Invitation to Farm Conference Novelle Mayapura FRANCE 16th, 17th, 18th Sept 2015

By Kalakantha das (Sri Mayapur – India)

The Conference is open to those who have an interest in or are actually practiced in rural development, agriculture, handicrafts, horticulture, protected dairying, ox draft and other similar topics and will propose the building of a network for the devotees interested in this field.

The community at Novelle Mayapura will be hosting the 2015 farm conference in September in this charming castle embraced by 83 ha of enchanting forestry and production grounds of grains, fruits and vegetables, with pasturing grounds for cows. This location offers a great setting for those interested in rural sustainable development and wish to know more, share what they know or meet the people doing it.

This year we will have a special session with the GBC Strategic Planning Sustainability chairman on possibilities of building a network of devotees who are working with sustainability.

Those who are interested in participating in the conference are invited to contact both Govindananda das and myself so we can keep you informed of any information. Gábor Kádár – Govindananda das
(gnanda@1108.cc) and Carlos Queiroz – Kalakantha das (kalakantha@gmail.com)  – ISKCON Ministers for Cow Protection and Agriculture and Chairman of SVC
(Sustainable Vaishnava Communities )

By Indradyumna Swami

DIARY OF A TRAVELING MONK – Volume 14, Chapter 5 – August 17, 2015

“Our Happy Summer Days”

After a month of harinams and festivals and a mammoth three-day Woodstock festival, our tour devotees were exhausted. When I mentioned during a meeting that we had seventeen more festivals to go, I saw many devotees catch their breath and roll their eyes upward. “It’s our duty,” I said. “We can’t give up, we can’t give in. We’ve inherited a tradition that goes back five hundred years. Many great devotees have served selflessly for this very moment that we are living: when the holy names of Lord Krishna are being broadcast all over the world. We have to push on for this next month. So much can be achieved.”

There was a loud roar of approval. I felt proud of the devotees. They understood the responsibility we had and the mercy we could deliver. They were ready to push on despite their fatigue.

Krsna’s Village of Peace had been an astounding success at the Woodstock Festival in July, and whatever follows a large memorable event is usually anti-climactic, but not so with our festival tour. The smaller festivals afterwards along the Baltic Sea coast were no less remarkable.

While advertising our first post-Woodstock festival with a melodious and colorful harinam, I was stopped by a middle-aged couple just before we got to the beach. “We don’t want to take your valuable time,” the man said, “but we just wanted to thank you for bringing your festival back to our town this year.”

“It really is the highlight of our summer,” his wife added.

“You all look a bit tired,” the man said. “Must be because of your hard work at Woodstock.”

“How did you know we were at Woodstock?” I asked. They looked like middle-class people, not the kind who would go to Woodstock or even be interested in it.

“Your big chariot was on the evening news,” the man said. “It looked like hundreds of you were singing and dancing alongside it.”

“Really?” I said. “I didn’t know.” I felt so happy I almost started laughing.

When we reached the sand, we all stopped to take off our shoes. A few meters away, I heard a father and his young daughter talking as they looked at one of our festival posters.

“Daddy,” the girl said, “what is reincarnation?”

I saw the man look again at the poster. I knew there was no mention of reincarnation on it. “Tell me, Daddy,” the girl said again, “what is reincarnation?”

“Well,” he mumbled, “ummm… you see… uh… Let’s go get some ice cream, shall we, darling?” He took her hand, and they started walking away. She looked back at us. “Daddy,” she said, “what is karma?”

As they disappeared into the throng of beachgoers, a woman rushed toward us.

“Are you going to sing?” she asked.

“Yes, we are,” I said.

“Oh, wonderful!” she said. “Do you sell CDs of your singing on the beach?”

“Well, not exactly of our singing on the beach, but we have CDs of our singing in our centers.”

“No,” she said. “I am looking for a CD of your singing on the beach.”

“Why?” I asked.

“I have been hearing you sing on this beach every summer since I was a little girl,” she said. “It has always been a memorable part of my summer vacation. Now I have my own children and they also enjoy it. We want a CD of your singing on the beach so we can remember our happy summer days all year.”

