Websites from the ISKCON Universe
The attractive 64-page publication, packed with beautiful full-color photos, will be printed on quality matt paper with a firm cover. It is aimed at everyday men and women from all walks of life – academics, students, next-door neighbors, teachers, members of other religions, the media, young and old.
There are many Sydney devotees in Bhakti Vrksa groups who meet regularly and discuss aspects of Krsna Conscious life.
Once a month, four Bhakti Vrksa groups get together and have a program in a Wentworthville hall.
A number of devotee youth also participate in the kirtan, talks and taking of prasadam.
By Madhava Smullen
A group of preschool children, along with their devotee parents and grandparents, bustled excitedly into Gopal’s Garden Homeschool Co-Op for their graduation party on November 5th.
The event had ISKCON New Vrindaban president Jaya Krsna Das calling the Co-Op “community building at its best.”
Gopal’s Garden was established in New Vrindaban, West Virginia – Srila Prabhupada’s first farm community -- in 2007 by Ruci Dasi. It runs to eighth grade, and teaches thirteen students in total.
Its preschool, which cares for eight children aged three to five, was an individual effort launched this April by New Vrindaban residents and parents Sundari Dasi and Mercy.
“We decided to do it as soon as my son Sanjaya and Sundari’s daughter Bhumi were the right age, so that they could be together, and play and learn with other children in the community,” says Mercy, who was born and raised in New Vrindaban and wants to pursue a career in teaching.
Mercy assists head teacher Sundari, who moved to New Vrindaban from Bangalore in 2011 and holds a Montessori teacher training certificate. Under their care from 12:30 to 3:30 each day this year, the children learned basic ABCs, counting, colors, arts and crafts, how to share, hand-eye coordination and speech development along with spiritual projects that put Krishna in the center.
The teachers’ children Bhumi and Sanjaya both attended the recent graduation party at Gopal’s Garden to celebrate their first year of school, along with Malini, Pranaya Keli, Rama Lochana, Nadia, and Harilila. Arjuna, who was absent because he was traveling with his parents, also completed the year.
The event ran from 6 to 8:30pm, beginning with everyone offering ghee lamps together to Lord Damodara, along with the classroom deities of Radha Krishna and Jagannath, Baladeva and Subhadra.
A video presentation entitled “Glimpses of Gopal’s Garden Preschool” followed, showing the young students’ heartwarming participation in Krishna conscious festivals throughout the year.
“For our first festival of the year, Pushpa Abhisekha, we had a picking party with the kids where we picked a bunch of local flowers here in New Vrindaban, then they pulled off the petals and showered the deities with them,” says Mercy. “It was so sweet.”
Next, the children participated in ISKCON New Vrindaban’s Rathayatra by helping to make outfits for their classroom Jagannath Deities, decorating a small cart that community members came together to build, and pulling it while having an ecstatic kirtan. All the parents then made a special offering of cupcakes and cookies to Lord Jagannath, and distributed them to the children.
On Janmastami, the students got to bathe their Radha Krishna Deities in saffron water, and take turns pushing them on a special Jhulan Yatra swing that had been constructed for the occasion.
And on October 25th, a week before Halloween, the teachers and parents got creative and held a Krishna-ized Halloween party with all the children dressed as demons from Srila Prabhupada’s book Krishna: The Supreme Personality of Godhead. The parents then ascended a stage with their child and narrated the pastime of how Lord Krishna dispatched that particular demon.
Meanwhile in honor of the 50th anniversary of Srila Prabhupada’s arrival to the West, the children got to decorate a construction paper “Jaladuta” ship and glue blue cotton balls around it to represent the ocean.
After the video depicting all these activities, the children stood and sang classic gurukula songs like “My Name is Aghasura,” “Krishna’s Devotees Had A Farm,”and Mercy’s own composition to the tune of “Mary Had A Little Lamb” – “Krishna Has A Little Calf.” They also demonstrated their “ABCs.”
Sundari and Mercy then presented proposed plans for improving the preschool in 2016.
“As next year will be more focused on academics and learning, we will introduce a worksheet program, teaching the kids how to trace and write letters so that they can start learning how to write their own names,” says Sundari. “We’ll also start teaching them the Spanish and Sanskrit for English words they’re learning.”
