August’s Edition of Brijabasi Spirit
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Prabhupada’s Palace Launches Campaign to Support Restoration
By Madhava Smullen
Renovation of a decorative side dome at the Palace.
Devotees at ISKCON New Vrindaban, West Virginia are in the midst of major renovations on Srila Prabhupada’s Palace. And they’re launching a campaign to help them continue restoring the renowned Smriti Samadhi, or memorial shrine to ISKCON’s Founder-Acharya, to its full glory.
The effort is a labor of love, just as it was when devotees first started building the Palace in 1973, intending it as a residence for their guru, who expressed a strong desire to retire there and translate his books.
“Regarding New Vrindaban I was very happy when I was there,” he wrote to them in 1974. “I am expecting very soon to go there and live in my proposed palace at least for some time.”
When Prabhupada passed away in 1977, the Palace – which opened to the public in 1979 – became a monument to his astounding achievements and gifts he gave to the world; a place where he resides in spirit through his instructions; and a major attraction for pilgrims and tourists.
But over the last thirty years, the Palace, which was built by enthusiastic yet inexperienced & young devotees, began to decay. Large parts of the decorative domes, outer wall, railings, and steps crumbled away, and sections of wrought iron rusted irreparably.
More recently, a Palace Restoration Committee was established to take action, and had specialized engineers give their assessment. Fortunately, the core of the building was safe and sturdy, but work had to be done on the exterior quickly.
The Palace of Gold’s completely renovated front steps.
This time, the work is being carried out with the assistance of professionals – both devotees and reputable local companies.
“The new concrete we are pouring has all the attributes that experience and modern technology provide,” says restoration manager Gopisa Das. “So it will significantly outlast what was used previously.”
The first move was installing a new, far more efficient drainage system on the steps leading up to the Palace.
“Water is the biggest contributing factor to deterioration,” Gopisa explains.
Next, the steps themselves were beautifully renovated by recycling the original rose-colored granite and adding new black granite treads with polished front edges. The work is currently about to be completed.
“Those distinctive pink and black colors now look the same as they did thirty-five years ago,” says Gopisa. “And the steps are sturdier and more durable than ever, with two-inch-thick treads rather than just the one inch that was there previously.”
Work on the outer wall – the first impression visitors get of the Palace – came next, and the hope is to complete its restoration this year as an offering to Srila Prabhupada for the 50th anniversary of his ISKCON.
The block wall was stripped, grouted and stabilized with rebar and concrete. As water had been leaking through the top, an attractive new waterproof, saffron-colored topping with lotus designs was installed. And the crumbling window frames were pulled out and replaced with new ornate black frames with Jaipur-style arches.
The Palace outer block wall updated with black, Jaipur-style window frames and red wall tops.
Next, beautifully ornate iron window grills will be installed, and the wall’s surface will receive a durable concrete stucco finish.
This will complete the first phase of restoration and exhaust ISKCON New Vrindaban’s current funding for the project. The second phase is repair of the Palace roof, which has been leaking and causing internal damage for years. Gopisa considers this a vital undertaking, and assuming financial support is available, he hopes it will be completed by the end of 2017.
“The entire roof has to be stripped down and rebuilt, along with a new heating, ventilation and air-conditioning system, and the domes need to be properly sealed,” says Gopisa. “That phase will also include rebuilding the crumbled balustrade railing around the Palace roof as well.”
With all this work, Gopisa says, “We are using the very best materials we can afford, to make it as long-lasting as possible, so the next generations won’t be faced with the same challenges we’re facing now.”
Srila Prabhupada’s murti in his Palace temple room.
To the devotees in New Vrindaban there’s no doubt Prabhupada’s Palace is a sacred gem that must be revitalized. After all, it’s the only monument in the Western hemisphere built specifically to glorify Srila Prabhupada. It was constructed by volunteers who lovingly devoted years of their lives to its development. And it was beloved by Srila Prabhupada, who called its builders his “jewels” and promised, “I am already living here and always will be.”
Indeed, many devotees have commented they still strongly feel his presence there. Even tourists, who have never heard of Srila Prabhupada, are moved and affected. And in recent years, as media coverage of the Palace has once again increased, so have its visitors, with tens of thousands of pilgrims annually appreciating this sacred memorial to our beloved Founder-Acharya.
So please help support the restoration of Prabhupada’s Palace.
To offer your skills in renovation, contact Gopisa Das at gopisa108@gmail.com.
And to support the project financially, please contact Gaurnatraj Das at gaurnatraj@newvrindaban.com or phone 304 312 2069.
For more information, please visit:
ECO-Vrindaban Board Meeting Minutes 07/24/2016
Mission Statement: ECO-Vrindaban promotes simple living, cow protection, engaging oxen, local agriculture, and above all, loving Krishna, as envisioned by Srila Prabhupada, the Founder-Acharya of ISKCON New Vrindaban.
