and try implementing them in our day-to-day life.  We have also tried relating Deivathin Kural with Vedanta. It helps that I am a student of Vedanta and learn from Dr. Sukavanam Krishnan (Swami Paramaarthananda’s student). Some of the topics that we discussed are Karma, Anger Management, Eternal Bliss, Power of the Lord’s Name etc.

We did an exclusive chanting of Adi Sankarar’s slokas on Sankara Jayanthi, shared an episode from Sankara Charitham. For MahaPeriyava’s Maha Anusham, we learnt and chanted Durga Pancharatnam composed by Periyava, sang Bhajans, recited Guru Ashtakam and Totakashtakam as well as read Deivathin Kural.

How do you keep the interest of participants alive?

Apart from the sloka itself, we also do the meanings in Tamil, interesting facts, relevant pictures, story behind the sloka, history of composers, quizzes etc. For extensive slokas like Lalitaa Sahasranaamam, we have one day break for revision after every 10 slokas followed by a quiz – Jumbled Words, Word Search, Crossword, Match the Following, Frame questions for Ambal’s Nama etc

Can you share a few memorable moments from your sessions?

A young married woman who had speech issues (stammering) since birth has been learning online for a few months now. She practiced the slokas sincerely and came forward to chant in the forum breaking all shackles. That was an emotional moment for everyone in the Satsang and absolutely inspiring.

Many in our group have had a long lasting desire to chant slokas. However, they neither had the opportunity nor the time to learn. “Ummachi Kaapathu (God Save me)” is the only sloka I have ever chanted in my life is what I have heard from many. When they chant in our Satsang, it gives immense satisfaction for everyone around.

Manas, a special-needs person who turned 20 this year discovered his passion for slokas and the positive vibes it generates and it’s calming effect. His mother Sujatha Arvind is part of this Satsang. She learnt the slokas and used the audios to teach him. Manas also participated in the forum and chanted slokas. Goes to say, Slokas and its Power is for All! Age, gender, ability, etc no bar… Also, I feel happy when many kids in the group learn and chant.

 

Smt. Vanisri’s efforts to keep our culture alive are praiseworthy considering the influence of western culture on us today. Efforts such as these create a positive impact on children and adults alike. Thedal Team salutes her contribution towards keeping the spirit of Sanatana Dharma alive. We are sure that many participants are going cascade their learning to the next generation.

She can be contacted at [email protected]

Share such stories with us!

There are many such unsung torchbearers of Sanatana Dharma whose contribution needs to be recognized and applauded. We request our readers to share such inspiring stories during lockdown. We will be glad to publish relevant stories in Thedal.

Positives from the lockdown part 1 – Click here to read about Anay – The Little Quiz Master