Health will also be a priority. There will be more outdoor games, and yoga taught by Sundari – who has a diploma from Bangalore’s VYASA yoga university – so that the children can burn off their energy and learn motor skills. Lunch time, instead of consisting of store-bought snacks as it did this year, will feature a full meal such as rice, dahl and bread cooked by a different parent each day.
Inside the classroom, individual cubbies will be installed for each child to learn to put away their jackets, shoes and personal items.
And as always, Krishna consciousness will be a priority: a proper altar will replace the current dovetailed bookshelf. “We also want to have a couple of Laddhu Gopal Deities, so that the children can learn to dress Them and offer their food to Them,” Sundari says.
To conclude the graduation program, the children were presented with certificates. Finally, principal Ruci Dasi and president Jaya Krsna Das spoke, thanking Sundari and Mercy for their dedication and enthusiasm and praising how the school has brought the community together.
“It’s wonderful to see the kids hugging each other when they come in, and to see all the parents becoming friends,” said Jaya Krsna. “Many of them would not even know each other if the pre-school didn’t exist, as they live several miles apart from each other.”
He was glad to see the preschool training the children so early in life in Krishna consciousness, in a way that would be a challenge for their parents to do with their busy schedules. He also appreciated that the preschool gave parents, especially mothers, some much needed free time in which to rest, chant, or engage in other activities, while feeling assured that their children are being nicely taken care of.
Weeks after the graduation event, Jaya Krsna is still bubbling over with enthusiasm and appreciation for the preschool.
“For me, it’s just Krishna’s magic,” he says. “These kids are our future; and so the preschool is doing nothing less than building the future of New Vrindaban.”
Veda London and EY Hindu Network presents Life Beyond Borders.
On Sunday morning (15 November), Maharaj led a beautiful Guru Puja in the Panca Tattva building. This was especially auspicious because it was Srila Prabhupada’s Disappearance day. Afterwards, most of the devotees headed towards Srila Prabhupada’s gorgeous Samadhi building. It was a grand occasion. The whole Samadhi was decked out with green and saffron garlands. Srila Prabhupada’s deity and the mural of Srila Prabhupada’s life on the ceiling of the dome, looked outstanding. Many of Srila Prabhupada’s disciples and other senior devotees stood up to give their offerings to Srila Prabhupada and soon thereafter, Maharaj also gave his sweet offering to Srila Prabhupada in front of the assembled vaishnavas.
Maharaj talked about how Srila Prabhupada gave us 64 rounds to chant but the disciples found this difficult so it was reduced to 32 rounds and then with further remonstrations it was finally lowered to 16 rounds. So the fact is, due to Srila Prabhupada’s mercy we are getting the same gift but at a much lower price. By chanting 16 rounds and following the 4 regulative principles, the entire future generation will be able to obtain Srila Prabhupada’s priceless mercy. It is not that the young generation is taking over the power from the elders; they are inheriting the mercy which is flowing down from Srila Prabhupada. And of course Srila Prabhupada always stressed two important aspects: Book distribution and Sridham Mayapur.
Srila Prabhupada ki Jai!
That evening…
Maharaj was sitting casually on his bed while his disciples were sitting on the floor looking up at him. He was in a pensive mood and speaking quietly and slowly on the subject of humour of all things!! And how nothing compares to the incredible humour that is present in the spiritual world. A devotee mentioned the pastime of how Rupa Goswami was meditating on Krsna pulling a tree with Radharani on it and then letting go of the tree and Radharani just went flying through the sky! Quite cartoon-like if one tries to imagine it. The devotees laughed at this pastime and then Maharaj mentioned how in the spiritual world the gopas get onto the hoods of Kaliya and race against each other!! The way Maharaj described it had all the devotees in raptures.
After a while Maharaj decided to read from ‘Srila Prabhupada Recollections’. The topic was on Srila Prabhupada going to the West and managing to accomplish what the big, big sannyasi disciples of Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Thakur could not do. Maharaj gave the example of a person who used rejected pieces of gourd (calabash) to make a veena (an Indian string instrument). Similarly, Srila Prabhupada used the rejected youth of society to establish this movement and learning from history he told his disciples to boldly preach and not just pose in photos with some big men. Intelligent men would appreciate the message, even if they first scoffed at it, just like the Charlie Chaplin film where they initially ridiculed his attire but soon started imitating him due to his sheer boldness.
