Events 2014 - 2016

November 5, 2016 Saturday
Deepawali Celebration and Rishi Nirvana Utsav: In the evening of Saturday, Novemebr 5th, there was a grand celebration of Deepawali  and Nirvana of Maharishi Dayananda Saraswati at Arya Samaj.  The program started with a traditional havan, followed by bhajans, a thought provokibng pravachan by Acharya Suryanarayana Nanda Ji, a cultural program by students of D.A.V. Sanskriti and Montessori schools, a talk by the Chief Guest, Dr. Anupam Ray, Consul General of India in Houston.  After Aarti  and Shantipath, the festivities moved to the back of the temple.  There were food stalls of various kinds of indian dishes, hand painting, games for young and older children.  The celebrations concluded with a professional fireworks program.  The celebrations were attended by a hundred of families.  One could see the spirit of celebration in young and old as they mingle and greet each other.

September 24-25, 2016 Saturday and Sunday
Arya Samaj Celebrates 25th Sthapana Divas
Arya Samaj Greater Houston celebrated its Silver Jubilee with a grand two-day program including a health fair, cultural programs by children from D.A.V. Montessori and D.A.V. Sanskrit Schools in addition to traditional havan, bhajans and pravachan.  The festivities started on Saturday morning with many people participating in a 5 km walk followed by a health fair where many physicians talked about some of the health issues prevalent in the community, free check ups, one on one consultations with physicians, and a blood donation drive. Ms. Renu Khator, Chancellor of the University of Houston, was the Guest of Honor on Sunday morning program.  She talked of impact of Arya Samaj on her personal and professional life.  For a review of the proceedings, please click here for an article by Acharya Harish Chandra. To view some pictures of the celebrations, please click here. For a few videos of some performances, please click the following links:

DAVM School PrayerHD
Sanskrit Song - KG & First GradeHD
Play by ElementaryHD
Dance by ElementaryHD
Aarti & Shanti PathHD
Address by Mrs. Renu Khator

May 22, 2016 Sunday

DAVM Graduation: On Sunday, May 22, Arya Samaj celebrated the end of the school year 2015-2016 of DAV Montessori School with a grand celebration including dance and music programs by the student of the school.  Some of the performers were as young as three years old.  The program, emceed by school director, Arti Khanna, reflected the pride of the founders, teachers, staff, volunteers, students and the parents, in the school and its progress as it celebrated its sixteenth birthday. For an article about the celebrations, please click here.

May 15, 2016 Sunday

DAVSS Graduation: On Sunday, May 15, Arya Samaj celebrated the end of the school year 2015-2016 with a grand celebration including dance and music programs.  The program also included honoring of five high school seniors who have been students at DAVSS as well as members of Arya Yuvak Mandal (AYM) and are moving on to university level studies.  For more details about the celebrations, please click here.

March 20, 2016 Sunday

Holi Celebration: On Sunday, March 20, Arya Samaj celebrated Holi, a festival of colors widely celebrated through out India.  The program started with regular satsang, followed by Bhajans, a discourse by Acharya Dharamaveer on passing on Vedic Sanskaara to the next generation. After a delicious lunch, actual festivities started near the outdoor yagya shala where evry one got busy covering each other with dry colors (gulal) of every color available.  For a slide show of the celebrations, please click here.

March 16-20, 2016

Dr. Dharamaveer, a Well Known Vedic Scholar, Visits Houston: March 16th, 7:00-8:30pm:  Ishwar ka Sachha Swaroop. March 17th, 7:00-8:30pm: How to make Arya Samaj more acceptable to masses? March 18th, 7:00-8:30pm: Importance of Vedic scriptures. March 19th, 9:30-11:00am: Upasana & its Mahatva in modern world/times. March 20th, 11:05-11:50am: Giving Vedic Sanskars to the new generation. Audio recordings for some of the lectures are available in the Audio Recordings section of Vedic Dharma drop down of the main page.

January 24, 2016 Sunday
India's Republic Day
Arya Samaj celebrated India's 67th Republic Day (Janatantra Divas) on Sunday, January 24th with a flag hoisting after the satsang. The program  also included a melodius song by students who are taking Music as an elective at D.A.V. Sanskriti School accompanied by their music teacher on harmonium and Shri Chidananda Ji on tabla. A child speaker, Kavya Tomar, spoke about the scene and ambience of a Republic Day Parade in New Delhi, India. Quite a few students, their teachers and many parents were dressed in colors of India's flag. After, the program, all those presented were treated to traditional prasad and ladoos as a special treat for the special day.

