From the Garden 4/7/14
→ New Vrindaban Brijabasi Spirit

index

Greetings from the Garden……

It has been another busy week in the garden.  Unfortunately, the April showers are keeping us from doing much planting and tilling. In the teaching garden post have been put in for the new fence. The plan for the teaching garden is to have 1/3 flowers, 1/3 greens, and 1/3 perennials & herbs.  In the Garden of Seven Gates we planted Cayuga and Mars grapes this week. They are genetically the most resistant to black (also called brown) rot the bane of Eastern grape growers.

Some of the perennial plants to look forward to in the Garden of Seven Gates include: blueberries, red raspberries, blackberries, gooseberries, bush cherries, grapes, honey berries, elderberries, and asparagus.

The newest addition to the perennial fruits in the garden are goji berries. The picture above is of goji berries, they are also know as the wolfberry. Goji berries are often used in traditional Chinese medicine. They are usually cooked or dried before eating.  The berries are high in nutrients and are believed to have many health benefits. You can grow goji berries in your home garden they grow well in containers and in your garden soil. They can be pruned as bushes or trained to grow on a trellis.

Over the next few weeks we will be planting fruit trees, flowering bushes, perennial fruits, and hopefully if the rain holds off spring vegetables.  Until next week, happy gardening.

Donor Spotlight- Sri Neeraj & Smt Kavitha Bhatnagar
→ TKG Academy

This month, we would like recognize Neeraj and Kavitha Bhatnagar as our Donor Spotlight.

Neeraj and Kavitha began their spiritual journey in 2005 , where they attended Krishna Center programs of His Grace Prthu-srava Prabhu & Danakeli Mataji in Illinois.  They were immediately attracted to the amazing devotees.
When they moved to Texas in 2011, they were eager to continue their spiritual pursuits. They began attending the programs at Kalachandji’s Temple. Though they live all the way in Frisco, they attend the programs regularly, attracted by the enchanting forms of Sri Sri Radha Kalachandji and the kirtans.
Neeraj and Kavitha are both software engineers, working during the day and performing bhakti-yoga at home in the evening.  Neeraj works at HP and Kavitha works at AmDocs.   Balancing the needs of maintaining a family and taking care of their 2 year old daughter, Meera, both chant regularly and read Bhagavad Gita in their homes.
Kavitha explained that she supports TKG Academy because she feels that education is a great priority in this world.  Neeraj’s desire to support the school is a little more selfish, he says.  His wish is so his little Meera, can attend TKG Academy when she grows up.
We are very thankful for their support each month.  This donation ensures a Krishna conscious education, updated facilities and a safe and loving environment for our 30 students.
IMG_20140406_202321

Śrīla Prabhupāda’s Position In Iskcon
Bhakti Charu Swami

INTERNATIONAL SOCIETY FOR KRISHNA CONSCIOUSNESS Founder-Ācārya: His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda The following evening lecture-seminar on Śrīla Prabhupāda’s Position In Iskcon, was given by His Holiness Bhakti Charu Swami in ISKCON Chowpatty on 07 April 2014. His Holiness Bhakti Charu Swami: Hare Kṛṣṇa. So class will be go on until what time? 9h00? It’s(...)

Volunteer Spotlight-TKG Academy Clean Up
→ TKG Academy

During the winter break, while all was quiet and peaceful at the end of the temple block known as TKG Academy, a storm erupted.  The bus tour coming from Mexico descended upon the playgrounds.  Nearly twenty youth, along with many of our own youth from Dallas, decided to give the school grounds some tender loving care.  I was out of town and you can guess my reaction when I returned and saw the transformation that had occurred.  I was elated!

The new ramps which had been installed during the summer break, needed priming and painting.  During the first part of school, Joseph Clark who had been coming to the Wednesday classes, came several times and began the painting.  We found it a bit difficult to have fresh paint in the porch area when children were around so he was asked to come back to paint during the winter break.

And then the service hungry youth appeared.   Manorama Dasa  has long been known for taking temples by storm with his energetic, talented youth.  Some of our devotees here in Dallas realized that the grounds at the school needed raking and that the ramp painting needed to be completed.  Someone told me that Krishna Mangala Dasi along with her children and many of our young men and women, gathered the bus tour youth together, and tackled the job.

