New Vrindaban Brijabasi Spirit

During the week of 23-24 August 2008, we are having a wonderful oppurtunity to lend some Krishna conscious service – Operation Cleanup of Bahulavan premises. I request by falling at your lotus feet to kindly volunteer for this event.  Following is the tentative schedule that is proposed as of now.

on 23 AUG 2008.

1030am : Assemble at Bahulavan.
1030-1040am: Service assignments to each individual devotee.
1040-1230pm: Operation Cleanup.
1230-130pm: Lunch Prasadam of Their Lordships Sri Sri Radha Vrindavan Chandra.
130-330pm: Operation Cleanup.
330-415pm: Krishna Katha and nectar by HG Adiguru Prabhu.

We are seeking help to have teams that can work for at least 2 hrs of schedule. I request  all to kindly avail this service oppurtunity to render direct service to Guru and Krishna.

Hare Krishna.
Aspiring to be a servant
Srinivas P.

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By Bhakta-Chris Fici

A new tradition has been born from the desert floor like a phoenix, and the fire of devotion continues to burn as Krishna Camp once again descends on Burning Man 2008, the annual festival of all things alternative, creative, and progressive, which ensues this year, as always, from the Black Rock Desert in Nevada.

Krishna Camp, in conjunction with our friends at Entheon Village, will have the shop set up beginning on August 25th, the first day of the Burning Man festival, ecstatically flying all the way through to September 1st. This year’s Camp, hosted by 45 first and second generation devotees of ISKCON (The International Society for Krishna Consciousness) promises to build on the excitement and deep spiritual vibes of previous efforts in this awe-inspiring environment.

Among this year’s festivities will include a 40 foot high replica of the Jagannatha Temple, offering a unique haven of mantra meditation and deep Vedic insight to all the spiritually seeking Burners (residents of Burning Man).

Returning this year will be the world-famous Ratha Yatra cart, a 25-ft high chariot carrying the ancient Vedic deities of Jaganntha, Baladeva, and Subhadra. The members of Krishna Camp will take the Rath cart on parade throughout the Burning Man site, to offer spiritual blessings and the transcendental sounds of kirtan to all the assembled Burners.

Krishna Camp will also feature massive distribution of succulent vegetarian prasad (spiritualized food) to all the hungry Burners, and we will also offer classical Indian style face-painting, as well as seminars on Vedic philosophy and mantra meditation.

Also joining the Camp this year will be on of the most vibrant world-music groups in North America, As Kindred Spirits. The music of As Kindred Spirits is the sound of cultures colliding, featuring rich ethnic rhythms and melodies, with fresh western harmonies and grooves, crafted with the ancient tradition of kirtan or devotional Indian musical meditation, creating music that is both hip and inspired. They will be performing exclusively this year as part of Krishna Camp at Entheon Village at Burning Man 2008.

Krishna Camp would like to let you know that they are happy to take donations of foodstuffs, Srila Prabhupada’s books, and also financial gifts to help support their efforts at this year’s Burning Man. To help out, contact Nitai Drury at elidrury@gmail.com.

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Thursday, August 14th, 2008

Braving a few rain showers, we offered all glories to the assembled devotees and guests as we once again gathered in the Teaching Garden for this week’s Farm Circle.

Tulasi Manjari gave a short but very informative presentation on the role of women in agriculture, from traditional times to the present day. In her report, she revealed that creating a natural environment based on the land means that women can truly be protected from exploitation in the ugra-karma culture.

Click here to head on over to the Club 108 blog to read more.

A semi-secret spot just outside of Glendale reveals itself-after a lengthy uphill tromp through the dense foliage-to be Pawpawloka, home of the delicious Paw Paw fruit, indigenous to these parts of the woods. There you can find the presiding curator of this fantastic natural paradise, HG Soma Prabhu.

