Websites from the ISKCON Universe
Rotterdam is the second-largest city in the Netherlands and one of the largest ports in the world. Hare Krishna! Jaya Srila Prabhupada.Jaya Sri Sri Gaura-Nitai. -- Read more › The post Questions from Visakha dd, aged 6. appeared first on SivaramaSwami.com.
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The Appalachian hills provide the setting for an ornate palace dedicated to the great spiritual master who brought love of Krishna to the West.
Prabhupada’s Palace of Gold – Back To Godhead Article – July 1981.
by Yogesvara Dasa
In the Hills of West Virginia
The Appalachian hills provide the setting for an ornate palace dedicated to the great spiritual master who brought love of Krishna to the West.
Just around a bend in the road, crowning a lush green hill surrounded by valleys and forests in the West Virginia panhandle, stands Prabhupada’s Palace of Gold, a handcrafted seven-years-in-the-making miracle of inlaid marble walls and floors, stained-glass windows, crystal chandeliers, and a three-hundred-ton gold-leafed dome that glitters like a second sun. In the words of one commentator for The Today Show, “You won’t believe your eyes.”
How did it get there? Who built it? And why? Such questions never fail to cross the minds of the half million visitors who come from all over the world each year to see ‘The Taj Mahal of the West.” The Palace was built by the devotees of New Vrindaban. the West Virginia farm community of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON). as a memorial to ISKCON’s founder and spiritual guide. His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada.
A front view of the Palace reveals some of the 8,000 square feet of 22-karat gold leaf that highlights the building’s surface. Six hundred gilded balusters encircle the Palace at its base.
Apart from its architectural and artistic appeal, the Palace is also a place of worship where devotees of Lord Krsna honor their spiritual master, a lifelong devotee of God, for his work of establishing Krsna consciousness love of God around the world.
How much is the Palace worth? Some experts have guessed 10 to 15 million dollars, but they’re quick to add that such work just isn’t done any more, so an accurate estimate is difficult. So far, the devotees have actually invested only $600,000 for construction materials and equipment. And they did the work themselves.
Detail from wrought-iron gates at the Palace shows the skill of devotee craftspeople.
Where did the money come from? During the seven years of construction more than 200 community members and supporters raised it through private donations and from the Palace’s thriving tourism. Also helpful were contributions from the Hindu community (who see Krsna temples as their “home away from home”) and income from commissioned work by devotee artists, such as the mural in Wheeling’s Civic Center, painted by New Vrindaban resident Muralidhara dasa.
The New Vrindaban community was started in 1968, under the direct guidance of Srila Prabhupada. His disciples came to West Virginia to set up a farm that would demonstrate the principles of Krsna conscious life: simple living, based on nature and the cows, balanced by ”high thinking” in short, a life dedicated to the service of God, free from the dependencies of consumer civilization. Such a palace, he hoped, would also be a pilgrimage site, a Western version of Vrndavana, the village in India where Lord Krsna appeared five thousand years ago.
The Taj Mahal of the West gleams with the light of 42 handmade chandeliers.
But how does an elaborate royal palace fit in with such nonmaterialistic aspirations? Devotees explain that simplicity in their own lives does not rule out opulence in the worship of God or His representatives. They also view the Palace as a mark of Krsna culture, where interested people can learn the basic principle spiritual life. And the Palace also serves a place of celebration. Annual festivals draw tens of thousands of pilgrims to attend ceremonies, plays, and feasts cooked in huge kitchens behind the Palace.
In its design the Palace is unique. While most churches and cathedrals reflect orthodox motifs of their culture, the ace is a blending of Eastern and Western styles, as if to say that service to God is the universal principle of all religions. While the Eastern roots of the Krsna consciousness movement can be seen in the intricate latticework, peacock windows, and traditional marble patterns, the movement’s presence in the West is reflected castlelike railings, cathedral-inspired arches, and bright color combinations.
101 mirrors (like those on the ceiling), and more than 12,000 pieces of sculpted. stained, and etched glass fitted into 80 windows. Marble for the floors and walls was imported from various parts or the world.
