Vaishnavi Retreat Up-date for New Vrindaban Residents
Hare Krishna! New Vrindaban Ladies who live between the big barn and Rt. 250, including Talavan, are warmly invited to attend and take part in the up-coming Vaishnavi Retreat, an annual fall event for the up-liftment of all Vaishnavis. Included will be sessions that are suitable for Mother-Daughter attendance.
There is a special Class Saturday morning in lieu of the Srimad Bhagavatam:
Reflections, Memories & Glorification of Srila Prabhupada: from his loving female disciples.
This, of course, is open to everyone and will begin promptly at 8:40 am Saturday, Oct. 3rd, ending at 9 am.
There will be a gift exchange table on Sunday morning. Anyone can bring a gently used devotional item (picture, Cds, books, deity items, etc) from their closet, drawers, desks, etc and leave it on the table for someone else to choose as well as yourself select something in return. For further information, please call or write the following:
Call 304-845-0501 (Malati or Vrindavan Priyai)
servingkrishna@aol.com
Mandala Garden
by Jamuna dd
Lalita Gopi’s garden has an unusual and beautiful design, it is in the shape of a circle. She reports loving the feeling of being in the garden, but has found it challenging to make good paths. She has used stones and marble pieces to patch together some walkways, but was disappointed when the grass grew in between the cracks.
Lalita has been gardening in this spot for 11 years and this is her first year trying the circular design. The garden is quite large and she said that not all the space is filled with plants which leads to a problem with weeds. Some of the delicacies grown in her garden include, tomatoes, snap peas, green beans, squash, pumpkins, cilantro, potatoes, asparagus, basil, hot peppers, cucumber, broccoli, kale, beets, carrots, swiss chard. She also grows some herbs such as camomile, thyme and catnip.
The racoons have been on the rampage in her garden chomping down some of the broccoli, kale, squash and tomatoes. She has caught 3-4 racoons so far. Plans for the future include adding manure, planting the vegetables closer together to help with weeds and also improving the paths so that she can use a lawn mower in between sections. What a wonderful example she is giving to her children, living a Krsna conscious lifestyle and feeding the family fresh nutritious vegetables.
Prabhupada Letter July 7, 1972
Center: ISKCON London
DATE July 7, 1972
My dear Hayagriva,
Please accept my blessings. I beg to acknowledge receipt of your letter undated, handed over to me by Kirtanananda in New York on July 3, 1972. I am very much pleased to learn that you are more settled in mind and peaceful, and that you are now editing my books nicely. That is what I always wanted, that you shall simply edit books. So I have requested Karandhar to send Shama dasi her $50 allowance for the month of July, and she may have got it by now. Now you go on in this spirit independently of any other responsibilities and produce books more and more, profusely.
I have read some portion of your Chaitanya Chaitamrta, and it is nice. It is all right if the introduction to Adi Lila is omitted for the time being. You can send me copy of the completed deed for the Vrindaban property in the Society’s name.
Hoping this meets you in good health.
Your ever well-wisher,
A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami
Philadelphia Ratha Yatra & Festival of India 2009
New Vrindaban does a tourism booth at Ratha Yatras throughout the United States. Any volunteers for the Philadelphia Ratha Yatra contact Malati for details on how to help out.
EMAIL: PhillyRathaYatra@GMAIL.COM
Date: September 12th, 2009 (11 AM – 7 PM)
Ratha Yatra Location: Love Park, Philadelphia PA
Festival of India Location: Philadelphia Museum of Art, 2600 Ben Franklin Pkwy, Philadelphia, PA 19130
Festival Highlights:
FREE VEGAN & VEGETARIAN FEAST
Devotional Bhajans & Kirtan by HG Badahari Prabhu
Yoga of Comedy by HG Yadunatha Prabhu
Indian Classical Bharatnatyam Dance by Gopika and Anjali
Indian Classical Odissi Dance by Shibani Patnaik
Multi-Media Presentation – Movie – Changing Bodies / Journey of the Soul
Spiritual music for Children by Kaleidescope
Workshops in the workshop tents
Mantra meditation & Kirtan Yoga
Improvisational comedy
Interactional Bhagavad Gita
Inspirational Spiritual Discourse By HG Ravindra Svarupa Mahara
The Parade of Chariots will begin at 12 noon near Love Park in Center City Philadelphia at 16th and Ben Franklin Parkway. It will proceed from there down the Ben Franklin Parkway to Eakin’s Oval in front of the Philadelphia Museum of Arts where the Festival of India will be held. Included in the parade will be a Large Garbha dance Ensemble, lila characters in costume, kirtan chanters and dancers, loving devotees pulling the huge chariot of Lord Jagannatha, Baladeva, Lady Subhadra and Srila Prabhupada.
