Sri Jagannatha Ratha Yatra 2015 in Borneo Island, Malaysia
→ ISKCON Malaysia

BY VISHAKA SUSEVINI DEVI DASI

 

KUCHING - ISKCON Kuching, Sarawak, for the 8th consecutive time held its’ annual Jagannath Ratha Yatra festival with great pomp and gaiety on Saturday 20th June, 2015. The beautifully decorated chariot carrying Lordships Jagannatha, Baladeva and Subadhra Maharani started proceeding from Sri Maha Mariamman Temple, Batu Lintang at 4 p.m. and ended at 7 p.m. at the Hare Krishna Multipurpose Hall, Batu Kawa, next to ISKCON Kuching’s Lakshmi Narasimha Temple.

The chariot was preceded by an elaborately decorated float which came with a beautiful touch of splendor, i.e the portrayal of Lord Ram-Sita-Lakshman-Hanuman by the children of ISKCON Kuching. The procession’s commencement was officiated by His Holiness Bhanu Maharaj and Mr. Lo Khere Chiang, Chairman of Padawan Municipal Council, Kuching. Hundreds of devotees thronged the streets to catch a glimpse of the majestic deities, to pull the chariot along on the ropes and offer archanas to the merciful Lordships to obtain benediction. Many others were simply absorbed into the transcendental sound of Hare Krishna Maha Mantra, chanting and dancing through ecstatic kirtan that was taking place in front of the chariot.


Upon reaching the Hare Krishna Multipurpose Hall, a grand mass of fireworks and Lion Dance performance by the Chinese Association welcomed the glorious deities. Kripa Sindhu Krishna Dasa, Temple President of ISKCON Kuching addressed the crowd with a warm welcome, thanked all organizations, congregation members of ISKCON especially devotees from West Malaysia who were about 90 of them this year, who took the trouble to fly over to Sarawak to extend their full support. This was followed by Simheswara Dasa’s speech, Regional Secretary of ISKCON Malaysia who appreciated the crowd for their participation and glorified this year’s Kuching Ratha Yatra celebration because it coincided with Purusottama month, which added more auspiciousness to this event. He also strongly recommended everyone to offer ghee lamps, chant and take prasadam during this holy month to purify ourselves and receive the Lord’s blessings. Next was a spiritual discourse by HH Bhanu Maharaj, who pointed mainly to the importance of love for God, and Lord Krishna is the Supreme Personality of Godhead and the Absolute Truth.

Lastly, our very own well-wisher, YB Datuk Yong Khoon Seng, former Deputy Minister of Works graced this event as the guest of honor and commended ISKCON Kuching team for utilizing the multipurpose hall for the benefit of local communities such as for tuition lessons and dance classes. Later, he pledged to fix the air-conditioners to make the hall fully functional again so that it could be utilized to generate sustainable revenues for the temple. Thereafter, HH Bhanu Maharaj officiated the event together with leaders from Padawan Municipal Council, NGO and other organizations, followed by a cake cutting ceremony.


The program for the evening henceforth featured a variety of presentations including several dance performances by Ministry of Tourism and Culture Malaysia that signified the diverse and multi-ethnic population of the country. The children and youth of ISKCON Kuching, created a home production comprising of Sita-Ram drama, light dance and various Krishna Lila dance that mesmerized the crowd. In the meantime, Prasadam, the feast of love and devotion prepared by devotees was served to approximately 500 guests where various types of pure vegetarian food and sweets were distributed out.

 

 

With the prasadam distribution and grand finale of performances, the 8th Ratha Yatra festival organized by ISKCON Kuching Malaysia came to an end. May everyone be blessed immensely by the merciful glance of Lordships Jagannatha, Baladeva and Subadhra Maharani. Jagannath Ratha Yatra Ki JAI!

Prabhupada’s legacy lives on
→ The Spiritual Scientist

“It’s an astonishing story. If someone told you a story like this, you wouldn’t believe it. Here’s this person, he’s seventy years old, he’s going to a country where he’s never been before, he doesn’t know anybody there, he has no money, has no contacts. He has none of the things, you would say, that make for success. He’s going to recruit people not on any systematic basis, but just picking up whomever he comes across and he’s going to give them responsibility for organizing a worldwide movement. You’d say, ‘What kind of program is that?’ There are precedents perhaps. Jesus of Nazareth went around saying, ‘Come follow me. Drop your nets, or leave your tax collecting, and come with me and be my disciple.’ But in his case, he wasn’t an old man in a strange society dealing with people whose backgrounds were totally different from his own. He was dealing with his own community. Bhaktivedanta Swami’s achievement, then, must be seen as unique.”