The Palace actually started out in 1973 to be a simple home for Srila Prabhupada who had come to America eight years earlier, at age sixty-nine, to spread teachings of Lord Krsna. When Prabhupada passed away in 1977, the devotees building it decided to make it into a memorial, and the residents of New Vrindaban set out to transform a home into a palace.
Without any prior training in construction, masonry, or the other skills for such a task, the devotees set to work. Acquiring advice and help along the way, they learned architecture, bricklaying, carpentry, plumbing, electrical work, casting, marble cutting and polishing, stained-glass making, and landscaping. Mothers with their children, men young and old friends and neighbors each person worked in the spirit of Bhagavad-gita, the main text of Krsna devotees:
All that you do, all that you eat, all that you offer and give away, as well as any sacrifice that you may perform, should be done as an offering to Me.
The winters were often bitter cold. Earth turned to mud ankle-deep, and some of the less hardy left the farm in defeat. The work went on, however, fired by Srila Prabhupada’s vision of a holy place in the hills of West Virginia, and the dream slowly became a reality.
A Tour of the Palace
Stained glass peacock windows.
What makes the Palace shine so brightly is its outer covering of 22-karat gold leaf 8,000 square feet of sheets one thousandth of an inch thick, protected by four layers of shellac. Entering the Palace through one of two main doors, we find ourselves beneath an arched ceiling painted as a Himalayan landscape. Devotee artists airbrushed the large areas and then added details by hand. They assembled 11,000 pieces of Austrian crystal to make the forty-two chandeliers that illuminate the main hallway. Each chandelier is color-coordinated to match the stained-glass windows.
For the walls and floors of the Palace, devotees imported forty different kinds of marble and onyx from Italy, France, Turkey, and Brazil. They cut the large raw slabs into more than 20,000 smaller pieces, polished them all, and shaped them into delicate inlaid designs. Then each ensemble was polished and fitted into place. In all, the 35,000 square feet of the Palace display 254 tons of marble.
Fine marble inlays show expertise the devotees acquired during the seven years they spent working to build the Palace.
The first room we see down the left hallway is the reception room, with furnishings handcrafted at New Vrindaban’s marble shop. Here we see photo displays of Srila Prabhupada’s worldwide missionary activities. The door is fitted with sand-blasted glass, designed and shaped pieces of glass. Stones from Czechoslovakia further decorate each window. In India, peacocks are regarded as creatures of good fortune, and Lord Krsna is easily recognized by the peacock feather in His hair.
Continuing down the left hallway, we see the kitchen, where devotees cook vegetarian foods according to ancient recipes. The food is prepared six times daily and offered to Srila Prabhupada in the main temple as an act of devotion.
Devotees and guests mingle by a fountain in the Palace gardens. New Vrindaban has begun to reveal itself as a place of pilgrimage in the Western world, a place where people can come and see spiritual life in action.
Once we reach the back hallway, we look out onto twenty acres of sculpted gardens and a terrace that serves as a stage for devotional plays and concerts. The terrace is the roof of an underground mall that houses a restaurant, a museum, a library, and a display area where devotees demonstrate their crafts. Beyond the gardens is a guest pavilion, with a large meeting hall and sixty rooms.
This gold-leafed teakwood door leads to the main hall from Srila Prabhupada’s study.
As we continue around the hallway, we come to the study, where devotees have installed a lifelike form of Srila Prabhupada posed at his work of translating the Sanskrit scriptures of Krsna consciousness into English. In his lifetime Srila Prabhupada published seventy volumes of devotional literature, which universities across the country have acquired as standard reference works. (Srila Prabhupada’s disciples have translated his writings into sixteen languages.) It took devotees more than two years to complete the walls of the study. The teakwood furniture was carved by a devotee family in Bombay. The vases, of ancient Chinese origin, were donated by one of Srila Prabhupada’s disciples, Alfred Ford, the great-grandson of Henry Ford.
