program - Blog - ISKCON Desire Tree | IDT2024-03-29T12:14:50Zhttps://iskcondesiretree.com/profiles/blogs/feed/tag/programThe Glory of Bharatvarsha, Sanatan Culture and the Man who Preached World Overhttps://iskcondesiretree.com/profiles/blogs/the-glory-of-bharatvarsha-sanatan-culture-and-the-man-who-preache2023-11-08T13:13:49.000Z2023-11-08T13:13:49.000ZISKCON Desire Treehttps://iskcondesiretree.com/members/iskcon_desire_tree<div><p><strong><img class="align-center" src="{{#staticFileLink}}12288062496,RESIZE_584x{{/staticFileLink}}" width="500" alt="12288062496?profile=RESIZE_584x" /><br /><br />By Aseem Krishna Das</strong><br /> <br /> A wonderful program entitled, "The glory of Bharatvarsha, Sanatan Culture and the man who preached World Over" was organized on 25th October 2023 in Dr. Mangal Sen Auditorium, Karnal, Haryana. The event was held to glorify and highlight the contributions of His Divine Grace A C Bhaktivedanta Swami Srila Prabhupada in spreading the wisdom of Sanatan Vedic culture throughout the whole world. Taking instructions from his spiritual master His Divine Grace Srila Bhakti Siddhant Saraswati Thakur Maharaja, Srila Prabhupada launched a mission to deliver the people of the whole world by helping them to re-establish their lost relationship with the Supreme Lord. At an advanced age of sixty nine years, Srila Prabhupada who possessed the spirit of a young man started for America on a cargo ship. With just about seven dollars worth of Indian currency in his pocket, Srila Prabhupada did the unthinkable. During a short span of just eleven years, Srila Prabhupada circled the globe fourteen times establishing more than 108 temples, gurukulas, farm communities etc and acted as a guide and spiritual master to a group of more than ten thousand sincere disciples. Srila Prabhupada's determination was unparalleled and unwavering. This event was organised with a purpose to glorify Bharatvarsha's beloved son, His Divine Grace A C Bhaktivedanta Swami Srila Prabhupada. The preparations for the event started a month before the program. Various services were distributed among different groups of devotees. One of the groups was responsible for arranging all the requirements for the venue, another group was responsible for visiting various schools, colleges and coaching institutes to invite teachers and students for the program. Another group of devotees was responsible for decoration the venue with flowers and flex while another one took responsibility for welcoming guest and students and accommodating them in their seats. One team took responsibility for preparing snacks prasadam to be distributed at the end of the event. The date of the event had arrived and the preparations were going in full swing. The event turned out to be a grand success. We had apprehensions but they all proved wrong. The auditorium with a seating capacity of one thousand people was packed full. The audience comprising mostly of young students sat with their eyes glued on to the stage. The event began with a short kirtana followed by the lighting of the lamp and offering of flowers to Srila Prabhupada's vigraha. The first presentation was delivered by Dr. Ravi Prakash (His Grace Ramjeevan Das), the BRICKS young innovator Prize awardee in Brazil on the topic "The Relevance of Bhagavad Gita in Twenty First Century". The presentation delved deep into the secrets of the Bhagavad Gita to give a message to the audience. His presentation was followed by a short classical dance performance by a young student from Ropar. Next session included a panel discussion with a panel comprising of highly renowned professionals like Prof. Ramjee Repaka (Rangeshwar Das) IIT Ropar, Dr. Sunil Onteru, Sr. Scientist NDRI Karnal, Dr. Ankit Sharma (Atmavit Das), IIT-BHU and others. The session was moderated by His Grace Krishna Sudama Das. He asked various questions to the panelists which were relevant in the modern times especially for the students. The discussion was very fruitful.</p>
<p>Following it was a lecture by His Holiness Subhag Swami Maharaja, a Guru and Spiritual Mentor in ISKCON on the topic, "The Contributions of Srila Prabhupada in the global resurgence of the Bharatiya Culture in the 21st century". During his talk, Maharaja especially discussed the teachings of Srila Prabhupada and highlighted his contributions in spreading the Vedic wisdom throughout the world. The students learn from Maharaja the importance of living a regulated and a focused life. They all heard the talk with utmost attention.</p>
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<p><br /> The program concluded with a short video showcasing Srila Prabhupada’s preaching activities throughout the whole world with audio clips by the honourable Prime Minister of India Shri Narendra Modi ji appreciating Srila Prabhupada and ISKCON. After the program ended each student had a message to take back home. They realized the contributions of Srila Prabhupada and also learn a very important lesson that is to follow in their own lives what Srila Prabhupada had taught all over the world. Many among them also bought Srila Prabhupada books. A group of students eagerly gathered near Srila Subhag Swami Maharaja and had personal discussions with him at the end of his session. All the participants were also given a box of prasadam. They all enjoyed the program. Srila Prabhupada liked preaching to the intellectuals and to the student community. Such a preaching has a deep impact on the society.</p>
<p><br /> Srila Prabhupada has said, “Thank you for boldly infiltrating into the intellectual circles there. By attracting intelligent men to our movement, automatically, others will also be attracted to come. By preaching in this way, one becomes firmly convinced of the philosophy of Krishna Consciousness himself, and gradually it becomes easier and easier for him to convince others also.” (Srila Prabhupada letter to Dulal Chandra Das in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA) The Press covered the whole event very nicely. The program was reported in leading newspapers of the area. We are heartily thankful to all the people who worked hard in the organization of the event. We are especially grateful to His Holiness Subhag Swami Maharaja who gave us the inspiration and the strength to organize such a majestic event. We seek the blessings from all the Vaishnavas so that we continue to organize such events in the future. All glories to Srila Prabhupada.<br /> <br /> <strong>Read more: </strong><a href="http://www.dandavats.com/?p=112181">http://www.dandavats.com/?p=112181</a></p></div>Notes on Bhaktivedanta Institute for Higher Studies Program On the Occasion of Sadaputa Prabhu’s 76th Birthdayhttps://iskcondesiretree.com/profiles/blogs/notes-on-bhaktivedanta-institute-for-higher-studies-program-on-th2023-02-24T12:10:41.000Z2023-02-24T12:10:41.000ZISKCON Desire Treehttps://iskcondesiretree.com/members/iskcon_desire_tree<div><p><img class="align-center" src="{{#staticFileLink}}10972417461,RESIZE_584x{{/staticFileLink}}" width="500" alt="10972417461?profile=RESIZE_584x" /></p>
<p>Brahmatirtha Prabhu:</p>
<p>Sadaputa Prabhu was a genius. He had a photographic memory. He had idiosyncrasies like any genius. He understood things in a deeper way, and he wanted to share. He never stopped learning.</p>
<p>Mechanistic and Nonmechanistic Science was my favorite book. God & Science has brilliant essays.</p>
<p>About Jayadvaita Swami:</p>
<p>I got a mantra card from him at Greenwich Village in 1968.</p>
<p>It said chant this mantra, and your life will be sublime. I tried it and could not get it out of my mind.</p>
<p>He is the BBT’s most trusted editor. He has been a director of BBT and a director of the archives.</p>
<p>When he read Ecclesiastes at thirteen he liked it and decided to become a monk.</p>
<p>Jayadvaita Swami:</p>
<p>I was there when Sadaputa Prabhu came to Henry St. temple.</p>
<p>He was talking about Schrödinger’s equation, and that you had to have an observer outside the system, and therefore there would be infinite regress if you did not have a conscious observer outside the system.</p>