– Historian of Religion Prof Thomas Hopkins in Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna: Five Distinguished Scholars on the Krishna Movement in the West

 

This astonishing story has continued for many decades even after Hopkins’ insightful observation, though of course not at the same dramatic scale or pace. In this article, I will try to document how the legacy of bhakti-yoga that Srila Prabhupada brought to the world is continuing and expanding even now.

Srila Prabhupada wanted to share his love for Krishna with the whole world and to fulfill that divine aspiration he urged his followers distribute more books, build more temples and make more devotees. Therefore, the movement he started, popularly known as the Hare Krishna movement, has often used success in these activities as its definition of success. And rightly so, because these activities have been and will continue to be pivotal in shaping the movement’s composition, outreach and trajectory. But the movement often gets reduced to these highly visible activities alone, and much has already been written on these activities. Therefore, I will dwell on other ways in which the bhakti legacy moves on. I will not attempt a comprehensive analysis of the entire movement – that is a task best left to a historian. Nor do I claim that the examples of ongoing legacy I talk about are the most important or the most representative; these are just the examples that strike me from my limited perspective as a second-generational Indian member.

Emergence of a vibrant congregation

Perhaps the single most striking feature of the Hare Krishna movement’s history is its shift from a temple-based movement to a congregation-based one. The word ‘congregation’ is used conventionally to refer to any group of people who come together, often for religious purposes. However, within ISKCON lexicon, it refers more specifically to the householder devotees, in contradistinction with the renunciates.

ISKCON started in America and spread to other places in the Western world. In those parts, its devotional culture was so utterly different from mainstream Western culture that devotees felt the only way they could practice their adopted spiritual culture was by moving into the temple, which offered a safe haven from the materialistic outside world. Predictably, many of the movement’s initial members were renunciates. But as the years passed, most devotees found their initial zeal of having joined an exotic movement cooling down. And more and more devotees acted on their natural desire to get married and have families and careers. For its first decade or so, ISKCON had more than ninety percent of members residing in the temple. Now, it has more that ninety percent members staying outside the temple. This dramatic shift in demography initially caused some concern among some of the movement’s leaders that its spiritual standards would be diluted. But what emerged was not as much dilution as consolidation – devotees settled to a level of practice that they could sustain throughout their lives. Indeed, some congregation members have gradually become so dedicated as to manage entire temples themselves with no renunciates in the community. Even in many of the temples where renunciates are present in leading positions, the congregation still takes managerial initiative, and the renunciates often play only advisory and pastoral roles. Congregation members also occupy the highest ecclesiastical positions in the movement including those of gurus and Governing Body Commission (GBCs) members.

As the composition of the movement has changed from renunciates to householders, its mode of interaction with the world has changed from renunciation to penetration. In its first few decades, the robe-clad shaven-headed monks dancing and distributing literature on streets were the movement’s defining face. They exist even now, but they no longer represent the movement’s cross-section. A well-educated family with members in influential professional positions in mainstream society is as much integral to the movement as is the quintessential common man (or woman). The tech-savvy colleague sitting next to you in your office may well be a Hare Krishna, a modern bhakti-yogi who has both penetrated into and integrated with the mainstream culture. Each member performs, according to individual nature and commitment, a delicate dance of balance between tradition and modernity.

Establishment of vibrant systems of education

Srila Prabhupada emphasized that devotees study systematically the Vedic scriptures he translated and commented. Such study would deepen their philosophical conviction and fine-tune their spiritual practices. Accordingly, ISKCON temples diligently conduct a daily morning class on the sacred Srimad Bhagavatam, a devotional classic and a central book in the movement’s cannon. Additionally, ISKCON has come up with programs for systematic scriptural study catering to all its members from newcomers to seasoned practitioners. Most centers conduct periodically introductory Gita or yoga courses that give newcomers an overall grasp of the coherence and relevance of these wisdom-sources. For regular practitioners, many temples as well as specially customized educational centers offer the Bhakti Shastri course that provides progressive study of the movement’s basic canonical literature. With an ISKCON Board of Education in place for supervising pedagogical standards, thousands of students from all over the world have availed themselves of the course. Additionally, many devotee-communities have started schools for providing their children with holistic education – education that teaches not just material knowledge and skills that secular schools offer but also spiritual wisdom and values that the tradition offers. Further, for youth studying in universities, several temples have started customized youth centers near colleges. These centers provide students havens for community and spirituality – they are places where they can de-stress from the academic tension of their competitive careers.