In the study itself guests see a molded form of Srila Prabhupada posed at his work of translating the Sanskrit Vedic scriptures into English.
In the next room, Srila Prabhupada’s bedroom, we see walls made of Italian Botticino marble inlaid with onyx. The ceiling was painted by devotees lying on their backs, Michelangelo-style. The nine hundred flowers decorating the walls took a devotee artist four months to paint.
An antique French chandelier lights the ceiling of the main hall of worship. The large mural partially obscured by the chandelier depicts Lord Krsna dancing with the cowherd damsels of Vrndavana. The other large mural shows Lord Caitanya, an incarnation of Krsna, chanting the Hare Krsna mantra and dancing with His close associates.
In the center of the Palace is the main temple. Here daily classes and ceremonies take place, lit by a 150-year-old French chandelier gold-plated by New Vrindaban craftspeople. Paintings on the ceiling depict scenes from the pastimes Lord Krsna performed when He was present on this planet five thousand years ago. The two central paintings show Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu chanting God’s holy names in India five hundred years ago and Lord Krsna dancing with His most intimate devotees, the cowherd damsels of Vrndavana.
Srila Prabhupada presides over lhe main lemple from a throne of gold and marble. The Palace is to Srila Prabhupada what a beautiful selling is to a diamond.
Adorning the walls of the temple are paintings of the saintly teachers who in recent generations have transmitted the ancient science of Krsna consciousness for the benefit of mankind. Srila Prabhupada, thirty-second in the disciplic line of teachers from Lord Krsna, presides over the temple from a gilded throne beneath a dome of cast gypsum and 4,200 pieces of cut glass.
Fireworks fill the night sky during dedication ceremonies for the Palace, in 1980.
Sri Sri Radha Giridhari Darshan on 13th January 2014
Three Modes of Material Nature
In the Bhagavad-gita is a description of the modes of material nature, which are described in detail and divided into three categories of ignorance, passion, and goodness. The modes of material nature can be empirically observed and they can influence every part of our lives from what we think, to how we feel, to how we act. When one is learned, conscious, and conscientious of how material nature is working in one’s life, one can choose how to live life from a more informed, realistic perspective.
As a doctor can determine a disease by analyzing the symptoms of the patient; so, material nature can be studied in a similar way by observing its unique characteristics. For instance in the Bhagavad-gita, the mode of goodness is described to be that which is illuminating in knowledge and free of bad reactions or karma. When one acts in goodness they become conditioned to knowledge and a sense of happiness. Passion is described as associated with great attachment, great endeavor, activity for the purpose of enjoying the results, and uncontrollable desire and hankering. Acting in passion brings one misery. Finally, ignorance is associated with madness, inertia, illusion, and darkness, which bring foolishness.
Just as the three primary colors, when combined in different ways, can be used to produce a colorful, multidimensional piece of art; similarly, these modes of nature are dynamic and can combine in a seemingly unlimited number of ways to generate what we perceive to be reality. That is what we are most oftentimes observing in our environments – a matrix of various, seamless combinations of goodness, passion, and ignorance.
Contemporary scientific studies have indirectly confirmed the pervasive influence that the modes of material nature have on us. One such field of science that gives credence to the phenomenon is the breakthrough research on studies of the human brain and its reactions to external stimuli. By studying the brain, neurologists have identified structural and neurochemical differences in patients that were conditioned to environments of goodness, passion, and/or ignorance.
According to researchers in conjunction with the United States Department of Human and Health Services, neurochemical changes are experienced by infants who are exposed to various traumatic events and such changes can affect the outcome of one’s entire life. There is a chronic stimulation in the brain’s fear response which simultaneously stultifies the brain’s region for complex thought and abstract cognition when it is overly activated. This may permanently affect the brain’s development and alter its ability to use serotonin, a chemical responsible for “producing” happiness. Martin Teicher, a researcher at Harvard University, reported that child abuse can reduce brain volume in the hippocampus, making the child susceptible for drug abuse and depression later in life. Furthermore, MRI studies on the brain have revealed that brain waves are altered when the patient is shown anxiety-producing images.