Soon we were chanting and dancing down the beach while a number of devotees passed out invitations. Twenty minutes into the kirtan, three older couples approached us.

“Can we help distribute the invitations?” a man said.

“Well, sure,” I said. “Why not?”

A devotee pulled a large stack of invitations out of her bag, and the couples began giving them out with big smiles. One of the women walked beside me for a few minutes, and as she handed an invitation to a young mother and her children, she turned to me. “It would be sad if people didn’t get the opportunity to see your fine show,” she said. “We’ve seen it every summer for the last three years.”

A little further along the beach, a young man selling popcorn started making fun of our singing. He chanted the Hare Krsna mantra going between falsetto and low tones to make people laugh. I tried to move him along, but it was obvious he was enjoying the attention he got mimicking us. He followed us for an hour and a half, chanting Krsna’s name a thousand times, albeit in jest. At one point he even began dancing. Because he was in front of the kirtan party people thought he was one of us and asked him where and what time the festival was. I decided to stop trying to intervene because he began speaking respectfully. “The festival is just off the beach over there,” he said. “It starts at 5:30 pm. Be on time. You don’t want to miss it.”

I smiled and remembered a verse by Sarvabhauma Bhattacarya:

sankirtanarambha krte pi gaure
dhavanti jiva sravane gunani
asuddha cittah kim u suddha cittah
srutva pramattah khalu te nanartuh

“When the Golden Lord’s congregational chanting of the holy names had only just begun, the transcendental qualities of the name cleansed the ears of the living entities. Thus, astonishingly, those of impure mentality became pure in mind, and as they continued to hear, became intoxicated and began to dance.” (Susloka-Satakam, Text 32)

During our two-hour harinam, we covered the whole beach and gave out over seven thousand invitations. Towards the end of the kirtan, a rough-looking young man rushed in front of the kirtan party.

“Shut up!” he screamed. “Shut up! Just shut up and get off this beach!” He shouted at us again and again, his speech peppered with obscenities. When he took a swing at one of the boys playing mridanga, our security men jumped on him. After a short tussle, he was pinned to the ground, his face in the sand. I could see he was going to have a big black eye soon.

“Let me up!” he screamed. A crowd had gathered to watch the harinam, and some of the people shook their heads as if telling us not to let him up. One of the security men held him still for another minute or two until he calmed down.

“OK,” he said. “Hare Krishna. Now let me up.”

The security man holding him loosened his grip. “No!” I called out to him. “Not just yet!”

“Hare Krishna!” the boy yelled. “Hare Krishna! Krishna Krishna Hare Hare! Please let me go!”

The security man looked at me. “Not yet,” I said with a smile.

“Hare Krishna!” he screamed. “Hare Krishna! Hare Krishna! Hare Krishna! Hare Krishna! Hare Krishna! And Hare Rama too!” Then he looked at me. “Please,” he said softly.

“OK,” I said. “Let him go.” He got up, brushed off the sand and walked away.

“Why did you wait so long to let him get up?” one of our boys asked.

I smiled. “It says in sastra:

eka hari name yata papa hare
kono paper sadhya nai tato papa kare

“‘One recitation of the Hare Krsna mantra is so powerful that unlimited sinful reactions in the heart are immediately removed.’ That was the most important moment of that boy’s life because he was chanting. I thought we should let him chant as much as he could.”

By the time we returned to the festival site it was almost time for the program to begin. The crowd got larger and larger, and I saw a woman who had been the mayor of the town many years ago. She was a good friend of ours.

“So nice to see you again,” I said.

“Wouldn’t miss it for the world,” she said.

“You still remember us after all these years?”

“How could I forget you?” she said. “My daughter and I often wear the beautiful saris you gave us. And this year we’ve brought my new grandchild to your festival for his first time. Just imagine! Three generations of followers. I guess it’s a tradition in our family now.”

After speaking to her for some time I wandered over to one of my favorite spots at the festival: the book tent. I was surprised to see a furious argument going on between a mother and her teenage daughter.

“Just buy the book for me, Mom!” screamed the girl. “Buy me a Bhagavad Gita!”

“But it’s not the Bible!” her mother shouted back.

