Prabhupada Sangam at the Palace at New Vrindaban
→ New Vrindaban Brijabasi Spirit

Prabhupada Sangam at the Palace

By Sachimata Prins

July 24, 2013

On Tuesday, July 23rd, there was a wonderful evening program organized at the Palace in New Vrindaban to commemorate the 40th anniversary of Srila Prabhupada’s first tour of the Palace being built in his honor. Many devotees attended.

We heard how, forty years ago, the Palace was really in its rough stages – only the foundation and a few walls.  But the devotees were anxious for Srila Prabhupada to see their devotion, and Kirtanananda Swami wanted to give him the grand tour, along with some of the devotees who were actually building the Palace.  Soma das recalled that Bali Mardhana mentioned in Krishna Book, that Krishna’s Palace in Dwarka was illuminated with jewels.  Srila Prabhupada turned to him, and spoke one of his now most memorable quotes, “These devotees, my disciples, are my jewels.”

After learning about all the elaborate plans for Prabhupada’s study, bedroom, kitchen, bath and temple room, Prabhupada turned to Kirtanananda Swami and asked, “So are you going to install Radha-Vrindaban Chandra here, and Kirtanananda replied, “No, Srila Prabhupada, we are going to install you here.”

To which Srila Prabhupada replied, “This is proper.”

A few senior Prabhupada disciples, namely Yudhistira das and Rasa Lila dasi, also contributed wonderful stories and personal experiences about his visit at that time. We learned that Rasa Lila was initiated on that visit, along with Bhakta Marga Swami, Advaita, and Meghamala.  Varsana Maharaj, who was Kashyapa das at that time, took 2nd initiation.  Yudhistira’s pastimes were centered on Prabhupada’s desire that New Vrindaban be a beacon of light in the process of establishing self-sufficiency in Iskcon farm communities.  That we should depend on the cows, and train the oxen, so we could grow our own food, etc.   All in all, it was a wonderful and interesting evening.

I personally am so happy that these monthly programs are being organized by Kripamaya prabhu.  I’ve been to three so far this summer, and I’ve noticed that Srila Prabhupada always seems to have a big smile on his face, which tells me how pleased he is to have some of the local N.V. residents, newcomers, and guests visit him in his home and glorify him.

I just know that anyone who takes advantage of these sweet get-togethers will not be disappointed.  They are all centered on pastimes of
Srila Prabhupada, his instructions, and his vision for New Vrindaban.

Besides our regular daily sadhana, it’s so important for devotees to come together and relish the stories and history of New Vrindaban.  Hope to see you at the next one.

Haribol, your servant,

Sachimata devi dasi

reading at old vrindaban

Upcoming Janmastami Celebrations
→ ISKCON Melbourne, AU

This year Sri Krishna Janmastami falls on Thursday August the 29th.

13Janmastami.jpg
Our program includes extended darshan; evening dramas, song and dance; a fire sacrifice and prasadam for all.

Some event-timings include:
4.00pm arati & kirtan
7.00pm arati & kirtan
7.30pm abhisheka & kirtan
9.00pm arati & kirtan
Midnight arati

Keep watching for more details when August arrives.

Savour the Bliss! Volunteer at Janmastami
→ ISKCON Melbourne, AU

Lord Sri Krishna - whose Appearance we glorify at Janmastami - was compelled to further expand His blissful Vrindavana pastimes. He incarnated with all His associates in Chaitanya-lila. Why?

13VOLUNTEER.jpg "Desiring to understand the glory of Radharani's love, the wonderful qualities in Him that She alone relishes through Her love, and the happiness She feels when She realizes the sweetness of His love, the Supreme Lord Hari, richly endowed with Her emotions, appeared from the womb of Srimati Saci-devi, as the moon appeared from the ocean." (Chaitanya-caritamrita Adi-lila 1.6)

When we offer service to Lord Krishna, we can each savour a drop of Radharani's love - by Lord Chaitanya's mercy. What is Sri Krishna Janmastami without serving together?