<p>He was brilliant. He loved prasadam.</p>
<p>I was keen ask him to write articles.</p>
<p>He had a gift to make complicated ideas understandable to ordinary people.</p>
<p>He had a clear picture that the program of the scientists of reducing life to numbers makes our life meaningless, which he found unacceptable at best and at worst abhorrent. He saw the materialistic reductionist view gives answers, but terrible answers, to life’s ultimate questions.</p>
<p>I think that publishing Sadaputa Prabhu in Back to Godhead was one of the best things we did.</p>
<p>One Christian magazine commenting on a work of Sadaputa Prabhu said, “Substantial.”</p>
<p>The Computerized Mr. Jones shows how there must be an observer beyond the mechanistics of perception.</p>
<p>His article on inspiration was impressive. So was the work he did on the size of the yojana and geocentric orbits of the planets corresponding to the features of Bhu-mandala.</p>
<p>I also liked his analogy of painting telling different parts of a story to the multiple meanings of Bhu-mandala.</p>
<p>As times goes on, we will find Sadaputa Prabhu more important, and his work something to be proud of.</p>
<p>He would look more deeply, and probe into what Prabhupada said or the scriptures said. He had deep faith in the reality of what was being presented, not dismissing some of the material as mythology.</p>
<p>A scientist is an investigator, and a scientific devotee is also an investigator.</p>
<p>I appreciated his genius, his faith in Prabhupada and the scriptures, and his clear understanding of the negative implications of reductionism. He could also see the opportunities for discourse.</p>
<p>It is a treasure to have his contributions so early in the movement. Present devotee scholars can benefit having his contribution to begin from.</p>
<p>His work will be increasingly appreciated over time.</p>
<p>Brahmatirtha Prabhu:</p>
<p>In “God and the Laws of Physics,” Sadaputa explains how chaos theory can show how God can influence the material world without being detected. He presented his idea at a college, and after his presentation, the head of the religion department, who is almost always an atheist, had so many questions, seeing his worldview shattered.</p>
<p>Mostly retired faculty have donated so many books to our Bhaktivedanta Institute for Higher Studies library.</p>
<p>Badrinarayana Swami:</p>
<p>Sadaputa Prabhu was a friend and hero. He was a gentleman with a refined sophisticated manner.</p>
<p>At a UCSD program he defeated a professor in attendence so badly that the professor claimed he had to leave for an appointment.</p>
<p>He loved prasadam and could eat vast quantities of prasadam. Later Dravida learned the brain is the organ that burns the most calories, and then we understood.</p>
<p>He was serious about his sadhana, and he had a sense of humor.</p>
<p>Kuladri told how Sadaputa Prabhu as Bhakta Richard joined in New Vrindaban, and not knowing his academic qualifications, they engaged him in digging post holes. Later Prabhupada sent a letter to all temple presidents asking for those with college degrees in science to come forward. When Kauladri read it to the devotees, Sadaputa Prabhu raised his hand.</p>
<p>I said to Sadaputa, “Why don’t you systematically go through the Origins magazine chapter by chapter, and we will record it?” So he did. He explained it so well. He was such a good teacher.</p>
<p>He was ahead of his time.</p>
<p>He made the point that if you accept more than three dimensions, so many things can be explained.</p>
<p>If it was in the Bhagavatam he felt it was true, and his mission was to understand how it was true and to explain how it was true.</p>
<p>Brahmatirtha Prabhu:</p>
<p>Our job at BIHS is to research and publish.</p>
<p>Christina is working on a book with Akhandadhi and Tamraparni Prabhus on consciousness.</p>
<p>On Hridayananda Dasa Goswami (HDG):</p>
<p>He got his Ph.D. in record time.</p>
<p>People think that Vishnu is a minor god in the original Vedas who later rose in importance, but HDG’s thesis was that Vishnu was always considered supreme.</p>
<p>He wrote Quest for Justice, on the Mahabharata.</p>
<p>Both scholars and acaryas said Mahabharata is corrupt, and HDG is trying to ascertain the real story.</p>
<p>HDG is the premier philosopher in the Hare Krishna movement, and he is the guiding philosopher of BI.</p>
<p>We have this mansion by HDG’s influence.</p>
<p>Hridayananda Dasa Goswami:</p>
<p>There are very few people in the Hare Krishna movement that I would call a genius. Of all the BI scientists, Sadaputa almost single-handedly produced the literature telling the response of the Hare Krishnas to modern science.</p>
<p>Bhaktisvarupa Damodara Maharaja was expert in public relations and conferences, but Sadaputa Prabhu produced literature.</p>
<p>The world has practically become indifferent to knowledge, almost medieval.</p>
<p>What is the role of the Bhaktivedanta Institute literature?</p>
<p>Most of the BI literature to date was written by Sadaputa.</p>
<p>The metaphor of society being like a body is one of the oldest Vedic analogies, and thus the brahmanas are the brain of society.</p>
<p>We may think we are better than brahmanas as Vaishnavas, but we need people actually doing the brahminical work of educating human society.</p>
<p>We tend to spend more on rituals than education.</p>
<p>A lot of the essential points that we want to make to the world Sadaputa Prabhu already has made. There are always new things, but he has done the bulk of it.</p>
<p>We have to present Sadaputa Prabhu’s work to the world in contemporary language.</p>
<p>Sadaputa Prabhu showed using probability theory that the chance that complicated biological forms could evolve is nil. Since then microbiology has made great advances, and so it is even more unlikely than before.</p>
<p>We have to able to present Sadaputa Prabhu in an intelligent way, being able to respond to challenges in a relevant and convincing way.</p>
<p>We can truly honor Sadaputa Prabhu by presenting his ideas to the world and showing how his arguments stand the test of time.</p>
<p>Brahmatirtha Prabhu:</p>
<p>We have to have some of the qualities of Sadaputa to do this work of sharing his knowledge with the world.</p>
<p>I was the only geologist in the Hare Krishna movement, and Svarupa Damodara invited me to join BI.</p>
<p>Sadaputa Prabhu helped me in writing a paper by doing the math for it.</p>
<p>He was snappy at answering the questions of fools. I dealt with this by feeding him so much prasadam before the program, that he was in a mellow mood, and he would not be so snappy.</p>
<p>Overview of Mechanistic and Nonmechanistic Science:</p>
<p>Sadaputa Prabhu begins by saying that John Maynard Smith’s declaration, “The individual is simply a device constructed by the genes to ensure the production of more genes like themselves” conveys concisely what modern science has to say about the meaning of human life.</p>
<p>“If you think you understand quantum mechanics, you don’t understand quantum mechanics.”– Richard Feynman, (Sadaputa Prabhu liked that one.)</p>
<p>Our strength in BI is that we are multidisciplinary.</p>
<p>The Vedic literature allows us to bridge the gap between science and religion.</p>
<p>Some scientists say all that can be known can be known empirically, but how can that be known empirically!</p>
<p>The mechanistic worldview has a lot of truth in, yet it leaves out consciousness.</p>
<p>Observations cannot always be numerically represented.</p>
<p>Absolute reality must have some personality.</p>
<p>To some extent there is some disharmony with mechanistic theories.</p>
<p>Every GPS satellite has to be recalibrated because of the reality of time dialation.</p>
<p>In eight chapters, Sadaputa Prabhu finds mechanistic science is limited in many ways.</p>
<p>In the ninth chapter, he presents bhakti-yoga as a possible replacement.</p>