Evolution of multifarious community support systems

The schools and other educational centers are just one of the community support systems that the movement has developed. ISKCON has been at the forefront in reaching out to the larger community through its extensive food relief programs. Hare Krishna Food for Life is the world’s largest vegetarian food relief organization. With projects in over 60 countries, it provides over 1.5 million free meals daily, including in disaster-struck areas in various parts of the world. The Indian wing of this initiative, ISKCON Food Relief Foundation, runs a “Mid-day Meal” program for school children, wherein it feeds over 1.2 million students from all backgrounds nutritious and delicious food.

To provide philosophical and practical guidance to members, devotee communities in various parts of the world have developed devotee care systems such as the counselor system. To help devotees find compatible spouses, marriage boards and other matrimonial portals, physical and digital, have been set up. To help train talented and dedicated young devotees to take up the mantle of the movement’s leadership and thereby facilitate a smooth succession from one generation of leaders to the next, various leadership-training forums have also been established.

Devotee-professionals have also set up other community service centers such as hospitals and hospices. The bhakti tradition lays great importance on departing from the world in a spiritually conducive circumstance and consciousness. Accordingly, devotees have set up a hospice in the holy land of Vrindavan, where committed practitioners can prepare to face life’s final exam – death – in a setting that is medically competent and spiritually conducive. As their body takes its inevitable course towards destruction, their soul takes its conscientious course towards spiritual elevation, if not liberation. Similar hospices are coming up in Mayapur and other places too.

Spreading of eco-friendly culture

Srila Prabhupada repeatedly stressed the principle of simple living and high thinking – and wanted to demonstrate it through self-sufficient communities that featured God-centered eco-friendly living. In fact, in his cutting critique of the materialistic civilization encroaching recklessly on nature, Srila Prabhupada was remarkably prescient. Over the last four decades since Prabhupada’s critique, many studies have shown how indiscriminate exploitation of the environment has jeopardized the future of humanity, indeed of the earth itself. As the world is becoming increasingly aware of the staggering ecological and economic costs of our past centuries of environmental exploitation, green consciousness is rising. Bhakti-yoga takes this ascent of human consciousness towards its zenith in Krishna consciousness, which re-envisions the universe as a cosmic family with God as the father, nature as the mother and all living beings – not just human beings – as children.

This inclusive vision provides an additional impetus towards raising eco-awareness in the form of vegetarianism. (Studies have shown that the production and consumption of non-vegetarian food causes climate change much more than the pollution from all the world’s vehicles.) ISKCON has been a global pioneer in spreading vegetarianism, especially in the Western world. This pioneering is not just philosophical in terms of offering a more spiritual and dignified conception of our non-human brothers and sisters, but also practical – ISKCON through its many food distribution outlets provided profusely an array of delectable vegetarian cuisines of Krishna-prasad to a world that had mistakenly equated vegetarianism with a diet of just vegetables.

In addition to contributing to the mainstreamization of vegetarianism, ISKCON has also developed in various parts of the world eco-friendly communities that subsist on “the land, the cow and Krishna.” Initially these communities tried to avoid all modern things, but in time each of these arrived at its own balance regarding utilizing both nature’s resources and modern amenities. Today many of these communities serve as not just serene spiritual sanctuaries but also as crucibles of ecological research – they demonstrate prosperity through living in harmony with nature as a viable, even preferable, alternative to prosperity by exploiting nature.

Presence in the academia

No movement can exist in a social vacuum, oblivious to the intellectual and cultural trends of the larger society of which it is a part. A major place where such trends are understood is the academy with its study of religion being especially relevant to religious organizations. The academy shapes significantly public perceptions of a religion, especially in places where that religion is a minority religion and so is more learned than lived by the mainstream society. This applied to ISKCON in the Western world, where the bhakti culture ubiquitous in traditional India was seen as utterly foreign, if not incomprehensibly alien.

To help correct such perceptions, some devotee-intellectuals felt inspired to enter the academy for gaining formal training to present respectably the tradition’s voice in today’s multi-cultural milieu. Such an outreach of the tradition to the academy has important precedents – Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Thakura, the spiritual master of Srila Prabhupada, sent one of his scholarly disciples Sambidanand Das to London for doing his doctorate thesis on the history and the literature of the Gaudiya Vaishnavas. Traditionalists often find the academy’s approach to studying religion as distressingly unsympathetic to insider perspectives – the output of academic study can sometimes be summed in the epitaph, “Operation successful, patient dead.” Yet discerning traditionalists know that the academy will continue to shape the tradition’s public perception and if that perception is to reasonably reflect the reality of the tradition’s contributions, the onus falls not so much on academic scholars who are often not privy to insider perspectives as on insiders who need to academically train themselves to present the insider perspective in a manner intelligible to the outsider.