Your help is vital. To offer services - from cutting up vegetables for the Deities, to serving prasadam to guests or maintaining security - we need you. Don’t miss this very special chance to taste the bliss of giving transcendental pleasure to Lord Krishna and His devotees!

Volunteer at seva@servekrishna.com.au.

Solve Your Janmastami Parking Problem
→ ISKCON Melbourne, AU

Avoid the fuss - take our bus:
• no cost
• no trouble
• no risk of a parking fine!

13PARKING.jpg
Take a free bus ride from Albert Park Lake and avoid parking congestion around the Temple.

From 6pm. - 11pm every 10 minutes two 25 seater buses will shuttle you from Lakeside Carpark in Aughtie Drive (Melways 2K E6) to the Mary Kehoe Centre (opposite the Temple in Danks St.) and return.

Parking at Lakeside Carpark costs $2.30 (flat rate) from 5-9pm., and then is free of charge.

Sri Vyasa Puja Celebrations
→ ISKCON Melbourne, AU

Srila Prabhupada's Appearance Day - Sri Vyasa Puja for all ISKCON devotees - falls on Friday August the 30th.

VyasaPuja.jpg Here is our schedule:

10.00am readings & homages
12.30pm Pushpanjali & Guru Puja
2.00pm prasadam feast

Please come and share your realisations of the impact that Srila Prabhupada's Appearance has made on your life.

See you there.

15.19 – Life’s driving force is existence’s crowning reality
→ The Spiritual Scientist

Love is life’s driving force. We all want to love and be loved.

Our longing for love drives our lives and our dreams – to have great looks, to earn big money, to shine professionally. Through such achievements we hope to attract the love of others or show our love for them.

Conversely, few things demotivate us as much as the feeling of being unloved, unvalued, uncared. They take away our drive to achieve, leaving us apathetic and lethargic – depressed.

And such depression seems inevitable in life. Those whom we love don’t reciprocate our love, at least not as much as we desire. And even their partially reciprocated love is terminated by time, sooner or later. Such tragedies can kill our drive to achieve, even live, thereby drowning us in a bottomless depression.

Thankfully, we can transcend such depression if we understand the Gita’s vision of a supremely loving and lovable God. Krishna always loves us, values us, cares for us – no matter what happens, even no matter what we do. He loves us so much that he constantly accompanies us as the Supersoul in our heart. Even when we keep spurning his love, He keeps striving tirelessly to change our heart so that we join him in his eternal world of love.

In fact, Krishna loves love so much that in his personal abode he conceals his divinity so that love can reign supreme. Thus, he enthrones love as existence’s crowning reality.

When we truly understand Krishna and his love, we cannot but offer all of our heart’s love to him, as the Bhagavad-gita (15.19) indicates. Then, life’s driving force never loses force, but continues forever, catalyzing us to live a fulfilling life in this world and catapulting us to an ecstatic life of eternal love in the next world.

***

Whoever knows Me as the Supreme Personality of Godhead, without doubting, is the knower of everything. He therefore engages himself in full devotional service to Me, O son of Bharata.

 

329. Still on your cycle?
→ 9 Days, 8 Nights

20130726-132542.jpg

At my lunch break and listening to Srimad Bhagavatam lecture 2.1.5 given at our temple yesterday by Gopa Vrndesh Prabhu. Drew this cartoon when these statements from the purport stood out :

“The foolish materially attached men are wasting their valuable time in the improvement of the material conditions of life by sleeping, indulging in sex life, developing economic conditions and maintaining a band of relatives who are to be vanquished in the air of oblivion.

Being engaged in all these materialistic activities, the living soul entangles himself in the cycle of the law of fruitive actions. This entails the chain of birth and death in the 8,400,000 species of life: the aquatics, the vegetables, the reptiles, the birds, the beasts, the uncivilized man, and then again the human form, which is the chance for getting out of the cycle of fruitive action.

