I feel that yesterday the Acaryas were being blatant. Many devotees assembled for Prasad, Art and Book distribution. Although there were many, many booths, we were located a few inches from the ISKCON booth.

All day we were interacting very nicely. The children were playing, taking Prasad, doing book distribution, preaching and playing. The adults would sometimes interact, share chairs, and purchase from each other.

The Laguna Beach devotees were very sweet, and it was a peace-full day. The kids really loved Syamarani didi’s Art. I have noticed that at other festivals, as well. The youngest kids that have come to our booth just stare at Syamarani didi’s Art, and they really want to take it home.

Shivananda Das traveled all the way from his home, more then an hour away (one way), to bring us books. Venu Gopal Das, Anjali Devi Dasi and Jai Govinda Das did such a great job preaching, and and also touched so many people with our Prasad distribution, thanks to Sahadeva Das, Venu Gopal Das (so many preps), Gaurangi Devi Dasi (samosas) and Maha Laxmi (cookies).

We also invited hundreds of people to participate in the SpiritualArtFestival.com event on June 2, 2012, featuring Syamarani didi, and open to all spiritual artists, musicians, vendors, energy healers, etc., etc.

It is such a nice and peaceful environment at Soka University, and an even greater for devotees to come together, work together and serve under Lalita Devi, as Sahadeva reminded us.

It was a great devotee effort, which in itself was great, and for me … even greater, because on another level I felt that Srila Gurudeva and Srila Prabhupada had created a bridge to bring us all together.

One family, one God, one divine mission, divine intervention…… Hopefully we can carry it forward.

Summary of our distribution (books and art donated by the GVP Sponsorship Program):

Journey of the Soul – 7, Essence of Bhagavad Gita – 4, Way of Love – 8, Soul of Book Distribution – 1 Jaiva Dharma – 1, The Butter Thief – 4Poster/Art prints – 35

We collected $200 from the books and art that will go towards sponsorship of the Open Spiritual Art Festival with Srimati Syamarani Didi.

In Service to All Vaishnavas,

Kamala didi

www.spiritualartfestival.com

Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Srila Gurudeva, all glories to Sri Sri Gauranga Radha Govindaji.

Last week we stayed in a really nice place in the middle of the Russian village. This is an eco community with wise, talented and open
people. We became friends with one of them when we were preaching in aurvedic resort in Kerala. And now we went to his place. There were 3 of us: Madhavananda, Pareshananda (new disciple of Sripad Damodar Maharaj, to whom my husband preached to in Puri) and me. We decided to spend a few days to make friendship and preach effectively.

People are inquisitive, some of them already read some books of Srila Prabhupada and  Radhanath Swami, one couple have been in India… They follow Ekadashi (they did it according to Russian lunar calendar so I taught them where they can look Vaishnava calendar for their place) and they strictly fast on these days, keeping nirjal. Seeing this we was really inspired. So when we was there we celebrated Ekadashi and
Narasimha Caturdasi and we narrated them the story of Narasimhadeva.

When one of the leader saw me reading the Rays of the Harmonist with Srila Gurudeva she was completely astonished. She took the magazine and kept it for a few days in her room (she doesn’t know English as well) after she told to all girls that they should look on his picture very attentively, remember and ask him for help in every occasion because he is “God’s person”. She told that Srila Gurudeva has knowledge that was received directly from God.

She is the leader of the center of “conscious parenthood”, under her guidance people there keep a very lovable mood, speaking without negative words in order to be in sattva and harmony. They never criticize anyone… They are vegetarians (but some of them still are
taking eggs) and they offer their food to the Lord. They use their own language and  they weren’t sure about the personality of the Lord because of lack of knowledge so we described it according to Vaishnava understanding.

They all were happy to receive posters with books that we brought to them as well as Syamarani didis paintings – thanks to the GVP sponsorship program for their kind donation of books and posters.

And we did nice kirtans, one time even with shaman tambourines. They want to invite sannyasis there so may be next year we arrange
some programs like this with Gurudeva’s senior disciples.

You can see this kirtan here: http://youtu.be/oymrj_zu_y4

You can also look at some other photos on facebook

http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.447792111903813.121237.100000190831094&type=3&l=175dd7c393

Humbly aspiring to become dasanudasi,

Snigdha dasi

Sri Sri Guru Gauraga Jayate, Jaya Jaya Sri.

Hare Krishna.

When Vasanti dasi asked for a report (on behalf of the GVP Sponsorship program, as we received sponsored books for this festival) about our participation in the Topanga Earth Day Festival, well personally I was embarrassed. This two day event in the rural environment of Topanga, California drew about 500 people or so through the course of the two days. There was music and all kinds of clothing jewelry palmistry and environmentally minded booths and exhibits. Krishna Mayi dasi and I were given a table under a big oak tree along with maybe 15 other vendors. Ours was The Spiritual Art Festival table complete with home-made paper banner done nicely by Hilda, one of the teachers assistants at her school. Krishna mayi also engaged another teacher’s aid now teacher Valoria in setting up the table area the evening before opening day.

The first day Saturday April 21 was quite the struggle with the mind for both of us. We loaded up the table with so many beautiful books of our beloved Srila Gurudeva and Srila Prabhupada. We put them on top of Syamarani didis beautiful prints with the thinking of using them to hold the art down from blowing away. We had our postcards ready advertising the First Open Spiritual Art Festival to be held in El Segundo Ca. June 2nd featuring Srimati Symarani Didi..

Somehow though our consciousness was not quite up to par. With all the mundane music, enjoying atmosphere, kind of a free flowing frolicking outdoor party mood seemed to catch us a little off guard. Another excuse is we were recovering from a long work week and Saturdays are usually collapse days. So that whole lack of enthusiasm we are just here out of duty attitude projected out to all those folks who just kept walking by without stopping. Hmm “this is gonna be a rough one.” Even devotees we recognized barely said “Hari bol!” as they continued on there way to I guess more exciting posts and events somewhere in the crowd.