Needless to say, things got done.  The playground yard was immaculate, the long ramps were primed and painted, the porch roof was swept off, and all those leaves and sticks were bagged and hauled to the street.
Mother Jayanti says,  “I wish to thank all of those persons who were involved in this project.  This is the sort of work that makes an old woman happy to see accomplished.  I just wish that I could have been there to thank these devotees personally. “
Please have a look at the wonderful pictures.

 

Symbols of Texas
→ TKG Academy

Fourth graders create posters depicting “Symbols of Texas”. The Pecan tree, the Mockingbird, the state seal, the Bluebonnet, the motto “Friendship”, and the state flag are all symbols of Texas. After describing their symbol, what it means, and why they chose it, students connect it to Krsna consciousness. Kalyani Rao, 9, quotes Bhagavad-gita 9.26, “If one offers Me with love and devotion a leaf, a flower, a fruit or water, I will accept it.” She observes that when we see a bluebonnet, we can remember the blue of Krsna’s complexion.

Spiritual inertia
→ Servant of the Servant

There is a general feeling when it comes to God (not religion) that we work or relate or interact with God only when we feel like it (in a spontaneous sense). When we don't "feel" the love from God, we do not really worry about God. But actually our Acharyas teach that we have to "force" certain issues. Krishna asks Arjuna to "control" his mind through practice and detachment. Practice means we have to force our mind to behave in a certain way.

Spiritual inertia is a natural element of material culture. Our culture is advancing in the name of technology to increased levels of inertia or simply put laziness. Think about it - inventions such as automobiles, tractors, cell phones, computers make things efficient, quick and orderly but creates a mentality that machines will do the work and I just need to control the machine. Science is advancing more and more towards increasing technology however it is also drastically promoting laziness. When was the last time you wrote a letter by hand and mailed it to your loved one? So this is the situation - this inertia has largely impacted our spiritual life as well.

We fear change, and lack the drive to beat the blues in terms of spiritual inertia or laziness. But if we want to progress towards Krishna, then no machine or sporadic spontaneous feelings of God will cut it. We have to approach this "military" style meaning with intent and conviction. We have to force our enthusiasm to be in Krishna consciousness.

The more we show our conviction towards Krishna in terms of disciplining our mind (forcefully) then surely Krishna will reciprocate and when that reciprocation happens, we know He exists and there is no greater feeling than knowing that Krishna exists and He is looking out for us. This experience or realization will cultivate within us a spontaneous attachment towards Krishna.

So yes purity is the force, so lets force it!

Hare Krishna

Sharing the fruits
→ travelingmonk.com

Tonight Bada Haridas and myself are leaving India for Europe. After a few days we’ll travel to South Africa for the Durban Ratha Yatra, and then onto Russia and Ukraine for a 3-week preaching tour. Time to share the fruits of our pilgrimages to India’s holy places with others!

Cows at Hare Krishna Valley, Bambra, near Melbourne, Australia (8 min video)
→ Dandavats.com


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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. Read more ›

Last verse of the Bhagavatam? (5 min video)
→ Dandavats.com


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What is the last verse of the Srimad Bhagavatam? "I offer my respectful obeisances unto the Supreme Lord, Hari, the congregational chanting of whose names destroy all sinful reactions, and the offering of obeisances unto whom relieves all material suffering." SB 12.13.23. Pandu Putra Prabhu from Italy (bravissimo!), and Saksi Gopal Prabhu lead the Kirtan on the streets of London. Enjoy the movie, Read more ›

New Vrindaban Grows Through Care & Communication
→ New Vrindaban Brijabasi Spirit

by Madhava Smullen

Lilasuka with glasses.

Lilasuka with glasses.

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.”

lila harmonium

Lilasuka writes these updates herself and posts them once or twice a week on Brijbasi Spirit, an online newsletter started ten years ago which she has helped expand from an agrarian-focused publication to a broader community-wide news service.

“I post interviews with devotees, write articles about festivals, and announce seminars, new calf births and more,” she says. “I also write almost every day on the New Vrindaban Facebook page, and have helped to rewrite the community’s official website to make it more accessible.”

As well as keeping devotees informed, Lilasuka’s service has also naturally evolved into devotee care.

“My office has become like a revolving door,” she says. “People come looking for help or advice.”

Some come complaining about other devotees or management, too. Lilasuka encourages them to be part of the solution, rather than part of the problem. She offers to go with them to discuss their differences with other department staff, or with community president Jaya Krishna. She even helps couples who may be having difficulties in their relationships.