<p>Comment by one devotee: Prabhupada was asked if there were instruments for measuring spiritual consciousness, and Srila Prabhupada said, “Yes, mrdanga and karatalas.”</p>
<p>Source: <a href="https://bit.ly/3IlosXO">https://bit.ly/3IlosXO</a></p>
<p>We started by putting Sadaputa Prabhu’s books in print, and then we created a branch of the BI.<br /> <br /> <strong>Read more: </strong><a href="http://www.dandavats.com/?post_type=post&p=106420#">http://www.dandavats.com/?post_type=post&p=106420#</a></p></div>Report of Sadhu Sanga program held at Puri from 11th December to 17th December, 2022https://iskcondesiretree.com/profiles/blogs/report-of-sadhu-sanga-program-held-at-puri-from-11th-december-to-2022-12-28T09:52:17.000Z2022-12-28T09:52:17.000ZISKCON Desire Treehttps://iskcondesiretree.com/members/iskcon_desire_tree<div><p><strong><img class="align-center" src="{{#staticFileLink}}10920883071,RESIZE_584x{{/staticFileLink}}" width="500" alt="10920883071?profile=RESIZE_584x" /></strong></p>
<p><strong>By Aseem Krishna Das</strong></p>
<p>Associating with a pure representative of the Supreme Lord along with hundreds of other sincere devotees in a holy place is very rare and precious. Such divine moments spent with other devotees engaged in the service of the Lord leaves an indelible imprint on the mind and gives us the strength to face this turbulent material world. As we keep on remembering those happy moments spent in the association of devotees, we develop a longing for that association and thus secure a bright destination in the next life.</p>
<p>Śrīla Prabhupāda has said, “So here, Prahlāda Mahārāja (SB 7.7.30-31), he recommends that first of all you have to engage yourself under the guidance, under the service, of a bona fide spiritual master and then you have to keep yourself in association of the devotees…. And sādhūnām īśvara-ārādhanena ca; and, in their association, you have to worship the Supreme Lord.” (SP Lecture SB 7.7.29-30, San Francisco, March 15, 1967)</p>
<p>We all have read about the most important gatherings of the sages at Sukratala and Naimisharanya. The only purpose for the gatherings of those advanced souls was the glorification of the Supreme Lord, Hari. Indeed, the Supreme Lord’s glorification is the sole business of the pure devotees. And whenever these pure devotees discuss the pastimes of the Lord, the atmosphere generated is such that it is free from all kind of anxieties, lamentations or hankerings. One can easily cross over the bodily platform and get himself established in his true original position just by hearing those mahātmās with rapt attention.</p>
<p>A pure devotee’s exemplary love and affection for the conditioned souls can melt even the stone-like hearts. His loving words have the effect of the soothing moon rays upon all of us who are struggling in the blazing fire in this material world. His association is most pleasing to the heart and it instills within us love for the Lord and love towards each other.<br /> A pure devotee’s association is glorious and so are the devotees who take benefit of such association. Śrīla Prabhupāda has most mercifully revealed to us this most confidential science of pure devotional service. We were totally unqualified and beginners, but Śrīla Prabhupāda created our good fortune by giving us his divine association. Let us show our eagerness and become enthusiastic to avail this wonderful opportunity, and learn by following the directions of Śrīla Prabhupāda and his empowered representatives.</p>
<p>Below is one such short narrative of a wonderful Sādhu Saṅga program held recently at the holy dhāma of Jagannātha Purī, where devotees gathered with the objective to please and learn from Śrīla Prabhupāda and from his dearmost representative.</p>
<p>About 1,500 devotees from around the globe gathered at the Sādhu Saṅga festival held from 11th to 17th December 2022 in the auspicious association of His Holiness Subhag Swami Mahārāja. The seven-day festival concluded beautifully with the glorification of Śrīla Prabhupāda and the previous ācāryas on the occasion of the 83rd Vyāsa-pūjā anniversary of His Holiness Subhag Swami Mahārāja.</p>
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<p>The entire festival was filled with transcendental nectar. All the devotees were fully enthusiastic to make the program a grand success. The program included wonderful kīrtana performances, dramas and other cultural performances. Most importantly, His Holiness Subhag Swami Mahārāja delivered enthralling Śrīmad Bhāgavatam discourses throughout the festival. By focusing on the life of Śrī Nārada Muni, Mahārāja stressed on the performance of pure devotional service. Mahārāja particularly discussed Śrī Nārada Muni’s previous life and his sincere service to the Mahā-bhāgavatas, which qualified him to become the eternal associate of the Lord. Mahārāja explained that service to the spiritual master and the previous ācāryas is the key for swift advancement in devotional life.</p>
<p>As Śrīla Prabhupāda has said, “Without being self-controlled, without being disciplined and without being fully obedient, no one can become successful in following the instructions of the spiritual master; and without doing so, no one is able to go back to Godhead. (SB 1.5.24, Nārada’s Instructions on Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam for Vyāsadeva)</p>
<p>As part of the program, devotees also visited various placess where Lord Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu had enacted His pastimes, such as Gambhira, Siddha Bakul, Tota Gopinath Temple and the samādhi-mandir of Śrīla Haridāsa Ṭhākura, besides the grand Indian Ocean. They sang and danced and relished lots of prasādam. Moreover, to the delight of all the devotees, the main program venue, Doodhwala Dharamshala, and the nearby guest-houses where the devotees were accommodated were all very near to Lord Jagannātha’s temple. The devotees took ample darśana of Lord Jagannātha to their hearts content.</p>
<p>The most amazing part of the entire festival was the celebration of the 83rd Vyāsa-pūjā anniversary of our loving spiritual master His Holiness Subhag Swami Mahārāja. Indeed, the program was carefully planned so that the Vyāsa-pūjā day, which was the 16th of December this year, would be part of the seven-day festival.</p>
<p>Many sannyāsīs were invited for the Vyāsa-pūjā day, and they all glorified Śrīla Prabhupāda and the previous ācāryas during the program. After the glorification, the abhiṣeka ceremony of Śrīla Prabhupāda was performed. By the blessings of his spiritual master, His Divine Grace Oṁ Viṣṇupāda Śrī Śrīmad Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Goswami Mahārāja, Śrīla Prabhupāda did what no one could have done. He created a big family, in which the whole world could belong. The celebration of Vyāsa-pūjā is a very important event in the Gauḍīya Vaiṣṇava paramparā.</p>
<p>Śrīla Prabhupāda has said, “So, Vyāsadeva is our ācārya; therefore, we offer vyāsa-pūjā. On the birthday of guru we offer vyāsa-pūjā. Actually, it is not directly Vyāsa; but because the bona fide guru represents Vyāsadeva, his pūjā is also vyāsa-pūjā. Mad-bhakta-pūjā abhyadhikā. To worship Vyāsadeva, worship the bona fide spiritual master and worship the Lord, they are the same. Rather, Kṛṣṇa says that if you worship His bona fide representative, that worship is better than directly worshipping. Directly it is not possible to worship the Supreme Lord. One has to go through the ācārya.” (Lecture on SB 1.7.5- Vrindavan, September 4, 1976).</p>
<p>Credit for the successful organization of the program goes to the organizing team. The management team worked day and night to make the program a success. They appropriately selected the Doodwala Dharamsala as the venue for the event, which was very close to Lord Jagannātha’s temple. Besides that, they booked many guest-houses around the Dharamsala to accommodate 1,500 devotees, and a big pandal was erected and wonderfully decorated with profuse assortment of flowers and artistic rangoli designs. Moreover, various services were available for different devotees to participate in and all the devotees were nicely engaged in Krishna-conscious activities.</p>