Maharaj then put his kindle down, looked at us and said to the grhastha devotees that we have to open more temples in the West and turned to the brahmacharis and instructed them to travel and preach. However Maharaj also looked at a few of his grhastha disciples and told them to stay here in Mayapur and then immediately turned to the brahmacharis again saying, “But not you, you have to be in the West and preach up a storm! You only come to the dhamas for pilgrimage, that’s all!”
Maharaj reflected on how Srila Prabhupada wanted his disciples to spread Krsna consciousness everywhere. Just put a sign outside a centre with Iskcon written on it, people will surely come. By now so many people have had exposure to Iskcon.
Everyone in the room fell silent and just meditated on these words whilst he started thinking out aloud his ‘to do’ list for the next Mayapur development meeting; at one point he even looked at all of us and said that after 2 or 3 months he will be looking to phase out of these managerial duties. And certainly by next year, instead of going to the summer management meeting he intends on going to the Pandava Sena retreat in Goloka Dham, Germany.
HH Kadamba Kanana Maharaj ki Jai!
The Terminator star urges people to seek alternative sources of protein and avoid eating meat in order to save the planet.
By Madhava Smullen
A group of preschool children, along with their devotee parents and grandparents, bustled excitedly into Gopal’s Garden Homeschool Co-Op for their graduation party on November 5th.
The event had ISKCON New Vrindaban president Jaya Krsna Das calling the Co-Op “community building at its best.”
Gopal’s Garden was established in New Vrindaban, West Virginia – Srila Prabhupada’s first farm community — in 2007 by Ruci Dasi. It runs to eighth grade, and teaches thirteen students in total.
Its preschool, which cares for eight children aged three to five, was an individual effort launched this April by New Vrindaban residents and parents Sundari Dasi and Mercy.
“We decided to do it as soon as my son Sanjaya and Sundari’s daughter Bhumi were the right age, so that they could be together, and play and learn with other children in the community,” says Mercy, who was born and raised in New Vrindaban and wants to pursue a career in teaching.
Mercy assists head teacher Sundari, who moved to New Vrindaban from Bangalore in 2011 and holds a Montessori teacher training certificate. Under their care from 12:30 to 3:30 each day this year, the children learned basic ABCs, counting, colors, arts and crafts, how to share, hand-eye coordination and speech development along with spiritual projects that put Krishna in the center.
The teachers’ children Bhumi and Sanjaya both attended the recent graduation party at Gopal’s Garden to celebrate their first year of school, along with Malini, Pranaya Keli, Rama Lochana, Nadia, and Harilila. Arjuna, who was absent because he was traveling with his parents, also completed the year.
The event ran from 6 to 8:30pm, beginning with everyone offering ghee lamps together to Lord Damodara, along with the classroom deities of Radha Krishna and Jagannath, Baladeva and Subhadra.
A video presentation entitled “Glimpses of Gopal’s Garden Preschool” followed, showing the young students’ heartwarming participation in Krishna conscious festivals throughout the year.
“For our first festival of the year, Pushpa Abhisekha, we had a picking party with the kids where we picked a bunch of local flowers here in New Vrindaban, then they pulled off the petals and showered the deities with them,” says Mercy. “It was so sweet.”
Next, the children participated in ISKCON New Vrindaban’s Rathayatra by helping to make outfits for their classroom Jagannath Deities, decorating a small cart that community members came together to build, and pulling it while having an ecstatic kirtan. All the parents then made a special offering of cupcakes and cookies to Lord Jagannath, and distributed them to the children.
On Janmastami, the students got to bathe their Radha Krishna Deities in saffron water, and take turns pushing them on a special Jhulan Yatra swing that had been constructed for the occasion.
And on October 25th, a week before Halloween, the teachers and parents got creative and held a Krishna-ized Halloween party with all the children dressed as demons from Srila Prabhupada’s book Krishna: The Supreme Personality of Godhead. The parents then ascended a stage with their child and narrated the pastime of how Lord Krishna dispatched that particular demon.
Meanwhile in honor of the 50th anniversary of Srila Prabhupada’s arrival to the West, the children got to decorate a construction paper “Jaladuta” ship and glue blue cotton balls around it to represent the ocean.
After the video depicting all these activities, the children stood and sang classic gurukula songs like “My Name is Aghasura,” “Krishna’s Devotees Had A Farm,”and Mercy’s own composition to the tune of “Mary Had A Little Lamb” – “Krishna Has A Little Calf.” They also demonstrated their “ABCs.”