On the reverse spectrum, when one cultivates peace and stability, the brain also reflects these stimuli. University of Madison psychologists have shown through fMRI scans, after studying monks who were engaged in daily meditation for years, that the insula region of the brain was higher in activity than a normal person’s. The insula region is special for its ability to detect emotions and identify bodily responses to emotions, i.e. heart rate, blood pressure, etc. These monks, both through the brain study and by observing their lives of mediation, show a greater tendency for compassion, on average, than those who live a more hectic and competitive lifestyle.
Even though one may be born with brain deficiencies that steer one towards acting in impious or inappropriate ways, through proper cultivation by one’s surroundings and behavior, one has the possibility to change these tendencies. Scientists have proven that although one may be born with abnormal levels of serotonin, which is believed to put one at risk for psychopathy; if one is brought up in a positive environment during childhood, the ventromedial prefrontal cortex can open up to more readily take in the environment, possibly redirecting the course of that person’s future behavior.
From the research, it can be surmised that behavior and environment play a large role in the formation of the quality of one’s life. Those who were in abusive situations and possible harbingers of future abuse based on these brain studies were in contact with qualities distinctive of passion and ignorance. Conversely, those who cultivated a sense of deeper peace and well-being were observed to have a greater sense of happiness and satisfaction in their lives according to their brain activity, and were living in goodness.
Therefore it can be concluded that everything one does, from what they eat, to how they interact with others, etc. influences us in profound and unseen ways as evinced by studies on the human brain. Whatever mode we cultivate – goodness, passion, and ignorance – will surely inure us to a condition that is symptomatic of that quality of material nature and the longer one stays in that condition, the more these qualities become pronounced in the person on a subtle and gross level.
Hence, it is a reciprocal relationship between one’s mind and one’s environment and activities. However, a self-reflective person may ask: how is it possible to cultivate the mind when we are subject to a constant struggle for predominance among the modes of nature? Most spiritual disciplines, which integrate the process of yoga, give the yoga practitioner the singular opportunity to elevate their reality from the lower modes of nature to a higher level of existence by doing just that- cultivating the mind. How? By dealing directly with this reciprocal relationship of focusing the mind on that which is in goodness or even spiritual goodness, and molding one’s life and activities in such a way that one’s mind can focus more attentively on this reality without distraction (i.e. living a disciplined lifestyle); culminating to the point when one is living every moment in pure goodness. In this way one can cultivate one’s life without so much precariousness from the vexing material nature.
So, here’s a new perspective on the dynamics of life. The choice is in many ways ours.
It is a beautiful view from this hill. I took this shot when traveling south on highway 5. When I first pulled into this lot, it was dark. When the sun rose, it revealed heaps of garbage. Similarly, those who are starting on the transcendental path may at first think themselves purer than they really are. As they practice Krishna consciousness, the sun of Krishna eventually may reveal some garbage.
Restorative Yoga Postures
The holiday season, from Thanksgiving through New Years, can be a time of great joy, family gatherings, feasting, and fun. This season can also leave our energy drained after dealing with the stress of traveling, shopping, cooking, late night gatherings, overload of sweets and other foods, and general sensory overstimulation. When we become drained of energy, sometimes we look for a quick fix – a cup of coffee or other forms of caffeine for example, or we ignore our bodies’ run down feeling and keep pushing ourselves to be on the go. If you are feeling signs of low energy after the holidays (fatigue, easily irritable, falling sick often, trouble concentrating, and low energy in general), then it is important that you take time to rest and restore.
Restorative yoga postures are simple poses, usually done with props (blankets, bolsters, straps, and blocks), held for long periods of time to deeply benefit and restore the nervous system, immune system, and overall state of wellbeing. Ideally, a restorative yoga practice should be done weekly. However, for those who do not practice regularly, at least taking some time after the holidays or when energy is drained is recommended for healing, and overall good health.