“Mom, I don’t understand you,” the girl said, shaking her head. “I’ve been an atheist most of my life, and now finally after speaking to the Hare Krishnas I think there may actually be a God. I thought you’d be happy about that. How can you deny me the chance to read their book where they say God explains himself? Do you want me to continue being an atheist?”

The mother took a deep breath. “We’ll take one Bhagavad Gita, please,” she said to the devotee at the book table.

Another woman walked over to the book table. “I would like to purchase the Srimad Bhagavatam,” she said.

I turned to her. “Maybe you’d like to start with the Bhagavad Gita?” I said. “The Bhagavatam is more advanced.”

“No,” she replied. “It’s not for me. It’s for my son. I bought him a Bhagavad Gita twenty five years ago at your festival. He’s read it at least fifty times and he wants to move on to something deeper now. He even has a website where he teaches Bhagavad Gita As It Is.”

“Really?” I said.

“Oh yes,” she replied. “It’s very popular. He says it’s because he never says anything different than the author, Swami Prabhupada.”

“My thanks to him and to you,” I said.

Passing by the gift shop I saw a woman coming out clutching a CD to her chest.

“I am so grateful to him,” she said to me.

“To who?” I asked.

“To Mr. Das,” she replied. “I can’t say his whole name.”

She held up a CD by Bada Haridas Das. “I bought another one of his CDs last year at your festival. When my father passed away later that year the CD gave me some solace. It was the most difficult period in my life. I played that heavenly music day and night, and that man’s soft voice gave me the comfort I needed. And today I was so happy to find a second CD by him.”

A short while later I gave my talk from the stage. For me it’s the highlight of every festival because it is where I can share the wisdom of Krishna consciousness. The large crowd listened attentively, even while sitting in the summer heat. When I finished, a man was waiting for me as I came down from the stage.

“Great talk,” he said.

“Thank you,” I said. “Whatever I know, I learned from my spiritual teacher.”

“My family and I have attended a number of your festivals over the years,” he said. “They’re special because all the entertainment has a message behind it. Most events these days have little meaning. Just today the hairs on my body stood on end several times during the singing at the beginning of the event.”

At the outdoor restaurant across the way, I suddenly saw the man who had had the tussle with our security men at the beach. He was sitting at a table eating a large plate of samosas and talking to a devotee. His eye was beginning to look badly bruised.

The devotee waved for me to come over. “Maharaja,” he said, “I’d like you meet Krzysztof. He’s had a hard life but he says things are changing now that he’s met us. He really likes the chanting.”

I smiled and pointed at the black eye. “That’s quite a shiner you’ve got there, Krzysztof.”

“Yeah,” he said with a little smile. “I got into some trouble earlier in the day.” As I walked away, he winked at me with his black eye.

The rest of the festival went on like this: one surprise after another. Actually, though, in one sense it’s not at all surprising: Our festivals are part of Lord Caitanya’s sankirtan movement and His business is turning sinners into saints. I again remembered the prophetic words of Sarvabhauma Bhattacarya who envisioned the mercy of Lord Caitanya spreading all over the world:

“Out of His spontaneous compassion He restored all people back to consciousness, and through the means of His holy names enabled them to pass beyond the impassable ocean of the age of Kali, the age of quarrel. Thus news of the names of Krsna was told from person to person.”

[ Srila Sarvabhauma Bhattacarya, Susloka Satakam, text 46 ]

By Pusta Krishna das

Lord Chaitanya predicted that the glories of the Holy Names of the Mahamantra would take place in every town and village throughout the world. This energy was reflected in the person of Srila Bhaktivinode Thakur who wrote of the Bhagawat and sent a copy of this book to Canada around the time of our Srila Prabhupad’s appearance. The great carrier of that mercy was illuminated by Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Thakur Prabhupad. He gave the order to Abhay Charan De, later known as His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupad, to present the teaching of Krishna consciousness in the English language. Our Srila Prabhupad passionately and methodically took this order to heart and both translated Gaudiya Vaishnava tradition into English, and inaugurated the Back to Godhead magazine. After a number of years of trying to ignite the fire of these teachings in several places in India, he was drawn to travelling to America at the advanced age of 70 years old. Although he was living in his rooms just beside the Samadhi Mandir of Srila Rupa Goswami in Vrindaban, he left all of those spiritual comforts and by Krishna’s grace, made the difficult journey to America with only about 6 dollars and a few books.