Participating Directors: Anuttama, Bhima, Chaitanya Mangala, Ranaka and Sri Tulasi Manjari
Advisors: Radha-Krishna, Vraja
Managers: Mukunda, Nitaicandra
1. Mukunda’s Monthly Report
- The greenhouse that was outside the new boundaries of the Community Garden has been dismantled and many of the materials have been salvaged.
- He helped build a fence to better contain the hay at the hay shelter next to the milking goshala.
- He removed an old, obsolete and unsightly telephone pole next to the Deities’ flower garden.
- He continues to help organize and chair the Village Association Steering Committee meetings.
- He is preparing for the first North American ISKCON Farm Conference in Gita Nagari set for mid-August.
- Mukunda contacted an Architectural/Structural Engineer, the County Health Department and Fire Marshal to understand any relevant fire, health and safety concerns. These meetings are scheduled throughout the next one month.
2. Nitaicandra’s Monthly Report
- The main ox team, Hari and Priya, are working well together. Currently, they are pulling a chain and responding to voice commands without a lash. They will be part of the planting in the Community Garden next week by pulling a simple chain link drag to cover the seed.
- Caitanya Bhagavat has been upgrading the Nandagram fencing.
- The garden crew picked blueberries from the Bahulaban orchards (8 quarts).
- Many quarts of mixed berries have been picked from the Community Garden (4 quarts per week).
- Radish, salad greens, kale and Swiss chard harvest has begun.
- Tomatoes, squash, and basil will be ready for harvest soon.
- There have been some challenges with flea beetles, rabbits, and poor soil. Continuing to improve the soil quality by using soil building plants and manure will be an ongoing process.
- Thus far, Vidya and her team have produced 8,000 marigolds with many more coming. The community garden is at around 2,000 marigolds
- So far this season, we have had two Wwoofers guests and another will be coming this week.
3. Steering Committee Inclusion
The ECO-V Board is in favor of starting to include the Village Association Steering Committee members in the monthly “Joint Board” meetings between ISKCON New Vrindaban and ECO-Vrindaban. Concurrently, the Board requests the Steering Committee to set a date, within a reasonable time frame, for the vote to elect a New Vrindaban Village Council.
Radhastami in New Vrindaban
Dear devotees,
Radhastami is coming on Friday, September 9th, 2016! Please do not miss this very special festival in New Vrindaban.
See the below article and schedul for further details.
Radhastami in New Vrindaban
Sri Sri Radha Vrindaban Chandra
On September 9th, ISKCON New Vrindaban is planning exuberant festivities for the auspicious appearance day of Srimati Radharani. Radharani is the chief associate of Lord Krsna and is also an expansion of the Lord Himself as His internal potency. Her appearance day is one of most significant festivals celebrated amongst the Gaudiya Vaisnavas and marks the once in a year opportunity to take darshan of Radharani’s lotus feet, unveiled for all devotees to see.
The festival will begin early in the morning at the Radha Vrindaban Chandra Temple with Mangal Arati at 5:00am, Greeting of the Deities and Guru Puja at 7:30am, followed by Srimad Bhagavatam class given by His Holiness Varsana Swami.
A special program at Sri Sri Radha Gopinath Mandir will start from 11:30am with His Holiness Varsana Swami. Varsana Maharaj will walk devotees through the sweet pastimes of Srimati Radharani with kirtan followed by a feast cooked by the local Brijabasis.
Balloon Offerings to Radharani’s Lotus Feet
In the evening, there will be another celebration at Radha Vrindaban Chandra’s temple from 5:00pm with an abhiseka and a class given by His Holiness Bhakti Sundar Goswami. After class, devotees will have the opportunity to write an offering to Srimati Radharani attached to a balloon, which will reach to Her lotus feet. We anticipate everyone ecstatically dancing in kirtan and joyfully chanting to celebrate this blissful occasion before honoring the incredible feast prepared for Her pleasure.
We are very much looking forward in hosting this event. If you have yet to see Sri Sri Radha Vrindaban Chandra’s lotus feet in New Vrindaban, please come and take darshan and enjoy these wonderful festivities. The sweetness involved will be immeasurable.
Ys, Anadi Radha dasi
ECO-Vrindaban Board Meeting Minutes 07/24/2016
ECO-Vrindaban Board Meeting Minutes 07/24/2016
Mission Statement: ECO-Vrindaban promotes simple living, cow protection, engaging oxen, local agriculture, and above all, loving Krishna, as envisioned by Srila Prabhupada, the Founder-Acharya of ISKCON New Vrindaban.
Participating Directors: Anuttama, Bhima, Chaitanya Mangala, Ranaka and Sri Tulasi Manjari
Advisors: Radha-Krishna, Vraja
Managers: Mukunda, Nitaicandra
1. Mukunda’s Monthly Report
- The greenhouse that was outside the new boundaries of the Community Garden has been dismantled and many of the materials have been salvaged.