Restorative yoga poses reset the body’s systems back to a state of equilibrium or balance. When holding restful poses for a long time, the body begins to heal itself deeply from within. If we are constantly on the go, depleting our inner resources, we are not giving our bodies the quiet time needed to heal and reenergize. Restorative poses also work by activating the parasympathetic nervous system (the resting system as opposed to the sympathetic “fight or flight” mode), and thus help us feel more relaxed and in control. Besides the physical benefits, restorative yoga poses can help one feel calmer and better equipped mentally to deal with life’s daily stressors.
Although restorative yoga is usually done with yoga props, you can substitute blankets, towels, and pillows to practice from home.
Following are three simple restorative poses you can try when fatigued. To maximize the benefits, each pose should be held for a minimum of 2 minutes, but ideally for 5-15 minutes each.
Start with a yoga mat or comfortable lying place, and a few blankets and pillows. If you wear eyeglasses, best to remove them so that your eyes can relax.
Prepare for your practice with 2-5 minutes of silence and deep breathing. Sit comfortably (either cross legged on the floor, on a pillow for support, or in a chair with back straight and both feet on the floor). Ground your tailbone down while reaching crown of the head upwards to lengthen your spine. Lift chest and collarbones, and relax shoulders down the back. Breath is slow, long (at least a count of 4 seconds for each inhale and exhale) and even (inhales same lengths as exhales). Relax the forehead, area around the eyes, and jaw, and soften the belly and any other tense areas. If you like, you can chant OM three times to help focus the mind. Now you are ready for your practice.
1) Supta Baddha Konasana (Reclined Bound Angle Pose) Use yoga bolster and 2 blocks, or use pillows and blankets.
Supta Baddha Konasana (Reclined Bound Angle Pose)
Sit on the floor and bring soles of the feet together in butterfly position. Have a stack of 2-3 neatly folded blankets (or yoga bolster) right behind your bottom to lie back on (lengthwise so they will support your entire spine and head). Keeping your feet in the butterfly position, lie back onto your support. Your bottom should be on the floor, but your entire back and head will be resting on the blankets or bolster. Place one yoga block, rolled up blanket, or pillow underneath each knee or thigh for added support and deeper relaxation. Arms can be resting by your sides with palms facing up, or you can place one hand on your heart and one on your belly. Close your eyes and quietly observe the breath and mind. Breath should be natural, not forced, during a restorative practice. Keep softening tense areas on your exhales, and gently bring the mind back to observing the breath when the mind wanders. Hold for 2-15 minutes. If you feel any knee pain, readjust the support under your knees, or come out of the pose. If you feel lower back pain, lower the height of the support for your back, or come out of the pose. A slight stretching sensation is welcome, but pain should not be tolerated in any yoga practice. Exit the pose by using hands to bring knees back up together, and then rolling onto your right side with knees bent. Rest there a few cycles of breath, and then push yourself up to sit. This pose improves circulation, stimulates the ovaries, prostrate, bladder, and kidneys, and stretches inner thighs, groin, and knees. This pose can help ease the discomfort of menstrual cramps and menopause.
2) Viparita Karani (Legs up the wall pose) You will need a wall, and yoga bolster or 2 thickly folded blankets.
Viparita Karani (Legs up the wall pose)
Place your bolster or stacked and folded blankets horizontally by the wall. Sit on the bolster or blankets sideways, with your side hip touching the wall and knees bent. Scoot in close to the wall as you turn so that your legs are vertically up the wall. Your lower back/lower torso is resting on the bolster or blankets, your upper back, shoulders, and head are resting on the ground, and your legs are vertically against the wall so that you are in an L shape. This pose can also be done without blankets or bolsters – simply lie in an L shape with your torso on the ground and legs up against the wall. The bolster simply gives added support. Arms can be by your sides or overhead. If there is any back discomfort, adjust the bolster’s proximity to the wall, remove it, or come out of the pose. Once in the pose, close your eyes, soften the face and jaw, and observe the breath. Halfway through the pose, you can try a variation by widening your legs against the wall in straddle position. If having your legs fully up against the wall is not comfortable, rest bent legs on a chair instead, as you lay your torso on the ground. Hold for 2- 15 minutes. Exit the pose by bending knees and rolling onto right side. Rest there for a few cycles of breath, and then push self up to seated.