The late Tamal Krishna Goswami, one of the movement’s most prominent leaders and a sannyasi-guru, gave a major boost to the tradition’s thrust on academic penetration by himself entering into the academy and writing a seminal thesis on Srila Prabhupada’s theological contributions. Other devotee-scholars have written defining books on the other important leaders of the tradition – Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Thakura and Bhaktivinoda Thakura – as well as on the foundational books of the tradition, namely the Bhagavad-gita and the Srimad Bhagavatam. Satyaraja Dasa, along with other scholars, has founded a Journal for Vaishnava Studies that has become a major voice in the deep study of the Vaishnava tradition. Devotee-scholars joined hands with the broader Hindu community to set up the Oxford Center for Hindu Studies (OCHS) at Oxford to create a vibrant example of contemporary scholarship. In an academy shaped by Abrahamic stereotypes of religion and dominated by non-dualist perceptions of Hinduism, devotee-scholars have done pioneering work in ensuring that insider perspectives and the bhakti tradition are their due place in the academic study of Hinduism.

Of course, the legacy of love that is the bhakti tradition continues most vibrantly not in the external structures and systems but in the hearts of the thousands of practitioners for whom by their daily devotional and meditational practices Krishna becomes an increasingly intimate reality – a reality that they resourcefully share with others, thereby bringing serenity amidst anxiety, spirituality amidst materialism and purposefulness amidst pointlessness.

(This article is written in connection with the upcoming 50th anniversary celebrations of the establishment of ISKCON)

New Vrindaban Community Tour Reveals Renovated Deity Facilities and More
→ New Vrindaban Brijabasi Spirit

Radha Vrindaban Chandra Gopal Nathji Gaura Nitai New Vrindaban

The main altar at the Sri Sri Radha Vrindaban Chandra’s Temple.

By Madhava Smullen

The community parikrama on the second morning of this spring’s ISKCON New Vrindaban and ECO-V Joint Board Meetings revealed a host of exciting renovations, showing that the efforts of recent years are beginning to bring a new sheen to a once crumbling infrastructure.

The March 15th tour began at 10:00am with a tangible sense of anticipation as residents and board members alike crowded into the hallway outside Sri Sri Radha-Vrindabanchandra’s Deity kitchen to the pounding of mridanga drums and chanting of the Hare Krishna mantra.

Offering a ghee lamp and breaking a ceremonial coconut in the doorway, head priest Abhinandana Das welcomed everyone to follow a path of brightly colored rice mandalas into the newly renovated kitchen.

Visitors were met with bright new white paint on the walls, gleaming stainless steel counters, sinks and stove, and an overall polished, professional and mode-of-goodness feel. Everywhere, ceremonial ribbons, fruit and vegetables created a celebratory, auspicious scene.

After community president Jaya Krishna Das offered arati to pictures of Sri-Sri Radha-Vrindabanchandra, Lord Nrsimhadava and a small murti of Srila Prabhupada, milksweet cook Dhara Dasi boiled the first pot of milk for the Lord in the new kitchen, and the devotees cheered.

Facilities manager Gopisa Das then explained how the walls had been cleaned, stripped and painted, broken tile removed from the floor, and the floor painted and refinished to lessen the danger of slipping. The ceiling had also been refinished, and new lighting, more spacious sinks and an expanded area for the Lord’s plates installed.

Gopisa added that more renovations were still to come later in the spring, including new pot racks, heavy rubber non-slip mats, and new flooring in the hallway.

New Vrindaban Deity kitchen renovated 2015

A glimpse into the renovated Deity Kitchen.

The pujari room was the next stop, with Jaya Krishna and Gopisa pointing out the beautiful new wooden flooring, brand new granite countertops replacing the previous thirty-year-old ones, and walls repainted an attractive yellow. Broken cabinets had been replaced with nice new wooden ones, there were new lighting fixtures, and the ceiling – which used to be riddled with cracks that dirt would fall from – had been fixed.

“We are very happy about how it looks now,” said Jaya Krishna. “It’s a great improvement for their Lordships.”

Next the parikrama moved on to the truly stunning Deity dressing room. Five years ago, carpenter Vyasasana Das had installed new cupboards, granite countertops for dressing the small Deities, and a rich dark wood floor. Now, the ceiling had been redone, new lights added, and a huge wooden countertop installed in the center of the room for dressing the large Deities.

Because new Deity outfits are added every year, the cupboard space was still inadequate, however, and Jaya Krishna explained that an expansion would be added across the hall soon to solve the problem. In addition, a dedicated sewing room – an old mainstay of New Vrindaban – was being re-established.

“Radhanath Swami, an early resident of New Vrindaban, recalled that the community used to be famous for having the best outfit makers and jewelry makers,” Jaya Krishna said. “We want to go back to that.”

Sundari Dasi was behind the renovation of another spot, the temple library, which until now had been in such a dilapidated condition that devotees didn’t even want to set foot in it.

