New Vrindaban Brijabasi Spirit

New Vrindaban’s Transcendental “Throwback Thursday” – 02/13/14.

Each week we highlight an earlier era of ISKCON New Vrindaban.

This week’s challenge: These two devotees look like they are happily engaged in their service. Who are they and what do you think they are working on?

Post your guesses on the “who, what, when & where” in the comment section at the New Vrindaban Facebook Page.

Technical stuff: We share the photo Thursday and confirm known details Sunday. Let’s keep it light and have a bit of fun!

Special request: If you have a photo showing New Vrindaban devotees in action, share it with us and we’ll use it in a future posting.

• Leave a comment...

Video of Gaura Vani leading New Vrindaban’s 24 Hour Kirtan – June 15th, 2013

Although the opulences of liberation clutch his feet, he runs to hell. After obtaining a cintamani jewel, he throws it in the ocean. After making the Supreme Personality of Godhead his submissive servant, he becomes the lowest dog. Such is a person who, after attaining Vrndavana, again leaves.

[Source : Nectarean Glories of Sri Vrindavana-dhama by Srila Prabodhananda Sarasvati Thakura, 1-60 Translation.]

Please click here for more photos

Lord Nityananda’s Appearance Day Festival
Wed. Feb. 12, 2014

5:00 PM                      Bhajans

5:15 PM                      Abhisheka

6:00 PM                      Lecture

7:00 PM                      Artika

 8:00 PM                      Feast

If you would like to bring an offering of food to the Lord,

(which needless to say would please HIM very much, as HE is a such voracious eater),

 and be very welcomed,

 Please bring your offerings to the pujari room by 6:00 PM.

Thank you. 
Jaya Nitai!!!!!!!!

• Read comments...

by Madhava Smullen

New Vrindaban, ISKCON’s first rural community, is in the midst of a major transformation.

When the community was first established under the guidance of ISKCON Founder Srila Prabhupada in 1968, it became, for many years, a shining example of the best that ISKCON had to offer.

Srila Prabhupada, 1969 at New Vrindaban’s “Old Vrindaban” farm.

Prabhupada would often direct devotees from other newly emerging communities to study what the devotees at New Vrindaban were doing and to follow their lead in areas such as cow-protection and Deity worship. Meanwhile the cooks, jewelry makers, craftsmen and seamstresses were among the best in ISKCON.

After a series of well-documented legal transgressions and spiritual deviations in the 1980s, however, many devotees left. In 1988, New Vrindaban was excommunicated from ISKCON, and remained so for the next decade. But a dedicated core crew stayed on, navigating difficulties year after year, until in 1998 they brought New Vrindaban to the point where it was once again accepted as part of the broader International Society for Krishna Consciousness.

Although various struggles continued, the community gradually began to be known for its efforts to inspire both ISKCON devotees and the general public, with thousands gathering for its Festival of Inspiration, 24-Hour-Kirtan, and Festival of Colors.

In 2011, nearly twenty-five years since they first started, ISKCON New Vrindaban’s legal and financial crises were finally settled. At last, residents and well-wishers could focus on rebuilding their tarnished and tattered community.

Their Beautiful Lordships, Sri Sri Radha Vrindaban Chandra

To help, the Board Members and GBC brought in Jaya Krsna Das, who took on the role of community president in March 2011. With twenty-five years of experience in the world of business and seven overseeing major growth at Bhaktivedanta College, Belgium, he used his know-how and a bit of inspiration to develop a strong and effective system for New Vrindaban’s transformation.

The idea for the system took birth when, soon after his arrival, a senior devotee gave him a book entitled ‘One Foot Planted in the Center, The Other Dangling off the Edge: How Intentional Leadership Can Transform Your Church,’ by Gordon R. Dragt. The book tells the story of how one Reverend with a vision turned a New York City church with a history of difficulty into a vibrant and successful community.

“The author explained that it takes seven years to make a change like this,” says Jaya Krsna. “Initially I thought the process would go much quicker. But it has become clear to me that a longer effort is required.”

With this in mind, Jaya Krsna developed a system entitled “Transformation of a Spiritual Community.” It comprises six phases stretching out over a seven-year-period, with each phase lasting approximately one year.

The phases are: Analysis, Change, Transition, Stabilization, Deepening Relationships, and Strong Community Spirit and Unity.

During the first phase, Analysis, Jaya Krsna simply tried to serve the devotees of ISKCON New Vrindaban as best he could, incorporating a principle that Gordon R. Dragt calls “paying the rent,” or recognizing and appreciating the positive achievements of the past before breaking new ground.

“There are many senior devotees here who have given decades of their lives to create a national Tirtha, or holy place—to build the temple, the lodge, the Palace of Gold, the cabins by the water, and the cow protection facilities,” he told ISKCON News in 2011, expressing that he saw himself as simply a small instrument in New Vrindaban’s revival. “They’ve lived very simple lives, and have given everything to Srila Prabhupada.”

He added in 2013, “They have created such an infrastructure and such big potential.”

In the Analysis phase, Jaya Krsna also spent time observing the residents of the New Vrindaban community, seeing how the devotees interacted with each other and where there was room for improvement.

“The analysis phase actually continues throughout all the other phases,” he says. “Because nothing is ever perfect in this material world. So we have to constantly try to adjust and to improve. Not that it’s a one time thing, and then everything is fine. It’s a long process, that you have to constantly work on.”