Sundari and Mercy then presented proposed plans for improving the preschool in 2016.
“As next year will be more focused on academics and learning, we will introduce a worksheet program, teaching the kids how to trace and write letters so that they can start learning how to write their own names,” says Sundari. “We’ll also start teaching them the Spanish and Sanskrit for English words they’re learning.”
Health will also be a priority. There will be more outdoor games, and yoga taught by Sundari – who has a diploma from Bangalore’s VYASA yoga university – so that the children can burn off their energy and learn motor skills. Lunch time, instead of consisting of store-bought snacks as it did this year, will feature a full meal such as rice, dahl and bread cooked by a different parent each day.
Inside the classroom, individual cubbies will be installed for each child to learn to put away their jackets, shoes and personal items.
And as always, Krishna consciousness will be a priority: a proper altar will replace the current dovetailed bookshelf. “We also want to have a couple of Laddhu Gopal Deities, so that the children can learn to dress Them and offer their food to Them,” Sundari says.
To conclude the graduation program, the children were presented with certificates. Finally, principal Ruci Dasi and president Jaya Krsna Das spoke, thanking Sundari and Mercy for their dedication and enthusiasm and praising how the school has brought the community together.
“It’s wonderful to see the kids hugging each other when they come in, and to see all the parents becoming friends,” said Jaya Krsna. “Many of them would not even know each other if the pre-school didn’t exist, as they live several miles apart from each other.”
He was glad to see the preschool training the children so early in life in Krishna consciousness, in a way that would be a challenge for their parents to do with their busy schedules. He also appreciated that the preschool gave parents, especially mothers, some much needed free time in which to rest, chant, or engage in other activities, while feeling assured that their children are being nicely taken care of.
Weeks after the graduation event, Jaya Krsna is still bubbling over with enthusiasm and appreciation for the preschool.
“For me, it’s just Krishna’s magic,” he says. “These kids are our future; and so the preschool is doing nothing less than building the future of New Vrindaban.”
Bravo, Brave Brahmacharini!
Krishnarupa devi dasi (ACBSP): Resident brahmacharini Jyestha dasi has been recovering from serious brain surgery and is now back in the ashrama. Her brain had been growing too large for her skull, forcing itself down outside the skull cavity and into her spinal cord. The subsequent pressure on her spinal cord caused a massive cyst-like lump called a ‘syrinx’. Operating on the syrinx itself was extremely dangerous, and, as Jyestha describes, “In itself it was a secondary problem”.
Surgeons at the Gold Coast University Hospital removed part of her skull in a procedure called ‘decompression surgery for Budd Chiari malformation’ and filed the thickness right back to make more room for her brain and to lift it off her spinal cord and back into her skull. With her usual humour, she told me, “That hurt. A lot!”
The 10 days post-surgery were extremely painful for her, and the doctors were concerned about the degree of pain and dizziness. However, two kind devotees Radha and Lochanananda visited the hospital to share Damodarastakam prayers with her. The next morning, Jyestha says she woke up “feeling 90 per cent better and could walk without too much pain”.
Let’s all offer prayers in thanks to Radha Govardhanadhari for Jyestha’s safe return to the community. Welcome back, Jyestha!
Australian Youth Bus Tour.
We are pleased to announce the first ever ISKCON Youth Bus Tour Australia in 2016! Ever wanted to check out the amazing places that are tucked away along the east coastline of Australia? This is your chance! From 10–26 January 2016 we are planning two weeks of adventure packed days and kirtana filled nights! Sand tobogganing, surfing, bonfires, waterfall swimming, festival feast cook ups, city sightseeing, maha harinamas and festivals all along the way are only some of the adventures we have in mind.
The year 2016 marks ISKCON’s 50th Anniversary and what better way to celebrate than a travelling bus of inspired youth, the future of the next 50 years of ISKCON.
At the moment, we are looking for expressions of interest, exploring how many of you are keen to spend an awesome two weeks of the summer together. Please visit the Facebook page or website and drop us a comment.
Facebook: Bus Tour Australia
https://www.facebook.com/bustouraustralia
Website: http://bustouraustralia.com/
By His Grace Alone! (Album with photos)
Indradyumna Swami: Towards the end of Kartika our parikrama party journeyed in wooden boats down the sacred Yamuna river to the famed ashram of Durvasa Muni.There we spent a wonderful day chanting the glories of Srila Prabhupada and recounting his pastimes amongst us. All of us realized that it was by his grace alone we had the good fortune to come to Sri Vrindavan dhama.
