By Kulavati Krishnapriya Devi Dasi
Eight and a half years ago, Sharana Prada Das came to Mayapur following his spiritual journey in the 1990s when he first discovered the philosophy he yearned for in Srila Prabhupada’s “Teachings Of Lord Chaitanya.” His relentless dedication in Mayapur has helped transform the Russian-speaking community into a vibrant cultural center.
Sharana Prada Das shared that his motivation for this tireless community service is twofold: to offer a heartfelt homage to Srila Prabhupada and his spiritual mentor while also kindling the flames of devotion among all devotees. Here are some of the profound details he gave us about the various developments in the Russian-speaking community in Mayapur.
One of the primary causes of the establishment of a comprehensive support structure was the influx of a lot of Russian-speaking devotees, especially female devotees in Mayapur. Sharana Prada said, “There is an issue in Mayapur for families to live together. Many female devotees come to raise their children in Mayapur, and their husbands have to stay in Russia and earn money to support their families. Since a lot of people came, we organized a community.”
The community also takes care of the children. Sharana Prana continued, “We have a team of devotees who organize programs for children like educational classes, fun engaging activities, and more. We also have different outdoor school clubs. There is a devotional dance club managed by Nandrani Dasi for young girls that performs in different programs.” Additionally, there are a lot of single devotees coming to Mayapur so they organized a marriage department to facilitate marriages.
To tend to the spiritual needs of older devotees, a dedicated group of caregivers has been assembled that, in part, helps devotees with transportation to the Mayapur Community Hospital for free medical examinations.
He revealed, “There are some old devotees who come here to live the last years of their lives. We provide free lunches for devotees who are above sixty years of age. From time to time, we also organize spiritual programs for them. We also have a group of devotees providing financial support to devotees whose pensions are not enough for a living.”
Read more: https://iskconnews.org/serving-the-russian-speaking-community-in-mayapur/
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