November 8, 2015 Sunday
Deepawali
Arya Samaj celebrated Deepawali on November 8th evening.  The program, originally scheduled for November 7th, had to be postponed to November 8th because of potential for rains.  This year, the lobby, the hall and the outdoor activity centres were beautifully decorated by a professional company. The program started at 5 pm with Havan, Bhajans, and a cultural program by students of DAV Montessori and DAV Sanskriti schools. Then, the festivites moved to an outdoor location for a Diwali Mela.  The activites there included food stalls, face painting, moon walks, games and fireworks.  To view some pictures of the celebrations, please click here

May 22, 2016 Sunday

DAVM Graduation: On Sunday, May 22, Arya Samaj celebrated the end of the school year 2015-2016 of DAV Montessori School with a grand celebration including dance and music programs by the student of the school.  Some of the performers were as young as three years old.  The program, emceed by school director, Arti Khanna, reflected the pride of the founders, teachers, staff, volunteers, students and the parents, in the school and its progress as it celebrated its sixteenth birthday. For an article about the celebrations, please click here.

May 15, 2016 Sunday

DAVSS Graduation: On Sunday, May 15, Arya Samaj celebrated the end of the school year 2015-2016 with a grand celebration including dance and music programs.  The program also included honoring of five high school seniors who have been students at DAVSS as well as members of Arya Yuvak Mandal (AYM) and are moving on to university level studies.  For more details about the celebrations, please click here.

March 20, 2016 Sunday

Holi Celebration: On Sunday, March 20, Arya Samaj celebrated Holi, a festival of colors widely celebrated through out India.  The program started with regular satsang, followed by Bhajans, a discourse by Acharya Dharamaveer on passing on Vedic Sanskaara to the next generation. After a delicious lunch, actual festivities started near the outdoor yagya shala where evry one got busy covering each other with dry colors (gulal) of every color available.  For a slide show of the celebrations, please click here.

March 16-20, 2016
Dr. Dharamaveer, a Well Known Vedic Scholar, Visits Houston: March 16th, 7:00-8:30pm:  Ishwar ka Sachha Swaroop. March 17th, 7:00-8:30pm: How to make Arya Samaj more acceptable to masses? March 18th, 7:00-8:30pm: Importance of Vedic scriptures. March 19th, 9:30-11:00am: Upasana & its Mahatva in modern world/times. March 20th, 11:05-11:50am: Giving Vedic Sanskars to the new generation. Audio recordings for some of the lectures are available in the Audio Recordings section of Vedic Dharma drop down of the main page.

January 24, 2016 Sunday
India's Republic Day
Arya Samaj celebrated India's 67th Republic Day (Janatantra Divas) on Sunday, January 24th with a flag hoisting after the satsang. The program  also included a melodius song by students who are taking Music as an elective at D.A.V. Sanskriti School accompanied by their music teacher on harmonium and Shri Chidananda Ji on tabla. A child speaker, Kavya Tomar, spoke about the scene and ambience of a Republic Day Parade in New Delhi, India. Quite a few students, their teachers and many parents were dressed in colors of India's flag. After, the program, all those presented were treated to traditional prasad and ladoos as a special treat for the special day.

July 30 to August 2, 2015, Thursday to Sunday

25th Sammelan of Arya Pratinidhi Sabha of North America: Arya Samaj Greater Houston hosted the Silver Jubilee Sammelan of the Arya Pratinidhi Sabha of North America from July 30th to August 2nd.  This four day conference was attended by delegates from many Arya Samajs in the United States and other countries.  The program included speeches and discussions on religious and organizational topics as well as specific programs for young people.  The program also included cultural programs performed by the students of the D.A.V. Sanskriti and D.A.V. Montessori schools at Arya Samaj Greater Houston.  Please click here some of the programs of the celebrations. Proceedings can also be viewed on www.youtube.com by clicking on the following link. https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCLB-I0hX8V2ljYEqTcgzO5A

May 24, 2015, Sunday

Fifteenth Anniversary of Montessori School at ASGH: The D.A.V. Montessori School celebrated fifteenth anniversary of its founding at Arya Samaj Greater Houston with a widely attended cultural program as a part of the Sunday Satsang.