Therefore, if one desires freedom from this vicious circle, then one must cease to act as a karmī or enjoyer of the results of one’s own work, good or bad. One should not do anything, either good or bad, on his own account, but must execute everything on behalf of the Supreme Lord, the ultimate proprietor of everything that be”.


Japa Chair
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As I sat in my Japa chair today....the morning sun streaming through the window onto my chest - much needed heat and energy to help with the recovery of a 5 day influenza virus.

A thought came to mind.....just as the sun is giving relief and healing to my body - similarly the rays of the Holy names are giving me relief from material suffering and anxiety - it is healing and purifying our soul.

Krsna's association is incredibly powerful....He mercifully appears as the sound of the Hare Krsna mantra and purifies our mind and body and allows us to develop our pure love for the Lord.

Japa Chair
→ Japa Group


As I sat in my Japa chair today....the morning sun streaming through the window onto my chest - much needed heat and energy to help with the recovery of a 5 day influenza virus.

A thought came to mind.....just as the sun is giving relief and healing to my body - similarly the rays of the Holy names are giving me relief from material suffering and anxiety - it is healing and purifying our soul.

Krsna's association is incredibly powerful....He mercifully appears as the sound of the Hare Krsna mantra and purifies our mind and body and allows us to develop our pure love for the Lord.

God is all-good; God is all-merciful
→ The Spiritual Scientist

The Supreme Lord is so full that for the deliverance of the conditioned soul He is the supplier and digester of foodstuff, the witness of his activity, and the giver of knowledge in the form of theVedas and as the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Sri Krsna, the teacher of the Bhagavad-gita. He is worshipable by the conditioned soul. Thus God is all-good; God is all-merciful.

Bhagavad-gita 15.15 purport

Doesn’t the idea that devotees deliver their ancestors indicate bodily identification?
→ The Spiritual Scientist

From: Shivam Saraogi
This is in relation to the Srila Prabhupada quote "Is a devotee an escapist." It is said that 20 generations of a devotee goes back to the spiritual world with him. Isn't this a bodily identification? Please clarify (and forgive if i have committed any offense by asking this question).

To hear the answer podcast, please click here

Offenses
→ KKS Blog

(Kadamba Kanana Swami, 3 May 2013, Radhadesh, Belgium, Srimad Bhagavatam 5.19.20)

kks_dbn_25 July 2013Devotee: I have also heard that there is something called jiva apradha (offense to another living entity). Is that a speculation?

Kadamba Kanana Swami:  Well, udvege divasa (CC. Antya- Lila 20.40), there are such statements for example, that one should not cause any anxiety to any living being and if we do then there are also reactions; that we should know. We should be ready to offer respect to all others. It does not say to all other devotees but ”to all others”. So, there are plenty of injunctions that we should not offend any living beings but the reactions are different when we start to offend vaisnavas. But we should not just stop at the vaisnavas and treat everyone else like dirt - no, we should be respectful to everyone.

Devotee: With vaisnava apradha, it is also by speech but with jiva apradha, we may speak badly of the karmis and so on?

Kadamba Kanana Swami: Sometimes a little bad is also all right. Narottama Das Thakur says that if we have anger that we can direct it towards the non-devotee, not towards the devotee. Sometimes you have to call a “spade a spade” and call people nonsense rascals which Prabhupada liked to do very much. And Prabhupada said things like, “I kick on their face,” and that was not offensive - that was appropriate.

However when we start imitating that, it may not be appropriate because we do not have the depth and vision. We start imitating left and right, “I kick this one on the face and that one is a rascal….”

So, especially in the beginning, we must be very careful and when we become more mature then we may be able to more clearly say who is at fault.

 

Offenses
→ KKS Blog

(Kadamba Kanana Swami, 3 May 2013, Radhadesh, Belgium, Srimad Bhagavatam 5.19.20)

kks_dbn_25 July 2013Devotee: I have also heard that there is something called jiva apradha (offense to another living entity). Is that a speculation?