“A lot of misunderstandings come from miscommunications,” she says. She adds that her work has helped devotees embrace a positive attitude and has improved their support of New Vrindaban’s new leadership.

Lilasuka also provides practical care for New Vrindaban residents, and encourages others to help.

“It’s been snowing every day here for weeks, and some of the older devotees can’t even get out of their houses,” she says. “So I’ve been shopping for them or helping them to find rides. I have helpers too. One devotee drives some of the single women who don’t have cars into town to do their shopping every week.”

Lilasuka also recently arranged for the local Department of Health and Human Resources to give a seminar at New Vrindaban on how to apply for President Obama’s mandatory new healthcare plan. Around twenty-five devotees attended. Many expressed their appreciation for making the process a lot easier for them.

Lilasuka has also helped facilitate Canada-based homeopathic doctor Visvadhika Dasi to visit New Vrindaban every few months to care for ill devotees. All this kind of care and communication, she feels, is essential.

“New Vrindaban is such a big place,” she says. “Sometimes people can can get lost here, or feel like they’re not being looked after. There’s definitely a need for that, that I’m trying to fill.”

Lilasuka plans to continue building on this work. One of her most recent steps has been to join the New Vrindaban Community Advocacy Group, an organization formed in December 2013 and comprising of residents rather than management.

“We want to be advocates of devotees in the community who feel they don’t have a voice,” she says. “Our first topic is devotee care: we’ve already had volunteers help older devotees by bringing them basic necessities such as firewood and water.”

As far as communications is concerned, she’s working with North American ISKCON Communications Director Keshava Das on a new print and online newsletter, with news from New Vrindaban’s different departments.

She also hopes to add more staff to the communications department and to increase its outreach efforts amongst other local groups. Already, media communications for festivals is being handled by the aptly named Vrindavan Das.

Lilasuka is clearly excited by her service, and how it can help New Vrindaban in its current rebuilding phase.

“I think it’s making more people aware that working together cooperatively, caring for each other and communicating properly with each other is the key to helping New Vrindaban grow,” she says.

For the love of it
→ Bhakti Lounge - The Heart Of Yoga in Wellington

Banner_Sundays

Invigorate your body, mind and consciousness for the upcoming week with our Super Yogi Sundays – it just couldn’t be a better line up!

5pm Yoga with Muni = core power and laughter at the same time :D

6pm Soul Feast = Beautiful, uplifting kirtan beats, consciousness expanding wisdom and foodthat will blow you out of this world!

Every Sunday starting April 13th.
Cost – from your heart. You give what you can, and what it’s worth to you. Simply for the love of it :D


Saturday, April 5th, 2014
→ The Walking Monk

Toronto, Ontario

Three of Us

All of us crave Sunshine, as long as there’s not too much of it.  It was a pleasure to walk towards its disc which was making a slow descension into the western sky.  The west side of the street going north/south was unfavourable for walking because I wanted the sun’s embrace.  I switched directions to College Street.  I ended up face to face with him.  There were no more imposing buildings.  It was nice, but like anything in this world, you take sookh and dookh (happiness and distress), sad and asad (good and bad).  Basically, you receive a duality.

Along with that generous glow of the sun, came the wind.  Unexpectedly, to me, as forceful as he was.  He also got blocked by buildings eventually, just as the sun did.  Now, I had two guys coming at my face.  It was interesting to see them partnered.  I had their company.  There are three of us now until I turned another corner going north on Croft Street.  Once again, I was in the shadows of the buildings.  I was seemingly alone, but not.  Paramatma(Supersoul) is always in the heart. 

Croft Street is more like a back lane with mostly garages on both sides of the asphalt.  There is pleasant graffiti, and some not so, meaning unsophisticated.  People have left their mark. 

On Bloor Street, I meet my companions again, the sun and the wind.  The sun had moved by now, humbled by time, or just being on time.  Perhaps defining time.  Not exactly, it is said in the Bhagavatam, out of fear of Him, the sun shines.  Who then, in actuality is defining the time factor. 

Finally, I made it home, the temple ashram, where you enter a timeless zone, where all is spiritual, and where there is relative peace.  I say relative because there are humans in the space, and they are not perfect. 

I’m reminded of the joke about the human ego, “Nobody’s perfect, I’m just a nobody.”

May the Source be with you!

