By Sri Harinaam Das
One of the highlights of this year’s festivities in Mayapur during the month of March was the annual program of the Institute for Spiritual Culture. This year the overall theme was “The Glories of Our Mothers”, bringing attention to the importance of the seven mothers which Krishna has given us. The guest speakers were HH Krishna Kshetra Maharaja, HH Bhakti Vidya Purna Maharaja, HH Bhakti Rasamrita Maharaja, Her Grace Rukmini Devi Dasi and Her Grace Prabhupada-priya Devi Dasi.
The program took place on the premises of the Old Gurukula on the way to the Goshala. A big pandal was constructed to conduct the event, with its partially open sides allowing a pleasant breeze to go through. And the nice flower decorations created a festive atmosphere. It was a perfect setting: peaceful, with green surroundings and plenty of space for the children to play outside.
More than 300 devotees assembled – the seniors being welcomed with flower garlands. The program started with kirtan, followed by an opening and introduction given by Devaki Mataji as the Director of the Institute. She established the purpose of the Institute for Spiritual Culture being an educational institute within the institution of ISKCON, specializing in giving systematic education and training in various aspects of spiritual culture. She briefly introduced culture as evolving through the practical application of a certain world view and philosophy.
In a culture where sense gratification is the goal in life, the concept of mother is not given any value and importance. In Kali-yuga, even our physical mothers are not given the respect and honor they deserve in return for their selfless service. In a culture where self-realization is the goal in life, our physical mother plays a highly important role: she is the first guru to the human being, and she creates the spiritual atmosphere in the home, and thus within human society. In a culture aiming for sense gratification, a mother is loosing this valuable contribution – it is stripped off her, since there is no understanding of the need for a guru and a spiritual atmosphere. In this way, she is reduced to being the cook and cleaner. We can observe, how the culture around mothers has drastically changed over the last 100 years. HH Bhakti Rasamrita Maharaja shared powerful quotes of great personalities of the past, who stated: “Whatever I am today is due to the care, affection, training and selfless love of my mother.” Today, we rarely hear such statements any longer.
Unless we learn to respect and honor our physical mothers, we will never truly protect and honor Mother Cow or Mother Earth. Even the other mothers of the wife of a brahmana, wife of a king (manager) and wife of a guru
(teacher) will not be fully respected and valued. The topic was churned in depth by our honored speakers, and the ladies spoke with deep realization and practical experience, moving everyone’s hearts in the audience.
The program concluded with tasty prasadam being served to all attending guests. The atmosphere of the entire event was very sweet, cultured and personal, and devotees were very pleased. It had certainly left impressions on their minds and had offered some food for thought – a cultured way to bring attention to the topic of spiritual culture…..
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