Kadamba Kanana Swami:  Well, udvege divasa (CC. Antya- Lila 20.40), there are such statements for example, that one should not cause any anxiety to any living being and if we do then there are also reactions; that we should know. We should be ready to offer respect to all others. It does not say to all other devotees but ”to all others”. So, there are plenty of injunctions that we should not offend any living beings but the reactions are different when we start to offend vaisnavas. But we should not just stop at the vaisnavas and treat everyone else like dirt - no, we should be respectful to everyone.

Devotee: With vaisnava apradha, it is also by speech but with jiva apradha, we may speak badly of the karmis and so on?

Kadamba Kanana Swami: Sometimes a little bad is also all right. Narottama Das Thakur says that if we have anger that we can direct it towards the non-devotee, not towards the devotee. Sometimes you have to call a “spade a spade” and call people nonsense rascals which Prabhupada liked to do very much. And Prabhupada said things like, “I kick on their face,” and that was not offensive - that was appropriate.

However when we start imitating that, it may not be appropriate because we do not have the depth and vision. We start imitating left and right, “I kick this one on the face and that one is a rascal….”

So, especially in the beginning, we must be very careful and when we become more mature then we may be able to more clearly say who is at fault.

 

The Calm Before the Storm
→ travelingmonk.com

Kostrzyn nad Odra is over 1,000 years old and has a population of 27,000 inhabitants. But next week over 400,000 people will descend on the town for this year’s Polish Woodstock Festival. Krsna’s Village of Peace will be right in the center of it all. For now the Woodstock field is relatively quiet, but it’s [...]

Nelson Mandela’s 95th Birthday Celebrated Internationally
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Last week 30 good hearted people decided to sacrifice their time and energy by coming to Matchless Gifts in London and spend the day decorating the whole building.We took this as a good opportunity to revamp the whole place.

Now we have new toilets,sinks,floors and a full paint job. It was all in honor of Nelson Mandela and his ethics. In the 80′s I used to distribute prasad to those people who would protest out side the South African embassy.

People love to support those personalities who put a cause about their own existence. Let’s distribute Srila Prabhupada lilmrita and in the future we will see thousands of volunteers engaging in devotional service.

Your servant Parasuram Das

East London Rathayatra 2013
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East London Rathayatra will be on the 22nd September 2013.

We are calling all devotees from the UK and abroad to attend the second Rathayatra in Ilford, East London.
All brahmacaries, brahmacarinies, householders, sanyasis, Pandava send, devotee youth and children for the greatest party in East London ever.

Please come hungry to the best Rathayatra feast ever and invite your friends to be amazed by our wonderful stage program.Jai Jagannath, Jai Srila Prabhupada.

Enjoy the movie,(put together by Rajesh Hirani prabhu)

your servant Parasuram Das

New Vrindaban Devotee Vahna Has Left His Body
→ View From a New Vrindaban Ridge

For the old time New Vrindaban devotees who remember him, Vahna has left his  body.  We were notified 7/24/13 it may have been the 23rd. There will be a memorial service in about two weeks, details forthcoming.

He was 68 years old. He was preceded in leaving the planet by his father and his second wife Hladini. He is survived by his first wife Visvadhika, his son Rich (Paratha Sarthi)  and two grandchildren.

He ran a poetry magazine at the end of the beat era and was the original publisher of some of Allan Gingsberg’s poetry, that was the crowd he rolled with. He  was a poet himself and wrote hundreds if not thousands of poems.  He has a book of poetry available from Amazon.con, The blind receptionist and other poems.

He moved to New Vrindaban in the early 1970″s (that was before my time (1973)  so someone correct me if it was earlier) and was initiated by Srila Prabhupada.  He built the house across the road from the Madhuban temple and was married to Hladini  who lived with him there where she  was the pujari  at that time. His father was an early supporter of New Vrindaban.

He was a brilliant tortured soul who struggled with alcohol for most of his life. This caused him to avoid the direct association of devotees of whom he always spoke well and respected. As his son is going through his affects, he discovered a medical diagnosis that Vahna was schizophrenic and had some bipolar issues.

