Since 2007, the Pandava Sena retreat has become the highlight of our summer. The first retreat we attended was called "Unite," then we attended "Transcend," and later "The Simple Life." The first time I united with friends that we've always had but never knew of, the second time we felt we were able to transcend beyond many struggles we were having at the time, the third time we realized what Srila Prabhupada meant by "simple living and high thinking," and the fourth time...well we are waiting to find out.
By Krishna's mercy, we are happy to announce that the 2011 Pandava Sena Retreat is being hosted by the youth of ISKCON Houston from August 4-9, 2011. This is a chance for us to absorb our minds in the chanting of the holy names, experience rip-roaring kirtans, have mind-blowing prasadam, and become inspired by each other and our wonderful speakers, HH Giriraj Swami, HH Gunagrahi das Goswami, HG Rukmini Devi Dasi, and HG Partha-Sarathi Das. During this time, devotees are welcome to come join us every morning for the morning program as well as for kirtans in the evening. The Sunday feast will special be a very special combined lectures by all our guests entitled "The Good Ol' Days" so do not miss out on this amazing opportunity!
We will also be taking a trip to ISKCON Dallas for a mini-retreat from August 10-11. The special thing about Texas is that there are two large, amazing devotee communities just hours from each other. The ISKCON Dallas and ISKCON Houston communities have been connected for years through service, friendship, and a commitment to fulfilling Srila Prabhupada's mission. Most of the devotees at both temples are disciples of His Holiness Tamal Krishna Goswami Maharaj and Tamal Krishna Maharaj always wanted devotees who visited Texas to experience the environment at both temples.
The retreat is entitled, "Watering the Seed of Bhakti," inspired by His Holiness Giriraj Swami. The retreat will be about seeing all our activities within Krishna Consciousness as means towards strengthening our relationship with the holy name. Through the chanting and hearing of the holy name, one waters the seed of bhakti within the heart and becomes reminded of one's eternal relationship with the Supreme Lord. Thus, chanting and hearing is the core of everything we do. It is the key to our spiritual success, and thus everything we do should be done for the purpose of strengthening our relationship with the holy name.
The Houston youth have been attending this annual retreat for the past three years in different cities. For many of the Houston youth, the Pandava Sena retreat has changed our life. These retreats have brought our youth in Houston together. The retreat is an amazing, ecstatic, inspirational experience that has made us more serious about our spiritual lives by providing us the support network that we need. It has really helped us in building a network among ISKCON youth. Certainly it is important for the future leaders of ISKCON to know each other in order to lead ISKCON in the future.
WE NEED YOUR SUPPORT! There are many expenses. Youth from all over the United States will be coming to Houston for this retreat, and we want to give them a memorable and amazing experience. Below are a few areas where we need financial support:
Airfare for special guests (HG Partha-Sarathi Das, HH Giriraj Swami, HH Gunagrahi Swami, HG Rukmini Devi Dasi, and HG Ajamila Das) - $3000
Printing costs for the retreat booklet - $1000
Retreat T-shirts - $1000
Special Activities - $3000
If you would like to donate to the youth, you can donate via Paypal with credit card by visiting jivjago.com and clicking "DONATE." Feel free to contact us at jivjagohouston@gmail.com or via phone at (513)-20-CHANT.
Comments