With new wood flooring, bright white repainted walls and ceiling, comfy new furniture, a trendy upstairs loft and wrought iron candle holders decorating the walls, it had been turned into a cosy reading retreat.

The library already carried Prabhupada’s books and conversations, works by other Vaishnava Acharyas and ISKCON authors, collections of Back to Godhead magazines, and encyclopedias and other reference books. Interfaith books, Jaya Krishna explained, would soon be added upstairs; special reading hours would be introduced, and there would be a system for devotees to borrow and return books. In the future, there would also be Internet access so that devotees could listen to classes through ISKCON Desire Tree and more.

“We’re very happy about doing something for brahminical culture,” said Jaya Krishna.

ISKCON New Vrindaban Temple Library Renovation 2015

The updated Temple Library.

The tour next visited the renovated guest rooms in the temple building. These featured new wood flooring, white sheetrock walls, attractive ceiling lights, and bedside tables and lamps, along with two double beds with clean white pillows and comforters – a very different scene from what most people expect to find in an average ashram room.

“After falling behind at least thirty years in maintenance, there’s still a lot to do at New Vrindaban,” Jaya Krishna said. “For instance in the hallways, the dripping ceilings need to be fixed, the flooring replaced and more lights added. But we’ve made a good start.”

The tour next made its way outside, to visit the ox barn in Bahulaban, which had been deconstructed to just its core and then rebuilt. Since the previous Joint Board Meetings in November 2014, when it was little more than a frame, it had come a long way thanks to Vyasasana Dasa and crew.

The outside of the two-storey building now featured an attractive green and white siding, with a new wooden stairway and landing leading up to the still-under-constuction top floor. Inside, there were stalls and hay storage areas for the oxen to eat from, and a tack room where handmade cherrywood yokes were displayed. Meanwhile outside in the back was a cemented training area where trainer Richard was taking handsome young Hari and Priya through a set of commands. Two other pairs of oxen are also being trained to till the gardens and pull carts.

New Vrindaban Bahulaban Barn Renovation ECO-Vrindaban March 2015

ECO-V’s remodeled barn at Bahulaban.

The final stop on the tour was the badly dilapidated utility building opposite the ox barn, which recently had its roof completely replaced. Plans were also underway, Gopisa explained, to gradually renovate the rest.

It was encouraging evidence for parikrama-goers, along with everything else they had seen during the tour, of a community being slowly yet steadily rebuilt.

New Vrindaban Utility Building Roof Replacement 2015

A brand new roof for the Bahulaban Utility Building!

CC daily 147 – M 6.211 – Our achievements are due to not our greatness but devotees’ desires and Krishna’s mercy
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Care for Kruma Rupa Prabhu
→ Servant of the Servant

Care for Cows is an organization started by HG Kurma Rupa das prabhu in Vrindavan. The organization protects abandoned cows. Today I heard that HG Kurma Rupa prabhu is in an advanced stage of cancer. He may leave his body at any moment. Please pray for prabhuji so he can go back to loving embracing arms of Sri Gopal and their transcendental cows.

Below is an email from H.H BB Govinda Swami maharaja who met HG Kurma Rupa prabhu yesterday in Vrindavan.

Hare Krishna

From BB Govinda Maharaj:

June 25th, 2015

Dear All,

Obeisances. All glories to Srila Prabhupada.

Our wonderful god-brother Kurma Rupa Prabhu is dying of cancer in Vraja. Today may be his last day. He was diagnosed a few weeks ago with stage four cancer .. a big tumour at the base of his stomach. He has lived in Vraja approximately 31 years. 

He served with the Gurukula and later started the “Care For Cows” program. I went to see him the other evening. He was very weak but we spoke for about an hour. I asked him about his japa and he said he was too weak to chant. But then he shared that for many years he had chanted 64 rounds a day. And he said that during those rare, special moments of his life when Krishna would bless with a drop of mercy .. he could see that his only desire and aspiration was to serve Sri Gopal and His cows. He said that many great souls speak of service to the servants of Sri Radha, and, that he offers his obeisances to them millions of times. But all he prays for is the service of Sri Gopal and His cows. The next day he was planning to leave the room he was staying in return to “Care For Cows.” 

He said he wanted to be there to “hear the cows, smell the cows, have the dust of the cows walking cover his body.” Take a moment and offer a prayer to Sri Gopal that He quickly embrace Kurma Rupa Prabhu . and that arm and arm they walk together amidst 900,000 cows.

Hare Krishna. 

