New Vrindaban Brijabasi Spirit

Click here to head one over to the Club 108 blog for this week’s installment of our weekly series “Simple Living, High Thinking”, as we let you know all about our adventures living the dream of real honest-to-goodness farm life, via our Small Farm Training Center and our beautiful garden projects (the Teaching Garden and the Garden of Seven Gates).

New Vrindavan staff: The 2nd Annual 24 Hour Kirtan Festival

New Vrindavan, USA June 21-22, 2008

Join a worldwide sanga of devotees and spend a weekend immersed in the nectar of the holy name. Featuring many of the best kirtaniyas in the US and abroad, and with a host of senior devotees expected such as Sivarama Swami, Radhanath Swami, Niranjana Swami, Candramauli Swami, Amiyavilasa Swami, Varsana Swami, Bada Hari Das, Madhava Das, and more.

No Seminars. No Festival Fee. No Playing Around. Only Chanting.

Please join in as this is an experience that you will never forget.

For lodging call 1-304-843-1600 ext 111.

To help financially support this event or volunteer contact: ATD@pamho.net

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by Sukhavaha devi dasi

Coming from New York City to New Vrindaban is quite a change. Comparatively, New York is so cramped and crowded, so many agitating noises, lack of fresh air, and it costs lots of money for water and twice that amount for disposing of that water (what goes down the drain). In other words, for every gallon of water used you pay 3 times that in cost.

New Vrindaban, on the other hand, is so spacious, fresh air in abundance, not (yet) dependent on city water and the beautiful sounds of peacocks, birds and nature abound.

Yet as we are in the material world, resources are not unlimited. Last year New Vrindaban ran out of water. There were hundreds of leaks in the system and so we lost over 100,000 gallons of water every single month.

This year, Varsana Maharaj and Tejo Maya Prabhu are working diligently to fix the water system. At this point they have repaired all the major leaks. And Krsna has blessed us with lots of rain this year. Thank you, Krsna.

Fixing the leaks is only one part of the mission of the water and sewer department. Looking ahead to the future, the long term vision, the two man crew is working to implement the Rainey Well System down by the Wheeling Creek. This system has been there but not fully set up. This system picks up the ground water from the creek and can be used for everything EXCEPT drinking.

A lot of New Vrindaban’s water supply is spent on irrigating the flower gardens at the palace and the organic gardens on the hill. Another big use of water is on the sewage system (toilets). As the Rainey Well System can provide lots of water, when the crew takes on connecting all the irrigation systems and the sewage systems to that water supply, our drinking water supply will be sufficient.

We want to thank our team of Varsana Maharaj and Tejo Maya Prabhu for putting in their physical manpower now but also, more importantly, for having the foresight to plan a system that can sustain us later also. A perfect marriage of combining both emergency and conservationist measures to insure a better future.

by Hayagriva das

At last:
He was initiating Bonnie
Prince Charlie – of England –
Was it second initiation?
He would pat the disciple’s head
The way he has sometimes
There were long lines of people before Him to be initiated
I was seated behind Prince Charles. He was #32 and
I #33, I recall –
The Prince’s turn approached,
Prabhupada started laughing and smiling
His beautiful smile,
His beautiful laugh – (Who can forget them?)
He was so glad initiating the future King of England –
I guess….Who knows?
He just kept laughing so hard –
That when the Prince’s turn finally came,
Prabhupada got up and walked out –
We all wondered why
It was a very jolly affair.

(6/17/84)

*[And all the while I was thinking –
Oh, he’ll pat me on my head again
As he used to when pleased
I’m joyous at last….]

Tridandi Goswami
A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami
Founder-Acharya:
International Society for Krishna Consciousness
October 15, 1969

My Dear Ranadhir,

Please accept my blessings. I am in due receipt of your letter dated 10th October, 1969 and have noted the contents carefully. In my opinion Hayagriva should maintain New Vrindaban. As an ideal grihasta he should spend at least 50% of his income for New Vrindaban. So if he has got money, you should not ask other centers for maintenance of the cows.

Things are coming along nicely in London, and last week we were granted permission by the authorities to occupy the building at 7, Bury Place. So more and more Krishna is giving us facilities to push on this Krishna Consciousness throughout the world.

