Shree Lakshmi Narayan Hindu Temple Bradford

Thought for the Day : Life is what you make it.

                                                           "MIND"                                                      

 There are three Saktis (powers, potencies) in the mind, viz., Ichha Sakti (Will), Kriya Sakti (Action) and Jnana Sakti (Knowledge). A desire arises in the mind. This is Ichha Sakti. The mind exerts to have this desire gratified. This is Kriya Sakti. It plans, schemes and finds out methods, etc., for the achievement of the desired object. This is Jnana Sakti.

Vedana-Sakti (power of perception), Smarana-Sakti or Smriti-Sakti (power of memory), Bhavana-Sakti (Power of imagination), Manisha-Sakti (power of judgment), Ichha-Sakti or Sankalpa-Sakti (will or volition) and Dharana-Sakti (power to hold) are the six important powers of the mind.

                                                                  Vedana-Sakti

Vedana-Sakti is power of cognition or sensation or power of perception and knowing through Indriyas or senses (Indriya-Jnana or sense-knowledge).

                                                                    Smriti-Sakti

The Smriti-Sakti does three things. It grasps. It holds. It brings to memory whenever a thing is needed. Though the power of grasping is done by the Vedana-Sakti of the mind (power of perception or cognition), the Smriti-Sakti also participates in the act of grasping.

Suppose you hear the sound of a bell in the temple. The memory Sakti grasps it. Then it retains it through Dharana. When you hear again the sound of the temple bell, it at once reminds you, "This is the temple bell. This is not the hostel bell."

In Dhyana, the mind grasps and takes possession of its perceptions or judgments. It makes the content of the idea its own. It strengthens the Samskaras so that a voluntary recall is rendered easy. 

                                                                      Bhavana-Sakti

You have never seen an elephant riding a cycle. When a man, who has actually seen it, gives you a description, your mind forms a mental picture at once. This is done by the Bhavana-Sakti (power of imagination) of the mind. 

                                                                       Manisha-Sakti

Power of comparing and contrasting, drawing inferences, discussion, conclusion, all belong to Manisha-Sakti of the mind. The Manisha-Sakti (power of judgment) has got two subdivisions, viz., Nirnaya (ascertainment) and Tarka (logical reasoning).

A is mortal. B is mortal. C is mortal. Again, all men are mortal. Mr. Choudhary is a man. Therefore, Choudhary is mortal. These sorts of drawing conclusions through inductive and deductive logic with major and minor premises and middle term or through the five parts of syllogistic reasoning of Gautama Rishi's Indian Logic (Nyaya) are done by Manisha-Sakti of the mind with the help of Nirnaya and Tarka.

Tarka has got two other subdivisions, viz., Anumana (inference) and Paramarsa (discussion). When you see a river in full flood in the morning, you infer that there ought to have been rain during previous night. When you see smoke on the hills, you infer that there ought to be fire also on the hill. This is due to Anumana. 

                                                                         Ichha-Sakti

Will is Atma-Sakti. It is the dynamic aspect of Brahman. Will is Brahman in motion. In Vedanta, will plays a very conspicuous part.

Much has been said about the power of imagination in the West-that it is the most tremendous power in the human mind and that in a conflict between the will and the imagination, the imagination would invariably win the day.

Some people say that the will is greater than imagination. In the East, amongst the Vedantins, will is regarded as a greater faculty than imagination. What would the imagination do without the impelling power of the will to execute with dynamic power the desires, wishes and ideals?

There is correlation, co-ordination and co-operation between the different principles in the mind. Therefore, who can say which is great or small, important or unimportant when each depends upon the other for its power? It cannot be truly said that the one is greater than the other, for their independence and power are derived from one another.

                                                                       Dharana-Sakti

Dharana-Sakti (power to hold) is really a part of memory or Smarana-Sakti. In common parlance, we say, "Mr. Ramakrishna is a man of good Dharana in Vedanta." Here it means that Mr. Ramakrishna has got fixed and steady ideas in Vedanta. He cannot be changed by anybody. He is not of a wavering nature. He sticks to Vedanta alone. Nobody can shake him. 

To be continued:-

                            Forthcoming programmes

If you want to book any programme in Mandir, Kindly contact us at 01274-395603 to leave message;

Pandit ji Mob: 07790614916.

Mr Baldev Krishen: 01274 307811 or 07448269808.

