By Iksvaku das (Outreach Coordinator)
On the auspicious day of Radhastami, His Holiness Jayapataka Swami, co-minister of the Congregational Development in ISKCON, congratulated the Namahatta devotees from Sridhama Mayapur for having reached out to a record number of 15 million people in their last 35 years of preaching Krishna Consciousness. This is the result of continuous preaching initiatives aimed at encouraging congregations in their spiritual advancement. From innumerable home programs to large pandals, these preachers have successfully been able to attract this large number of souls to the process of Bhakti by following the instructions of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu: “talk about Krishna, worship Krishna and teach others about Krishna.”
The Namahatta devotees started this program in 1979. Despite the limited facilities and initial hardships, in just a few years, they were able to organize over a thousand Namahatta groups throughout the region. Since then, by conducting local programs in the towns and villages of West Bengal, Orissa and Bihar they have been able to outreach to millions of people. These numbers include all those who have attended programs on a regular basis throughout the years. However, their records also show that several thousands of these attendees have taken up to Krishna Consciousness seriously, by means of initiation and commitment to the process of chanting and serving within ISKCON.
For more information on the development of ISKCON congregations and related programs, please contact the Congregational Development Ministry at www. iskconcongregation.com, cdmofficeiskcon@gmail.com and on facebook.
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