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By Yamuna Devi Right then and there, I decided that I wanted to feel what they were feeling. It was the real thing—everything I had heard and read about chanting while growing up as a devotee, yet which evaded me as if it were a myth—here it was as clear as day right in front of me, in real live human beings. In a matter of seconds, all my cumulative desires, aspirations, ambitions, priorities and hierarchies faded into the pale, replaced unequivocally by this overbearing drive to taste what they were tasting in this immensely deep, peaceful, prayerful kirtan. This jolted my entire being, literally wak- ing me up from a dullness at least a decade strong. Mystically my senses suddenly seemed to sharpen. For instance, I suddenly became aware of the smell of incense that I couldn’t distinguish minutes earlier. The plants in the middle of the room—I was now convinced they were all tulasi plants. “This is it,” I thought to myself. “This is Vrindavan. This is kirtan. This is Krishna Consciousness.” Continue reading "This is Vrindavan. This is kirtan. This is Krishna Consciousness!
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When couple try to mate to have children they may not have children always but only by Krishna’s blessings they do. How does that work? meaning semen may have soul but cannot turn into a baby in the womb of mother. Also some times prematurely, soul leaves meaning miss carriage? what’s happening? Of course there is a karma factor but its not very clear in this case. please explain
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By Kesava Krsna Dasa
Sometimes devotees think that by working hard for Krishna, on the order of the spiritual master, even if there is some neglect of personal sadhana, hearing and chanting, success in spiritual life is assured come what may. Is this empty optimism? Or does the order of the spiritual master supersede all other considerations?
It is tempting to assure oneself that being engaged in all nine angas of Bhakti to lesser or greater degrees trying to please the guru, the assiduous, intense performance of service can counter and make up the deficit of personal neglect. ‘I am being engaged so much, in fact, I have little time to complete my rounds. But Krishna is merciful. He understands my situation.’
The ‘work now, samadhi later’ ethic can be misunderstood. If working hard now in genuine practical service, furthering the cause of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu is pleasing to Sri Sri Guru and Gauranga, then surely the merciful Lord will overlook these shortfalls ‘ or will He? There were times when the merciful Srila Prabhupada was aware of these problems with some of his GBC men.
After all, by continuous engagement in devotional service, we are assured thus: ‘Therefore, one has to work in Krishna consciousness to satisfy Krishna or Vishnu; and while performing such activities one is in a liberated stage.’ (BG 5.1 purport) Are things really as simple as this? Or is the ‘satisfaction’ of Krishna or Vishnu the real criterion?
By ceaseless exertion, and toiling with blood, sweat and tears, there is no doubt it will be pleasing. But if the guru enquires, as he does with certain disciples, ‘How are your rounds going?’ and is met with an admission of neglect, it will add bitterness to an otherwise sweet return. Do pleasing hard work and disregard of promises made at initiation time go well together?
If the basic vows, especially the chanting of rounds falter, and the sadhana slackens, in spite of being a super-active hard worker, it is indicative of a deficiency in ideal consciousness. Far from being ‘liberated,’ if when the time comes for samadhi, one will not have the slightest taste for it anyway, making it an elusive retirement hole in the ground.
If this trend continues for years up to old age, the grounded consciousness will cause the statement ‘work now, samadhi later’ to become ‘neglectful work now, struggle with samadhi if it ever comes.’ Attaining the level of samadhi is no light matter. ‘Samadhi means ‘fixed mind.” (BG 2. 44 purport) Srila Prabhupada does not mean nistha here either. ‘When the mind is fixed for understanding the self, it is said to be samadhi.’ (BG 2. 44 purport)
Such an understanding surpasses the usual knowledge related to sadhana Bhakti. ‘The highest perfection of self-realization is to understand that one is eternally the servitor of Krishna’.’ (BG 2. 53 purport) To be clearer, Srila Prabhupada is referring to a natural or spontaneous level of devotion; ‘In Krishna consciousness, one comes directly into communion with Krishna, and thus all directions from Krishna may be understood in that transcendental state.’ (BG 2. 53 purport)
If true samadhi is so natural and high by most expectations, then the ‘work now, samadhi later’ command has profound implications if understood properly. Working now really means that while doing active physical service, we simultaneously work to increase the quality of chanting and hearing to the point they cease to be chores. When our chanting and hearing becomes a natural exciting relish, this should stand us in good stead for samadhi.