This pose relieves pain or stress in the legs and feet, eases back pain, and calms the mind. It can also help with insomnia. As it is a semi inversion (since you are partially upside down), its benefits includes those of other inversions such as reduction of anxiety, low or high blood pressure, headaches, mild depression, and cramps (when done regularly). As it is a mild inversion, anyone with glaucoma or other eye pressure related problems should avoid this pose.
3) Supported Savasana (final resting pose) – any yoga practice ends with savasana (corpse pose).
Supported Savasana (final resting pose)
In a restorative practice, savasana is taken with props. Have one blanket folded very thinly underneath your head only (not your neck). Place a yoga bolster, rolled up blanket, or pillow underneath your knees as you lie down. Arms are at a 45 degree angle between your legs and upper body, with palms facing up. Allow feet to relax to the sides. This is called corpse pose, so the body should be as still as a corpse, but the mind awake. To relax, try squeezing and tensing up the muscles from head to toe with an inhale, and then release the tension with an exhale. Once settled into savasana, close eyes, breathe normally, and quiet the mind by observing the breath, the thoughts, and sensations in the body. Have the room dark and silent if possible, and rest for 5-15 minutes.
Come out of your restorative practice slowly, by wiggling fingers and toes, taking a deeper breath, and rolling onto your right side with knees bent. Rest there for a few cycles of breath, and then push yourself up to a sitting position. Take some time to observe the effects of your practice on your body and mind, and perhaps end by chanting OM. Drink water, and move slowly until ready to resume your regular activities.
(Kadamba Kanana Swami, 29 September 2013, Melbourne, Australia, Srimad Bhagavatam 2.2.36)
So there is a story which also relates to my country (Netherlands). Because my country is very low there are floods sometimes but nowadays they control it with technology. In 1953, there was a huge flood and people were sitting on the roof of their houses. This one man was sitting on the roof of the house and a boat came and they said, “Get in the boat!”
The man said, “No, my Lord will save me.” After the boat, then a helicopter came, “No, I will not come in your helicopter. God will save me and no one else.” Then he died and came before God after his life. He said, “Why did you not save me?”
God, “What do you mean? I sent you a boat and I sent you a helicopter! What more do you want?”
So, he sends us the problem but he also sends us the solutions. He also sends us the tools to do something about the problems so we are not just sitting there fatalistic, “Oh it is my karma. What can I do?”
Take your two hands and do something about it. In other words, by hard work, we can and we should try to improve our destiny. Then still if it does not work, all right, then we accept it. We are also given the solutions, so we take some medicine, if it is not inferring with the Lord’s plan. So he is giving us the problems and the solutions. So problems, we do not worry about them, Krsna is so merciful!
All glories to Sri Vrindavana which, with single particle of its glory, which cannot be understood even by Laksmi, Siva, Brahma, and all the leaders of the demigods, makes numberless kamadhenu cows, kalpa-vrksa trees, and cintamani gems appear insignificant.
[Source : Nectarean Glories of Sri Vrindavana-dhama by Srila Prabodhananda Sarasvati Thakura, 1-36 Translation ]
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Iskcon devotees spread the Holy Name -- Read more › 
Giriraj Swami read and spoke from Srimad-Bhagavatam 3.25.35-36.
“Here the word vilasa is very important. Vilasa refers to the activities or pastimes of the Lord. It is a prescribed duty in temple worship that not only should one visit the temple to see the Deity nicely decorated, but at the same time he should hear the recitation of Srimad-Bhagavatam, Bhagavad-gita, or some similar literature, which is regularly recited in the temple. It is the system in Vrndavana that in every temple there is recitation of the sastras. Even third-class devotees who have no literary knowledge or no time to read Srimad-Bhagavatam or Bhagavad-gita get the opportunity to hear about the pastimes of the Lord. In this way their minds may remain always absorbed in the thought of the Lord—His form, His activities, and His transcendental nature. This state of Krishna consciousness is a liberated stage. —SB 3.25.36 purport
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Deity Welcome Talk
This is me with my three oldest children around 1982. This was taken in the upstairs of the old barn at Bahulaban that we lived in until moving into the RVC temple in 1983.