As his son said, he dealt with it by writing poetry, and had a bottle of Jack Daniels in one hand and a bead bag in the other.  When he was at the funeral home making the arrangements for cremation, the director asked him if he wore any jewelry. He told him he always had his bead bag.  They looked and found his hand in his bead bag.

When he wasn’t drinking, and he would have periods where he could keep it together months or even years at a time as  in his early days at New Vrindaban, he was the sweetest person, who was always interesting to talk to.

To newer devotes all they would know of Vahna is seeing him walking from his house in Talaban to the Limestone General Store. Although he was walking there to get his booze, he had his hand in his bead bag as he walked.

He continued to live in New Vrindaban in Talaban until his passing. Once when Srila Prabhupada was here he told the devotees to just stay in New Vrindaban no matter what. While Vahna may have had his struggles, he did obey that instruction.  He also never deviated from the instruction to chant Hare Krishna.


Filed under: News, Ramblings or Whatever, Poetry

Pilgrimage: a Journey of Search and Discovery.
→ Matsya Avatar das adhikari


Part II
It is not by chance that Masters of Bhakti speak of an inseparable unity which is necessary for our evolution: Bhagavata sacred work and Bhagavata person, both of them are able to transfer the knowledge and the consciousness of  the Divine, Bhagavan.
If our visit to a sacred place is made with these predispositions, it may become an experience of great meaning that allows us to get in touch with timeless memories that bring us in other elevated dimensions of consciousness, and allow us to hear and accept the messages conveyed to mankind from another dimensions.
At times life faces us with very difficult situations so that we have to be ready and able to make our pilgrimage even in a hospital's room after the announcement of a terrible medical report, in front of the lifeless body of a dear person, suffering a devastating moral pain because of the betrayal of the person we most loved; or in a prison's cell where we had been locked in spite of our innocence, destroyed  by defamation. In these circumstances we need to start our journey even sooner, loading ourselves with inspiration and starting our inner journey to find a safe place, a shelter, an oasis in which to connect with our spiritual eternal self, which is unchangeable, together with God who is the giver of Knowledge, Love and Mercy. More than ever in these situations, in order to withstand sufferance, we have to fight against time in order to reach the space in the centre of our heart, where, the Upanishads say, time and space ultimately do not exist. That dimension is pure Transcendence. It is the place where all our desires are fulfilled. But the human being, deviated by the unreal world of vanishing impressions,  has lost the route to find it, because that dimension is invisible to the senses and to the physical eyes, the voice of that place speaks to the soul and the ears are not meant to hear it. For this reason Krishna says to Arjuna in the Bhagavad-gita: “In order to see me the way I am, I give you spiritual senses”. Why does Krishna offer to Arjuna such a great opportunity? Because Arjuna asked Him with a humble manner, because he desired it with intensity, because he wanted to get in touch with Krishna in his original and intimate divine nature.
Only with a burning desire to perceive a spiritual dimension and connect with God, a person may receive the divine strength to achieve it, to make the journey that from the realm of death will take us to immortality, from darkness to light, from sufferance to beatitude. A pilgrimage is that journey, it is rejoining.
How long does that journey last? Patanjali in the Yoga-sutras explains that the distance depends mainly on two factors: continuity and intensity of desire, and the required effort. In order to reach our target soon, we need to keep our course steady, with constant determination, and to increase the speed of motion by rising the intensity of the desire. Dante in the Divine Comedy accomplishes that journey too. At one point he describes his emotion as “feeling a pull from the sky while being still alive”. Once we loosen our conditionings and get rid of  bad habits, ascending is fast.
A pilgrimage  is that  ascension, it is an upward shift, it means heading toward holiness, and the spirit we hold while facing the journey is crucial. If we have the right attitude, that feeling of serenity we  have been looking for, the one that we thought we would experiment only once we reached our destination - instead it arrives step by step during our pilgrimage: then we find it in the predetermined place we have chosen and elected as our home, the heart.
Life will become then, day after day, a wonderful journey of research and discovery.