Tonight there is to be held an engagement at Conway Hall in London, and in previous engagements I have marked that many of the English are very intelligent and nicely disposed towards our movement. By the Grace of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, the boys and girls of the Western countries are eagerly accepting this Samkirtan Movement and gradually making perfection in their lives. You are a sincere soul, so continue to chant Hare Krishna the prescribed number of rounds, depending on Krishna in all instances, and surely He will be pleased to bestow His blessings upon you. Please offer my blessings to the others.

I hope this will meet you in good health.

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

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Click here to head one over to the Club 108 blog for the first installment of our weekly series “Simple Living, High Thinking”, as we let you know all about our adventures living the dream of real honest-to-goodness farm life, via our Small Farm Training Center and our beautiful garden projects (the Teaching Garden and the Garden of Seven Gates).

by Lilasuka dd

Audrey (Jesse’s 19 year old daughter) just graduated from PA Cyber High School….yay!!! The last kid in the family is finished with school and is ready to face the world!

The graduation party is in Washington, PA at a cafe.

We will be singing and there will be a couple of other bands singing as well.

The party will also celebrate the graduation of Vince (Sweetie) Graves, Dharmakala and Soma’s youngest.

We’d love everyone to attend, to honor this milestone in the lives of these young people, if you can!

Thursday, June 5th 7:30 pm

The Inspiration Cafe
243 Main south Main St.
Washington, PA

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Tridandi Goswami
A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami
Founder-Acharya:
International Society for Krishna Consciousness

November 19, 1969

My Dear Hayagriva,

Please accept my blessings. I beg to thank you for your New Vrindaban newsletter copy dated November 11, 1969. I am so happy to learn that everything is going very nicely in New Vrindaban.

Regarding BTG, please let me know definitely how many minimum copies will be required by you and Kirtanananda Swami for distrib­ution and what is the difficulty of getting them. BTG is prac­tically our vital line of existence. The more we distribute BTG, the more we become stronger in our preaching program.

In the meantime I have received a letter from Boston, informing me that the press is lying idle for want of printing matters. I have written one letter to Pradyumna, the copy of which is enclosed herewith, but I have received no reply as yet. So I do not know why the composing in Columbus is going so slowly. Before pur­chasing the machine, both you and I agreed and the girls also agreed that at least 20 pages would be composed by both Arundhuti and Shama Dasi. So what is the cause of the slow work? Will you kindly explain what is the difficulty there? If there is actu­ally difficulty, then the machine may be transferred to Boston. There is a girl there now who can do the work. Now we want suf­ficient composing work. Otherwise, what is the use of our press? Please enlighten me in this connection by return mail and oblige.

Another thing is that practically Pradyumna is the only Sans­krit scholar in our society. Formerly he was happy to get some assistance from the Harvard University in this connection, and practically he began his Sanskrit learning from Boston. Now, if Pradyumna and his wife move to Boston, I think that will be great help to the press. I am, of course, awaiting the reply from Pradyumna. In the meantime please enlighten me in all the above points because I am very much anxious about this matter.

I hope this will meet you in good health.

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

enclosures one

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by Haricarana das

Once upon a time, back in the mid-70’s, a few of us brahmacaris were hanging out in the ashram above the Bahulaban temple. Devaki came in and noticed that Romaharshan was sleeping over in the corner.

He got a twinkle in his eye and started yelling, “Get up! Get up! Somebody left the gate open and all the trees got out!” Romaharshan jumped up and quickly started putting his pants on, ready to go out and round up all those trees. Then he noticed that the rest of us were standing there laughing and he slowly realized he’d been had.

(Ed. note: Romaharsan was the woodsman for New Vrindaban at the time who provided the firewood to keep the Deities and devotees warm).

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From ISKCON News:

Maha Nama-Yajna Highlights Festival of Inspiration 2008

From YouTube (see similar ones also):

New Vrindaban Kirtan 05/12/08 Festival of Inspiration

A Yadhunath video:

Festival of Inspiration 2008 Japa Man

From Bhaktimarg Swami:

The Walking Monk, May 12, 2008

Mentioned a couple of times in this post from the Book distribution Seminar:

Anandambuddhivardhanam