Although we knew our main purpose in going was to advertise for The Art Festival, not having distributed but about 6 or so pieces of Bhakti Art, and maybe only 5 books collecting a grand total of $15 dollars that day, was a little disheartening. Oh well, one more day of toughing it out.

The next day “Earth Day” April 22nd, better rested, full of breakfast prasada, with an attitude that “Things can only get better, we are not giving up.” We fearlessly set forth. It was different immediately. As soon as we even got close while walking toward the Festival, people were taking postcards cheerfully. We set the table up differently this time, making the art more prominent. The music was better one group chanted with a harmonium and sang Om namah Shivaya, the smiles were better our consciousness was better and the day was awesome. 20 pieces found homes. 20 or more books found hands and hopefully minds, and we collected $80 dollars, gathered ten names for the Hari Katha mailer..

and even met a brand new person, Travis, who really connected with us, expressing his heartfelt desire to come to the Badger Festival. He left with a Brahd Bhagavatamrta and Jaiva Dharma volume 1. We handed out at least 200 postcards individually.

It was so so good, fun, enlivening. The vendors were encouraged to have space at The Art Festival and to this date 3 have already registered for it. What was the real difference? Why was one day so horribly frustrating and the next so awesomely inspiring? To me it seemed that it was a test of faith, of love, and of duty. We wanted to please Srila Gurudeva, Srila Prabhupada, and the entire parampara. Despite obstacles, despite poor results and despite the fact that we were out of our comfort zone, we knew that they, our divine guardians and preceptors, our ever well wishers and heartily blessers, our protectors and ultimate best friends, would want us to go out again. To not give up, be fruitive, discouraged, or weak. To try again despite it all. We did, wow are we  ever happy we did. Happy that a few of those hundreds, a small percentage for sure, made contact with an opportunity to make progress on the path of bhakti.

The next big event like this is Topanga Days (May 26-28) a three day all out party. Thank Gurudeva for The Gaudiya Girls…lol

Hari bol,

Shivananda sena dasa and Krishna Mayi dasi.

http://spiritualartfestival.com/

The next day we arrived at the home of Shyam prabhu and his wife, along with their sons, Prana Gopal prabhu and Premananda prabhu in Kathamandu, where Gurudeva stayed when he visited in 2009. Then the following day, Shyam prabhu took us to a Siva Temple very close to his home, where there was a Bhagavat saptaha going on. He introduced us to the priests there who invited us to come back and do kirtan at the end of the program. So we did, and as you can see Dinanath prabhu led an ecstatic kirtan!

During the program, Sukhada didi set up a book table inside the temple and sold many books after the program. Also, I went just outside to distribute books immediately after the program. As you can see Gurudeva’s books went down very well, and a lot of books were distributed that evening!

The following day we all went on naga sankirtan and book distribution with Gaura Nitai. When we arrived in the town centre  we saw that there was a big demonstration going on. Dinanath prabhu said, “Let’s go somewhere else, there’s too many police here!’ I said, “No problem!  The police will be happy to take our books.” And here’s the proof!

In fact, we passed right through the middle of the protest where they were all shouting something in Nepalize which sounded to us like ‘Jaya Govinda! Jaya Gopal! , and so we all joined in, shouting along with them ‘Jaya Govinda! Jaya Gopal!’ which certainly attracted the attention of the people there, as well as the television camera crew!

We continued distributing books until we arrived at the subjee mandir (vegetable market) where we planned to do biksa (beg for bhoga).

There we performed naga sankirtan and book distribution throughout the whole market.  The second time around we begged vegetables, and every stallholder happily gave us lots of veg!

Just as we were about to leave, Balabhadra prabhu tried to entice the local kids to chant, but they kept saying, “No! No! No!” Then Balabhadra prabhu shouted, “No Hare Krsna?”, Then one boy responded, “No, No, we are not (Hare Krsna’s)! Most of the kids were from Christian or Buddhist backgrounds.  So Balabhadra prabhu then loudly shouted, “No Hare Krsna!” Then one boy shouted back, “No Hare Krsna! And then all the kids began to join in with “No Hare Krsna!”. Balabhadra prabhu then started  dancing and chanting, “No Govinda! No Gopala! And sometimes Jaya Govinda! Jaya Gopal!” to which they began dancing wildly and chanting in response. Then Sukhada didi came along and began encouraging them more in chanting. This ecstatic kirtan with the kids went on for at least thirty minutes during which time, funnily enough, all the mothers of those kids started approaching us for books! Then other stall holders started asking for books, and we ended up selling more books during that kirtan to the stall holders who approached us, than when we ourselves approached them with books in the first place!  The motto here is ‘If you love me, love my dog!’ If you want to win over the heart of anyone, first win over the hearts of their near and dear ones!

The next day we went on naga sankirtan and book distribution with Gaura Nitai through the local town. Everyone was attracted to Gaura Nitai and came and offered Them fruit, flowers or money. People were very happy to see and hear us chant, and they became very receptive. Almost everyone we approached happily took some of Gurudeva’s books and gave donations.

That day I met a man called Mukunda, who immediately smiled, offered respects and said “Hare Krsna!” I offered him a book which he was very happy to receive, saying “I’m also a devotee of Krsna!” He gave me a donation and then I said, “We are planning to have a program in a few days, would you like to come? He said, “Yes, yes!” very enthusiastically. So I took his phone number, and just as I was about to go, I thought, ‘Why don’t I ask him if he wants us to come to his home and have a program there also?’ So after asking, he said, “Yes, why not, that would be a great honor! Would you like to come this evening? I said, “Okay I’ll phone you later and we will arrange.”  We ended up going to his house that evening. The lights went out (which they often do in Nepal) shortly after we arrived, so we ended up having a candlelit program! Dinanath prabhu led nice bhajans and then an ecstatic kirtan, to which we all got up and danced together. They very much enjoyed chanting and dancing in the kirtan. Then I spoke Hari katha for around one hour, intermittently asking Mukunda and his family questions. One very interesting thing was that after I asked,  “Who is your istadeva?” Mukunda said, “Krsna.” Then I asked “Which Krsna? Laxmi Narayan? Dwarkadisa Krsna?” etc. Then he said, “Just Krsna”. I then recited the sloka ‘aradhyo bhagavan vrajesa-tanayas …. and explained how Vrajendranandan Syamasundara is our one and only istadeva. I asked, “Why are you worshipping Krsna? What is your desire? Your name is Mukunda, so do you want liberation?” Mukunda answered, “No! Only Krsna bhakti, nothing else!” In the end we had another nice kirtan and took a little fruit prasada which they offered us.

