MURUGAN BHAKTI NEWSLETTER No. 19
Kanda Sashti 2004 Issue

I. New web site: Annadanam.org
II. New Publications on Murugan Bhakti sites
III. All-India National Conference on Murugan
IV. Murugan Bhakti annual fund drive
V. Computer needed for Murugan Bhakti
VI. Changes coming to the Newsletter
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I. NEW ANNADANA MURUGAN WEB SITE: ANNADANAM.ORG

A new service designed especially for Muruga devotees living abroad,
the Murugan Bhakti site www.Annadanam.org now makes it possible for
devotees anywhere to sponsor an annadanam at famous Murugan temples
in India and Sri Lanka.

* Any size, any occasion
* Sponsor specifies the date and temple or sabha
* Secure, online payment using PayPal payment method

When sponsoring an annadanam, one may specify:
* The temple (Tiruchendur, Kathirkamam, Selva Sannidhi, etc.)
* The date for the annadanam
* Any other special requests

The number of devotees fed will depend upon the size of your donation.
Questions? Contact Murugan Bhakti editor Patrick Harrigan or go to
www.annadanam.org.
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II. NEW PUBLICATIONS ON MURUGAN BHAKTI SITES

"Is Hindu Kataragama disappearing?"
http://kataragama.org/news/1986dec-hinduism_today.htm

"Nallur Kumaran: History, Layout, Festivals & Worship"
http://kataragama.org/centers/nallur-kumaran.htm

"The Worship of Muruga" from The Sivathondan
http://kataragama.org/worship-muruga.htm

2004 Kathirkama Pada Yatra
http://padayatra.org/py2004-2nd.htm

"Annadanam from Kailasa to Kataragama"
http://kataragama.org/research/annadanam.htm

"Tiruppukazh: Polytheism and Absolute Reality"
http://murugan.org/research/krishnamurti-rathnaswami.htm

Sages of Kataragama and their Traditions (in Tamil)
http://kataragama.org/sages/sages-tamil.htm

"History of the Tamil Diaspora'' by V. Sivasupramaniam
http://murugan.org/research/sivasupramaniam.htm

First All India Murukan Conference 2005
http://murugan.org/events/2005conf.htm

Subrahmanya Saptakam (in Tamil)
http://murugan.org/texts/SubramaNyaSapthakam.pdf

'KATHIRKAMAM' The classic 1947 guide booklet
Murugan Bhakti Publications also republishes popular out of print
publications, starting with the classic 1947 Tamil guide and song
booklet 'KATHIRKAMAM' by Kula. Sabhapati. This booklet of 110 pages,
for many years the standard guide booklet to Kathirkamam, gives an
early 20th Century devotee's eye view of the powerful shrine's
history, traditions and practices, together with 40 pages of Tamil
stotras or songs in praise of Kataragama Skanda. NSK Print House in
Chennai will print 1500 copies for release soon.
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III. INDIA NATIONAL CONFERENCE ON MURUGAN 7-9 Jan 2005

The First All-India National Murukan Conference will take place 7-8-9
January 2005 at Arulmigu Sangameshwarar Temple, Bhavani, Tamil Nadu.
Organized by Sathiyathin Sakthi Nilai Sangam & SSM College of
Engineering in association with ICSMS.

Papers on any topic and activity relevant to the conference theme are
invited. Multi-media presentations including video productions &
slide presentations are also being accepted. The papers accepted will
be published as part of the First National Conference proceedings,
and authors will be invited to give their presentations when the
Conference convenes.

For details and registration, contact:

M.S. Mathivanan, Chairman
Sathiyathin Sakthi Nilai Sangam
NH 47, Komarapalayam - 638 183
Tamil Nadu, India
Tel: (+91) 4288 264755, 267703

E-mail: murugancon 'at' sakthinilai.org
Web: www.sakthinilai.org/murugancon/index.htm
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IV. MURUGAN BHAKTI ANNUAL FUND DRIVE
Every day of the year, visitors to Murugan Bhakti sites are delighted
to find hundreds of authoritative articles and high-quality graphics
that are accessible nowhere else, without paying a subscription and
without annoying pop-up ads. This is possible only because a few
devotees work year-round to provide this service for others.

What most visitors do not know is that this expanding network of 11
web sites is being built and maintained by a small band of volunteers
using a single computer based at the Kataragama Pilgrims Thondar
Sabha madam in Colombo. There is no source of external funding for
the network, except the donations of those who support Murugan
Bhakti.

Those acquainted with Murugan Bhakti know that its annual budget is
miniscule in relation to the resources it provides to devotees,
researchers and others. The Editor and a few assistants work hundreds
of hours annually to maintain and expand Murugan Bhakti websites.
Based in Sri Lanka and India and subsisting on local budgets, they
are in no position to meet the dollar costs associated with hosting
an Internet network.

Again the time has come for us to renew domain registrations and pay
for Internet server space for 2005. Our target is to raise US$ 420
($99 for 11 annual domain registrations plus $320 for 300 MB of
Internet server space for 2005).

If you are one who appreciates the value of Murugan Bhakti websites
and are in a position to help it to continue to serve devotees and
scholars around the world, then we urge you to show your support at
this time. To donate directly to this fund using credit card, go to:

www.xlweb.com/pay/donate/

Or visit the Online Donations page http://murugan.org/appeal.htm or
contact Murugan Bhakti editor Patrick Harrigan.
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V. MURUGAN BHAKTI NEEDS A NEW COMPUTER
Yes, the entire Murugan Bhakti publishing works, both printed and
online, comes from a single overworked computer. Our computer, a Sony
Vaio donated 3-1/2 years ago by a devotee in Atlanta, has logged
uncounted thousands of hours but is now approaching the end of its
useful life.

Murugan Bhakti has accumulated many hours of digital video
documentation from which an documentary on Pada Yatra can be edited
and produced. But our old Sony laptop cannot do it; we need a
standard desktop PC with larger hard drive, CD-writer, more memory
and faster processor. Lately our overworked computer has spent weeks
in the repair shop. The diagnosis: it needs a new motherboard or,
better, it should be replaced altogether.

Can you help by providing a newer used laptop? We can arrange for a
devotee to hand carry it from North America to Sri Lanka or India. Or
could you help us in the purchase of a brand new desktop PC? If so,
contact the Editor, Patrick Harrigan.
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VI. CHANGES COMING TO THE NEWSLETTER
The Murugan Bhakti Newsletter was launched in 1998 as an eGroups.com
newsletter group, until eGroups.com was acquired by Yahoo.com two
years ago.

Kindly note that we are considering changing to Ezine Director, a
free service that offers greater flexibility and supports HTML
newsletters (formatted with graphics, etc.), unlike Yahoo Groups.
Hence, if we migrate to Ezine Director and you start getting email
from www.ezinedirector.com, kindly accept and approve any changes so
your Murugan Bhakti Newsletter subscription can continue unbroken as
we aim to upgrade our service to you.
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Murugan Bhakti Newsletter No. 19 November 2004 issue

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