- He helped build a fence to better contain the hay at the hay shelter next to the milking goshala.
- He removed an old, obsolete and unsightly telephone pole next to the Deities’ flower garden.
- He continues to help organize and chair the Village Association Steering Committee meetings.
- He is preparing for the first North American ISKCON Farm Conference in Gita Nagari set for mid-August.
- Mukunda contacted an Architectural/Structural Engineer, the County Health Department and Fire Marshal to understand any relevant fire, health and safety concerns with the proposed Community Center on the second floor of the Bahulaban barn. These meetings are scheduled throughout the next month.
2. Nitaicandra’s Monthly Report
- The main ox team, Hari and Priya, are working well together. Currently, they are pulling a chain and responding to voice commands without a lash. They will be part of the planting in the Community Garden next week by pulling a simple chain link drag to cover the seed.
- Caitanya Bhagavat has been upgrading the Nandagram fencing.
- The garden crew picked blueberries from the Bahulaban orchards (8 quarts).
- Many quarts of mixed berries have been picked from the Community Garden (4 quarts per week).
- Radish, salad greens, kale and Swiss chard harvest has begun.
- Tomatoes, squash, and basil will be ready for harvest soon.
- There have been some challenges with flea beetles, rabbits, and poor soil. Continuing to improve the soil quality by using soil building plants and manure will be an ongoing process.
- Thus far, Vidya and her team have produced 8,000 marigolds with many more coming. The community garden is at around 2,000 marigolds
- So far this season, we have had two Wwoofers guests and another will be coming this week.
3. Steering Committee Inclusion
The ECO-V Board is in favor of starting to include the Village Association Steering Committee members in the monthly “Joint Board” meetings between ISKCON New Vrindaban and ECO-Vrindaban. Concurrently, the Board requests the Steering Committee to set a date, within a reasonable time frame, for the vote to elect a New Vrindaban Village Council.
Village Association Liaison Selected
Dear devotees,
The Steering Committee is happy to announce it has selected Sudha Krsna prabhu as the liaison for the Village Association. The committee took this decision after publicly advertizing the position for 10 days, and after duly considering all submitted applications.
We hope this will be a first of many effective ways for your future elected representatives, the Village Council members, to hear your ideas and concerns, as well as for you to be regularly updated with relevant information.
Strengthening our community means to increase our communication and to discover ways to help each other.
What follows is a brief Bio of Sudha Krsna prabhu:
My name is Sudha Krishna das. Many devotees know me as “SD” or Sanatan Dharma das. I joined ISKCON in the summer of 1981 in Toronto, Canada and moved to New Vrndaban in the mid 1980’s where I served until the late 1990’s. In 1999, I received diksha from Srila Govinda Maharaja who has inspired my faith in Srila Prabhupada from the day I met him.
After leaving New Vrndaban with my former wife, Lila Avatar d.d., I attempted to be successful in business and relationships for close to 20 years. But after repeated failed attempts and having learned many valuable lessons, I contacted Jaya Murari Prabhu who reminded me of the importance of sadhu sanga, living in the holy tirtha, and taking only Krishna Prasdam.
I therefore recently came back in New Vrndaban with every intention of staying. I feel immensely grateful to be back and my foremost desire is to be of service to all devotees, past, present and future.
While away from New Vrndaban, I have acquired a decent amount of experience in the fields of human services, as a drug and alcohol counselor, in non-profit management, as a caregiver for the elderly suffering from dementia, and as a professional salesman.
Now back to New Vrindaban for less than two weeks, I have already been blessed with various opportunities for service. One that I am highly looking forward to is as a Village Association Liaison. I find it exciting and inspiring to be building bridges amongst community members and being instrumental at communicating with, and informing devotees without personal agenda.
I currently have been provided an office space in the Wellness Center where from I can speak with devotees confidentially.
I feel I can be a productive member of the community as well as a responsible and confidential Village Association Liaison. I look forward to connecting with all of you in the near future.
Thank you for giving me the opportunity,
Your servant,
Sudha Krsna das
Krishna Janmastami and Prabhupada’s Vyasa Puja Schedules
Please join us for our wonderful Janmastami and Vyasa Puja festivals this week!
We hope to see you there.
Your Servant,
Anadi Radha dasi
Lord Balarama’s Appearance Day is Thursday, August 18th, 2016!
Dear Reader,
(Fasting until noon)
We hope to see you there!
Sincerely,
Anadi Radha dasi
July 2016 Brijabasi Spirit Newsletter
Please read our July 2016 edition of the Brijabasi Spirit Newsletter in New Vrindaban!