For Visit by School/College Group to Mandir, please contact Interfaith Education Centre 01274 378412

Yoga Class every Thursday from 6.30 to 8.00 P.M


All are welcome to attend the following programmes:-


17th February 2015
Tuesday		 Puja 6:00 pm onwards
The temple is open all day 		Maha Shivratri celebration and Puja
Please contact Shri Baldevji to participate also contact for Mukhya Yajman.
22nd February 2015
Sunday		4:00 pm- 6:20 pmDr Prem Bihran Hamal and Family

Sankirtan, arti and Priti Bhojan

Temple Opening Times from Monday to Sunday 9.00AM to 12.15 and 4.30pm to 7.15 PM

 Shree Lakshmi Narayan Hindu Temple - Bradford

The Queen's Visit

The Queen and Prince Phillip visited the Bradford Temple to inaugurate our new worship hall on 24th May 2007 in the presence His Holiness Sri Swami Gopalsharandevacharya ji Maharaj. The president of Hindu Cultural Society, Mr Baldev Krishen, Mr A P Dharni (Chairman of Trustees) and Vice Chairman Mr S Balakrishanan received and welcomed Her Majesty to the new Temple. It was a very honoured occasion for the Hindu community of Bradford and West Yorkshire. There were other dignitaries and VIPs gracing the occasion including His Excellency Mr Kamlesh Sharma, High Commission of India and local Councillors and MP's. Mr Kamal jit Sharma (Secretary) conducted the welcome ceremony and Mr Subash Dharni welcomed all members. Dr Shakti Dhar Sharma (priest) recited the mantras and welcomed Her Majesty and Prince Phillip with garlands. It was a  very joyous occasion for everyone. Click here for more info ...

The New Hindu Temple and Community Centre Appeal

The Hindu Cultural Society of Bradford has engaged in an ambitious project to build a new Hindu Temple and Community Centre on Leeds Road, Bradford 3, West Yorkshire.
The Hindu Community first settled in the Leeds Road area of Bradford in the sixties and now numbers about 7,000 in and around the Bradford district. Since these early days, some of us set up businesses in a variety of fields. We diverged throughout the district and we believe that we have made a significant contribution to both the city’s economic and cultural life.
Many of our children have benefited from the educational system and have gone on to pursue careers in the professions and businesses. As a community, we are grateful to Bradford and the opportunities, it has given us. We now wish to put something back.
We first established our Temple and Community Centre in a disused Social Club on Leeds Road in the sixties. This building is old and requires constant repair and is also insufficient to meet our needs. We embarked on an ambitious project to build a new Temple and Community Centre. These will be separate buildings that will look like a single building. The design of Temple will reflect our cultural and religious heritage, but also reflect the architectural style of Bradford and it will be finished in Yorkshire Stone. We hope that the building will show that we are British Hindus.
The Community Centre will provide facilities for our Elderly Day Care services, educational and cultural activities along with our religious festivals. The Centre will be available for any community group to use. There will be facilities for Football, Badminton, Basketball and Volleyball along with a Stage and Kitchen facilities. We hope to encourage other communities to get to know us and share our rich cultural and religious heritage. Over 2,000 school children visited our present Temple, last year and we will continue to welcome them and other groups in years to come.
Work on the new Temple started in June this year and is now will underway. We hope to start the second phase, the Community and Sports Centre next year. The total c ost of the project will be about £5 millions. Where ever possible, we have used West Yorkshire companies to carry out the work. The main Contractor, Brenville Construction Ltd, is Bradford based.
We have already collected nearly £1 million in pledges, but there is still a long way to go. We are now making appeal to the Hindu Community at larg e and the business community for their help. We hope that our Temple will be a major boost to Bradford’s regeneration and be an important gateway building on Leeds Road to the City Centre. We would be most grateful if everybody can support and contribute financially towards this worthy cause. Should you require any further information to make a generous contribution, please contact us.
About Temples

Temples or Mandirs (abode or dwelling) or Devalaya (abode of God) play central role in the lives of Hindus. They attract the follower to a place that is considered to be the ‘Kingdom of God’ where one can see God, render service to Him, learn about Him and associate with His devotees so as to make the path home, back to Godhead easier.

The unique feature of the Vedic (Hindu) teaching is that it can be applied, with the guidance of a spiritual teacher, according to time, place and circumstance. Temples in the West have adopted this same approach without loosing their essential function. Besides solely being the place of worship, they also accommodate recreational and social functions.

The first Hindu temple in Britain opened in late 1920s near Earls Court, London, and functioned for about four years. Over 20 years later a ‘home temple’ with stunning Deities began Hindu worship in North London, which still continues today. But it wasn’t till the arrival of the Hindu community in late 60s and early 70’s that many temples came into existence. They continue to serve the British community with the same spirit of dynamism as the temples in India have done for thousands of years.