We discussed arranging another program in the local Siva Temple where we had the first night’s program. Then the next day (which happened to be New Years day in Nepal) Mukunda arranged a program there for our last day in Kathmandu, two days later!

So with very little time to advertise, Nityananda prabhu designed and printed this poster together with a thousand fliers in just a few hours! Then in the afternoon we went on naga sankirtan through the local town and distributed books along with all the fliers!

On our way back we met these boys who wanted to join in! They happily chanted with us for about twenty minutes all the way back. We gave them books and invited them to our program the following day.

That evening we printed more fliers and distributed them along with Gurudeva’s books in the local area. However Sukhada didi went to distribute books in Tamil (a very popular tourist location). She particularly wanted to approach the owner of a new age book shop who had previously bought some of Gurudeva’s English books to sell. After showing him all of Gurudeva’s new English titles as well as some of the old ones, he was happy to buy some ‘Yoga for peace’ and ‘The hidden path of devotion’ as well as ‘Gaura-vani pracarini’ and other books. He also asked for Bhagavad gita and Venu gita, which he said were very popular from last time, but unfortunately Sukhada didi didn’t bring any. So if anyone is planning to go to Kathmandu in the near future, maybe they can take some to him!

Then the next morning Nityananda prabhu went out early to do ‘biksa’ – to collect ingredients for halva prasada distribution for the program that afternoon. That morning Sukhada didi had said “it won’t be possible to collect all the ghee etc. to make the halva in time for the program.” However Nityananda prabhu had faith, and Krsna certainly reciprocated! Nityananda prabhu said that although he tried to ask people for donations of ghee, sugar etc. in his broken hindi,  still people were very friendly and supportive, but mostly gave money rather than the ingredients he was trying to collect. However after a few hours Krsna sent some young boys who spoke English and were inspired to help him go house to house and shop to shop, to ask for donations in Nepalize, while he continued doing kirtan. Then with their help, after only one hour he managed to collect all the ingredients besides one container of ghee, which he was then able to purchase from the donations. He then came back and handed over all the ingredients to Dinanath prabhu to start making the halva, but he was busy cooking kichari. So with very little time to go before the program, Nityananda prabhu himself ended up making the halva with the help of a young local girl who guided him through it. Then he himself distributed the kichari and halva – which turned out to be very tasty, along with that girl (in the photo) after the program! He said the most rewarding part was seeing the people who donated the ingredients or money relish the prasadam afterwards!

Around one hundred people came to the program. As the Nepalize people seemed to like bhajans and kirtan, Dinanath prabhu sang for a few hours and spoke some Hari katha in between. In the end I spoke about the glories of Hare Nama, which Mukunda (whose home we went to) translated into Hindi. Then to finish off, Dinanath prabhu led a really lively kirtan during which everyone (including all the old Nepalese men and women) danced to their hearts content! Sukhada didi then distributed free books to everyone who came to the program, and Nityananda prabhu didn’t allow anyone to go without taking prasadam!

One thing I must say about our whole preaching experience in Kathmandu, is that all the locals were very warm, friendly,  supportive and really happy to have the ‘Hare Krsna’s’ in town! So I think they’ll remember us!

Shortly after the program we got news that there was going to be a bus strike in Nepal for the next three days, so then we had to quickly pack our bags and jump on an overnight bus to the Nepalize border!

Srila Gurudeva ki! Jaya! Srila Gurudeva’s transcendental book distribution ki! Jaya!

Submitted by Vedavyasa dasa

We had a beautiful programme in Hansraj College on 2nd April 2012 . This Hansraj college is the biggest college of Delhi University at north campus. This college has the biggest building with the highest number of students and faculty. There are around staff of 200 persons for cleaning and maintenance. The minimum passing marks required for students to get the admission is 90%.

Two day before the programme i.e. on 30th March( 1st April being Sunday) , we displayed our banners at both the gates of the college and one in the seminar hall and other outside of the seminar hall. We also distributed our programme pamphlets in the college before and on the day of the programme we also displayed our Canopy outside the college.  The timing of the programme was from 11.30AM to 1.30PM. Our team reached the college venue by 9AM. After reaching the college we erected our Canopy stall and also displayed our books in the stall.  The  gate of the seminar hall was decorated with yellow flowers. Inside the hall we placed our altar with Gurudev, Our parampara and Sri Sri Radha Raman Vihariji. The alter was also decorated with beautiful rose and yellow flowers.

Around 9.45 am our team of Mathura devotees reached the college venue and started kirtan in front of the Canopy.  At 11.00AM , PP Rohini Prabhu and SP Vishnu Daivata Maharaj along with other devotees were taken to the PRINCIPAL ROOM who is himself a scientist of Biology and his name is Dr V.K.Kwatra. In his room , both of our speakers gifted our books to the Principal. In his room we were there for around 30 minutes where they discussed on hot topics and degradation of our society and live in relationships. After the introduction with the PRINCIPAL, He accompanied us to the seminar hall.

At the seminar hall, the Principal welcomed our speakers with garlands. And also our speakers gifted him with a beautiful lamination. To start with the programme , at first we introduce our both the speakers with profile and also showed them on projector. We also showed them our slide on Bhagvat Gita on the topic of happiness on projector. The topic of the seminar was MODERN LIFESTYLE & ITS CONSEQUENCES and QUEST FOR HAPPINESS. The speakers were Sripad Vishnu Daivat Maharaj and PP Rohini Nandan Prabhu. SP Vishnu Daivat Maharaj explained about the above topics in scientific manner and PP Rohini Nandan Prabhu explained in logical manner. . After our presentation and lectures by both speakers of 30 minutes each we had a beautiful kirtan.