<p>On the final day of the program, different devotees shared their realizations participating in the festival. There was a lot to learn from each other’s experiences. The devotees felt very happy to have participated in the festival. While there were also some mistakes committed from which valuable lessons could be learnt, the managerial team graciously took note of all of those shortcomings to improve for future events.</p>
<p>Ultimately, we would like to thank all the devotees for their kind participation in the program and especially His Holiness Subhag Swami Mahārāja for the greatest gift he has bestowed upon us by accepting us and guiding us in our spiritual lives. We beg from all the devotees their blessings so that we would be able to continue to organize such wonderful gatherings for the pleasure of the Lord and His dear devotees.</p>
<p>Jaya Jagannātha! Jaya Baladeva! Jaya Subhadrā! Jaya Sudarśana!<br /> All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda!!!</p>
<p><img class="align-center" src="{{#staticFileLink}}10920883453,RESIZE_584x{{/staticFileLink}}" width="500" alt="10920883453?profile=RESIZE_584x" /><br /> <strong>Source: </strong><a href="http://www.dandavats.com/?p=104808">http://www.dandavats.com/?p=104808</a></p></div>ISKCON Hosts Tribal Ministry Program by Yudhistir Govinda Dashttps://iskcondesiretree.com/profiles/blogs/iskcon-hosts-tribal-ministry-program-by-yudhistir-govinda-das-12022-08-02T11:26:31.000Z2022-08-02T11:26:31.000ZISKCON Desire Treehttps://iskcondesiretree.com/members/iskcon_desire_tree<div><p><img class="align-center" src="{{#staticFileLink}}10740731265,RESIZE_584x{{/staticFileLink}}" width="500" alt="10740731265?profile=RESIZE_584x" /></p>
<p>We are happy to inform you that the Ministry of Tribal Affairs, Government of India came up with the concept of ‘Manthan Shivir’, an informal gathering of the national and state tribal department Ministers and<br /> officers to share best practices.</p>
<p>Thanks to some of our contacts in the Government of India, the first inaugural edition is being hosted by ISKCON at its Govardhan Ecovillage campus in Maharashtra.</p>
<p>The participants included the Federal (Union) Minister for Tribal Affairs Shri, Arjun Munda</p>
<p>Union Minister of State for Tribal Affairs Bishweshwar Tudu, Union Minister of State for Health & Family Affairs Smt Bharati Pawar, along with state ministers (UP, Andhra Pradesh, Tripura, and Assam), Principal secretaries, and other bureaucrats from across India.<br /> <br /> <strong>Read more: </strong><a href="https://iskconnews.org/iskcon-hosts-tribal-ministry-program/">https://iskconnews.org/iskcon-hosts-tribal-ministry-program/</a></p></div>ISKCON hosts Tribal Ministry program by Yudhistir Govinda Dashttps://iskcondesiretree.com/profiles/blogs/iskcon-hosts-tribal-ministry-program-by-yudhistir-govinda-das2022-07-16T12:06:32.000Z2022-07-16T12:06:32.000ZISKCON Desire Treehttps://iskcondesiretree.com/members/iskcon_desire_tree<div><p><img class="align-center" src="{{#staticFileLink}}10649421665,RESIZE_584x{{/staticFileLink}}" width="450" alt="10649421665?profile=RESIZE_584x" />Dear Maharajas and Prabhus,</p>
<p>PAMHO. AGTSP.</p>
<p>We are happy to inform you that the Ministry of Tribal Affairs, Government of India came up with the concept of ‘Manthan Shivir’, an informal gathering of the national and state tribal department Ministers and officers to share best practices.</p>
<p>Thanks to some of our contacts in the Government of India, the first inaugural edition is being hosted by ISKCON at its Govardhan Ecovillage campus in Maharashtra.</p>
<p>The participants included the Federal (Union) Minister for Tribal Affairs Shri Arjun Munda</p>
<p>Union Minister of State for Tribal Affairs Bishweshwar Tudu</p>
<p>Union Minister of State for Health & Family Affairs Smt Bharati Pawar, along with state ministers (UP, Andhra Pradesh, Tripura, and Assam) Principal secretaries and other bureaucrats from across India.</p>
<p>All the participants, during their two-day stay, toured the campus looking at the various sustainable initiatives and also participated in various temple programs like evening kirtans & yajna.</p>
<p>They were also shown presentations on ISKCON activities pan India especially our tribal programs run by ITCT which was appreciated.</p>
<p>Many officers wanted to come back during the nonrainy season and were grateful to ISKCON for the arrangements made by Gauranga Prabhu and team at GEV.</p>
<p>From ISKCON’s side speakers included Gauranga Prabhu and Sanat Kumar Prabhu on GEV, Yudhistir Govinda Das on ISKCON’s activities, Sridham Govinda Prabhu on ITCT and Swethadvipa Prabhu presented the conclusion.</p>
<p>Some photos are attached for your information.<br /> <br /> <strong>Source:</strong> <a href="http://www.dandavats.com/?p=100488">http://www.dandavats.com/?p=100488</a></p></div>ISKCON News Now Accepting Internshttps://iskcondesiretree.com/profiles/blogs/iskcon-news-now-accepting-interns2022-05-25T13:28:55.000Z2022-05-25T13:28:55.000ZISKCON Desire Treehttps://iskcondesiretree.com/members/iskcon_desire_tree<div><p><img class="align-center" src="{{#staticFileLink}}10514846462,RESIZE_710x{{/staticFileLink}}" width="600" alt="10514846462?profile=RESIZE_710x" /></p>
<p>Join ISKCON News as a summer intern!</p>
<p>We are now accepting applications for our summer intern program from June to August. Gain the real-world experience needed to develop and apply your knowledge and skills in the workplace.</p>
<p>Apply to become an intern with us this summer to develop your writing and journalistic skills, to help you succeed in the field of Communications and/or Media.</p>
<p>And the best part is it is virtual! You never have to step into an office. You will also get to be a part of the virtual newsroom team to work and collaborate with people from all over the world.<br /> All skills welcomed: writing, design, IT, social media, videography, editing, even parenting and cooking!</p>
<p>To apply send your resume to: editor@iskcon.org<br /> <br /> <strong>Source: </strong><a href="https://iskconnews.org/summer-internships-available-at-iskcon-news/">https://iskconnews.org/summer-internships-available-at-iskcon-news/</a></p></div>1st 200 hour Yoga Teacher Training program in New Vrindabanhttps://iskcondesiretree.com/profiles/blogs/1st-200-hour-yoga-teacher-training-program-in-new-vrindaban2021-03-25T13:51:35.000Z2021-03-25T13:51:35.000ZISKCON Desire Treehttps://iskcondesiretree.com/members/iskcon_desire_tree<div><p><img class="align-center" src="{{#staticFileLink}}8709669658,RESIZE_584x{{/staticFileLink}}" alt="8709669658?profile=RESIZE_584x" width="450" /></p>
<p id="viewer-cf947">A 200-hour full immersion Yoga Teacher Training Program concluded a few days ago at New Vrindaban taught by Gopi Manjari Devi Dasi. After an intense 18 days of training, six students went away with not only their well-deserved yoga instructor certificates but also a powerful introduction to Krishna consciousness, a heartfelt connection with Srila Prabhupada, and a memorable experience of bhakti.</p>
<p id="viewer-dqvrq">Gopi Manjari is a seasoned yoga teacher who runs her own studio called “Bhakti Yoga DC” in the heart of the nation’s capital just five blocks from the White House. As a young woman, she had approached yoga to overcome depression and trauma and felt that yoga saved her life. Since then, it has been her mission to share yoga with others. Having learned from the best teachers, her classes are always filled to capacity with a regular clientele including high level federal government employees, professionals, students, and entrepreneurs.</p>