It was apparent that he was full of faith and lived in the full grace of the Lord. Even when he stayed in the house of his sponsor, before his preaching in New York City, he was calm and personal. He never appeared like a man in desperation. He always believed in Krishna’s grace. He often would say to us…”so that is our plan, now let us see what is Krishna’s plan.” Free from false ego, fully connected with his Gurudeva and Lord Chaitanya, he carried on moment to moment, day to day. Challenged by serious health and other issues, he continued on and on, this humble sadhu from Vrindaban, and a servant of Sri Sri Guru Gauranga.

How many millions upon millions of individuals and families today are the beneficiaries of his merciful journey! He did this out of his great mercy and obedience to his Spiritual Master. He never looked rushed although he made use of his time so wisely. Despite his schedule of arising shortly after midnight to translate and comment on the Krishna conscious literatures for his disciples and generations of bhaktas to come, he listened to and replied to practically all the letters which his followers sent to him. We can learn from the grace with which he lived as a true Acharya (one who lives by example, whose very life is an expression of the teachings he is promoting). We cannot imitate his divine mood, but we can more deeply appreciate it. That appreciation, free from any envy of our beloved spiritual master, will carry us to his divine lotus feet where we can continue our spiritual training in the art of loving and serving Sri Sri Radha Krishna, in the divine eternal realm. Back to Home, Back to Godhead.

Pusta Krishna das

Lecture on Sadhus Fight Against Mayavada by HH Bhakti Vikas Swami on 05 July 2015 at Singapore

(Srimad Bhagavatam Canto 03, Chapter 01, Text, 08)

(HH Bhakti Vikasa Swami appeared in this world in 1957 in England. He joined the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON) in London in 1975 and was initiated in that year with the name Ilapati dasa by ISKCON’s founder-acarya, His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada. )

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By Bhakti-lata Dasi

For those of you who read the previous IPM NEWS, you will remember that inmate bhakta, Richard Chase—affectionately nicknamed “Krishna Kirtan”by Sarva-drik prabhu—was very well situated in a prison in Petersburg, Virginia where he had started what became a very successful and popular Hare Krishna program at the chapel library. Last year, however, he was transferred to a prison in Lisbon, Ohio where the chaplains were quite inimical toward Krishna Consciousness and who prevented him from starting a Hare Krishna program at their chapel. However, after some tribulations in Lisbon, Krishna Kirtan has been transferred back to the Petersburg prison, back in the swing of things! Sarva-drik prabhu is still visiting and leading amazing programs, which are enthusiastically attended by many inmates! Below Krishna Kirtan recounts the first dream he had of Prabhupada, in 2006.

Srila Prabhupada’s Visit

When I first discovered Krishna Consciousness in 2006, it was during the pre- trial phase of my incarceration. Right after my arrest, I was abandoned by those in my prior Christian faith. I was sure God had left me too. He was showing no mercy and my prosecutor was going for the throat.

Uncertainty, fear, hopelessness, and impending doom pervades one’s spirit during pre- trial. It can squash God out of a guy’s heart. During the depth of my despair, another inmate slid a magazine beneath my cell door. It was “Back to Godhead” and my life has not been the same ever since.

I learned, when I was overcome with those dark emotions that chanting Hare Krishna and reading Srila Prabhupada’s books brought more light and relief than anything else could. The worse it got, the more I chanted, and the better I felt. I began writing to Bhakti- lata dasi and she answered every question, every concern, and returned letter for letter. Her kindness was transcendental and she kept pointing me to Srila Prabhupada. It was difficult to understand at first- how a mere human could be so revered and worshipped. I soon came to understand Prabhupada is no mere human. He is Sri Guru.

As I continued to chant, a transformation began- I was becoming a devotee. It was as if Srila Prabhupada’s words spoke directly to my heart, drenching it in love for Lord Krishna.