Byron Bay is a beachside town located in the far-northeastern corner of the state of New South Wales, Australia. It is located 772 kilometres north of Sydney and 165 kilometres south of Brisbane -- Read more › The post The meaning of the Maha-mantra at the Kirtan-yoga night in Cardiff appeared first on SivaramaSwami.com.
"Ksira-Chora" means "one who stole sweet condensed milk" and there's a special pastime (see below) about how He received this name. Recently we came across some rare photos of Ksira-Chora Gopinatha in Remuna, normally photography is not permitted so these amazing photos are a rare treat! -- Read more › 
Travel Adventures of a Krishna Monk. Gainesville, Tallahassee, Jacksonville and New York City -- Read more ›
The post London, 13 January 2014 appeared first on SivaramaSwami.com.
Festival speakers:
HH Bhakti Bringa Govinda Swami
HH Bhakti Caitanya Swami
HH Niranjana Swami
HH Bhakti Visrambha Madhava Swami
HH Bhakti Sharan Shanta Goswami
HG Dhirasanta Prabhu
HG Nruhari Prabhu
HG Ojasvi Prabhu -- Read more › The post January 18th, 2014 – Darshan appeared first on Mayapur.com.
ECO-Vrindaban’s Board Meeting Minutes 01-05-2014.
Mission Statement: ECO-Vrindaban (Earth, Cows, Opportunities & Vrindaban Villages) is dedicated to cow protection, sustainable agriculture, self-sufficiency and simple living – all centered around loving service to Sri Krishna, as envisioned by the ISKCON New Vrindaban Founder-Acharya, His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada.
Participating Members of the ECOV Board of Directors: Anuttama, Chaitanya Mangala, Krpamaya, Madhava Gosh, Navin Shyam, and Ranaka.
Advisers present: Jaya Krsna
1. Annual board elections
Based on the staggered terms of office established in 2013, the terms of both Navin Shyam and Chaitanya Mangala expired. The ECOV Board re-elected Navin Shyam and Chaitanya Mangala both to three-year terms.
2. New board position
WHEREAS: The ECOV Board wishes to involve more qualified and interested members of New Vrindaban’s second-generation in leading ECOV.
RESOLVED: The Board hereby creates a 7th position on the Board of Directors and elects Bhima Walker to an initial one-year term.
3. ISKCON New Vrindaban’s (INV) director appointment
At the December 19th Joint Board Meeting, INV informed ECOV that as of January 1st, 2014, Ranaka will be the INV-appointed director, in accordance with the new bylaws of ECOV, as an integrated auxiliary of INV.
4. Grant request: Ox Training
Funds already allocated to an ox training program previously connected with the Madhuban project will be used for this.
5. RVC Temple energy efficiency grant
Gosh will work on this with Gopisa as this is a project well-suited to winter.
6. G7G grants: Irrigation system
Final payment was issued to Apogee Design after receipt of the operations manual and final training.
7. Madhuban projects
Road and pond – Will resume in spring.
Ox Project – Funding has been disassociated with Madhuban project specifically, and will be used to support the recent request from Rafael & Yudhistira.
Barn and house design – Both will be resumed in the spring.
8. ECOV promotional brochure
No progress yet, but there is general recognition that this is a much-needed project.
9. Gopal’s Garden
Ranaka will check with Ruci about a second newsletter (Winter edition) for the school year.
10. Prabhupada’s Palace renovation matching grant
Jaya Krsna reported that INV plans to make use of ECOV’s matching grant in 2014 towards renovations on Srila Prabhupada’s Palace.