Pilgrimage: a Journey of Search and Discovery.
→ Matsya Avatar das adhikari


Part II
It is not by chance that Masters of Bhakti speak of an inseparable unity which is necessary for our evolution: Bhagavata sacred work and Bhagavata person, both of them are able to transfer the knowledge and the consciousness of  the Divine, Bhagavan.
If our visit to a sacred place is made with these predispositions, it may become an experience of great meaning that allows us to get in touch with timeless memories that bring us in other elevated dimensions of consciousness, and allow us to hear and accept the messages conveyed to mankind from another dimensions.
At times life faces us with very difficult situations so that we have to be ready and able to make our pilgrimage even in a hospital's room after the announcement of a terrible medical report, in front of the lifeless body of a dear person, suffering a devastating moral pain because of the betrayal of the person we most loved; or in a prison's cell where we had been locked in spite of our innocence, destroyed  by defamation. In these circumstances we need to start our journey even sooner, loading ourselves with inspiration and starting our inner journey to find a safe place, a shelter, an oasis in which to connect with our spiritual eternal self, which is unchangeable, together with God who is the giver of Knowledge, Love and Mercy. More than ever in these situations, in order to withstand sufferance, we have to fight against time in order to reach the space in the centre of our heart, where, the Upanishads say, time and space ultimately do not exist. That dimension is pure Transcendence. It is the place where all our desires are fulfilled. But the human being, deviated by the unreal world of vanishing impressions,  has lost the route to find it, because that dimension is invisible to the senses and to the physical eyes, the voice of that place speaks to the soul and the ears are not meant to hear it. For this reason Krishna says to Arjuna in the Bhagavad-gita: “In order to see me the way I am, I give you spiritual senses”. Why does Krishna offer to Arjuna such a great opportunity? Because Arjuna asked Him with a humble manner, because he desired it with intensity, because he wanted to get in touch with Krishna in his original and intimate divine nature.
Only with a burning desire to perceive a spiritual dimension and connect with God, a person may receive the divine strength to achieve it, to make the journey that from the realm of death will take us to immortality, from darkness to light, from sufferance to beatitude. A pilgrimage is that journey, it is rejoining.
How long does that journey last? Patanjali in the Yoga-sutras explains that the distance depends mainly on two factors: continuity and intensity of desire, and the required effort. In order to reach our target soon, we need to keep our course steady, with constant determination, and to increase the speed of motion by rising the intensity of the desire. Dante in the Divine Comedy accomplishes that journey too. At one point he describes his emotion as “feeling a pull from the sky while being still alive”. Once we loosen our conditionings and get rid of  bad habits, ascending is fast.
A pilgrimage  is that  ascension, it is an upward shift, it means heading toward holiness, and the spirit we hold while facing the journey is crucial. If we have the right attitude, that feeling of serenity we  have been looking for, the one that we thought we would experiment only once we reached our destination - instead it arrives step by step during our pilgrimage: then we find it in the predetermined place we have chosen and elected as our home, the heart.
Life will become then, day after day, a wonderful journey of research and discovery.

ISKCON New Vrindaban Board Meeting Minutes – June 13, 2013
→ New Vrindaban Brijabasi Spirit

Welcome to New Vrindaban!

New Vrindaban Welcomes You!

 

ISKCON New Vrindaban Board Meeting Minutes – 6/13/13

Participating Board Members: Dayavira, Chaitanya Mangala, Jaya Krsna, Ranaka & Tamohara.

1. Increase Transparency

It was discussed and approved that we begin publishing the minutes of the monthly board meetings.

2. Community Investment Fund

The report on the Community Investment Fund (CIF) was explained. The balance of the CIF account will be $17,863.37 if all project budgets are completely used. The reconciled balance of the CIF account on 5/31/13 was $85,686. The different CIF projects are in line with their respective budgets, except the restaurant, which is over budget by $28,366. The amount will be paid back from the operational account sometime in August or September.