For Kirtan we hired Keypad, Dholak , Guitar and Organ pad with Good sound system. We also invited around 10 devotees from Mathura. The kirtan was given the name of  Transcendental Rock show. Kirtan was lead by Mathura and Delhi devotees and also Manjari didi. During the kirtan , our devotees from Vrindavan and Mathura jumped between the tables of the seminar hall and start dancing. Also make the students to raise their hands and dance. Sripad Vishnu Daivat Maharaj also entered in the kirtan party and dance and jump high with great ecstasy. All students , faculty members enjoyed the transcendental rock show. After 30 minutes of transcendental rock show there was question and answer session. Many students asked inquisitive questions which were answered by our both speakers in the scientific and logical manner along with slokas from our Vedic scriptures.

It  was attended by around 150 students and faculty members, Principal and our congregation. On the whole there were around 200 persons. After the programme we also distribute prasad by the name of delicious refreshment. The prasad was dry and packed in a small box. The prasadam box contains One samosa, one kachori, one burfi and one ladoo. Along with the prasad , we serve them chilled imported juice cans. We distributed  250nos of prasadam boxes. During the prasad session, we distribute participation forms and requested the students to fill it up with their details of Name, Designation, telephone no., e-mail no., area of interest and queries. At the end of the programme everybody was very happy and appreciated the programme very much and sent us thank you messages for inviting them.

All the devotees from Mathura and Delhi are very enthusiastic. SP Vishnu Daivat  Maharaj was also very happy and felt contented after the programme. We have got various inquires from the students and are in touch with them to solve their queries. We have also sent them with letter of thanks and inviting them to Vrindavan and also to our youth program mes at Delhi. The organizers of the Hansraj college has given us the confirmation for next program after vacations and also will accompany us to Vrindavan after examinations.

We are trying to get more programs in the colleges after some time as now the examinations are going to start next month.

We are sending email ids of the students taken during our preaching program for the hari-katha mailing list.

We thank the GVP sponsorship program for their kind appreciation and support.

FOLLOW-UP:

We also had a review program of college seminar held on 2nd April. This review program was organized on 18th April in first ever Goudiya Matha of Delhi located near the same Hansraj College in Delhi University area. In this program there were around 50 students from various colleges to whom we preached earlier. In this program SP Vishnu Daivat Maharaj , SP Shant Maharaj and PP Rohini Nandan Prabhu were present. Each speaker spoke for 15 minutes each. Later we took their remarks and everybody was positive and wants to attach  themselves with our programs regularly. After the lecture there was Thakurji Darshan for 15 minutes along with kirtan. Full lunch prasadam was also distributed to the whole congregation. At the end of the program students were gifted with free books.

One more good news we want to share is that we are participating in a BOOK FAIR going to be held at SHIMLA from 12th to 17th May 2012. In this fair we are planning to distribute English and Hindi books..

Malbazar

On April 2nd, we (Savitri dasi, Bakula dasi and Sulata dasi) left Vrndavana at an auspicious time and arrived in Siliguri the next day which was Ekadasi. Upon our arrival, we were welcomed by our godsister Damodari from Malbazar (in North Bengal) and Prakash from Hamilton ganja. Then the five of us took the train to Malbazar, our first destination. We were met at the station by Pradip, a disciple of B.V. Siddhanti Maharaja and three of his friends who helped us with our many boxes of books.

We stayed at the house of Damodari’s mother Venu didi, our godsister. They had informed us that there was a grand opening of a Hanuman temple and for six days before the main opening, many people would attend the daily programs so it would be a good opportunity for us to distribute Srila Gurudeva’s books.

Newly initiated devotee helps with book and poster distribution

The next day we went to the Hanuman temple with our books. The organizers were very friendly and offered us a table at a stand where they served prasadam to the visitors. By the mercy of Srila Gurudeva, we sold many books and posters. We decided to go there every evening because at that time many people would come to take darsana after fulfilling their duties.

On the fifth day, Sulata and Damodari went to a place called Chalsa for book distribution, and we went to the home of a very nice, pious lady who we had met during our book distribution. We had a very nice conversation about bhakti-yoga and how one’s life is affected by following this path. Rupa could not speak any English so it was a good chance for us to practice our Hindi. Later her husband, a pharmacist, joined our conversation and then we ended with kirtan.

On April 6th we were invited in the early morning by a local schoolteacher and his family. We had already met his mother in Vrndavana. She was very happy to see us again and said that she was longing to make a return visit to Vrndavana, but due to being an elderly Indian lady, she can’t travel alone. She told us she is hoping that someone will be willing to accompany her in the future.

After a little breakfast, the neighbor of the teacher came by and insisted that we also visit her house, which we did. After half an hour we left and went to our main program, the house of a policeman, whom we had met one year ago. When we arrived there, his family members showed us their temple room in their new house. They had some questions about Bal Gopal Krsna. After giving them some advice on the method of worship, we all sat down for kirtana and harikatha.

Later that day we heard that we had been invited to the house of some local people where Sripad BV Siddhanti Maharaja had stayed a month ago for seven days during the time he was giving Bhagavad Saptaha. The lady of the house and her friends warmly welcomed us and after exchanging some joking words, we honored delicious prasad.

In Malbazar, the people who came in contact with BV Siddhanti Maharaja had become very inspired to pick up the cult of Krsna consciousness. We were happy to see how many of them were participating in kirtana, chanting and were so enthusiastic to help us. Many people now say “Radhe Radhe,” upon meeting us, or each other. It is not easy to gather thousands of people for a Bhagavat Saptaha and inspire them to give up bad habits and follow Ekadasi. We could understand that this was the power and mercy of Srila Gurudeva.