6 KM

Friday, April 4th, 2014
→ The Walking Monk

Toronto, Ontario

Fun Pun

I did not go outside the walls of the ashram building today.  It doesn’t mean I was confined, as in prison.  I was joyfully locked in with service – and service of a different kind.  I’m speaking about theatre.  The dramas!  The directing! The performance!  I put several hours into our practice of the drama, Little Big Ramayan.  Doing “plays” is a marvelous creative outlet.  And it’s approved (rather, receives blessings) by the previous acharyas or teachers in the line of devotion.  In fact, our guru, Srila Prabhupada, loved dramas that have a spiritual message.  He went so far as to say that the play is better than the book.  He loved the theatre and even acted when as a student in his college years, he played the role of Adwaita, a close associate of Sri Chaitanya, father of kirtan in the modern age.  Our guru also liked Charlie Chaplin.  He would not go out of his way to the cinema, mind you, he wouldn’t have anything to do with extreme mundane entertainment.  Once, on the plane, he had a few chuckles watching the guy with the funny stick, hat and moustache. 

Now, speaking of fun, what about pun?  Someone sent me from a facebook source, a list of puns called, “Punography”.

Here’s are some real dillies:


I tried to catch some, I mist. 

A guy I know is addicted to brake fluid.  He said he can stop any time.

How does Moses make his tea?  Hebrews it.

I stayed up all night to see where the sun went, then it dawned on me.

The girl said she recognized me from the vegetarian club, but I never met herbivore.

I’m reading a book about antigravity.  I can’t put it down.

I didn’t like my beard at first, then it grew on me.

How do you make holy water?  Boil the hell out of it.

When you get a bladder infection, urine trouble. 

What does a clock do when it’s still hungry?  It goes back four seconds.

I wonder why the baseball was getting bigger, then it hit me.


May the Source be with you!

0 KM

The Padma Purana outlines evolution of a different kind
→ The Spiritual Scientist

"It is confirmed in Padma Purana that the species of life evolved from aquatics to plants, vegetables, trees; thereafter insects, reptiles, flies, birds, then beasts, and then human kind. This is the gradual process of evolution of species of life. . . . But we do not accept Darwin’s theory. According to Darwin’s theory, homo sapiens came later on, but we see that the most intelligent personality, Brahma, is born first. So according to Vedic knowledge, Darwin or similar mental speculators are rejected so far as the facts are concerned."

Letter to his disciple Hayagriva Dasa (Los Angeles 9 March, 1970)

We Want More Krishna!
→ The Enquirer

Śrīmad Bhāgavatam 3.5.11-13… Vidura says it so well

“Who among us ever ceases to be thirsty for hearing about Krishna, whose sacred feet are adored by the gods? When this sound enters a person’s ears, it severs their affection for all the homely catalysts of material existence. Yes, your dark-skinned friend Vyāsa did describe the qualities of the All-Attractive in his Mahābhārata — using stories of worldly pleasures to attract the minds of common people to hear from and about Hari. If someone nourishes their interest in hearing Hari Kathā, it will cause them to lost interest in everything else. The pleasure of always remembering Hari immediately destroys all sadness.”

Vidura asked Maitreya many popular questions about the universe. Maitreya replied, “haven’t you heard the answers to these questions? Vyāsa has recently written about them in Mahābhārata.”

Vidura replied, “I’ve heard but I am not entirely satisfied.”

Maitreya: Why?

Vidura: The answers are not sufficiently connected to Krishna.

Maitreya: But Krishna is a central character of Mahābhārata.

Vidura: Yes, that’s true. Your friend Vyāsa has given Krishna in Mahābhārata… but not in a very direct and clear way. Mahābhārata is clouded with so many ordinary stories… so much “packaging” and “advertising” and not enough of the actual commodity – Krishna.

I don’t blame him for writing it like that. It was wise. By including all these stories he attracts the attention of ordinary people. And then, once their attention is attracted, he delivers sections like Bhagavad-Gītā, which contain the essence of Krishna Kathā.

And once ordinary people hear these sections, if they pay a little attention to them… the more they pay attention the more they will gain interest in Krishna and lose interest in everything else, everything which causes their entanglement in mundane existence. So the Mahābhārata will be effective for the ordinary person.

But I want something more.

I want something that is 100% Krishna-kathā, because I already have no interest in other topics. I can never get enough Krishna Kathā.

~ ~ ~

Śrīmad Bhāgavatam is history’s first attempt to provide a radically condensed and saturated presentation of Krishna Kathā for the sake of people like Vidura, who are already directly interested in Krishna.