<p id="viewer-e6aru">Her teacher training programs are recognized by the Yoga Alliance and highly acclaimed. For her 200-hour immersion courses, she usually takes her students to distant, exotic places like Govardhana Eco-village in India, or Colombia or Brazil. But due to Covid, she needed to keep it relatively local and decided on New Vrindaban as the venue. Since New Vrindaban had also been hit hard by the pandemic and had been looking for new events, the management happily agreed to host the retreat.</p>
<p><img class="align-center" src="{{#staticFileLink}}8709681857,RESIZE_584x{{/staticFileLink}}" alt="8709681857?profile=RESIZE_584x" width="450" /></p>
<p>This turned out to be the perfect venue since Gopi Manjari is not just any yogi – she is a bhakti-yogi. In fact, her parents and older siblings personally met Srila Prabhupada. Her brother was given a spiritual name by Srila Prabhupada as a young boy, and her mother currently lives in Seva-kunja, Vrindavan, India. Gopi Manjari herself was initiated by Satsvarupa Maharaja more than 35 years ago and has served in Ireland and England. Now she lives in Washington DC with her two children – Madhava, age 17, and Vishnu Priya, age 11. So, as a serious practitioner of bhakti-yoga, Gopi Manjari is very committed to making people understand the actual meaning of yoga, that it is not just about asanas and breath work, but about how these mechanical aspects of yoga assist us in linking to the Supreme. She makes it clear that the goal of all yoga is to help us come closer to Krishna.</p>
<p id="viewer-6lapo">The class for the training program consisted of six students coming from different walks of life, including an actor, a public health worker, an occupational therapist, and a PhD student. These were joined by two New Vrindaban residents, Anuradha Dasi and Bhaktin Sarah, who also completed the entire training course.</p>
<p id="viewer-emtku">The daily schedule for retreat attendees was fully engaging. The group would meet daily at 6:00am and start the day with a Bhagavad-gita reading, followed by a little kirtan and japa. Then, 6:30 to 8:15 was vinyasa yoga practice followed by breakfast at 8:30. The main yoga teacher training ran from 9:30-1:00. During this time, for the first seven days, Braja Kishori taught a human anatomy course where the students learned about muscles, tissues, tendons, and the dynamics of flexion and extension in the different planes of the body – anterior, posterior, frontal, etc, so they could scientifically understand what the body is doing in each of the yoga asanas. After the first week, students were called upon to use what they had learned by doing “postural analyses” of the asanas where they would distinguish which muscles are used, the placement of the feet, and all the technical details of each posture.</p>
<p id="viewer-29tu5">From 1:30-3:30pm they would all break for lunch and resume at 3:30 for another 3 hours of training. The evening session was dedicated to the philosophy of yoga in which they studied and discussed two books – Srila Prabhupada’s Bhagavad-gita As It Is and Wise Love by Pranada Devi Dasi. In this way, the day started and ended with the Bhagavad-gita, framing the yoga training in the broader context of bhakti. This philosophical component was an essential feature of the course and was reflected in the final exam.</p>
<p id="viewer-6795q">Since yoga can only be fully understood in the context of the culture it originated from, various elements of traditional Vedic culture were integrated into the training. One aspect of this was cow protection. In the ancient Vedic culture, and still in much of India today, cows are sacred and cow products like ghee, yogurt, cow urine, and cow dung are essential ingredients for ceremonies, temple worship services, and Ayurvedic medicine. To better appreciate the sacredness of cows, part of the yoga immersion experience was to spend time with Krishna’s cows, learn how to milk them, brush them, and understand not only philosophically, but viscerally, why vegetarianism is essential for any true yoga practice.</p>
<p id="viewer-8s03p">There was also a cooking class led by Anuradha Dasi in which students learned the science of balancing nutritional needs in a vegetarian diet and the importance of maintaining the high standards of kitchen cleanliness outlined in the Hari Bhakti Vilasa. They gained practical experience of how to cook some of the all-time favorite Hare Krishna recipes like kitchari, coriander chutney, and halava, and learned how and why devotees offer food to Krishna.</p>
<p id="viewer-4s5t6">Like the original Vrindavan in India of which it is a replica, New Vrindaban is replete with its own holy places of pilgrimage which provided the yoga students with plenty of sacred hiking experiences. They made the trek to Old Vrindaban to visit the original farmhouse where Srila Prabhupada stayed for 30 days translating his books. Jaya Krsna Das accompanied the group and shared with them the history of this important but rarely visited site.</p>
<p><img class="align-center" src="{{#staticFileLink}}8709688262,RESIZE_584x{{/staticFileLink}}" alt="8709688262?profile=RESIZE_584x" width="450" /></p>
<p>They also visited Srila Prabhupada’s Palace of Gold, and as the students marveled at the stunning architectural craftsmanship of this historical monument, Gopi Manjari explained yama and niyama yoga principles using Srila Prabhupada as the perfect embodiment of each and every quality. After this inspiring session, each student was gifted with a copy of the single volume biography of Srila Prabhupada.</p>
<p id="viewer-akk0g">Returning to Srila Prabhupada’s Palace on another evening, the group took part in a two-hour kirtan which they thoroughly enjoyed. At one time, they were fortunate to meet Malati Prabhu who shared with them stories of her experiences with Srila Prabhupada. Malati had such a pleasant time with them that she invited them to come to her cabin on another day for a dinner of pasta and salad that she cooked herself. The students eagerly accepted the invitation, brought presents for Malati, and ended up spending hours in her association.</p>
<p id="viewer-epu0q">As far as their meals were concerned, they sometimes enjoyed the typical ISKCON fare of rice, dal, paneer and vegetable subjis and chapatis, and mostly were treated by Madri Prabhu or Ananga Manjari Prabhus with home-cooked yoga-inspired meals.</p>
<p id="viewer-dn1on">At the end of the course, each student had to teach a yoga class by themselves, and on the last day, there was a graduation ceremony which took place in the temple room. At this incredible ceremony, Gopi Manjari spoke gravely about what it means to graduate as a certified yoga teacher. She explained how she hoped that each student would step into the world as a new person with newfound values based on the principles of Bhagavad-gita and the life of Srila Prabhupada.</p>
<p id="viewer-5h9kn">She told the students that they now have a choice to open one of two doors. One door leads to the dark room of their ego where they practice and teach yoga in an egoistic way concentrating on the physical asanas only. This room, she said, is a confined space with no channel to higher connections. Or, they could open the door to the illuminated room that is Srila Prabhupada’s room, and if they open that door and open their hearts and minds to learn from Srila Prabhupada, then Srila Prabhupada opens another door to the room of Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakur, and he opens another door to the room of Srila Gaurakisora das Babaji, and so on, up the whole parampara (succession of spiritual teachers) to Krishna. And when the door to Krishna is open, then the light shines through all the open doors, making the whole journey illuminated, blessed, and perfect.</p>
<p><img class="align-center" src="{{#staticFileLink}}8709745861,RESIZE_584x{{/staticFileLink}}" alt="8709745861?profile=RESIZE_584x" width="450" /></p>
<div>
<p id="viewer-8cd5h">For the last 18 days, they had been daily reciting the mangalacarana mantra – <em>om ajnana-timirandhasya jnananjana-salakaya caksur unmilitam yena tasmai sri-gurave namah</em>– “I was born in the darkest ignorance, and my spiritual master opened my eyes with the torch of knowledge. I offer my respectful obeisances unto him.” Now at the end, with this analogy of the rooms and the doors, they were able to understand the meaning of this mantra.</p>
