New Vrindaban Brijabasi Spirit

This year Diwali is celebrated at New Vrindaban on Saturday, Oct. 25th. After the morning program and breakfast, take a tour of the garden and cow barn at 10:00 a.m. or 3:00 p.m.  

Beginning at 4:45 p.m., watch the movie, “The Glories of Govardhana Hill,” participate in go-puja, and listen to captivating storytelling.  

At 7:00 p.m., the temple will be transformed by festive candlelight, while we perform arati, enthusiastic kirtans, and circumambulate Govardhana Hill.  

A swing ceremony with bhajans, and an 8:30 p.m. darshan with Damodarastakam will be followed by a small fireworks display and sparklers outside the temple.  Wrap up the evening with delicious prasadam and devotee association.

Here’s the Diwali celebration schedule in detail:

5:00 am   Mangala Arati, Nrsingadeva Prayers, & Tulasi Arati
5:45 am   Japa
7:30 am   Greeting of the Deities, Guru puja & Damodarastakam
8:00 am   Class
9:00 am   Breakfast
10:00 am  Garden and Cow Barn Tour
12:30 pm  Rajbhog Arati
1:00 pm   Discourse
1:30 pm   Lunch
3:00 pm   Garden and Cow Barn Tour
4:30 pm   Dhoop Arati
4:45-6:00pm Movie in temple room: “The Glories of Govardhana Hill”
5:00 pm   Go-puja
6:00 pm   Govardhana Lila Katha by Sankirtan Das
7:00 pm   Candlelight arati, kirtans, and circumambulation of Govardhana Hill
8:00 pm   Swing ceremony and bhajans
8:30 pm   Shayan Darshan with Damodarastakam
9:00 pm   Fireworks and sparklers outside temple
9:15 pm   Prasadam 

Lalita Gopi, Caitanya Bhagavata, Vishaka, Vrindavan and other helpers gathered last Friday to make candle holders for this Saturday’s Diwali celebration.  To celebrate this Festival of Lights, the altars will be decorated with hundreds of tea lights for a magical candlelight arati and kirtan.

They’ve made over 100 candle holders out of colored salt dough decorated with tiny beads.  It was a fun family project and full of devotion for the deities!

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CAMP: ISKCON; 3, Albert Road; Calcutta-17, India

My dear Hayagriva,

Please accept my blessings. I am in due receipt of your letter dated 3d May, 1971 and have noted the contents. That New Vrindaban is developing so nicely is very much encouraging to me, so increase it more and more. It is sounding so much attractive and making me want to return to U.S.A. even sooner.

We are now very busy in Calcutta on account of our ‘Hare Krishna’ festival and we are drawing 30,000 people daily. You will be glad to know that we have purchased two pieces of land in Mayapur at Rs. 20,000/- and they are going to construct some nice temple there.

Regarding other matters, better you settle up things amongst the GBC members. I have created GBC members for peaceful negotiation of management affairs. But if you GBC members sometimes agree and sometimes disagree, that is not very good for management. But if sometimes you have disagreements, I shall settle them up. Soon I shall be returning to U.S.A. and I shall meet you all there.

Hoping this will meet you in good health,

Your ever well-wisher,
A.C. Bhaktivendata Swami

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Dear Devotees,

Please accept our humble obeisances. All glories to Srila Prabhupada and all
glories to the holy name!

Thank you so much for attending the second annual 24 Hour Kirtan Festival at
New Vrindaban this June. We think you will all agree that the event was a grand success and has become a permanent fixture on the North American festival calendar.

We are grateful to you all for your participation and contributions. In
particular, the following devotees deserve special mention for their kind
donations to support the festival: Nityodita Das and Radha DD; Vyasa Muni
Das; Pranabandhu Das and the UK party, and Pancatattva Das and Yauvanananda DD.

We would like to continue to keep the Kirtan Festival free of all
registration charges and have free prasadam for all–that way everyone can
simply focus on the nectarean taste of the holy names!

Of course there are very real expenses for such a large festival like
prasadam, transportation, and sound. To help raise funds for the 2009
Festival, we have just produced a set of two Mp3 CDs and a full length DVD
of this year’s Kirtan Festival. We are offering the current package for $51:

2 Disk CD Set
1 DVD
1 24 Hour Kirtan NV T-shirt (please indicate your size)

To place your order, please send a check or money order to:

24 Hour Kirtan
C/o Ananda Tirtha Das
RD 1, NBU48
Moundsville, WV 26041

or by Paypal to kirtan@pamho.net.

Any other donations are glady accepted. Please inform us of your order by
email too. Please also note that we are tentatively planning to hold the
2009 Kirtan Festival on the weekend of June 20-21. Plan to come again and
bring your friends!

Hare Krishna.

Yours in the service of the holy name,

Ananda Tirtha Das
Radha Sundari DD
Nitai Das
Gopal Das

New Vrindaban 24 Hour Kirtan Festival Team

(Photos courtesy of Rasacarya Das, see more here

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If you’re looking for spiritual inspiration and association of advanced devotee women, the Vaishnavi Retreat in New Vrindaban can’t be beat!  

Over 50 women joined together last weekend to share realizations and attend classes on topics such as forgiveness, learning slokas, writing, pranayama, eating habits, money, herbs, Hatha Yoga, book distribution, mendhi designs, creating mandalas, beautiful deity dressing, and much more!

Besides the captivating classes, there were extraordinarily sweet moments of singing bhajans around a campfire, and attending an all-women morning program in Srila Prabhupada’s Palace of Gold.

When asked what their expectations of the retreat were, women told us:

“I expected nice, balanced, wholesome spiritual sanga. They were fulfilled!”

