New Vrindaban Grows Through Care and Communication
by Madhava Smullen
Since moving back to New Vrindaban three years ago, Lilasuka Dasi has used her people skills to inspire residents to care for each other and communicate positively with one another. This, she feels, is the key to the community’s recent attempt at rebuilding and growth.
Originally from Toronto, Lilasuka first lived in the rural West Virginia community between 1980 and 2000, teaching at the day school there.
She then relocated to Pittsburgh until New Vrindaban president Jaya Krishna Das, who calls her “the mother of New Vrindaban,” invited her back to head up the communications department.
From the way she talks about the community, it’s clear that Lilasuka loves New Vrindaban deeply. And that makes her ideal for the job.
“I know the ins and outs of New Vrindaban, and am friends with just about everyone, because I lived here for so long,” she says. “It’s ideal for a deep spiritual life, and is full of interesting people. I just like people, so I like studying them and figuring out how to work with them.”
Initially, the goal of Lilasuka’s department was to establish communications amongst a variety of external groups like the media, the local municipal departments, and the academic community.
And she does nurture a relationship with some, like the Marshall County Tourist Board, whose website advertises New Vrindaban’s festivals and lists Prabhupada’s Palace of Gold as one of the top six tourist attractions in the county.
But her first priority, she felt, was to focus on internal communications amongst New Vrindaban devotees and nearby ISKCON communities.
“A lot of people didn’t know what was going on in New Vrindaban -- even those who lived here!” she says. “Now many devotees tell me that they are glad to see the regular updates about what’s happening.”
"Yes, the nine devotional process and how, by each process, one becomes perfect, just like Pariksit Maharaja, simply hearing, and Sukadeva Gosvami, simply chanting, reciting Bhagavatam. So both of them got salvation. Laksmi, she is simply pada-sevanam, giving massage to the lotus feet of the Lord. Arjuna simply made friendship with Krsna. Hanuman simply worked as a hard servant. He doesn't know what He is... "Lord Ramacandra wants it." Then it is done. Jump over. He does not know any philosophy. He has got bodily strength, so whatever Ramacandra says, he'll do. He was asked to bring that medicine for Laksmana. He did not know where to find it. "Take this whole mountain." (laughter) He was not intelligent. "Fight! We have to fight with Ravana. Then block his whole city by throwing stones and trees and dirt." Everything became blocked. They could not move. So in one side he is born of animal life, he had no higher intelligence, but his staunch desire, that "I shall serve Lord Ramacandra..." By that... Only this desire made him perfect." 
with Madhava prabhu 
Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu belongs to the spiritual world, and His methods for propagating the sankirtana movement are also imported from the spiritual world. Srila Narottama dasa thakura has sung: golokera prema-dhana, hari-nama-sankirtana, rati na janmila kene taya. This states that the sankirtana movement has nothing to do with this material world. It is imported from the spiritual world, Goloka Vrndavana. Narottama dasa thakura laments that mundane people do not take this sankirtana movement seriously. Byron Bay is a beachside town located in the far-northeastern corner of the state of New South Wales, Australia. 
Kirtana forever: Auckland NZ. with HH Indradyumna Swami 
When Maharani Berg opened her third Good Karma vegetarian restaurant in the DeLisle community near Pass Christian recently, she thought only a few people would show up for the soft opening. The response caught her by surprise. “One hundred people came in that night,” she said. “It was the first time I ran out of food for an opening. I didn’t expect that many people to be there.” Ingredients come mostly from Oriental stores and includes locally grown produce. “In the summertime we have a lot of vegetables coming out of our garden at the farm where I live,” she said. “I plan all the food and every day is different. I see what grows in the garden locally and seasonally.”
The farm is part of the the New Talavan community, which is affiliated with the International Society for Krishna Consciousness, commonly referred to as the Hare Krishna movement. 
Procession celebration in Krishna Balaram Mandir. 
Our Vision: To create an environment where people and animals can practice natural living and higher thinking, in an atmosphere of love and trust, for the pleasure of Shree Krishna. Philosophy: Our motto at Hare Krishna Valley is “natural living, high thinking”. Natural living means that we live a comfortable, uncomplicated life in harmony with nature. By reducing our “wants” to “needs”, we manage to live in a peaceful state of mind. Peace of mind is a prerequisite to true happiness.
The needs of all humanity can be amply supplied from Mother Nature. At Hare Krishna Valley we aim to develop a self-sufficient farm community in which we gratefully receive our gifts from the earth and in return protect the earth from unnecessary harm. Our project includes an investment in bio-dynamic farming, a plan for a humanitarian dairy, protection of wild life, forest regeneration and developing solar energy.