Śrī Caitanya Mahaprabhu and his followers have further condensed and sweetened it in their commentaries and expansive works.

We want to be born into (or moved into) a situation where such works are the dominant art form and entertainment that constantly saturates our ears. We are tired of watching hitopadesh type Lord of the Rings and Star Wars tales where Krishna is only very indirectly and allegorically present.

And certainly we are dead tired of coming into situations where Krishna Kathā is supposed to be spoken, but instead we are served reheated leftovers of grāmya-kathā in the form of psychology, astrology, sociology, astronomy, and plain old prajalpa.

We want our Krishna-kathā, and we want it now!


We Want More Krishna!
→ The Enquirer

Śrīmad Bhāgavatam 3.5.11-13… Vidura says it so well

“Who among us ever ceases to be thirsty for hearing about Krishna, whose sacred feet are adored by the gods? When this sound enters a person’s ears, it severs their affection for all the homely catalysts of material existence. Yes, your dark-skinned friend Vyāsa did describe the qualities of the All-Attractive in his Mahābhārata — using stories of worldly pleasures to attract the minds of common people to hear from and about Hari. If someone nourishes their interest in hearing Hari Kathā, it will cause them to lost interest in everything else. The pleasure of always remembering Hari immediately destroys all sadness.”

Vidura asked Maitreya many popular questions about the universe. Maitreya replied, “haven’t you heard the answers to these questions? Vyāsa has recently written about them in Mahābhārata.”

Vidura replied, “I’ve heard but I am not entirely satisfied.”

Maitreya: Why?

Vidura: The answers are not sufficiently connected to Krishna.

Maitreya: But Krishna is a central character of Mahābhārata.

Vidura: Yes, that’s true. Your friend Vyāsa has given Krishna in Mahābhārata… but not in a very direct and clear way. Mahābhārata is clouded with so many ordinary stories… so much “packaging” and “advertising” and not enough of the actual commodity – Krishna.

I don’t blame him for writing it like that. It was wise. By including all these stories he attracts the attention of ordinary people. And then, once their attention is attracted, he delivers sections like Bhagavad-Gītā, which contain the essence of Krishna Kathā.

And once ordinary people hear these sections, if they pay a little attention to them… the more they pay attention the more they will gain interest in Krishna and lose interest in everything else, everything which causes their entanglement in mundane existence. So the Mahābhārata will be effective for the ordinary person.

But I want something more.

I want something that is 100% Krishna-kathā, because I already have no interest in other topics. I can never get enough Krishna Kathā.

~ ~ ~

Śrīmad Bhāgavatam is history’s first attempt to provide a radically condensed and saturated presentation of Krishna Kathā for the sake of people like Vidura, who are already directly interested in Krishna.

Śrī Caitanya Mahaprabhu and his followers have further condensed and sweetened it in their commentaries and expansive works.

We want to be born into (or moved into) a situation where such works are the dominant art form and entertainment that constantly saturates our ears. We are tired of watching hitopadesh type Lord of the Rings and Star Wars tales where Krishna is only very indirectly and allegorically present.

And certainly we are dead tired of coming into situations where Krishna Kathā is supposed to be spoken, but instead we are served reheated leftovers of grāmya-kathā in the form of psychology, astrology, sociology, astronomy, and plain old prajalpa.

We want our Krishna-kathā, and we want it now!


New Vrindaban Daily darsan @ April 6, 2014.
→ New Vrindaban Brijabasi Spirit

02

Happily picking many kinds of flowers from the trees and vines, Radha and Krishna praise the forest of Vrinda?vana. They bathe and sport in the lakes of Vrinda?vana forest and They play with the birds and other creatures there. Who would not serve Vrinda?vana forest, the supreme transcendental abode?

[Source : Nectarean Glories of Sri Vrindavana-dhama by Srila Prabodhananda Sarasvati Thakura, Sataka-2, Text-10, Translation.]

Please click here for more photos

Harinama and book distribution in Johannesburg, South Africa (Album 38 photos)
→ Dandavats.com


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All people here are joining the Harinam party so naturally, eagerly taking Srila Prabhupada's books and reading them. Most times they dont have the money, so we give the book free and sometimes they give us some fruits in exchange. Read more ›

Recordings from Cape Town, April 2014
→ KKSBlog

DSC_0081Kadamba Kanana Swami visited Cape Town from 28 March to 4 April 2014. Please find below recordings of lectures and kirtans from the various programs that he participated in.