“That this year would be at least as good as last year and it was – in some ways even better!”

“My expectations were to throw myself into this environment and sing, learn and devote my mind to Lord Krishna. Also to learn some spiritual thoughts from the scholars. Yes – they were fulfilled.”

Many thanks to Mother Malati, Labangalatika, and all the volunteers for their dedicated work in organizing this amazing event! 

To view more photos, please go to: http://vaishnaviretreat08.shutterfly.com/

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Thank you to all the people who lent their talents to creating Ravana for Rama Vijayotsava.  Below are Maha Lakshmi and Bhaktin Kyra putting their artistic flair into the demon’s face.  Thanks also go to Prof, a new ashram devotee, who drew the outline of the figure.

Below is completed demon, waiting for Rama to shoot his firey death blow, thus conquering his reign of terror!

 

ISKCON ; Akash-Ganga; 89; Warden Road; Bombay-26; India

March 23,1971

My Dear Hayagriva,

Please accept my blessings and offer the same to your good wife Shamadasi and your brave son Samba. I was very glad to hear from you and the news that you have expanded our New Vrndavana scheme by purchasing the land on the opposite ridge is most encouraging. Certainly if you require to borrow two or three thousand dollars to pay for this, I shall do the needful.

I remember very well that land and now you can put into effect my suggestion for a bridge, specifically a cable car bridge. If it is placed part way down the hillside where the slope becomes very steep, that will make the distance shorter from one side to the other. In the meantime, I have already made one suggestion to Kirtananda Maharaja that a broad stairway may be made descending from the road and rising again to New Vrndavana. That will also be very nice, Now I am looking forward to returning there again. It will be very, very good if you can also acquire the other adjoining lands. So do it expediently and for the details you can consult with other GBC members. That will be nice.

I have read your article, “Constitution of the Soul.” It is very nice. Such articles with scientific observation should be published in BTG. But one thing, I am drawing the attention of all the GBC that London affairs are not going very nicely. Of course it is improved since Mukunda has taken charge. The GBC should keep watch over London affairs. It is one of the most important centers of ISKCON. I have already paid $20,000 to Dai Nippon on “Back to Godhead” account on the 16th of March, 1971, to save the crisis. Their debt was $52,000; now reduced to $32,000. The procedure should be that you get 200,000 copies and collect at least $0.25 a piece although the price marked is $0.50. This will yield $50,000. $14,000 will go to the cost of printing (balance $36,000); $5,000 towards the old debt (balance $31,000). The remainder of $31,000 to be distributed proportionately to the centers or if possible contributed to the Book Fund. The GBC should immediately take up this management as suggested by me and then there will be no difficulty. The first four installments of $5,000 for paying debts shall go to my Book Fund to pay off the loan and from the fifth installment shall be directed to Dai Nippon for paying the old debt.

I am very glad to learn how Pittsburgh Temple is developing. Pittsburgh is a nice city and if you organize a nice temple it will be a great success. I have already sent to you the purports for B.G. Chapter 9, verses 16-25,27 (no 26). I will send the purport to verse 28 very soon. So far the index is concerned, speed it as far as possible; I am very anxious to print. The index is printed at the last stage, still try to finish it quickly.

Yes, as soon as I return to the States, I must come there. I always think of Vrndavana. Now Krsna has given us a nice front portion and it is a great favor from the Lord.

Your ever well-wisher,
A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami

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Source.

Three factors influence autumn leaf color – leaf pigments, length of night, and weather, but not quite in the way we think. The timing of color change and leaf fall are primarily regulated by the calendar, that is, the increasing length of night. None of the other environmental influences-temperature, rainfall, food supply, and so on-are as unvarying as the steadily increasing length of night during autumn. As days grow shorter, and nights grow longer and cooler, biochemical processes in the leaf begin to paint the landscape with Nature’s autumn palette.

The green color in unripe bananas comes from chlorophyll, the same pigment that gives green leaves their color. As bananas ripen, the chlorophyll breaks down and disappears, revealing the yellow color which has been there all along. The yellows and oranges of autumn leaves are also revealed as their chlorophyll breaks down.

The weather forecast for the next several days is perfect for fall color. A succession of warm, sunny days and cool, crisp but not freezing nights seems to bring about the most spectacular color displays. During these days, lots of sugars are produced in the leaf but the cool nights and the gradual closing of veins going into the leaf prevent these sugars from moving out. These conditions-lots of sugar and lots of light-spur production of the brilliant anthocyanin pigments, which tint reds, purples, and crimson.

Because carotenoids are always present in leaves, the yellow and gold colors remain fairly constant from year to year.Locally we will reach peak color within a week and this weekend will be perfect for some leaf peeping!

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Lotus lends his incredible artistic skills to paint the demon Ravana to be burned this Saturday evening for Ramacandra Vijayotsava.

Tommy & Yudhistira give shape to the demon with their transcendental sawing skills. 

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“Dassera is the celebration of the grand victory of Lord Ramachandra over the mighty demon Ravana and of course this is a factual historical event that took place in Sri Lanka, during the Treta Yuga.

“But know that it is also a lila that can take place within your heart when you take shelter of Lord Ramachandra. And therefore on this day, in preparation for this day, we should truly meditate on what this lila truly means to us. What it means to our life. The symbol of kama, ravana who is dwelling in the heart of all living souls, and is the single deadly enemy of every living being can all be defeated by the mighty glory of Rama.

“By remembering Rama, He appears within our heart. By remembering Him, He kills all the demons within our heart.”

H H Radhanath Swami Maharaj