The Festival of India will begin at 1 PM at Eakin’s Oval in front of the Philadelphia Art Museum. It will include a free vegan and vegetarian feast, devotional and contemporary musical performances, Indian classical dance performances, drama, booths recounting the philosophy of reincarnation, Bhagavad-Gita, Yoga, the Hare Krishna Movement, Indian clothing, Sumptuous Vegetarian Cuisine, cultural gifts, Children’s activities, and overall family fun. It will last until 7:00 pm.
Please join us for this event and become part of the huge procession accompanying the chariots providing music, tumultuous playing of drums, dancing and transcendental activities.
Temple Address:
41 W Allens Lane, Philadelphia PA 19119,
Phone- 215 247 4825 / 215 247 4601
WWW.ISKCONPHILADELPHIA.COM
There Are No Pre-packaged Meals In The Spiritual World!
This week, another group of college students visited New Vrindaban. Again, these students are intelligent, idealistic, and socially aware. Although their college has no community service requirement, these students have all voluntarily committed themselves to ten hours of service per week. They visited New Vrindaban for the same reason as the last group of college students – they are interested in the Organic Teaching Garden and the Garden of Seven Gates.
This group attends Wheeling Jesuit College. They are a fairly pious group. Many of them said grace before they honored the prasadam lunch. And they came to New Vrindaban with a strong sense of justice andmorality.
These students are concerned about poverty. They had recently discussed amongst themselves the fact that Jesus had said that “the poor will always be with you.” But they were unable to understand the meaning. Therefore, they found Vaisnava philosophy regarding reincarnation very appealing. They know that in the past, the US Department of Agriculture destroyed thousands of tons of grains each year. These politicians and bureaucrats will be forced to suffer the reaction for this waste in a future life. In other words, karma is the reason some people are suffering from hunger and starvation in this lifetime. In the Bible it says, “As ye sow, so shall ye reap.”
The students heard that the only solution to the hunger problem is to return to the spiritual world. I showed them the pictures in KRSNA Book. In Gokula Vrindaban, the cows give so much milk that Krishna and Balarama steal butter and feed it to the monkeys! I also showed the picture of Krishna and the cowherd boys eating their lunch together by the Yamuna river. All the foods are natural and fresh. There are no pre-packaged meals in the spiritual world!
Krsnanand’s First Birthday
Hare Krishna!
EVERYONE IS INVITED
Please come and bless Krsnanand on his FIRST BIRTHDAY CELEBRATION!!!!!!!!!!
Day: Friday 4th September 2009
Time: 6:00 pm
Venue: Temple Prasadam Hall
New Vrindaban Temple
West Virginia
It’s Really About The Flowers
by Navin-Sharma das
Age of Garden: 3 years with vegetables
Size of Garden: 16 feet by 36 feet
Food-bearing Crops: Asparagus, Basil, Beets, Banana peppers, Bok choi, Broccoli, Cantaloupe, Chili peppers, Coriander, Cucumbers, Green beans, Lettuce, Strawberries, Swiss chard, Tomatoes (Cherry, Roma), Yellow squash (Crookneck, Straightneck), Watermelon, Zucchini.
Gopalasapriya is well-known for beautifying Prabhupada’s Palace of Gold and decorating Radha Vrindavana Chandra’s elegant necks with colorful and expertly arranged flowers. Her talent is certainly not spared on her home. A festival of hues and fragrances greet you as you approach the front door. But don’t forget to look in the back, where you’ll see some plants that may not be as pretty, but are certainly more tasty.
Her narrow fenced-in design easily keeps the deer at bay, and its simplicity has inspired others to follow her lead. It just makes the whole idea of gardening so practical and manageable. The raised beds are an added bonus. She doesn’t have to bend down as far, and the weeds from the surrounding soil are not able to grow into the planted area. All this means less work, and who’s not in favor of that?
Like many others, Gopalasapriya sticks with cow manure to fertilize, and avoids so-called organic fertilizers with their animal byproducts. For her, knowing your food is what makes gardening attractive. “Who wants food shipped form South America, or even farther away? Who knows what they’ve done to it, like irradiate it or whatever. It makes so much sense to grow your own! It’s lots of work, but totally worth it.” She’s a salad aficionado, so pure and flavorful vegetables are a must. With so many lovely ingredients growing twenty feet from the back door, who wouldn’t be into salads? Now if only that Romaine would finally take root!