You may listen online by clicking the “play” button on the media-player or download by right-clicking on a title and “save target as”.

 

Lectures

KKS_Cape Town_30 March 2014_SB 10.39.39

KKS_Cape Town_30 March 2014_Lecture_Sunday Feast

KKS_Cape Town_31 March 2014_SB 9.5.1

KKS_Cape Town_1 April 2014_SB 9.5.6

KKS_Cape Town_1 April 2014_Lecture_Evening Program

KKS_Cape Town_2 April 2014_SB 9.5.7

KKS_Cape Town_2 April 2014_BYS_Lecture

KKS_Cape Town_3 April 2014_SB 9.5.9

KKS_Cape Town_3 April 2014_Lecture_Evening Program

 

Kirtans

KKS_Cape Town_30 March 2014_Bhajan_JRM

KKS_Cape Town_30 March 2014_Bhajan_Sunday Feast

KKS_Cape Town_30 March 2014_Kirtan_Gaura Aarti

KKS_Cape Town_1 April 2014_Bhajan_JRM

KKS_Cape Town_2 April 2014_BYS_Bhajan

KKS_Cape Town_3 April 2014_Bhajan_Evening Program

 

The Cape of Good Hope, April 2014
→ KKSBlog

cpt 2014 (65)It was in 1652 that Dutch colonialist, Jan van Riebeeck, reached the native pastoral land of the southernmost tip of the African continent. It was due to the optimism of establishing a supply camp for ships en-route to the East that this area was known as The Cape of Good Hope! It was here that the Dutch East India Company set up camp and developed the region to what eventually became known as the city of Cape Town.

Since the turn of the 21st century, another Dutch descendant has been making inroads into the development of this region but this time, on a spiritual level. Kadamba Kanana Swami has been referred to as the ‘favourite devotee of Cape Town’ as a result of his long-term dedication to the yatra. It was also nice for me to meet Maharaj here as it was at this temple that I met him for the first time in 2003.

Maharaj travelled from Sydney, Australia and arrived in Cape Town late on Friday, 28 March. After a day of rest to recover from the long journey and jet lag, the first program he did was at the house of a disciple on Sunday morning. Due to the intimate nature of the audience, his lecture was based on Krsna’s Vrndavan pastimes from the 10th canto of Srimad Bhagavatam and he spoke deeply on the guru-disciple relationship. The day continued at the temple with the Sunday Feast Program where the lecture focused on topics such as knowledge, guilt and attachment.

DSC_0078The daily morning Srimad Bhagavatam classes were from canto 9, chapter 5 entitled Durvasa Muni’s Life Spared and covered subjects like offenses, austerities, forgiveness and offering respect, amongst others.

Tuesday (1 April) evening’s lecture could be entitled The Good Times Ahead where Maharaj spoke of the imminent doom of technology and how it will serve as a catalyst for a shift to village life that is based on the teachings of Bhagavad-gita.

On Wednesday, Maharaj presented a lecture entitled The Modern Age, at the Bhakti Yoga Society weekly meeting at the University of Cape Town. The final program in Cape Town took place on Thursday night where the lecture began with descriptions of the mercy of Panca Tattva and then he continued to speak about faith in spiritual in life!

This was Part One of the visit to Cape Town. On Friday, Maharaj flew to Durban and then drove inland to the town of Newcastle to participate in their Ratha Yatra Festival (5 April). Today, he gave class at the Sri Sri Radhanatha temple in Durban at their pre-Rama Naumi Festival. Tomorrow (7 April), he will return to Cape Town and spend the rest of the week there.

Here are photos from all the programs mentioned above. If  you cannot view the slide-show below, then please visit flickr.

 

Huge Holi festival in Iskcon of Washington DC, US Capital (Album 89 photos)
→ Dandavats.com


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ISKCON of Washington DC, located in Potomac, opened its doors to the public in 1975. Our founder, Srila Prabhupada, visited in 1976. The main building, a beautiful temple, is home to a very special Deity of Krishna. It is ISKCON’s first Krishna Deity in America. The Deity is called Madan Mohan, and is the center of the community here. ISKCON of DC sits on 12 acres of beautiful forested land. Along with the Temple, there is a Cultural Hall, a creek meandering through the property, where we grow flowers and vegetables and lovingly take care of our cows. Our property is open daily from 4:30 am to 9:00 pm. Every Sunday we have a special Open House from noon to 3pm. Visitors are welcome all year round. Read more ›

357. A letter to the heart
→ 9 Days, 8 Nights

I received this email from a senior devotee friend few days ago. I have read it twice and I find it absolutely amazing, fulfilling and true. The letter has everything that a devotee could ask for – hope, affection, guidance and love.