May 21, 2015, Thursday

Interfaith Ministries Honor Mahajans: Interfaith Ministries of Greater Houston honored Devinder and Dr. Sushma Mahajan at the Tapestry Gala 2015 at Hilton Americas for their lifelong contributions through various charities in Greater Houston and Interfaith tradition.  For an article on the proceedings by Dr. Harish Chandra, please click here.

May 17, 2015, Sunday

Annual Day of D.A.V. Sanskriti School: D.A.V. Sanskriti School celebrated its annual day as apart of the Sunday Satsang.  The program included a cultural program by the students and an award ceremony to honor children who participated in various tests, competitions and other activities of the school.

May 17, 2015, Sunday

A New Resident Priest at ASGH: Shri Dev Mahajan, the Management Coordinator introduced Kavita and Dr. Harish Chandra to the congregation at the Sunday Satsang.  Dr. Harish Chandra Ji, an engineer by education and his previous profession, is coming to your Arya Samaj via United Kingdom.  More details of their biography will be available shortly.

February 27, 28 and March 1, 2015

Self Development and Assistant Yoga Teacher Program: The Patanjali Yogpeeth (USA) Trust organized a Self-Development and Assistant Teacher program at Arya Samaj, Houston.  It was a three day Training program which took place on Feb. 27, 28 and Mar 1 2015. For an article on the program, please click here.

October 25, 2014 Saturday
Deepawali
Arya Samaj celebrated Deepawali on October 25th evening.  The program started at 6 pm with Havan, Bhajans, and a cultural program by students of DAV Montessori and DAV Sanskriti schools. Then, the festivites moved to an outdoor location for a Diwali Mela.  The activites there included food stalls, face painting and fireworks.  To view some pictures of the celebrations, please click here.  To view an article on the celebrations in a community newspaper, please visit http://www.indoamerican-news.com/?p=29351.

August 16-17, 2014 Saturday and Sunday

Arya Samaj Greater Houston Sthapana Divas: Arya Samaj Greater Houston celebrated its foundation with a two-day program on August 16th and 17th in four sessions.  The program was held from 10:00 am to 12:00 noon and 6:30 pm to 8:30 pm on both days and included 25 mantras from each Veda and pravachans and music programs.

August 31, 2014 Sunday

Yoga and Wellness: Dr. Shirley Telles of Patanajali Yogapeeth, Haridwar presented a very informative talk on the role of yoga in wellness and management of certain diseases.  An audio recording of her talk is available in pravachans section of this website.  Also, slides of her presentation can be viewed by clicking here.

June 21-22, 2014 Saturday and Sunday

DAVSS Summer Camp: DAVSS held a two day " My Indian Heritage" Summer Camp for DAVSS Children from 4 to 14 years of age. The camp was held from 10 am to 5 pm on both days and included lessons about Indian Culture and Heritage through a variety of activities, a lot of indoor activities for children like indian trivia, quizzes, yoga, music, puzzles and special classes on our Indian History, Culture, Festivals and Leaders.

March 16, 2014 Sunday

Holi Celebration: On Sunday, March 16, Arya Samaj celebrated Holi, a festival of colors widely celebrated through out India.  The program started with regular satsang, followed by Bhajans, a discourse by Acharya Suryanarayana on significance of Holi, delicious lunch and finally, covering each other with dry colors (gulal) of every color available.  For an article on the celebrations by our Roma Nayyar, please click here. For pictures from the celebration, please click here.

February 23, 2014 Sunday

Readathon 2014 Awards Program: At the regular satsang, Arya Samaj hosted an awards program to honor students and volunteers of DAVSS for organizing the 2014 Readathon to benefit Jeevan Prabhat Pondicherry, India. For a slide show of some pictures from the event, please click here.

January 26, 2014 Sunday

India's Republic Day: After the regular satsang, Arya Samaj celebrated India's Republic Day by hoisting India's tricolor in front of a very well attended gathering.  The celebration also included songs by children of D.A.V. Sanskriti School. For a slide show of some pictures from the celebration, please click here.