If however, after years of neglect doing pleasing great service, the time for samadhi may never arrive at all. One will have to struggle to attain nistha and ruci at least, as if by force, which would render the whole exercise a troublesome one. It will be like a neophyte or a mystic yogi trying to get somewhere: ‘The concentration of the mystic is mechanical, whereas that of the pure devotee is natural and spontaneous.'(SB 1.9.39 purport)
While a lot can be said about the immense devotee-power and never-ending hours required keeping Iskcon going, it would be a worthwhile effort to realize that the ‘samadhi later’ goal should not be impeded. Indeed it began ‘yesterday’ and is an ongoing quest to apply the saying ‘the end justifies the means.’ Only samadhi can be a true end to a life of sensible work.
Ys, Kesava Krsna dasa ‘ GRS.
Does semen from men contain souls in it? or men has the ability to create, carry souls with in them in the form of semen? Or soul only enter when female release egg and semen enter into it to make a life?
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By Satyaraja Dasa Honesty and truthfulness, then, are two essential elements of humility. They manifest as one's ability to honestly assess oneself, to recognize and admit one's own faults and defects as a conditioned jiva, and to admit the truth of one’s compromised situation. Sadly, many of us try to create a false image of ourselves, both to posture, to convince ourselves of our own greatness, and to manipulate others into believing that we are great, too. Only through internal honesty can we begin to make real progress in spiritual life. Thus, to clean out the conditioning that has accumulated in the heart over many lifetimes, one has to first recognize its presence, to admit that it is there, and then to do the needful -- to remove it in all earnestness. Without such truthfulness, how can we make tangible progress in developing humility? Continue reading "Least But Not Last: A Few Words on Humility
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Raman Reti Apartments Vrindavan.
An exclusive Iskcon UK development for UK devotees, members and patrons. Conveniently located very close to the Krishna Balaram Temple inside the parikram path next to BB Govinda Swami and Indradyumna Swami. Only 2 Units left!
Apartments are designed with many “green” features to help preserve the Vrindavan environment and are as Vastu compliant where practical within the constraints of the building site.
The post What was Prahlada Maharaja, a Krsna bhakta, Narayana bhakta or Nrsimha bhakta? appeared first on SivaramaSwami.com.
By Keshav
On Friday, December 4, 2015, members of the ISKCON Toronto Temple Council were invited to attend an official “Meet-and-Greet” with the Toronto Police. Aimed at bringing together members of the Toronto Police with leaders from the South and West Asian communities, the event was held at the beautiful headquarters of the Toronto Police, located at 40 College Street, right in the heart of downtown Toronto.
The event saw close to 100 attendees from all different communities and organizations. The highlight was the attendance of Police Chief Mark Saunders. He addressed the crowd with a nice speech about how the Toronto Police deeply value the contributions of community leaders.
There were also speeches and presentations from other groups and community leaders. The host then invited any attendees to come forward and introduce themselves and their organization. We had a chance to introduce our temple, what we do and the ways that we serve the community at large!
With that, the event continued with mingling over food and refreshments. Very nice connections were made and we are looking forward to attending future events with the Toronto Police!
More photos: http://iskcontoronto.blogspot.it/2015/12/south-asian-leaders-meet-and-greet-with.html
A visit to ISKCON New Govardhana - Sri Sri Radha Govardhanadhari (Album with photos)
Oh, how glorious are they whose tongues are chanting Your holy name! Even if born in the families of dog-eaters, such persons are worshipable. Persons who chant the holy name of Your Lordship must have executed all kinds of austerities and fire sacrifices and achieved all the good manners of the Aryans. (Srimad-Bhagavatam 3.33.7 Purport)
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December 9. ISKCON 50 – S.Prabhupada Daily Meditations.