The Christian resentments I had toward God for not helping me turned into Vedic lessons of karmic responsibility. Everything regarding my fate began to make sense. Govinda, the reservoir of pleasure revealed His mercy to me- I could be doing life it weren’t for him. I deserved so much worse than what I was getting. As I began to absorb these realizations, I started to find peace.

One night, lying on my bunk while reading Bhagavad-gita As It Is, I was slipping into sleep, the Gitastraddling my chest. But, then I heard a sound to which all prisoners must be alert- jingling keys. Glancing through my door, I noticed bright color filling the small glass window the guards look through- a rare sight in this world of grey concrete steel. I rose, setting my Shastra on my pillow. A small, smiling man, my height, in brilliant saffron robes, glowed on the other side of the door. At that moment, the barrier glided open and there was Srila Prabhupada standing before me. My heart leapt. Instantly, I collapsed at his lotus feet, trying to gather the dust from them to smear upon my head as I broke into tears. He pulled me up, handed me a japa mala and said, “Chant 16 rounds of the Hare Krishna mantra each day.” I took the mala and then realized I was still lying on my bunk, the Gita still atop my chest. I looked at my hand, the feeling of Tulasi Devi still lingering between my fingers. That wasn’t a dream, I told myself. It was a vision. I knew then that it was my duty to spread Krishna Consciousness to as many inmates as possible. I sat up and the Gita fell into my lap, opened at the 18th Chapter, verse 66 jumping from the page, “Abandon all varieties of religion and just surrender unto me. I shall deliver you from all sinful reaction. Do not fear.”

Richard Chase

Petersburg, VA

Inmate letter excerpts

Dear Sarva-drik prabhu,

I just wanted to express my wonder at the Lord’s mercy He took on me. It truly had everything to do with Sri-Sri Radha-Krishna and Sri-Sri Gaura-Nitai. I realized a couple weeks ago that Lord Caitanya is the most merciful of all the Lord’s incarnations. And Lord Nityananda’s mercy is SO infinite.

Anything could have happened prabhuji – anything. I owe Him EVERYTHING I have. It is all His anyway – but as I had mentioned – I’m going to be a different person when I get back which will have a LOT to do with my effectiveness as a Vaisnava. You can believe that the attendance at the service – especially when you return will be significantly larger. I know that many attended just because I asked them to, but perhaps I can attract more based solely on the principles of Krishna Consciousness and not because their friend “Yogi asked them to come.” 
It was so funny last night in the holding tank, waiting to get processed, a young guy who I thought was Hispanic looked at me and said “You are Hare Krishna?” I asked, “How did you know?” He said, “I read the Sanskrit on your arm.” I asked him, “How do YOU know Sanskrit?” He said, “I’m from India. I’m Punjabi. I’m a Sikh but I studied Sanskrit.” So I started saying the prayers and quoting Sanskrit from the Gita and he was amazed that an American could know as much. This spoke to me of the opportunities of preaching the Holy Name in India.

On the plane here, all shackled up and crammed-in, three to a row, I freely gave Harinam to two young black men who never heard of Krishna Consciousness. I explained to them how we are NOT the body.

Richard Chase

Petersburg, Virginia

Dear Mother Bhakti-lata,

I am back at Petersburg, through Lord Nitai and Sri Radha’s mercy. At the last kirtan that Sarva-drik attended here, there were twenty inmates and the room was packed. Chaplain Thompson and I are talking about moving our growing group to a larger space in the chapel. I am so blessed to be here and our group is so fortunate to have what we have. Sarva-drik prabhu also gave an awesome group Gita study course which we will be beginning soon.

I have been blessed beyond my wildest imaginings. To be able to preach Krsna consciousness is so sublime. Being in Krsna consciousness gives us unlimited happiness even in this material world. Inmates especially need to realize this. There needs to be a KC program in every city, county, state, and federal institution. We need it desperately and I am so very blessed to be able to spread just a tiny fractional bit of it to others. The work that you, IPM, and all the Vaisnava-desire-trees are truly fulfilling the spiritual desires of all of us most fallen and conditioned souls.