Some of them had taken harinama and diksa from Maharaja and were proudly wearing the Gaudiya Vaisnava tilaka. On Ekadasi, the devotees of Malbazar joyfully performed nagar-sankirtana for three hours throughout the whole of Malbazar. We were very moved to see this and also to participate in it. Mahaprabhu stated that His name will be preached in every corner of every town and village:

pṛthivīte āche yata nagarādi gārma

sarvatra pracāra haibe mora nāmas

In every town and village, the chanting of My name will be heard. In as many cities, towns and villages, as there are on the surface of the earth, My holy name will be preached and chanted.

(Caitanya Bhagavata, Antya-lila, 4.126)

This is a clear evidence that Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu’s words are always true. Our trip to Malbazar was very successful by the mercy of Srila Gurudeva.

Joretang and Tarpu

On April 7^th, after taking leave from all the devotees and friends in Malbazar, we proceeded towards Joretang which is a town in the state of Sikkim. We were joined by our godbrother Yasodanandana Prabhu who usually accompanies us to help with book distribution and class translation. Squashed in a jeep, we arrived in Joretang at midday. Our contact here, the kind owner of the Puspanjali Hotel, had arranged some rooms for us in a Darmashala. Joretang lies at the border of China, Butan and Nepal. This means that it is a security sensitive area. According to the new rules, foreigners are not allowed to distribute books unless they have a missionary visa. When we arrived, we were immediately visited by a person working for “special branch”, the police who look after the security of Sikkim.  They made us aware of the new rules and regulations and said that they wished they could help us but their hands were tied. This was due to the fact that some Russians from another temple came here and, despite the warning from the FRO, had distributed books and roughly handled the police. This was not at all appreciated by the local government. For this reason, the rules are being much more strictly implemented.

We made two groups, one group did sankirtana and the other party, which consisted of Savitri didi and Yashodanandana Prabhu, sold books. Indians, or those who are in possession of an PIO card (person of Indian origin), are allowed to preach and distribute books freely. In this way, we became successful by Gurudeva’s mercy.

There was another reason for us to come to Joretang. We could see how successful the Bhagavat Saptaha in Malbazar had been, so we wanted to arrange for Maharaja (Srila Siddhanti Maharaja) to also preach Bhagavatam in Joretang for the benefit of the local population. We were introduced to a man who owns one of the biggest construction companies in Sikkim, and he promised to help sponsor and arrange a Bhagavat Saptah for February next year. We are all very hopeful that this will happen and those who live in Sikkim will also be inspired to follow the teachings of Mahaprabhu.

We were unexpectedly visited at our darmashala by Mr BK Bandhari, the head of a Pranami Village in Tarpu. He invited us to visit their village in the mountains (approximately 15 km from Joretang) for a spiritual, cultural exchange. We agreed and made the necessary arangements.

The next day, in the evening after performing sankirtan and book distribution, we left for Tarpu. On the way, the jeep driver stopped and told us to take darsana of the trunk of Sri Ganeshji. We climbed up the hill and saw something which indeed looked like the trunk and the forehead of Sri Ganeshji. The story goes like this, one lama was passing by this spot and suddenly started shivering. He climbed up the hill and there he unearthed the trunk and forehead of Ganeshji. He told the villagers that Ganesh was staying on the hill in a cave. Later on, this was also confirmed by a pandit who was travelling through that area. He told them that if they dig deeper, they will unearth the whole body of Ganeshji and they should build a temple there.

Half an hour later we arrived in Tarpu where we met Mr Bandhari. He explained to us that the village consists of about 30 homes of devotees of Krsna. They call themselves “Pranamis” and always greet others with “pranam”.

To reach the temple, we had to climb down a narrow, very steep path at dusk. It took us half an hour to reach the Pranami temple which was located in a very picturesque village surrounded by mountains. The devotees there did some classical Indian kirtana, then Mr Bandhari introduced us and briefly explained our purpose for visiting the village. We were asked to do some kirtana and give some harikatha. Yashodanandana Prabhu, due to his expertise in the Hindi, Bengali and Nepalise language, translated our harikatha. We spoke about guru-tattva, nama-tattva and the glories Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu. The Pranami devotees worship the crowns of Radharani and Krsna instead of Their deity forms. The crowns are nicely placed on a beautifully decorated altar. Just like in our Gaudiya math, arati and bhoga offerings are done throughout the day in a timely manner. Because the jeeps don’t drive after dusk due to the dangerous mountain roads, we spent the night in the temple. The pranami devotees were very softhearted, kind and generous. They gave us prasadam and made warm beds for us. We very much appreciated the nice exchanges we had with them and felt happy to see how one pointed they were to the worship of Sri Sri Radha and Krsna.

Darjeeling

The next day, in the pouring rain, we left Joretang and proceeded towards Darjeeling. After 3 hours of driving up the steep mountain road, we arrived and went to meet Gopal Prabhu, our godbrother, in his shop which is close to the jeep stand. We left most of our luggage in his shop and went to the Marwadi darmashala. After resting and taking prasadam, we started our book distribution while light rain fell from the cloudy sky. In the evening we went to a small Radha Krsna temple next door to our darmashala which we had visited the previous year. The owner was very happy to see us again and asked us to do some kirtana. We were joined by all the family members and then, by the sound of our kirtan, more and more people sat down and sang with us. On the request of the owner, we repeated some kirtans which we had sung last year in his temple. We discussed the possibility of a Bhagavad Saptaha being given there and the owner became very enthusiastic. He promised to make some inquiries amongst the Marwari families to see if they would be interest in sponsoring the Bhagavad Saptah.

The next day in the early morning, we went to see Akhilesh Prabhu, our young godbrother. He and Gopal Prabhu took harinama by phone from our Gurudeva. His family have a small stone carved temple, in which Radha and Krsna were carved in the stone. He was happy to see us and revealed to us that he was eager to visit Vrndavana, but that he was in the process of applying to enter a college program in Bangalore so that had delayed his trip. We told him about our temple there and advised him to visit the devotees to get some association and inspiration.

Last year we met a boy who invited us in his village near Darjeeling, where most of the people worship Radha and Krsna, but due to sickness in his family, this program was canceled. For that reason we proceeded towards Siliguri which is the gateway to the North East.