3. Jaga Account

The Jaga account reconciled amount is $119,229; the available balance is $79,549. The Jaga funds are dedicated to create housing in New Vrindaban; this is done either through acquisition of new properties or to improve the general infrastructure. Some of the projects currently financed through the funds are the Temple area water supply, the road to Kestners, the set up generators for the temple and the lodge. Projects are in line with the budgets, except the water project which is over budget by $11,652.

4. Bahulaban Pink Building Demolition & Securing the Utility Building

The budget for the demolition of the pink building is in total $30,000. ECOV is donating half of the amount and providing a loan to INV for the other half. ECOV also decided to donate $5,000 to secure the Utility Building at Bahulaban. Madhava Gosh had a quote for a new metal roof on the pink building for $20,000. The combined amount of $35,000 should cover the costs for the demolition as well as the other measures to secure the Utility Building.

5. Improving Community Spirit

Chaitanya Mangala Prabhu listed three topics for discussion.

a. Individual counseling by a devotee counselor from outside NV.
b. Group counseling for community members about past events & experiences.
c. Professional interpersonal communications training.

Jaya Krsna Prabhu mentioned that he is waiting for a proposal from Vrajalila Prabhu for counseling sessions in New Vrindaban. Sukhavaha Prabhu had done a number of good mediations last year. She was so far not active this year.

Jaya Krsna informed the board members that he is organizing family and organizational constellations with Krsna Lila devi dasi from New York. She is respected for her service all over the world. A number of senior community members joined for the recent seminars. It can be easily detected that the devotees participating are making substantial progress.

Jaya Krsna mentioned that he is organizing his schedule so he can spend more time focusing on devotee care and community building.

6. Succession 

During the Community Dialog in April Sankirtan Prabhu mentioned three prerequisites to attract new community members: housing, income, schools.

Along these lines it was mentioned that NV needs new apartments & town houses; we have to create income opportunities for grhastas and develop high school level education.

To attract new temple devotees, additional accommodations for support staff are needed. It will allow a clearer separation between devotees following strictly the temple program and the staff who are engaged in various services but not ready to follow a temple standard.

The department heads need additional training in their day-to-day service as well as in developing successors within their staff. Jaya Krsna is actively inviting devotees from all over the world to assure succession for the temple and community.

7. Service & Employment Structure

Points discussed:

- Develop a clear structure outlining which occupations are volunteer service and which may be paid.

- Needs of devotees/staff to stay long term in New Vrindaban.

- Clarification is needed to separate devotional and organizational relationships.

- Members of the Board sees this as an important topic that should continue to be discussed again in the near future.

Summer Camp at Fruska Gouranga, Serbia 2013
→ KKS Blog

Serbia_summer camp (10)After the kirtan festival in Villa Vrndavana (Italy), Maharaja attended the traditional summer camp in Serbia (8-14 July) which was held at the national park Fruska Gora near Novi Sad, capital of the Province of Vojvodina.

We are still not sure of the reason that Maharaja keeps coming to the camp for the tenth year in a row now but it couldn’t be the mosquitoes, the accommodation or the weather; yet we are so grateful that he has included this event into his travel schedule. Many devotees, spiritual masters and deities attended the camp; and the mercy flowed in all directions.

During his stay, Maharaja gave several classes and amongst others, a seminar on the topic of How to actually enter Sri Vrndavana Dham. The main point made was that one cannot merely buy a ticket and fly to Vrndavana as no amount of money can take us there but rather that Vrndavana is a state of consciousness.

Serbia_summer camp (18)The central event of the week was definitely the Ratha Yatra festival which was held in the city of Novi Sad, on the 10 July. Two hundred devotees sang and danced in front of Lord Jagannatha’s chariot and distributed prasadam, books and the holy name to everyone around.

The day after the Ratha Yatra, devotees organized a twelve hour kirtan, which has now become a tradition, and relished the nectar of the holy name, just like the bees who are constantly humming in the search of nectar. Maharaja sang at the final part of the evening, ending the day in a most ecstatic way.