Richard Chase

Petersburg, Virginia

Dear Bhakti-lata Dasi,

Please accept my dandavat pranams. Enclosed is a meager donation for the seva the IPM provides so benevolently for those fortunate jivas who have heard the message of the Bhagavata, which is so munificently gifted to such fallen incarcerated souls such as myself by Srila Prabhupada. Forgive me for the thirteen years delay in repaying such kindness. May this donation somehow touch the heart of a prisoner as the IPM continues to touch mine. Prabhupada, ki, jaya! Your servant,

Bhakta Thomas Shipley

Appleton, Wisconsin

I am so blessed and grateful to you, Lord Krishna and all who are able to help me in this endeavor… I pray and chant a minimum of six rounds a day and working my way up as my time, schedule, and opportunity allows in the prison environment, as well as constantly chanting verbally and in my mind at all times possible, while walking, working, eating, and more… as the scriptures tell us:

Ekam sat viprah bahuda vadanti, “The truth is one, it is spoken under various names.”

James W. 
Huntsville, Texas

My name is Marvin Earl Carter Jr. and I’m an inmate at the North Central Unit in Arkansas. I have been following the Bhagavad-Gita for some time now. And I do study of other faiths but this one speaks to me a lot and I can feel it in my heart when I read of its divine grace.

But I’m a man with a dark past, I was convicted of sexual assault. I had no sense of reason or faith in myself to live anymore until I found Krsna. He is truly a new part of my life and the way that I see things now.

It is just a little different for me as being a young Black man that is following Sri Krsna and studying the Bhagavad-Gita.

I am about thirty years old and the reason that I’m writing to ISKCON Prison Ministry is to ask you if there is some way that I can speak to people from the world that follows this path in life, so that I can better understand this way of life in prison. The only way to truly know how this life and path is lived is to be able to speak to people that live it. Someday I do wish to meet someone who shares the Hindu faith.

Marvin C.

Calico Rock, Arizona

[My books were taken] The only thing I was able to keep was my Gita which is all I really need anyway. Association would be nice At least the prison accepts Krishna Consciousness as a religion though they will not work with me on the diet or faith items of any kind. We are surrounded by feed-lots and slaughter houses here and the darkness in which these people live in shocking. So me and the Lord are just silently waiting for a door to open. I make beads out of string with knots in them but the guards steal them when they find them and I can’t chant in the open with them. I have found another devotee here, Bhakta Doug Gaylor. I also have another young guy that is showing great interest here. I meet him in the gym and answer questions the best I can. He has a Gita and has a good gentle soul.

Thomas L.

Sterling, Colorado

I wish to express my deepest thanks to you & the ministry for the prayer beads & all the books that you’ve sent me; it’s really great; Hare Krsna! I’m really enjoying everything & I’ve been attending the Saturday meetings I am learning more each day! My chanting is coming along nicely yet I know I still have a long way to go; I’ve been doing four to six rounds (not enough!) but today, I’ve done nine rounds & the day/night isn’t over yet :)!

Please accept my gratitude & thanks again!

Thomas C.

Raiford, Florida

Let me start by saying that it took me a while to grasp the teaching of His Divine Grace & of Bhagavad-gita, but the fog is beginning to clear and I am experiencing an awakening of self. I’ve had an ample amount of time to sit in solitude, chant & study the Gita, since that is the only book I now possess. It is truly changing my way of thinking, albeit slowly. Due to the circumstances of my life up until this point, I still carry around massive amounts of baggage and negativity. But by chanting and remembering to offer as sacrifice the fruits of my work, I am chipping away at that layer of illusion.

Truly, the influence of Krsna Consciousness is working in my life. I thank you with endless kindness for the services that you provide to those of us striving behind the concrete and steel walls. Sincerely,
Tracy G.

Polkton, North Carolina

To read the full newsletter, please follow the link below and then click on the attachment:

http://iskconprisonministry.us/node/466

If you wish to receive our bi-monthly IPM NEWS newsletter, please email us at:IskconPrisonMinistry@gmail.com

, with “SUBSCRIBE” in the subject line. Thank you!