Siliguri

In Siliguri, we found a good, clean room in Sikh Temple so we stayed there for 2 nights. We successfully distributed books in the city and were very inspired by the positive response of the people. On our last night we had a surprise visit from the uncle of Yasodanandana Prabhu who then brought us to his house for a few hours. Last year we stayed in his home with his wife and sons for one night, and he kindly let us store our books there for a few months. This year we were unable to stay with him because his sons were in the middle of their exams. Because of our visit the previous year, and also due to the association of Yasodanandan Prabhu, the boys have become inspired to read Bhagavad-gita every day, and both of them have become vegetarian. We discussed various points from the Gita, and the importance of taking sadhu-sanga so that our doubts and confusions are erased.

Hamilton ganja and Jaigaon

The next day we left early in the morning for Hamilton Ganja, the house of Yasodananda Prabhu’s parents. We got introduced to his lovely sister and aunty. After having brunch, we were taken to a tea plantation. The Manager, who comes from Krsna Nager which is very close to Navadvipa, gratefully accepted the books we gave him and told us that previously he had visited Mayapura. We were informed by some of the locals that a large number of the workers were Christians. Christianity is very prominent in this area. Most of the tea workers are very poor Adivassis who are exploited by the wealthy tea plantation owners. Sometimes they convert because of hearing the glories of Jesus Christ, but mostly it is due to being provided with a free education and other facilities that they sorely lack. After being guided through the tea factory, we were invited by a friend of Yasodanandan Prabhu who is famous in the area for fighting for better conditions for the workers who in some cases have very little to eat. He and his family are Christians. We sat with him and his family and discussed the commonalities between Vaisnavism and Chrisitanity and also the importance of being vegetarian.

Discussion at tea workers' home. They have no electricity.

After breakfast the next day, we went to a town called Jaigaon which is located next to the Butan border. There we did nagar-sankirtana and book distribution at the same time. For many people who lived there, it was the first time they had ever seen nagar-sankirtan. They were very happy to see us and many bought books and posters. One man gave us 500 rupees and asked us to use it to give books to those who don’t have enough money to buy them. We wanted to cross the border into Butan to distribute books, but Yashodanandana Prabhu informed us that the king is a Buddhist and does not allow other philosophies to be preached there. A few years ago, two members of ISCKON were arrested for distributing books, and they were imprisoned for 2 years. We settled for driving across the border to refill the car with gas.

At 6pm in Yasodananda Prabhu’s house we had an evening program and distributed prasadam to those who attended.

The following day Yasodananda Prabhu hired a flatbed rickshaw, and we put buckets of kitcheri prasad on top and Gurudeva’s books and went on nagar-sankirtana. We distributed prasadam to the villagers and they bought the small Bengali books and looked on in amazement to see western devotees dressed in Indian clothes doing kirtana. We then proceeded to the market place and continued our kirtana and book distribution there.

Rakesh, a neighbour of Yashodanandan Prabhu, invited us to his school, and we spoke to the children and to the teacher. We distributed some free books and answered the questions of the children. One boy asked whether Krsna was really darkish and whether one can get perfection in one day by chanting the holy name. With faith, all the children repeated the maha-mantra after us. Just before leaving, the teacher asked us to sing a short kirtana. All the neighbours heard our kirtana and invited us to their simple homes. We did kirtan in 6 houses and they gave us fruit, subji and rice. Two little children followed us from house to house, and when we at last reached their home, they became very happy and jumped with joy.

In the nighttime, people came to attend our evening program. We asked them to come and visit us Vrndavana in the month of Kartika. Some elderly ladies said that they were eager to go, but they had nobody to accompany them. We asked Yasodanandana Prabhu’s sister to arrange a group to join our Kartik program. That evening, an old Vaisnava was present among the guests. After the program he told us his amazing story. Approximately 15 years ago, he was walking along the street chanting, and at that time, a wild elephant came running towards him ready to trample him. Somehow he slipped and fell on the ground in front of the elephant. The elephant looked down at him for some time, then turned and walked away. That man had been wearing kanti mala and tilaka and was chanting the holy name. Telling this wonderful story to us, that devotee shed tears and started chanting the holy name of Sri Krsna. The depth of his chanting and his personality touched our hearts.

Shilong

On April 16^th, at 2am, we left Hamilton ganja to catch a train to Shilong. After a whole day traveling, we arrived late in the evening in Shilog, where Anadi Krsna Prabhu was waiting for us. He brought us to our accommodation in a nice, centrally located hotel that he had arranged for us free of charge. Shortly after that we went to take prasadam in Laksmi didis house. She is a disciple of Parampujapad Vamana Gosvami Maharaja and is famous for her delicious prasadam. The next day, which was Ekadasi, our team split up into two groups. Bakula didi and Sulata went for book distribution, and Savitri didi went with Anadi Krsna Prabhu for house programs. In the evening we all came together again to attended some house programs. The following day we again engaged in book distribution, nagar-sankirtana and house programs. The people in Shilong were very supportive and friendly. We distributed more books here than any other place we visited. One very sincere man expressed his desire to arrange a Bhagavad saptaha so we gave him BV Sridhara Maharaja’s phone number. We hope that the saptaha will take place this year, may be before the month of Kartik and in this way Srila Gurudeva’s legacy of spreading the mission of Mahaprabhu will continue.

Srila Gurudeva ki jaya!

Nama sankirtana ki jaya!

Transendental book distribution ki jaya!

During Navadivpa Parikrama the illustrious Srimati Shyamarani didi announced that book distributers were allowed to take any amount of books for any donation for distribution. Even though honestly speaking I am not a big book distributor, more than that I even have a very tough time distributing books to the extent that I have very long gaps between each distribution session, I decided to approach Anita didi to take some books with me for preaching in Punjab.

English books are a little tough to distribute here, but I have faith that they will slowly reach their correct audience. Presently we have a regular slot in a local Siva Mandir where we do Kirtan and give Hari Katha with Hindi translation by Gaura Kishora prabhu, (unfortunately he has recently left the project so we are now requesting if there is any Hindi speaking bramachari willing to come here to translate or give Hari Katha). We were speaking from the comic “I am Spirit” and one person was very happy to give a donation for the book.