During Maharaja’s last full day at the camp, he initiated two new diciples, giving them the names Dahani Devi Dasi and Nandarani Devi Dasi. It was held on the grass just outside of Maharaja’s room and the whole occasion was auspiciously blessed by the personal presence of Sri Giriraja Govinda.

Please find below, the various classes given by Maharaja during his stay. To download a class, just right-click on a title and “save target as“.

KKS – CC. Madhya 3.137 (introducing the seminar) – 08 July 2013 in Fruska Gouranga, Serbia

KKS – Seminar Part I – 09 July 2013 in Fruska Gouranga, Serbia

KKS – Seminar Part II – 10 July 2013 in Fruska Gouranga, Serbia

KKS – Seminar Part III – 12 July 2013 in Fruska Gouranga, Serbia

KKS – SB. 10.14.36 – 12 July 2013 in Fruska Gouranga, Serbia

KKS – Initiation Lecture – 12 July 2013 in Fruska Gouranga, Serbia

 

If you cannot view the slide-show below then please visit flickr.

 

 

Summer Camp at Fruska Gouranga, Serbia 2013
→ KKS Blog

Serbia_summer camp (10)After the kirtan festival in Villa Vrndavana (Italy), Maharaja attended the traditional summer camp in Serbia (8-14 July) which was held at the national park Fruska Gora near Novi Sad, capital of the Province of Vojvodina.

We are still not sure of the reason that Maharaja keeps coming to the camp for the tenth year in a row now but it couldn’t be the mosquitoes, the accommodation or the weather; yet we are so grateful that he has included this event into his travel schedule. Many devotees, spiritual masters and deities attended the camp; and the mercy flowed in all directions.

During his stay, Maharaja gave several classes and amongst others, a seminar on the topic of How to actually enter Sri Vrndavana Dham. The main point made was that one cannot merely buy a ticket and fly to Vrndavana as no amount of money can take us there but rather that Vrndavana is a state of consciousness.

Serbia_summer camp (18)The central event of the week was definitely the Ratha Yatra festival which was held in the city of Novi Sad, on the 10 July. Two hundred devotees sang and danced in front of Lord Jagannatha’s chariot and distributed prasadam, books and the holy name to everyone around.

The day after the Ratha Yatra, devotees organized a twelve hour kirtan, which has now become a tradition, and relished the nectar of the holy name, just like the bees who are constantly humming in the search of nectar. Maharaja sang at the final part of the evening, ending the day in a most ecstatic way.

During Maharaja’s last full day at the camp, he initiated two new diciples, giving them the names Dahani Devi Dasi and Nandarani Devi Dasi. It was held on the grass just outside of Maharaja’s room and the whole occasion was auspiciously blessed by the personal presence of Sri Giriraja Govinda.

Please find below, the various classes given by Maharaja during his stay. To download a class, just right-click on a title and “save target as“.

KKS – CC. Madhya 3.137 (introducing the seminar) – 08 July 2013 in Fruska Gouranga, Serbia

KKS – Seminar Part I – 09 July 2013 in Fruska Gouranga, Serbia

KKS – Seminar Part II – 10 July 2013 in Fruska Gouranga, Serbia

KKS – Seminar Part III – 12 July 2013 in Fruska Gouranga, Serbia

KKS – SB. 10.14.36 – 12 July 2013 in Fruska Gouranga, Serbia

KKS – Initiation Lecture – 12 July 2013 in Fruska Gouranga, Serbia

 

If you cannot view the slide-show below then please visit flickr.

 

 

328. Out to party
→ 9 Days, 8 Nights

The office is empty. Everyone’s gone to a team party. I chose to stay back. Few asked why I wasn’t joining. I said, “8 hours work, 8 hours sleep and 8 hours chanting, meditation, prayer, temple service, family life, reading”. I have a packed life, you know. No time to party while I am on the road to purify, self-realize, liberate and back to Godhead.