Affectionate regards.
Your servant,
BB Govinda Swami 

The odd one out
→ KKSBlog

(Kadamba Kanana Swami, 12 June 2015, Bhaktivedanta Manor, United Kingdom, Srimad Bhagavatam 9.18.40)

When we look at the temple, here we are in the Bhaktivedanta Manor, we can see that the deities, Radha-Gokulananda, Sita-Rama-Laksman-Hanuman, Gaura-Nitai, are all transcendental. This temple is so much Prabhupada’s headquarters in Europe. It is so much connected with Srila Prabhupada. Prabhupada was sitting on the lawn and with that, the lawn has become like a place of pilgrimage. Like that, the Manor is so transcendental.

In this way, we look and we think, “Yes, everything and everyone is transcendental – except me!” Do you also feel like that sometimes that you are the odd one out in the Hare Krsna movement? The one that is, somehow or other, not transcendental. What to do about that? That kind of situation does occur but then at least we understand, we feel, “Well, I am not really making any advancement but gradually, by devotional service, the mode of goodness awakens and even more gradually some attachment to Krsna awakens.” That naturally arises, even when we do not notice.

I compare that to getting older. You do not notice that you are getting older and then one day you look in the mirror and think, “My God, I look old!” You know, it is like that, it creeps up on you, like you do not really notice it. You think, “I did not change a bit.” And then you say, “Well, maybe my body did change a bit.” Like that, sometimes, one becomes aware of it. In the same way, sometimes we realize, “ Maybe I did become a bit more established in the mode of goodness. Maybe I did even develop some attachment to Krsna.” And with it, it is a fact, it is this attachment that will save us.

All glories to Sri Krishna Sankirtana. All glories to Srila…
→ Dandavats.com



All glories to Sri Krishna Sankirtana. All glories to Srila Prabhupada
As I walked passed a security guard greeted me “ Hare Krishna!”, it was special. I wasn’t in an ISKCON temple by the way, I was at Delhi’s largest Liver Hospital.This is what happens to every devotee who walks in through this multi storied speciality hospital , and the magic being created by His Holiness Jayapataka Swami.
His holiness Jayapataka Swami has visited this hospital a number of times for receiving protein supplements and had been admitted here twice as well. His charming personality has made many staff of the hospital take advantage of the Holy Names and be favourable to Krishna’s devotees. The nurses, the doctors , the guards they are all concerned for Maharaj and are literally delighted to be of service to him. Read on for some experiences of the hospital staff had with Maharaj.
Rajesh an experienced nurse who nursed Maharaj at the Intensive Care Unit had to say this about his Holiness. “Immediately after removing the ventilator tubes ,he asked me my name , I said "Rajesh”. He was still partially sedated and had been on the Ventillator for so many days. Patients in that state will hardly speak or remember. I left and got to see him after two days. When I entered he said “Rajesh”! I was stunned. I tell a patient my name so many times and they never remember. And I don’t expect anyone to remember if I told them who I was when they are sedated.He is different , he is not an ordinary person.“ Rajesh went on to tell me that patients treat the doctors with lot of respect, but Jayapataka Swami treats all of them on par with the doctors. He said,” Swamiji respects everyone.“
I was waiting in the corridor to see Dr.Rakhi, the head of the Intensive Care Unit, to ask her about her experiences with Maharaj.I had never met her before, when she saw me waiting she was sure happy and said "Oh it’s you, are you with Swamiji? I’ve been wanting to see him from the time he left ICU, I feel like seeing him everyday, now you reminded me , come lets go and see him”. As we took the stairs she told me what a challenge it was to treat Maharaj because he was such a VIP “every move was so well thought and we were extremely cautious , we knew there are perhaps a lakh of people eagerly waiting for him”, she said. She went on to tell me that it was a pleasure to treat Maharaj as he was very positive and very cooperative. “Patients don’t give us direction, but Swamiji gave us, and that was amazing, especially when it came to important decisions he was with us”. She told me that she was not a very religious person but certainly believed that Maharaj had an aura that was very attractive. “Seeing him gives me some unknown satisfaction and makes me happy” , she added.
I happened to interview doctor Lalitha, she was from the Intensive Care Unit as well. She told me that Maharaj’s motivation was highly commendable. “His inner strength that kept him going, his determination and sheer will power helped us treat him” she said. She was overwhelmed with Maharaj’s sense of humour and said that in such a critical state patients would be rather dull and passive, but Maharaj was always keeping everyone around him happy with his funny jokes. “It was surprising for me to see someone in a critical condition like his, so active and positive”.
It’s quite remarkable to see how Maharaj has captured everyone’s heart. Justin another nurse told me that treating patients wasn’t that easy but nursing Jayaptaka Swami was easy because he was a person with no complaints whatsoever. When he was asked what he feel about Maharaj he said, “I don’t know how to explain this feeling in words. When he came into the ICU I didn’t know he was such a big person. But now I know.” He also added that seeing Maharaj made him happy, and the more he saw him the more he wanted to see him again. Tarun who now nurses Maharaj in the day shift told me that for him, serving Maharaj was not just his duty but his good fortune. “The kind of internal happiness when I serve Swamiji I haven’t got till date with anyone else, it is my privilege to serve him”, he added.
There are more people at the hospital who’s life has been touched forever by this very dear servant of Srila Prabhupada. All glories to Sri Krishna Sankirtana. All glories to Srila Prabhupada.
Your servant,
Nandapriya Nivedita Devi Dasi, Chennai