We also know one doctor called doctor Nanda who took a Butter Thief and one I am Spirit comic. Finally we know one very nice young boy called Rohit, he is learning English at school and he took one I am Spirit and one Venu Gita, I told him that the English in the Venu Gita is very high, but that I was sure he was intelligent enough to learn good English by reading the book and he was very pleased, we also gave some small posters and his grandmother took a book in Hindi (see pictures).

Also, for some time before his exams we were helping him practice his English by reading from the English Jaiva Dharma. Just before we gave them the books, Gokul Chandra Prabhu from Dehli came here to preach and suggested to us that we gave them japa mala for chanting. After a successful program by Gokul Chandra Prabhu and Rasa Bihari Prabhu and his wife, they are now in possession of Neem Mala and are chanting the Maha Mantra daily.

Now I am waiting for inspiration as to how to distribute the rest of the books, but very soon the Siva Mandir is hosting a professional speaker of the Bhagavatam for Bhagavat Saptaha and the owner, who lets us rent the room we are using for free, is arranging a book stall for us during the program.

All of this is only possible by the mercy of Sri Guru, Gauranga and the Vaishnavas so we beg you all that this project continues to be successful in the honour of our beloved Srila Gurudeva and with the mercy and blessings of one of his dearest sanyassi disciples Sripad Bhaktivedanta Vana Maharaja. We have a rent free place here where all of the bhoga is donated and we only need to cover the cost of the electric, we also get plenty of donations from people when we go on madhukari to the local shops and houses, we have plenty of books, posters and incense for distribution, but we only lack one thing, enthusiastic bramacharis or grihastha preachers willing to preach the mission of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu under the guidance of Sri Guru.

We are begging the mercy of the Vaishanvas to please send some devotees here as soon as possible because the people here are ready for the message of Mahaprabhu, they just need the right person to deliver it to them and as neither Nityanada or myself speak Hindi it is a little tricky to give them what they need to hear in terms of tattva siddhanta and Hari Katha.

Begging for the mercy of Sri Guru and the Vaishnavas.

Vaishnava das anudas.

Balabhadra das.

Niyananda das.

Fleeing the cold in Vrindavan in December 2011, Manmohini and I headed south to the beaches. Not to Goa, but to the more sober yet wonderful beaches of Gokarna! We took residence in the house of a traditional Brahmin family, waking up daily to the sound of children reciting the Veda in the gurukul next door. A place of ardent Shiva worship (http://www.karnatakavision.com/gokarna-temple.php ), Gokarna also is home of a wonderful Venkateshwara temple, a Krishna temple on a huge Kund, a most charming and peaceful Rama temple overlooking the Arabian sea, plus a host of other sacred spots and sites, new and old, like the Ganesha temple or the Vishwamitra temple on top of a hill. Strolling the beaches, we were often greated with “Haribol” or “Hare Krishna”. It appears Gokarna is a devotees´ insider tip for a relaxed turn of the year.

Brought together by the laudable efforts of Belgian Krishnapriya didi, about two dozen devotees assembled on the occasion of Srila Gurudeva´s disappearance, which we celebrated in style under Banyan trees in one of the local Yoga ashrams, the owner of which turned out to be a disciple of Srila Gurudev.

In late December, a grand new library above the Rama temple was opened. We attended the inauguration featuring a full evening with first class Hindustani and Karnatic music, plus a marvellous Bharata Natya dance troup from Udupi, enchanting our minds with Dashavatara and Krishna Lila performances. The leader of the troup invited us to Udupi, but this is another story…

View from Library

The Gokarna library is the singlehanded work of one elderly staunch Brahmin, Mr. Vedeshwar, who loves books and has been collecting tons of them since the 1940s. With the support of a french group, a study circle was formed to develop the collection and open it up for public use. I paid a visit to Mr. Vedeshwar, a most sweet and humble personality occupying a tiny room in an ancient traditional south Indian Brahmin house facing the Ganesha temple. We had a wonderful spiritual exchange and I promised I would send our Gurudeva´s books to complete his collection, which he accepted gratefully. Mr. Vedeshwar´s son is no less a book lover, who is now taking over responsibility for the library. Back in Vrindavan, we asked Anita and Vasanti to take care of sending a gift box to Gokarna….

Srila Gurudeva´s book distribution team Ki JAI!!!

Aspiring servant, Manohar das

By Srila Gurudeva’s mercy, the GVP sponsorship program, headed by Syamarani didi and her team, facilitated the wide distribution of the pure message of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu in the form of the pristine literature of our beloved Srila Gurudeva.

The GVP stalls in Sri Kesavaji Gaudiya Math, Navadvipa, distributed almost all of the English, Hindi and Bengali publications in stock, for whatever donation devotees could give – in some cases even providing books free of charge. This special offer, subsidized and sponsored by various devotees worldwide, was specifically made to those who were willing to distribute the books to others. The stalls were brimming with devotees, even those from neighbouring mathas. In this way, all were able to avail themselves of this opportunity to take Srila Gurudeva’s message and distribute it to people in their respective areas.

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A few months before parikrama, on the first disappearance anniversary of Srila Gurudeva, 19 December 2011, the special Tirobhava edition of the Rays of The Harmonist was published. Its Bengali counterpart, Smaranika (“Memorial”) was also printed, along with a Bengali booklet Sriman Mahahaprabhura-avadan-vaistya (The Speciality of the Gift of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu), which was originally penned in Bengali by Srila Gurudeva in honour of the 500th anniversary of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu’s advent.

In a mood of service in separation from Srila Gurudeva, the GVP Sponsorship Program, provided complimentary copies of both Smaranika and Sriman Mahahaprabhura-avadan-vaistya to be given to the leading sannyasis and heads of various Gaudiya Mathas who participated in Srila Gurudeva’s disappearance festival there, as well as to other prominent Vaisnavas from Sridhama Mayapura and Navadvipa.