To help with this prison program, please contact Mukunda Dasa or Bhakti-lata Dasi at:

ISKCON Prison Ministry

3759 McCreary’s Ridge Road

NBU #46

Moundsville, WV 26041

IskconPrisonMinistry@gmail.com

www.iskconprisonministry.org

Lecture on Sunday Feast-Srila Prabhupada Life Birth to 1965 by HH Lokanath Swami on 09 Aug 2014 at ISKCON Noida

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By Giriraj Swami

By Srila Prabhupada’s causeless mercy, Rose Forkash, who developed the Friends of Lord Krishna (FOLK) program with Srila Prabhupada’s direct encouragement and guidance, will receive initiation at my ashram in Carpinteria on Wednesday, August 19, between 10 a.m. and noon. She is four weeks away from her ninety-fifth birthday. Please bless her that she achieves complete success in Krishna consciousness in this very lifetime.

Lecture on Brahma Vimohan Lila by HG Prema Manjari Mataji on 28 May 2015 at Singapore

(HG Prema Manjari mataji joined ISKCON in 1992 during her MBBS days and received her first initiation from HH Radhanath Swami maharaj in 1996. She has set an example for others to follow by wonderfully balancing between her hectic professional life as a radiologist and spiritual life.)

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Lecture on Srila Prabhupada Katha by HH Lokanath Swami on 09 Aug 2014 at ISKCON Noida

(Lokanath Swami born in Aravade, a small village Maharashtra, Indian, he went to Mumbai for studying. In the year 1971, His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada was touring India with his foreign disciples and had organized a pandal program in Mumbai.Intrigued, maharaj attended the whole Hare Krsna Festival and heard from Srila Prabhupada.)

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By the www.BhaktiWomen.org Team

Among the various areas that the Bhakti Women team serves women in, we are also very inspired to support mothers in empowering their daughters and to honor and value their role as women. We wish for them to excel and shine in their roles as home- makers, caretakers of the physical, emotional and spiritual well-being of their families, in raising emotionally and spiritually sound children and in maintaining relationships within society. With this purpose in mind we offered a ten session Girls Home Science Camp in Seattle during June-July 2015. The
camp was well appreciated by all girls and parents from the devotee and secular community. 

The team has created many teaching aids, resources and activity sheets for this camp and we are very happy to share this with everyone. We hope that new and experienced home makers alike find this material useful. We also hope that mothers find this to be a useful tool in training their daughters. We also foresee other congregations utilizing this material for camps as they find appropriate. We would also be very happy to receive feedback for mistakes and improvements in our materials. Find below a list of topics covered along with links to materials and pictures. We hope you find these useful. 

Feminine Qualities and the Home

Click here for resources: http://www.bhaktiwomen.org/?q=content/feminine-qualities-and-home

Within this module we covered the importance of how feminine qualities are extremely powerful and how they
impact the well being and happiness of all family members  We discussed how a woman’s performance of her duties with due support from her family members gives a strong foundation for the performance of grhastha ashrama dharma. We did two activities to deliver this message. One was a discussion of feminine qualities of women personalities from scripture, along with a group discussion analysis on how things would have been different if Sita would not have followed Rama, if Ahalya was not tolerant and Draupadi was not forgiving towards Ashwatthama and Sukanya got irritable while dealing with Cyavana Muni. The girls presented skits and their group wise analysis on each of these topics. We also did a Duty Web Activity to show how the non performance of even
one of her duties can lead to a collapse of the entire social fabric and family fabric.For Resources: Click
Here

Home Care and Decor

Click here for resources: http://bhaktiwomen.org/?q=content/home-care-and-decor

We covered the topics of Cleanliness, Organization and Home Decor. We based this module on the instructions of Narada Muni for women from the verses SB 7.11.26-27, “…….she should sweep and clean the household with water and other liquids so that the entire house is always pure and clean. She should collect the household paraphernalia and keep the house always aromatic with incense and flowers…..” . Within the topic of  “Cleanliness” we helped them identify the different varieties of surfaces that need to be cleaned in the house and how each one of them require a specific cleaning mechanism. We also introduced them to the concept of natural bio- degradable
cleaners and helped them make one such cleaner during activity time. Within “Organization” (collect the household
paraphernalia) we helped them understand the importance of organization based on Srila Prabhupada’s teachings. We had group activity planned related to organizing certain areas of the home- kitchen spice rack, kitchen vessels,
clothes closet, study desk and jewelry.