<p id="viewer-9clkg">After her uplifting talk, Gopi Manjari handed out the certificates. As each student stepped forward to receive the certificate, a complete Hare Krishna maha-mantra was chanted as a way of extending blessings to that person. Then a mangalacarana homa was performed in front of Lord Nrsimhadeva. All the students, dressed in traditional Vaisnava attire and decorated with tilaka, sat around the yajna arena. Lilasuka and Bhaktin Osea led kirtan while grains and ghee were offered into the sacred fire. Then, as Temple President Jaya Krsna Prabhu made the last offering at the request of the officiating priest, Amita Das, his wife Anuradha Dasi touched his right hand signifying that she was making the offering along with him. Seeing this symbolic act, one of the yoga students spontaneously touched Anuradha’s hand, and another touched that student’s hand, and another that student’s hand, etc., so that everyone was connected to the offering process in a beautiful transcendental chain. It was an act of spontaneous heartfelt devotion, a mystical and magical experience.</p>
<p id="viewer-3iliq">Following the yajna, they all partook in the fruit prasadam in a joyful mood and then walked back to the Yogashala, taking pictures of New Vrindaban’s beautiful scenery on the way. Arriving at the Yogashala, Gopi Manjari was surprised to see a trail of paper cards cut in the shape of hearts and water droplets with messages written on each one expressing gratitude and praise for all the knowledge, training and love she and her assistant Lori had given the students over the past 18 days. In exuberant appreciation, all the students shouted in unison “Showers of love!” and their gratitude reverberated throughout the Yogashala.</p>
<p id="viewer-5mar4">Then they created a closing circle where each student was given the chance to share their reflections and realizations from the course while a slideshow of pictures taken by various students during the retreat was shown on the screen. After this, each student was asked to take a turn sitting in the middle of the circle keeping their eyes closed while each of the other students gifted them an anonymous note or a word or phrase of kindred appreciation. As a parting memento, everyone received a surprise print of a beautiful group picture that was taken in Old Vrindaban in front of the farmhouse where Srila Prabhupada first stayed. This closing event was followed by a fabulous feast. Then everyone packed up and left with beautiful memories.</p>
<p id="viewer-33fe3">One of the students, Hazim Abdullah-Smith</p>
<p><img class="align-center" src="{{#staticFileLink}}8709772694,RESIZE_584x{{/staticFileLink}}" alt="8709772694?profile=RESIZE_584x" width="450" /></p>
<p>, a quiet, grounded, PhD student, who had no prior knowledge of bhakti before this retreat, was inspired to write a poem which he recited on the last day. In his poem, which is included below, he expressed his thoughts about the holy name, Srila Prabhupada, and the transformative power of bhakti-yoga, which he had personally experienced during the retreat.</p>
<p id="viewer-6h632"><em>In this age of darkness we have been brought to the light,</em></p>
<p id="viewer-90fgv"><em>Climbing mountains and reaching new heights.</em></p>
<p id="viewer-fm2e0"><em>We rise above the mode of ignorance to soak in his divine grace.</em></p>
<p id="viewer-eq3jr"><em>We lead with love and serve with a warm embrace.</em></p>
<div id="viewer-3h57c"><em> </em></div>
<p id="viewer-1jun7"><em>The gifts bestowed upon us we nurture and protect,</em></p>
<p id="viewer-79mus"><em>So we can create justice and unity no matter what creed nor sect.</em></p>
<p id="viewer-4facd"><em>Voice and purpose connect in beautiful harmony in tune,</em></p>
<p id="viewer-9ne4p"><em>And with glorious playfulness like when Krishna plays the flute.</em></p>
<div id="viewer-53u6a"><em> </em></div>
<p id="viewer-26ca0"><em>We use our voice</em></p>
<p id="viewer-a7ltt"><em>To shout shout shout his holy name from the mountaintop to the corner store.</em></p>
<p id="viewer-2vbf2"><em>We use our voice</em></p>
<p id="viewer-6m099"><em>To sing from the heart a sound so pure no one can ignore.</em></p>
<p id="viewer-e6u8k"><em>We use our voice</em></p>
<p id="viewer-72s3u"><em>To ease the pain of our suffering from shore to shore.</em></p>
<p id="viewer-9v3t1"><em>We use our voice</em></p>
<p id="viewer-16v9i"><em>To abolish the demonic forces that have been institutionalized in society’s core.</em></p>
<p id="viewer-dl6sb"><em>We use our voice</em></p>
<p id="viewer-9rri3"><em>To deliver the message of universal consciousness with an unapologetic roar.<br /> <br /> </em></p>
<p id="viewer-e259f">As evidenced by Hazim’s beautiful realizations, Gopi Manjari is clearly expert at guiding her students into bhakti yoga in way that is relatable, concise, and powerful. To avoid confusion from the outstart, she had humbly requested the New Vrindaban devotees to be friendly but not to preach to her students. At the same time, she had selected a few senior disciples of Srila Prabhupada to come and share their experiences of Srila Prabhupada with the group. By the end of the retreat, seeing Gopi Manjari’s dynamic way of teaching Krishna consciousness, some New Vrindaban devotees were inspired themselves and full of admiration.</p>
<p id="viewer-6prh2">All in all, Gopi Manjari and her students had an amazing time at New Vrindaban. They loved the open, natural setting which gave them the chance to go for long walks and open their hearts and minds to the experience, to let go of the normal barriers which can block ascension to higher consciousness. They were free to laugh, to cry, to inquire, and to connect what they were learning and feeling to the deepest part of themselves. They appreciated the temple, the restaurant, and the senior devotees of the community with whom many were able to forge meaningful relationships.</p>
<p id="viewer-387mq">We hope that other yoga teachers will be inspired to come to New Vrindaban for their retreats and events. Gopi Manjari plans to return to do similar yoga courses each year. Incidentally, Gopi Manjari was recently nominated as a candidate in the “Yoga Warrior” competition. The winner of this online competition will receive worldwide recognition in the Yoga Journal which is one of the largest yoga publications in the world and will also receive a cash prize of $10,000 and the title of Yoga Warrior 2021. Winning this title would be a great aid in spreading the glories of Srila Prabhupada and the process of bhakti-yoga as the topmost yoga system. So, if anyone feels inspired to make this happen, please go to iamayogawarrior.com and cast your vote. Let’s all support each other in nourishing body, mind, and soul in the loving devotional service to Krishna which is the essence of bhakti-yoga.</p>
<div><strong>Read more:</strong> <a href="http://www.dandavats.com/?p=94152">http://www.dandavats.com/?p=94152</a></div>
</div></div>ISKCON Hong Kong-Sri Damodara Street Program 2020https://iskcondesiretree.com/profiles/blogs/iskcon-hong-kong-sri-damodara-street-program-20202020-12-30T12:51:50.000Z2020-12-30T12:51:50.000ZISKCON Desire Treehttps://iskcondesiretree.com/members/iskcon_desire_tree<div><p><a href="{{#staticFileLink}}8364549855,RESIZE_584x{{/staticFileLink}}"><img class="align-center" src="{{#staticFileLink}}8364549855,RESIZE_584x{{/staticFileLink}}" alt="8364549855?profile=RESIZE_584x" width="450" /></a>We felt so delighted to see many young children and teenagers were offering ghee lamps to the Lord. For many, they have achieved exalted piety by the unknowing performance of pure devotional service, without spiritual knowledge (ajñata-sukriti). We prayed that by associating with a devotee of Krishna, the seed of bhakti would sprout one day.</p>