Letter from H.H. Radhanath Swami Maharaj

To the Worshipable Devotees of Sri Sri Radha GopinathBrahmacari Ashram and Congregation,

Please accept my respectful obeisances. All glories to Srila Prabhupada. I am very grateful to receive the very kind letters, which many of you have sent to me.Thank you very much. I have been traveling quite extensively. At present I am at Purandara Misra
Prabhu’s home near Viareggio in Italy. Last night we
had a program on a high mountain in a dense forest of
olive trees. We were gathered amidst large ancient
rocks and beautiful caves. I was very much remembering
Gahvarvan in Vrajadham. In that natural, austere
atmosphere everyone was very pleased to worship Sri
Radha Vrajasundara by hearing Their glories and
chanting Their Sacred names.
I cannot properly express to you the major impact that
all of you are having on thousands of peoples lives all
over the world. It is certainly difficult to believe
how Srila Prabhupada is allowing you to be so very
instrumental in inspiring faith and hope in devotees
hearts. I beg of you, be very careful to protect the
sacred service, which you are being blessed with.
Please remain humble and united under all
circumstances. Kali will present every possible reason
for you to disagree and feel enmity for each other. We
must take shelter of the higher principle of bhakti.
The root cause of all of our problems is that we want
to be the cnjoyer. We must humbly surrender to the
precious jewel that Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu has blessed
us with. The divine consciousness of being the sincere
servant of the servant of the servant.
While performing japa, bhajan and kirtan strive to be
enthusiastic and attentive. Carefully guard against the
ten offences. They are like highway robbers always
waiting to plunder you of the all the fruits of your
devotional service. Seek shelter of the Holy Names from
the core of your hearts. Desperately beg for humility,
honesty and a deep desire for pure bhakti.
Continuously, allow the nectarean Ganga of the Holy
Name to wash away all sins and water the seed of Divine
Love. May your sincere chanting of the Maha Mantra
attract the most precious mercy of Sri Radharani. Hari
Katha will nourish your heart with the unlimited mercy
of Sri Guru and Gauranga. Each day bathe your
consciousness in Srila Prabhupada’s books and our
Vaisnava Sastras. Earnestly pray for genuine eagerness
to hear and chant the divine messages of our
Worshipable Parampara.
Absorb your consciousness for Krishna’s pleasure in
everything you do at every moment of your lives. Be
enthusiastic to perform each and every service you are
given with sincere gratitude. Complaining is the
pastime of the mind immersed in petty selfishness.
Meditate upon the humility of our beloved Acaryas.
Although they are eternally immersed in the sweetest
rasas of Vrindaban’s Lila, they consider themselves
lower than the worm in stool, paying their heartfelt
dandavats to every devotee, feeling themselves to be
the most fallen, praying with the heart of an
insignificant beggar. Without sincerely striving to
imbibe this sacred mood of humility, our knowledge will
remain theoretical and will expect to be worshipped
while seated on the ornamented throne of the material
intelligence.
Please, never forget the infinite causeless mercy that
Srila Prabhupada has bestowed upon you. He is your
eternal well wisher. His mercy is all that we are made
of. As the preeminent Guru of your life, Srila
Prabhupada is eager to shower His Divine Grace upon
you.
Always remain faithful to his Divine Mission.
Never lend your ears to those who try to delude you by
the propaganda that they possess the key to something
higher.
Dance and chant together in great joy. Study together.
Preach together. Honor prasadam together. Worship the
mood of being a servant and see all others as your
master. Honor all vaisnavas and vaisnavis with great
care and from the heart.
In a hundred year old building in Chowpatty, Bombay,
Srila Prabhupada is miraculously revealing the
transcendental abode of Sri Sri Radha Gopinath. Please,
remain united, faithful, humble and pure. Throughout
the world; many are depending upon you.
With whatever insignificant sincerity I have, I place
my lowly head at your holy feet and beg you to take
these words as your life and soul.
I pray that Sri Sri Radha Gopinath may forever bless
you with Their causeless mercy. I hope this letter
meets you in the best of health.
Your servant,
Radhanath Swami hare krishna