Within Home Decor we discussed how Krishna Conscious homes must be a sactuary for the spiritual, emotional and physical rejuvenation of the family members. We discussed how housekeeping and decor play a major role in the well being of the family. We discussed how the purpose of beauty – is for Krishna , to remind us of Krishna.
Since Home Decor is an extremely broad topic we covered the aspect of patterns in design and how all traditional cultures use patterns from nature and why they do so? We connected that with how all those patterns in nature have been created by Krishna and to surround yourself with such patterns in the home – either on flooring, upholstery, carving and prints the purpose is to always remember Krishna through those. 

Prasadam Science

Click here for resources: http://bhaktiwomen.org/?q=content/prasadam-science

Within this module we covered to major two topics. The first being “ Food, Mood, Karma and You” on how the type of food we eat and the consciousness of the cook affects our consciousness, karma and mood and ability to grow in life. We discussed the importance of choosing the right types of foods and being extremely careful of
eating only prasadam cooked by devotees. We also discussed about the effect of eating local foods easy to obtain and the effect of natural farming using cow dung vs. fertilizers. For that we had a field trip to HG Harivilas Prabhu’s farm where we showed them organic farming using cow dung and also the care of cows.We also touched upon the topic of food storage and different methods of preservation with one being pickling where the girls learned how to make a lime pickle( Link to pictures for this activity:. The second topic we covered was
related to “Prasadam Serving”. We gave them some pointers on what constitutes a good menu vs. a bad menu. We also discussed serving sequences and serving layout (arranging a table – Indian style and Western Style). 

Guest Reception at Home

Click here for resources: http://bhaktiwomen.org/?q=content/guest-reception-home

This being an important function of the grhastha asrama we tried to introduce the concept to the girls through this module. We covered how one needs to be mindful of the spiritual, emotional and physical needs of the guests and how one can take care of them. We have also designed mother daughter activities that they could do at home
around arranging a sleeping area for the guests and also learning how to serve prasadam to them – in terms of menu planning, serving layout and serving sequence. We also had a group activity around different guest arrival scenarios and how best the group could tackle those scenarios based on what they had learned. 

Mother Daughter Activities

Since our vision is to support mothers in raising their daughters. We planned various Mother- Daughter At Home
Activities for every week of the camp to enable the mothers to train their daughters at home and make the best use of the summer. The idea behind this was that nothing can replace what a daughter can learn from her mother and our effort is to help mothers in imparting this science to their daughters. Handouts for those have been linked above with the various course modules.

 Links to resources:

http://www.bhaktiwomen.org/?q=content/feminine-qualities-and-home

http://bhaktiwomen.org/?q=content/home-care-and-decor

http://bhaktiwomen.org/?q=content/prasadam-science

http://bhaktiwomen.org/?q=content/guest-reception-home

Links to pictures:

 Click here for pictures from the Home Organization activity:

https://www.facebook.com/Sakhisanga/posts/1631376787103937

 Click here for pictures from the Home Decor activity:

https://www.facebook.com/Sakhisanga/posts/1633049783603304

Click here for
pictures on Lime Pickle activity

https://www.facebook.com/Sakhisanga/posts/1638331639741785

Click here for pictures from Cake Decoration activity and videos:

https://www.facebook.com/Sakhisanga/posts/1636660773242205

http://www.bhaktiwomen.org/?q=content/cake-decoration

Click here for
pictures from Marigold planting

https://www.facebook.com/Sakhisanga/posts/1635919149983034

Click here for
pictures from Cow Care

https://www.facebook.com/Sakhisanga/posts/1635909819983967

Click here for
pictures from Planting Box Preparation Activity

https://www.facebook.com/Sakhisanga/posts/1635902353318047

Videos:

http://www.bhaktiwomen.org/?q=content/cake-decoration

https://youtu.be/GMnB5agbYPw

https://youtu.be/cjX2GCwbrW0