<p><img class="align-center" src="{{#staticFileLink}}8364555053,RESIZE_584x{{/staticFileLink}}" alt="8364555053?profile=RESIZE_584x" width="450" /></p>
<p>Devotee and congregation members reached out to different spots in Hong Kong (Kowloon area) and shared the blessings of offering ghee lamps in the month of Kartik. People from all walks of life came forward and offered their prayers. We felt so touched and grateful by their sincerity and dedication.</p>
<p>Mobile Temple: Harinam Deities Sri Sri Gaura Nitai, Mother Yasoda Lord Damodara Deities and Photo Frame, Ghee Lamps, Maha Flower garlands</p>
<p><img class="align-center" src="{{#staticFileLink}}8364560678,RESIZE_584x{{/staticFileLink}}" alt="8364560678?profile=RESIZE_584x" width="450" /><strong>By Lilamayi Radha dasi</strong></p>
<p>For the past 3 years, ISKCON Hong Kong has launched an outreach Sri Damodara Street program during the all auspicious Kartik month. This year was no exception. Devotees set up a mini mobile temple on the street and warmly invited the passers-by to offer ghee lamps to Sri Sri Gaura Nitai and Sri Sri Yasoda Damodara Deities. This program was accompanied with sweet chanting of the holy names, lovely prasadam and book distribution. In the face of the epidemic, we immensely felt that the message of Godhead was much needed in the society to give both the dressed and distressed light and hope.</p>
<p>Temple and congregational devotees worked together enthusiastically in distributing books, spreading the holy names, preparing materials and prasadam for distribution and sponsoring the program. We went out three times a week, to the streets in crowded areas (usually outside the subway stations) and took advantage of the Damodara month which is “a special inducement for persons who are not in Krishna consciousness to perform some devotional service”.(SPL to HH Jayapataka, 30th January, 1969).</p>
<p>Gayatri Devi Dasi described the scene as “people lining up to offer a lamp to the Deities, and included people from all walks of life: babies in prams, children, the young and middle-aged, family, elderly, a friend in an armrest bracket and even a Tibetan Buddhist monk…” She shared her personal experience during the street program, “One young lady was very emotional. She said she had a strong feeling while reciting the maha-mantra and felt like crying. It seemed like God was calling to her. She told me she was a Christian and had not gone to church for a long time, and that her mother was sick in hospital, but she could not visit her. She was in great anxiety. I said, ‘Yes, the maha-mantra is very powerful,’. I advised her to chant the maha-mantra for her mom and for herself to attain peace of mind. She looked very touched and expressed her gratitude.”</p>
<p>Three years running now, the program is a great success, with almost 500 books distributed this year. Despite COVID-19 casting a shadow over the City, the devotees’ enthusiasm brightened the hearts of the people and provided hope for a better future under the shelter of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu’s Sankirtan movement.</p>
<p>Hong Kong Sri Damodara Street Program ki Jai!<br /> Srila Prabhupada ki Jai!<br /> <br /> <strong>Source:</strong> <a href="http://www.dandavats.com/?p=92417">http://www.dandavats.com/?p=92417</a></p></div>Eco-Bhakti Program to Explore Intersection of Ecology and Bhakti Pathhttps://iskcondesiretree.com/profiles/blogs/eco-bhakti-program-to-explore-intersection-of-ecology-and-bhakti-2020-10-23T11:10:00.000Z2020-10-23T11:10:00.000ZISKCON Desire Treehttps://iskcondesiretree.com/members/iskcon_desire_tree<div><p><img class="align-center" src="{{#staticFileLink}}8082481871,RESIZE_584x{{/staticFileLink}}" alt="8082481871?profile=RESIZE_584x" width="550" />The Sacred Ecology Forum – which facilitates environmental activism and spiritual growth rooted in the Krishna Bhakti tradition – is presenting a special Eco-Bhakti weekend from October 23rd to 25th on Zoom.</p>
<p>The weekend is presented in collaboration with the Bhakti Center (NYC) and the Hindu Life Program at Princeton University, with Allegra Lovejoy organizing on behalf of the Sacred Ecology Forum and Venkata Bhatta Das (Vineet Chander) organizing on behalf of the Princeton University Hindu Life Program.</p>
<p>The weekend will feature three dynamic events which will explore the intersection of ecology and the Bhakti path.</p>
<p>The opening session will take place on Friday October 23rd from 6pm to 7:30pm EST, and will be entitled Eco-Bhakti in Action. In this conversation, spiritual teacher Radhanath Swami, founder of Govardhan Eco-Village, and ecological activist Gopal D. Patel, Director of Bhumi Global, will discuss how to translate eco-wisdom into tangible action.<br /> <br /> <strong>Read more: </strong><a href="https://iskconnews.org/eco-bhakti-program-to-explore-intersection-of-ecology-and-bhakti-path,7571/">https://iskconnews.org/eco-bhakti-program-to-explore-intersection-of-ecology-and-bhakti-path,7571/</a></p></div>Krishna Consciousness Education since Early Childhood by Mani Manjari Devi Dasihttps://iskcondesiretree.com/profiles/blogs/krishna-consciousness-education-since-early-childhood-by-mani-man2020-04-28T08:03:27.000Z2020-04-28T08:03:27.000ZISKCON Desire Treehttps://iskcondesiretree.com/members/iskcon_desire_tree<div><p><a href="{{#staticFileLink}}4535651862,RESIZE_400x{{/staticFileLink}}"><img class="align-center" src="{{#staticFileLink}}4535651862,RESIZE_400x{{/staticFileLink}}" width="400" alt="4535651862?profile=RESIZE_400x" /></a></p>
<p>Srila Prabhupada mentions in the purport of SB.3.25.25 the importance of devotee association. He explains that devotees should give up the association of materialistic persons and seek the association of devotees; he describes that to understand the pastimes of the Lord, to see the Lord as a person with personal activities and to offer devotional service one should have devotee association. Srila Prabhupada states that devotee association means association with the Lord.</p>
<p>It is relevant for devotee teachers and parents to understand that Srila Prabhupada´s instructions are also applicable to children. In order to establish the seed of devotional service in the hearts of young children it is relevant for devotee children to associate with other devotee children in a context that promotes Krishna Consciousness.</p>
<p>Vrajalila Devi Dasi (personal communication, January 14, 2019) mother of a devotee girl; explained that she does not see Krishna Consciousness as something to develop only during adult life. Vrajalila dd stated that children can also awake love for the Lord and become Krishna Consciousness; but, unlike adults, children can´t choose an association that will help them in their spiritual path. Vrajalila dd requested for parents to take responsibility in offering their children an education and an association that will help them do devotional service.</p>
<p>This reveals the importance of devotee association from an early age, because it is only through devotee association that young children can perform devotional service. Young children need devotional toys as well as devotional friends to create a situation where they can play to be Radha Krishna; or Sita, Ram Lakshman, Hanuman. Devotee teachers and parents need to provide a devotional context where devotee children can learn about the Lord, associate with other devotee children, engage in devotional play and offer devotional service to the Lord.</p>
<p>The goal for Vaisnava teachers and parents is to present Krishna Consciousness to young children keeping in mind their interests and their natural ability to play. This involves providing a Vaisnava curriculum that goes hand in hand with children´s interests and providing resources that will allow for young children to do devotional play.</p>