SRS: This is a beautifully written letter by Govinda Swami about a beautiful Vaisnava about to depart from this world
→ SivaramaSwami.com

When in Vraja I was informed that Kurma Rupa Prabhu was quickly leaving his body due to cancer. So I walked to his room one evening and we spent time together.
Last month he had his gall bladder removed. I saw a picture on Facebook after the operation and his hand was completely filled with gall stones.
When the doctors performed that operation they detected a tumour at the bottom of his stomach which was blocking passage for the stomach to the small intestine.
It was biopsied and declared to be benign. So the doctors left it and made a small slit in his stomach to connect the stomach to his intestine that he could begin to eat and eliminate.
A few weeks ago he began to experience burning pain in his stomach. He tried all varieties of antacids to no avail. Thus again he went to Delhi to see his doctors.
The burning was caused by bile .. and lots of it.
Since his gall bladder operation the liver had gone into overdrive and could not deal with the creation of bile. The doctors placed a catheter in his liver and the first night night drained 4.5 litres of bile. Everyday since there has been at least a litre drained.
The doctors also realised the tumour had expanded greatly, again biopsied, the doctors returned the verdict of a stage 4 cancer tumour.
They wanted to reopen Kurma Rupa prabhu but he said no .. take me back to Vrindavan to die.
While I was with him he was very weak but very focused.
He was salivating all the time and had to spit regularly. He said the bile was causing him to have a very horrible alkaline tasting saliva.
We spoke.
He said initially he was worried .. but now he had no fear.
We both remembered when we were young in Vrindavan. Whenever we were faced by danger, gundas, thieves, or temple presidents our mantra was,
“Look, I came to Vrindavan to die .. so .. if you want to kill me do it now.”
He softly said that during rare moments in his life of sadhana bhakti, when Krishna had blessed him with His causeless drops of grace, he had seen that his only aspiration was to be with Gopal, helping him to tend to the cows in Vraja.
I mentioned that when I had first spoken to Srila Akinchana Krishna dasa Babaji Maharaja that I told him,
“Babaji Maharaja, I am so blessed to be in Vrindavan.”
Babaji Maharaja looked at me and said, “why are you blessed?”
I replied, “I am blessed because in this Vraja I can see two merciful paramhamsa vaisnavas, you .. and my guru maharaja.”
He looked at me very intensely, yet very kindly, and relied,
“Do you really want to know why you are blessed here in Vrindavan?
You are blessed …
because just outside these windows Sri Krishna and Balaram are walking and playing with Their cows,
and the dust from Their divine feet, and the dust of the divine feet of Their cows, is rising up, and covering your entire body,
and this is your greatest treasure of life.”
Then Babaji Maharaja fell silent.
When I told that to Kurma Rupa he looked down in his deep and serious way,
and replied,
“my only hope and desire is to serve Gopal as He is with his cows.”
Then he said,
“some people think in a beautiful way of service to Sri Radha and Her associates.
I give them my deepest respects .. but my only hope and desire is to be with Gopal and serve Him and His cows.”
He said that he deeply admired how I was always travelling and sharing harinama.
I replied that I love Vrindavan, and if I were not unqualified, I would always remain here. But as I am not qualified, I can only stay for a few days before I am again sent away.
But I said his life was most blessed life because he has spent at least 30 years in Vraja, and everyday fixed in service.
He then said that he felt bad that he did not travel and preach. He said that if he made it through this crisis he may go west somewhere in the west and attempt to start a cow care program.
Then I became very strong and told him,
“No !! If you do recover stay here and serve your cows with more and more love and affection.
But I order you, never, never, never leave Vrindavan.
Never leave …
Until that blessed moment arrives when Gopal comes to take you from this Vrindavan to the other Vrindavan, welcomes you with tears, embraces you with love, swears to you that you that He will never allow you to leave again, and then, introduces you to Sudama, Subala, Madhumangala, and you both walk, arm in arm, in the mist of 900,000 cows.
He said, “I accept your instruction as an order. I will never leave Vrindavan.”
The next day Kurma Rupa returned to Care For Cows.
He told me that he wanted to go back there as soon as he could. he said he wanted to hear the cows, smell the cows, breathe the dust of the cows.
He looked at me seriously and said;
“Maharaja, If you ever have a problem in life .. serve a cow with love .. then, all your problems will dissipate by the grace of Gopal and you’ll be blessed with bhakti.”
I held his hand tight and begged him to forgive me if I’d ever offended him.
I begged him to give me blessings to attain bhakti.
And, I deeply thanked him for his full life of sacrifice to Srila Prabhupada’s mission, harimana, vaisnavas, and his glorious and selfless love for cows.
We embraced and parted.
Just a few minutes ago Dharmatma Prabhu called me and said that Kurma Rupa prabhu’s situation has deteriorated.
Today may be his last day in this section of Vrindavan.
My request is that everyone offer a prayer to Gopal for this selfless servant,
Kurma Rupa Prabhu. May Sri Gopal quickly come, give Kurma Rupa the sweet embrace that he so merits, and deliver him to the planet of the cows.
My realisation was that as youngsters we had souls like Prabhupada, Babaji Maharaja, Shridhar Maharaja and other venerable vaisnavas that we would associate and beg mercy from.
Venerable vaisnavas like Kurma Rupa Prabhu are the saintly monarchs and pure devotees of this age.
Kurma Rupa Prabhu Ki Jai !!
Patita Pavana Srila Prabhupada Ki Jai !!
Harinama Sankirtan Ki Jai !!
Jai Jai Sri Radhe … Shyam !!