Here are some recent pics of the first visit of the season to Pawpawloka. It’s still a tad early for any ripe fruits, but as our research concluded, within the next few weeks paw paws will be floating around a plenty in our community for the pleasure of Radha-Vrindaban Chandra and you and me and especially Soma alike.

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Join the Earthlings of The Dham for our weekly gathering on all things natural, as we meet, discuss, and inspire each other to bring about Srila Prabhupada’s vision of self-sufficiency here at New Vrindaban.

This week we’ll meet Thursday, August 14th at The Teaching Garden, across the street from the RVC Temple at 630 pm. The topic will be Women in Agriculture, with Tulasi Manjari Prabhu leading the workshop and discussion. Bhajans begin the program, and pot-luck prasad tops it all off.

If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to ask Bhakta-Chris. You can also reach him by e-mail at nvclub108@gmail.com.

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See a video of a play performed at this year’s Festival of Inspiration called “Japa Man.”

Date: June 22, 2008 (immediately after the 24 Hour Kirtana)
Verse: Nectar of Instruction, Text 8
Speaker: HH Radhanath Swami
Location: New Vrindaban, WV, USA

Courtesy of Ekendra Prabhu, you can download the audio file (19MB but not the best quality) of this lecture from: here

Right click on “Radhanatha_08-06-22.mp3” and “Save Link/Target As.”

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(Please click here for the verse, Nectar of Instruction Text 8. I didn’t paste it in to save space for this posting.)

(Mangalacarana prayers)

Radhanath Swami: Because there is very little time, on behalf of New Vrindaban I chose this verse and the purport says everything. So I’ll just speak a few words. “The essence of all advice is that one should utilize one’s full time–twenty-four hours a day (as we did here at New Vrindaban) in nicely chanting and remembering the Lord’s divine name, transcendental form, qualities and eternal pastimes, thereby gradually engaging one’s tongue and mind. In this way one should reside in Vraja [Goloka Vrndavana dhama] and serve Krsna under the guidance of devotees. One should follow in the footsteps of the Lord’s beloved devotees, who are deeply attached to His devotional service.”

In the little time we have, we’d like to share a few words on the chanting of the holy names. In this verse of Sri Upadesamrta, Sri Rupa Goswami instructs us in the very beginning of the ultimate goal, in just a few words, so comprehensively. Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakur warns us not to take Krsna consciousness cheaply. To follow in the footsteps of the residents of Vrindavan is the highest purest state of divine consciousness. We must approach such a state of consciousness by absorbing our consciousness in chanting Krsna’s holy names, especially.

When Sarvabhauma Bhatttacarya asked Caitanya Mahaprabhu of the nine processes of devotional service, which is the most important, the Lord instantly responded: the chanting of the holy name. As Srila Jayapataka Maharaja, His Holiness, taught us yesterday, Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu expressed to the sannyasis in Varanasi this was the order he was given by his Guru Maharaja:

harer nama harer nama harer namaiva kevalam
kalau nasty eva nasty eva nasty eva gatir anyatha

In this age of Kali, there is no other way except the chanting of the Holy Names.

Many of us, as we are chanting these names for a few years, some of us for a few decades, why is it that we are not experiencing what Rupa Goswami tells us that he experiences when he chants the Holy Name?

“I do not know how much nectar the name of Krsna produces. When the name of Krsna appears on my tongue, I wish to have many, many, many tongues. When it enters my ears, I desire millions of ears and when it enters my heart, it conquers my consciousness.”

How many of us desire millions of ears when we are chanting? Some of us are struggling to stay awake, wondering when we are going to get through the tedious act of pulling down all sixteen counting beads. It is the way we chant that is so important. Krsna tells in Bhagavad-Gita:

ye yatha mam prapadyante tams tathaiva bhajamy aham

That as we approach him, Krsna reciprocates and manifests himself accordingly. Kali-kale nama-rupe krsna-avatara, in this age of Kali, Krsna incarnates within his name. As we chant the Holy Name, how Krsna will respond.