<p>When devotee children play cooking with Radha and Krishna dolls they use toy pots, plates and cups; and they imagine the bhoga that they are offering to the Lords. However, the magic of Krishna Consciousness is that the mind is also a temple (SB 3.28.18) and whatever spiritual action children do for the pleasure of the Lord, though it might not appear in the concrete platform it does happen on the spiritual level. It can be concluded that play about the Lord, also call devotional play; offers devotee children the opportunity to do devotional service and attain some spiritual advancement.</p>
<p>Lillard, Pinkham and Smith (2011) mention that boundaries between imaginative and real are very thin in early childhood. This characteristic of young children can be beneficial to teach them about the Lord and His different forms; since they can see the Lord on the Deities without difficulty. When taken to the temple young children will naturally accept the Deities as the Lord; or when playing with devotional toys like Radha-Krishna dolls or Goura-Nitai dolls, young children will naturally see them as the Lord; and perform devotional service while playing. Such simple acts of devotional play will help devotee children to advance in Krishna Consciousness.</p>
<p><img class="align-center" src="{{#staticFileLink}}4535656522,RESIZE_400x{{/staticFileLink}}" width="400" alt="4535656522?profile=RESIZE_400x" /></p>
<p>In the Gurukula of the Bhaktivedanta Manor we offer the opportunity for young devotee children to meet and make friends with other devotee children and offer devotional service to the Lord. We seek to awake in our children devotion for the Deity of the Lord and to help them experience a taste for serving the Deity of the Lord. In our school children worship daily the classroom Deities; learn to do acamana; and do a simple arati by offering articles of worship by turns. We give children a chance to awake a taste for chanting the Holy Name in congregation; and the opportunity to do kirtan and use devotional instruments. We also want our children to develop love for mother cow; and we organize visits to the Goshala of the Bhaktivedanta Manor.</p>
<p>In the Gurukula of the Bhaktivedanta Manor we deliver the British National Curriculum for early years which contains seven learning areas: Personal Emotional Development; Communication and Language; Literacy; Mathematical Development; Knowledge and Understanding of the World; Physical Development; and Creative Development. The Vaisnava curriculum for early years (Faith and Nurture curriculum) has been incorporated into our planning and it is delivered according to the vaisnava celebrations; it holds diverse topics like: the Holy Name and Srila Prabhupada; Lord Krishna and His pastimes; Lord Chaintanya and His pastimes; Lord Rama and His pastimes; the Avatars of the Lord; the Deities of the Lord; and the devotees of the Lord.</p>
<p>As vaisnava teachers we seek to spread bhakti and awareness about the Lord in our children by being role models of faith, devotion and knowledge about the Lord and His different forms. We seek to transmit the benefits of religious practices such as: worshiping the Deity, praying to the Lord, congregational singing (kirtan); and meditating in the Lord and His different forms; in the awaking of Krishna Consciousness. Our duty as Vaisnava teachers is to nurture in our children a loving relationship for the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Lord Krishna and prepare them for the burdens that they might confront in their lives.</p>
<p>Please consider visiting our lovely school (15 minutes’ drive from the Bhaktivedanta Manor Temple); and meeting our children and staff. To schedule an appointment please write to our principal Mother Guna at <a href="mailto:headteacher@bvmschool.co.uk">headteacher@bvmschool.co.uk</a></p>
<p>If you would like more informational about teaching Krishna Consciousness in the Early Years, please write me at cuadrosmsl@hotmail.com</p>
<p>Your servant</p>
<p>Mani Manjari dd</p>
<p>References</p>
<p>Lillard A.,Pinkham A. and Smith E. (2011) Pretend play and cognitive developmet. Chapter 11 in The Wiley-Blackwell Handbook of Childhood Cognitive Developmet. Online book at: <a href="https://is.gd/DHkyZD">https://is.gd/DHkyZD</a></p>
<p>About the author: Mani Manjari DD, is disciple of Bhakti Gauravani Goswami, holds a Bachelor Degree in Special Education from Boston University; Master Degree in Early Years Education from the University of Sheffield; and a Post Graduate Certificate in Education from the University of Nottingham; she serves as Reception teacher in the Bhaktivedanta Manor Primary School.<br /> <br /> <strong>Source: </strong><a href="http://www.dandavats.com/?p=85030">http://www.dandavats.com/?p=85030</a></p></div>New Krishna-conscious Online Learning Platform for Children Launchedhttps://iskcondesiretree.com/profiles/blogs/new-krishna-conscious-online-learning-platform-for-children-launc2020-03-26T09:43:20.000Z2020-03-26T09:43:20.000ZISKCON Desire Treehttps://iskcondesiretree.com/members/iskcon_desire_tree<div><div id="article_image" style="text-align:center;"><img class="align-center" src="https://iskconnews.org/media/img_versions/2020/03-Mar/prana_slideshow.jpg?profile=RESIZE_710x" alt="prana_slideshow.jpg?profile=RESIZE_710x" width="600" /></div>
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<p>On 1st March, Bhakti Learning offered their new online Krishna-conscious program for to Srila Prabhupada at his puspa-samadhi in Sridhama Mayapur. Bhakti Learning has bundled four subjects into one course called the Bhakti Club. The four subjects are Story, Sloka, Sanskrit, and Pilgrimage. The Bhakti Club consists of three age levels – 5 & 6 year olds, 7 & 8year olds, and 9 &10 year olds.</p>
<p>ISKCON News talks to Prana dasa, the educational director of Bhakchildrenti Learning and a long time ISKCON educator of more than 30 years.</p>
<p>IN: Please tell us what it is, how it came about and what was the inspiration to bring it all together.</p>
<p>PD: The online children’s program is unique in many ways. It is a bundle of subjects to provide parents a rich context in which to engage their children and interact with them in a relevant Krishna conscious setting.</p>
<p><strong>Read more:</strong> <a href="https://iskconnews.org/new-krishna-conscious-online-learning-platform-for-children-launched,7300/">https://iskconnews.org/new-krishna-conscious-online-learning-platform-for-children-launched,7300/</a></p>
</div></div>Program at ISKCON Lombok by Ramai Swamihttps://iskcondesiretree.com/profiles/blogs/program-at-iskcon-lombok-by-ramai-swami2019-07-31T12:21:27.000Z2019-07-31T12:21:27.000ZISKCON Desire Treehttps://iskcondesiretree.com/members/iskcon_desire_tree<div><p style="text-align:center;"><img style="height:375px;width:500px;" src="http://www.ramaiswami.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/4BE851C7-FB61-4A4B-837D-5F46890DDE88-1024x768.jpeg" alt="4BE851C7-FB61-4A4B-837D-5F46890DDE88-1024x768.jpeg" /></p>
<p style="text-align:justify;">It was great to go over to Lombok, which is the next island over from Bali, to visit the devotees. There are two centres there, one being a nice facility in the city of Mataram and the other our temple about 30 minutes drive away.</p>
<p style="text-align:justify;">I was able to attend two programs, one on Saturday night in the city and the other at Sunday midday at our temple. The devotees here are very enthusiastic and were eager to come for kirtan, lecture, arati and prasadam.</p>
<p style="text-align:center;"><img style="text-align:center;height:375px;width:500px;" src="http://www.ramaiswami.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/A9C55B2D-61F1-4D5F-947E-FBE13E17F041-1024x768.jpeg" alt="A9C55B2D-61F1-4D5F-947E-FBE13E17F041-1024x768.jpeg" /></p>
<p style="text-align:center;"><img style="height:375px;width:500px;" src="http://www.ramaiswami.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/914C051D-C113-45D2-9385-396B17C86511-1024x768.jpeg" alt="914C051D-C113-45D2-9385-396B17C86511-1024x768.jpeg" /></p>
<p style="text-align:justify;">Source: <a href="http://www.ramaiswami.com/iskcon-lombok/">http://www.ramaiswami.com/iskcon-lombok/</a></p></div>