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Kulimela Blends Service, Fun, Family and Community
Vishvambhar from the Mayapuris gets the crowd chanting
Kulimela Blends Service, Fun, Family and Community
Written by Madhava Smullen. Published on ISKCON News June 24, 2016.
The first Kulimela, held in New Vrindaban, West Virginia in 2006, was an effort by ISKCON’s second generation to move away from party-style gurukuli reunions and explore their identity and what they could accomplish both materially and spiritually.
The 10th anniversary of that Mela, which also took place in New Vrindaban from June 15th to 19th this year, took those themes further and showed new levels of maturity and stability amongst the Kuli community, while still being full of joy and celebration.
With a large percentage of the Kulis that attended the 2006 Mela now raising their own children, the 10thanniversary festival focused on celebrating family and building community.
Acyuta Dasi sings at the 24 Hour Kirtan
Around 700 people flooded into the emerald hills of New Vrindaban for the event. They included Kulis from the US, UK, Canada, Australia, and across Europe and South and Central America; but also over 100 of the Kulis’ children, as well as a sizeable amount of first generation devotees. This was part of organizers’ efforts to broaden the meaning of the word “Kuli” which literally just means “community.”
No longer just “youth” as they’re still often erroneously known as throughout ISKCON, the second generation attendees themselves ranged in age from teens to mid-forties, many of them working professionals, parents, and valued contributors to their communities.
Ganga Sheth and Anapayini Jakupko dazzle with their Gambling Match dance from the Mahabharat
This audience, of course, was perfect for the Mela’s themes of family and community, and therefore many of its nearly thirty seminars were geared towards such themes. There were classes on parenting, homeschooling, child protection, finding the right marriage partner and permaculture.
Meanwhile two plenary sessions saw a panel of experts in their fields talking about the importance of family and community in ISKCON and how to improve it, with questions and comments from participants. There were also classes on drama, Indian classical music, Sanskrit grammar, cooking, and yoga.
Krsna Tone invites kid dancers on stage to join in with his Krsna-infused dance music
Other seminars focused on healing, taking a serious look at the trauma that ISKCON’s second generation have historically gone through and how to care for oneself. Outstanding issues of child protection and other areas of strained relationship between ISKCON’s first and second generations were also discussed, with attempts at understanding and progressing.
And in the most well-attended session of the Mela, Karnamrita Dasi and Ananta Vrindavana Das, both alumni of Dallas and New Vrindaban Gurukulas, were honored and presented with a plaque by the Kulimela Assocation for their “unique contributions and sacrifices as a pioneer member of our community.”
Kulis from the UK hard at service in the kitchen
A heartfelt affair, the ceremony was full of laughter and tears, and generated a newfound appreciation for our brothers and sisters. The hope is that it restarts a tradition born in 2006 of regularly honoring Kulis’ service, inspired by Srila Prabhupada’s assertion in the Nectar of Instruction that “The International Society for Krishna Consciousness has been established to facilitate these six kinds of loving exchanges between devotees.”
Such loving exchanges were a constant throughout the Mela, with Kulis seen throughout tightly embracing old friends, taking prasadam together and sharing their deepest thoughts in confidence. Service was also a huge part of that expression of love, with volunteers cooking and washing pots in the kitchen, giving the morning Bhagavatam class, and working crazy hours to set up the tents, stages and other facilities. Meanwhile teenagers from the Kirtan Experience tour chanted constantly in the all-day bhajan kutir.
Kulis get hot-air balloon rides over New Vrindaban
Of course, there was plenty of time to cut loose and have fun too. A sports field was active throughout, and every evening from 6:30pm till late, Kulis of every age shared their talents to entertain and uplift. There was magic by Dattatreya Yogesvara, comedy by Ekendra Das, Bharatanatyam by Anapayini, a fashion show by Kuli designers, dance music with a Krishna conscious twist by Krsna Tone and funky kirtan with the Mayapuris, among many, many more acts. All created a sense of togetherness, support and celebration, as everyone danced and sang to their heart’s content.
Caring for our children was a huge focus of the Mela and was evident during the entertainment, with Krsna Tone inviting a huge group of little kids to dance on stage with him and take bows afterwards. The Mela also featured an all-day kids camp run by Vraja Johnson with help from parent volunteers that cared for nearly 100 kids throughout, giving them arts and crafts, storytelling, a gardening experience, Prabhupada’s Palace tour, lots of play time and their own fashion show.
Getting ready to send lanterns into the sky
“There’s practically no better way to express our themes of family and community than taking care of the future generation,” says co-organizer Chaitanya Mangala Das, whose brother Bhima headed up the Mela.
Reflecting on this 10th anniversary of Kulimela, Chaitanya feels that it was a definite success. “When we look around and see elements of our four main objectives – serving together, building community, transforming hearts, and empowering each other – happening everywhere, and done with smiling faces, we know that we’ve achieved our goal,” he says.
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Hari Bhakti-vilas 16.252
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