Vaisnavi Retreat
October 2nd, 3rd and 4,th 2009 in New Vrindavan
For women by women in Krishna’s Service
Nourish your Bhakti with vibrant association in New Vrindaban‘s serene atmosphere fillled with autumn‘s golden beauty. All presentations are based on the teachings and mood of His Divine Grace, A C Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada by his daughters, grand-daughters, friends and well wishers. This is for new-comers and old-timers alike.
- Discourses, Seminars, Workshops, Interactive presentations, Panel discussions
- Courses of Vedic Shastra, Yoga, Massage, Health, Healing, Handcraft and other topics
- Healthy organic based prasad prepared with love
- Evenings with campfire and sweet bhajans
- Intimate Sunday morning with Srila Prabhupada and his daughters in His Palace
Hosted by your servant Malati devi dasi
- $151 fee includes all meals and presentations (accommodation not included in this fee) (discount available for Temple Dependant Devotees)
- Pre register using Credit Card or Paypal. Paypal address is e-mail address listed below. Please add $5 to Pay Pal payments to account for fee deducted by Paypal.
- Accommodation: Call 304-843-1600 ext. 111 (Mention the Retreat for a discount)
- Nearest airport Pittsburgh, PA/ nearest bus station, Wheeling, WV
- Airport- bus station pick up service available for a small charge
- Registration and all other information please choose from following contact info.
Information:
304-845-9591 (Vrindavan Priya, Asst. Co ordinator )
vaishnaviretreat.org
Sunflower Garden
by Jamuna dd
Everyone passes the beautiful sunflower garden on the way to the Palace. It is a medium sized garden with 12 raised beds which are overflowing with produce at this time of year. Hari Nama has been gardening in this location for about 15 years.
The big project that Hari Nama and Madhavananda took on this year was to install 12 raised beds. They obtained rough cut oak from Amish country and then filled the beds with top soil. There are currently 2 beds that will be filled this fall in preparation for next year. The size of the garden is 25×50 ft. and is enclosed with a mesh fence. Last year they did not attempt a garden after being discouraged by groundhog attacks. Luckily this year has been more successful, although one groundhog did managed to chew his way through the fence. Madhavananda plans to improve the fence by adding chicken wire next year.
Currently they are growing 2 kinds of squash, zucchini, 3 types of tomato, cucumbers, bitter melon, watermelon, basil, hot peppers and green bell peppers. The garden is adorned with many colorful flowers such as sunflowers, zinnias, marigolds and dahlias. One problem that they have encountered is keeping the garden well watered in the heat of the summer. They have a soaker system but do not have the water pressure needed to adequately water the garden. Madhavananda has ideas of installing some kind of gravity feed system for next year.
The raised beds have definitely been a big success and make the gardening experience much easier, they both reported, although it did take some investment. Hopefully their example will inspire more devotees up and down the ridge to take on the rewarding project of feeding their families from the bounty of the earth.
Two Invitations
On THURSDAY AUGUST 27th
New Vrindaban Dhama warmly invites you, your family and friends to join us this Thursday, August 27th for Radhastami celebrations – celebrating the appearance of Srimati Radharani! Festivities will commence at 6:00pm and will include wonderful kirtan, bhajans, a discourse about Srimati Radharani and yummy prasadam. As an annual tradition, the highlight of the evening will be when we open gifts for Srimati Radharani that have been brought by the assembled devotees.
If you and your family feel inclined, you are welcome to bring a gift for Their Lordships. Some humble suggestions from our beloved pujari department for gifts for the Deities include jewelry (necklaces, earrings, tikkas, hair ornaments, tiaras, rings, and bracelets), cleaning supplies for the altar (marble cleaner, wood polish, brass and silver polish, laundry soap), as well as items for Radharani’s Kitchen. Gifts can be placed on the altar and will be unwrapped and shown to the Deities during the program. Of course donations of any kind are always warmly accepted!
******************************
SECOND INVITATION:
On FRIDAY AUGUST 28th at 6:30 PM at Damodara and Gopas’ House (1-304-843-9809)
EVERYONE IS INVITED TO MALATI PRABHU’S MAHA BIRTHDAY PARTY
Pot-Luck Dinner (If You Can Possibly Bring Your Finest Preps )
( Again: The Whole Community Is Invited )
Welcome to Brijabasi Spirit
Thank you for taking the time to visit the New Vrindaban community blog. Think of visiting our blog as making a virtual pilgrimage.
Hare Krishna Hare KrishnaKrishna Krishna Hare Hare
Hare Rama Hare Rama
Rama Rama Hare Hare
"May cows stay in front of me; may cows stay behind me; may cows stay on both sides of me. May I always reside in the midst of cows."
Hari Bhakti-vilas 16.252
Recent Comments