Upon receiving the Bengali magazine Smaranika, the Bengali devotees were awestruck, commenting that never before in Bengali had such a beautiful and colourful spiritual magazine been printed in honour of any acarya in our line. They said that to publish the glories and teachings of one’s gurudeva and then to distribute those publications magnanimously is certainly a wonderful way to serve his vani (instructions).

One month after that, on 23 January 2012, the appearance day of Srila Gurudeva, complimentary copies of those same books – the Bengali magazine Smaranika as well as Sriman Mahahaprabhura-avadan-vaistya – were presented to the sannyasis and devotees attending festivals in his honour in Vrndavana, Puri, Govardhana and Delhi.

Sripad Bhakti Piyusa Avadhuta Maharaja is a disciple of nitya-lila-pravista Sri Srimad Bhakti Vaibhava Puri Gosvami Maharaja and lives in Puri. Upon receiving and reading Bengali magazine Smaranika as well as Sriman Mahahaprabhura-avadan-vaistya, he was astonished. He commented that he had never read such an unprecedented, systematic presentation on the speciality of Sriman Mahaprabhu and that he will base all his forthcoming speeches on this topic, on this booklet. He humbly requested that an Oriyan version be made available as soon as possible, and by the blessings of Srila Gurudeva, and with the help of the devotees who contributed towards the printing,the Oriyan edition was printed soon after and offered to Srila Gurudeva during Sri Navadvipa parikrama.

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During Navadvipa parikrama this year, Srila Gurudeva engaged the GVP sponsors in subsidizing the Bengali magazine Smaranika, so that devotees coming from the villages of Bengal, where Sripad Tirtha Maharaja and his party had travelled and preached, were able to easily and happily afford it. A complimentary copy of the “Bengali Gift” (Sri Mahahaprabhura-avadan-vaistya) was given to whoever purchased Smaranika. Complimentary copies of Smaranika were widely distributed to the many many Vaisnavas of various mathas in Sridhama Mayapura. Thus Srila Gurudeva’s glories and his transcendental message were magnanimously distributed to the Bengali speaking people.

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After Gaura-purnima, on 11 and 12 March, Sripada Premananda Prabhu organized trips to the various places in Sri Gaura-mandala, with four buses of devotees visiting places like Ula gram (the appearance place of Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura), Shantipura, Kalna, and so on. Sripada Madhava Maharaja and Sriman Brajanatha Prabhu also accompanied the party on both days. Sripada Madhava Maharaja spoke hari-katha at almost every place and head pujaris of each temple were gifted Smaranika and other small Bengali books of Srila Gurudeva. All graciously accepted them.

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Upon our return journey to Mathura, we were lucky to travel on a train that comes through Mathura once a week (thanks to the Indian railways). We were therefore fortunate that a lot of our fellow passengers were devotees from various Gaudiya Maths in the Mathura-Vrindavan area – many of whom we knew – who were returning from Navadvipa, having performed parikrama with their respective mathas.

Our large group of devotees performed evening aratika followed by an enlivening kirtana that lasted for more than an hour. The enthusiasm of devotees in our group reflected something of the wondrous potency of Srila Gurudeva, which seemed to be apparent to all present. And when Srila Gurudeva’s disciples and followers began to distribute his books, the other devotees as well as the other people on the train were most enthusiastic to receive them.

May the glories of Srila Gurudeva, nitya-lila-pravista om visnupada Sri Srimad Bhaktivedanta Narayana Gosvami Maharaja, be broadcast throughout the three worlds!

Srila Gurudeva ki jaya!

GVP sponsorship programme ki jaya!

Here in Jaya Sri Damodar Gaudiya Math we have 10 – 15 brahmacaris. There is a nice program two times a day with kirtan, harikatha and arati etc. Also publication work is going on. So far we have published 14 books;

(1) Jaiva Dharma (2) Mahaprabhu Siksa (3) Caitanya Carita Piyus (4) Sri Damodarastakam (5) Sri Jagannath Ratha Yatra (6) Prema Samput (7) Camatkar Candrika (8) Harinama Maha mantra (9) Bhakti-tattva-viveka (10) Evidence of Mahaprabhu’s Bhagavata (11) Way of Love (12) Secret Truths of the Undiscovered Self (13) Bhagavad Gita’s Real Intention (14) The Specialty of Mahaprabhu

Within the past three years we’ve reprinted two books, Caitanya Carita Piyus and Harinama Maha Mantra. We are going to reprint Caitanya Mahaprabhu Siksa. Within the last two years we’ve sold all 20,000 copies of  The Way of Love and Secrets of the Undiscovered-Self. We also need sponsorship for these two books.

We already have 5 new books ready for print: (1) Bhagavad Gita with commentary of Visvanath Cakravarti Thakur, (2) Siva-tattva, (3) Gaudiya Giti Guccha, (4) Ujjvala Nilamani Kiran, (5) Bhagavatamrta Kana

We also have a magazine which comes out every three months called ‘Sri Paramarthi’.

We are not only publishing books but we are also distributing them as well. Every year there are three or four big books fairs in which many western lady devotees come for book distribution. Also, during Ratha-yatra, right beside Sri Gundica Mandir, we have a book stall set up in which many, many books are distributed as well as Mahaprasad.

Throughout the year we do many house programs, village programs, school programs in which there is lots of kirtana, hari-katha and distribution of books.

The GVP Sponsorship Program has been extremely supportive of our activities. They have given us many free posters, free books and money to print books in Orrisa – so we could raise more money for printing more titles.

Thank to the donors who have helped with Orissa pracara, and we pray for your continued mery

Jaya Sri Damodar Gaudiya Math

branch of the International Gaudiya Vedanta Trust

Founder Acarya —Sri Srimad Bhaktivedanta Narayana Gosvami Maharaja

–

Bansibadan Das .

Jayshreedamodar Gaudiya Math,

C.T.Road,Puri-2, Orissa , India.

Phone – +91-6752-223375

Cell – +91-9776238328