Anyone who studies Prabhupada’s books becomes educated in the most important subject. Whenever a follower of Prabhupada hears a discussion of God-consciousness, he spots contradictions or a “poor fund of knowledge” wherever it occurs. Even a young brahmacari can note the flaws in the presentations of learned theologians or clergymen. Theologians are puzzled as to “why bad things happen to good people.” Some of them theorize that God may be all good, but He is not all powerful. Some say that God cannot have a form, or that God exists only in human relationships – but one who knows Srila Prabhupada’s teachings can see this is a poor fund of knowledge. One of the benefits of a good education in any field is that one easily handles opposition from prejudiced or ignorant persons. Sometimes Prabhupada would be challenged, “What is your faith?” Prabhupada usually replied, “It is not faith, it is fact.” He also said, “You may believe or not believe, that is a different thing.”
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Bada Hari Prabhu Kirtan
Friday, 13 November
Maharaj took his leave of Vraj and the sunburnt plains of North India and headed for the lush, tropical delta of Bengal in East India. Specifically to the Holy Dham of Mayapur, home of Caitanya Mahaprabhu and his intimate associates. When driving from Kolkata airport to Mayapur, one gets a real glimpse of the Bengali countryside. It hasn’t been hit so hard by industrialisation so it looks quite similar to how it would’ve been 500 years ago. Even from a material perspective, it’s an attractive place – flat as a pancake, covered with a carpet of green and liberally sprinkled with coconut and palm trees, huge lakes and shimmering rivers. One can easily imagine the Lord in his childhood frolicking about in these fields and taking dips in the rivers.
Of course, the material world is never so simple! So for us mere mortals, one also had to deal with mosquitoes, the humidity and a bewildering array of creepy crawlies. Maharaj arrived late in the evening and was provided with his regular room at the end of the senior brahmachari ashram. Not surprisingly Maharaj was pretty tired and swiftly took rest.
Saturday, 14 November 2015
Disciples, admirers and friends came to see Maharaj the next day. It was good to see that he had recovered from his shingles but he also mentioned various health issues he had to deal with. A lot of it was just down to the ageing process and Maharaj accepted it in a naturally philosophical manner. His room was in a good location with plenty of sunshine coming through and a balcony which had a direct view of the TOVP domes. A magnificent sight. When asked what his plans are in Mayapur, there was an instant come back, “Meetings, meetings and more meetings!!” He is a key member of the Mayapur development committee but one sensed that he was doing this service more out of duty than relish!
At lunchtime, Maharaj was with a host of disciples namely Nimai Prabhu (his personal servant), Tulasi Prabhu (a wonderful disciple from Bulgaria), Pradyumna Prabhu (a family man and disciple from Germany) and Sridhar Prabhu (a disciple and electrician from South Africa). Maharaj was giving them all advice for their spiritual lives and he asserted the point of being the ten percent that does ninety percent of the work in the movement.
He also encouraged his grhastha disciples to move to Mayapur and the value of going there, particularly to Sridhar Prabhu who was abroad for the first time. Sridhar had decided within a day to come to Mayapur, got an instant visa and even though he had trouble with customs and was only here for three days, he stated that he wouldn’t have given up this moment for anything.
Soon the mood became lighter as Maharaj and his disciples had a conversation about the different nations and their varying national characters! Maharaj found the Germans to be more polite than the English, particularly in airports. There was also talk about the crime rate in Vrindavana, some devotees looked a little concerned but Maharaj pointed out to try and see Krsna in everything, just keep looking for Krsna and we will be fine. Then he spoke at length to Sridhar Prabhu about life in South Africa.
I also asked Maharaj about his meetings in Mayapur and he talked about the immense work needed to develop the Mayapur city complex. Quite mind boggling; there was talk of nodes, transport links, housing, electricity, water, etc. as well as liaising with the Indian government and especially the local government. No mean feat, indeed! We talked about dealing with the locals, I mentioned how the Vraj locals seem to have more of an edge to them than the Nawadvip locals. Maharaj laughed, “That’s what you think!”
Shortly after, a tall Czech devotee came and identified that he doesn’t really feel like he gels with the Czech temple and struggles with reconciling his Czech identity. Maharaj made the point that whatever body we have will stay with us and will colour how we are seen by the world. Maharaj is always the ‘Dutchman’ even though he has been living in different countries for decades now. At the same time, depending on one’s nature, one will thrive in a certain type of temple. For example, the Czech culture has that old Soviet style authority about it which permeates the mood of that temple. It will resonate with some but not with others.
In a similar vein the Manor temple in England has a certain corporate flavour to it and this won’t be everyone’s cup of tea either. He said this while grinning at the British guy in the group… myself!
HH Kadamba Kanana Maharaj ki Jai!
True Education