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The post SRS: This is a beautifully written letter by Govinda Swami about a beautiful Vaisnava about to depart from this world appeared first on SivaramaSwami.com.

Chant for Change – Mega Kirtan Festival By the Lord’s…
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Chant for Change - Mega Kirtan Festival
By the Lord’s mercy, this is a major opportunity to unify various proponents and practitioners of dharma for the cause of spreading the yuga-dharma of nama-sankirtana. On July 18th (Nabakalebara) day, all the 4 Vaishnav Sampradayas along with other groups will be performing Sankirtan to welcome Lord Jagannath, Baldev & Subadra in their new form, in their temples and mathas around the world. The GBC has approved this program.
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Hare Krishna! 4th Jagannatha Ratha Yatra in Jakarta,…
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Hare Krishna! 4th Jagannatha Ratha Yatra in Jakarta, Indonesia
The ‘JAKARNAVAL -2015’ or the annual Jakarta Carnival on June 7, 2015, celebrating the 488th anniversary of Jakarta was the venue for this year’s Sri Jagannatha Ratha Yatra Festival at Jakarta, Indonesia. The theme of the carnival was ‘Colorful Jakarta’ and the chariot of Lord Jagannatha pulled by so many devotees not only added a special color to the carnival but also gave a distinct flavor and taste to the celebration. By the blessings of Lord Jagannatha and Srila Prabhupada, the 4th Jagannatha Ratha Yatra in Jakarta was wonderfully performed leaving fond memories in the hearts and minds of the devotees.
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Hare Krishna! A Friendly Letter Makes Padi Cry? Meet Padi, aka…
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Hare Krishna! A Friendly Letter Makes Padi Cry?
Meet Padi, aka Padayatra. He’s a humble, shy, 9 year old boy from Hungary, the son of Citravasini devi dasi and Devadeva dasa, studying in 4th Grade at TKG Academy. I find myself fortunate to be his teacher. This morning, we began our Shurley English lesson of “Writing a Friendly Letter”. Students need to identify the Heading, Salutation, Body, Closing and Signature of writing a friendly letter. They learn the proper punctuation and indentation for each part.
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Bhagavatam-daily 249 – 11.12.06 – Association benedicts not just the elevated but also the degraded
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Bhagavatam-daily 248 – 11.12.05 – Association’s potency is not just declared but also demonstrated
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Bhagavatam-daily 247 – 11.12.04 – Social division is not to be eternalized because social designation itself is not eternal
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Hare Krishna! Sri Jagannatha Ratha Yatra 2015 at Borneo Island,…
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Hare Krishna! Sri Jagannatha Ratha Yatra 2015 at Borneo Island, Malaysia.
Upon reaching the Hare Krishna Multipurpose Hall, a grand mass of fireworks and Lion Dance performance by the Chinese Association welcomed the glorious deities. His Grace Kripa Sindhu Krishna Dasa, Temple President of ISKCON Kuching addressed the crowd with a warm welcome, thanked all organizations, congregation members of ISKCON especially devotees from West Malaysia who were about 90 of them this year, who took the trouble to fly over to Sarawak to extend their full support.
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