There are so many stories that teach us. From our heart, with deep feeling, we must take shelter of the holy name. It is like a little baby bird that is hungry waiting for his mother. The mother bird has to feed him, he is absolutely helpless. Where can a baby bird go, up high, high in the tree? He doesn’t know how to fly, trapped in a little nest. He can’t do anything, go anywhere. If it takes a single step out of the nest, it falls and dies. He is absolutely dependent on the mother to come and nourish it. And when the mother is late, for two hours and three hours and four hours and five hours and the whole day, the way that bird is chirping for his mother is how we should chant the holy name:

Hare Krsna Hare Krsna Krsna Krsna Hare Hare
Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare

There is the example of Draupadi. If we just analyze this story carefully, it is quite profound. Draupadi was in a stronger position than any one of us. How many of you ladies are married to Arjuna? [laughter] Plus Bhima. [laughter] Plus Yudhisthira. And Nakula and Sahadeva. Would you feel safe with husbands like that? [laughter] The greatest warrior on earth, the most powerful person on earth, Bhima and Arjuna. Draupadi had the greatest of all protection, but the nature of the world, padam padam yad vipadam na tesam, there is danger at every step for everyone. No one is safe. Whether we are the wealthiest man in the world, the prime minister, the greatest athlete, the greatest warrior, at any moment, everything can be finished. It’s the nature of the world. No one is exempt.

Becoming a devotee doesn’t mean that our material life will be very smooth because the nature of this world is that it is not very smooth. And if it is, if it’s a smooth road, there is construction on it [laughter]. You see those diamond-shaped warning signs “Construction Ahead”, “Forgive the Inconvenience”. Maya has her signs everywere, at every step. It is not going to be smooth.

[Please click below to read the rest!]

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This is Govind….He is hungry….Hungry to find out about all the wonderful seva going on this week in the Small Farm Training Center here at New Vrindaban Dham.

There’s tasty morsels like this…

This week our Farm Crew took part in a maha-harvest of our green bean crop up top at the Garden of Seven Gates. For four days, our Crew carefully untangled boxes and boxes of beans from the jungle-like foliage. By the end of the week, Tom and Tulasi had boiled and frozen the catch for storage, to be used for temple foodstuffs in the winter months ahead. All in all, we harvested, froze, and have stored 110lbs of green beans just in the last week alone.

Click here to head on over to the Club 108 blog to read more.

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April 18 1970

My Dear Kirtananda Maharaj,

Please accept my blessings. I am so glad to receive your letter dated 14th instant, along with a cheque for $50. Your travelling all over the country is giving me so much happiness, and I am praying to Krsna to enthuse you more and more in these activities. As I am getting older, naturally my tendency is to retire from active life. Therefore your traveling is so much needed.

You are already experiencing the blessings of such preaching work, so increase it more and more, and be blessed by Krsna. When you are engaged in such activites there is no need of the formality of writing me, but if you write to inform me about your activites it will be a great pleasure for me.

Please concentrate your energy for preaching work in the schools, colleges, and universities and try to introduce our literatures and books as far as possible.

I understand from Gargamuni that you are selling incense also very nicely. They have taken a big burden of paying about $2,500 per month on this building account, so to co-operate with this adventure by selling their incense will be of great service to Krsna.

Regarding your visiting L.A., yes, I will be here, please come. And yes, it will be very nice to come to New Vrindaban.

Hope this will meet you in good health.

Your ever well wisher,

A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami

His Holiness Kirtananda Maharaj ISVCOK Temple 318 East 20th Avenue Columbus, OH 43201

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Thursday, August 7th, 2008

This week we enjoyed the pleasant late summer breezes surrounded by blooming vines and leafy stalks in the Small Farm Teaching Garden, as Tapahpunja shared words on the security of our food and water supply here at New Vrindaban, and Adi-Guru shared the village vibes of his simple upbringing on his family farm in Punjab.

Click here to head on over to the Club 108 blog to read more.