Jaya Krsna prabhu leading a seminar in New Vrindaban.

In the second phase, Change, Jaya Krsna’s aim was to create a dynamic and effective structure for ISKCON New Vrindaban that better reflects the current needs of the community members, tourists and pilgrims.

Part of this involved improving the physical infrastructure of the community. After several decades of minimal to no maintenance, full renovations were carried out on the residential ashrams, restaurant, and the guest lodge. Jaya Krsna also created several new departments, including a facilities department that would handle renovations and construction; a festival department to handle New Vrindaban’s many signature festivals; and a department for devotee care and relations.

The next phase in the transformation was Transition, which ISKCON New Vrindaban is currently still in. Over the past few decades, there had never been enough devotees for the community’s vast infrastructure. So Jaya Krsna brought in several new department heads from countries all over the world, including Mauritius, Switzerland, and of course the USA. As well as overseeing the newly added departments, these devotees take care of the Pujari, Palace Lodge, Restaurant, Land Management, Accounting, Palace of Gold, Ladies’ Ashram, and Congregational Development departments.

Having all these different divisions and their heads is important in the effective running of a large community, Jaya Krsna explains, as it frees up the president to care for devotees, build relationships, provide spiritual support, and plan the future course the community will take.

While it will bring on these positive effects, Transition is also the most difficult phase, with some devotees moving on because they did not feel comfortable or find a place within the new vision.

“The transitional phase has been far from perfect,” Jaya Krishna says, admitting that there was sometimes a lack of communication from his side. “As could be expected, it has been painful for everybody.”

ISKCON New Vrindaban’s 2013 Board Meeting from November 8th to 10th went some way towards soothing this pain. The meeting included an open dialogue during which Board members introduced the new department heads and shared the new “Transformation of a Spiritual Community” system with community members. They also pledged to make devotee care and improvement of community spirit top priorities in 2014.

“Since then, I would say that there has been a strong understanding of all the different  phases, and a growing support for them, too,” Jaya Krsna says.

By sometime in 2014, he hopes to have successfully completed the Transitional phase, and to move into Stabilization.

“During the transition, everything is new and fragile,” he explains. “You need a phase to solidify the new structure, so that you know it’s grounded, will not fall apart, and will continue into the future. Stabilization is an important phase during which you go deeper and create a proper team spirit and develop a nice service mood amongst devotees.”

In the fifth phase of the transformation, “Deepening Relationships,” Jaya Krsna hopes that the community members of New Vrindaban will see, based on what was achieved in Stabilization, that the change is not a flash in the pan but is here to stay.

He also hopes that by this point newcomers like himself will have soaked up some of the mood of the holy dhama and be able to exchange with its residents in their “Brijbasi Spirit,” best summed up by Srila Prabhupada in a 1973 letter: “Agriculture and protecting cows, this is the main business of the residents of Vrindaban, and above all simply loving Krishna.”

“Once you have deep relationships, the ultimate goal is Strong Community Spirit and Unity,” Jaya Krsna says. “That’s what everyone is looking for. We are all human beings, we need community and relationships. We want to execute Srila Prabhupada’s instructions for New Vrindaban together, as a strong, unified community.”

Srila Prabhupada, of course, famously gave specific instructions for New Vrindaban, and Jaya Krsna feels that upon reaching the end of the seven phases the community will make significant progress in implementing these instructions and will begin to reveal its seemingly unlimited potential.

“I truly believe that New Vrindaban has incredible potential — I see it every day,” he says. “Based upon Srila Prabhupada’s Pushpa Samadhi the Palace of Gold, and upon the infrastructure that we have, I think it can once again be one of North America’s leading ISKCON communities.”

Large Gaura Nitai Statues Glance over the pond at New Vrindaban.

• Read comments...

“…this sankirtana or street chanting must go on, it is our most important program. Lord Caitanya’s movement means the sankirtana movement. You may simply take two hours for chanting sixteen rounds daily, two hours for reading congregationally, and balance of time go out for sankirtana. We must do both, reading books and distributing books, but distributing books is the main propaganda.”

Srila Prabhupada Letter, 09-18-72 ·

Please see the link for all photos

• Leave a comment...

ECO-Vrindaban Board Meeting Minutes 02-02-2014.

Mission Statement: ECO-Vrindaban promotes a simple, sustainable lifestyle centered on the care and protection of cows, local food production and the loving service of Lord Krishna, as envisioned by Srila Prabhupada, the Founder-Acharya of ISKCON New Vrindaban.

Participating Members of the ECOV Board of Directors: Anuttama (partial attendance), Bhima, Chaitanya Mangala, Krpamaya, Madhava Gosh (partial attendance), Navin Shyam, and Ranaka.

Advisors present: Jaya Krsna

1. Utica Shale gas lease

A discussion was held regarding signing the proposed Utica Shale gas lease (without the participation of Gosh).

After having conducted a significant review of the lease, five additional considerations were raised:

a. In line with issues raised by members of the New Vrindaban Advocacy Sanga (NVCAS), the lease should require additional measures to reduce potential air pollution from wells and pipelines.

b. In line with the recommendations of the environmental lawyer engaged by INV & ECOV, several paragraphs of the lease should be revised to strengthen/clarify the lessor’s rights.

c. In line with issues raised by members of the the NVCAS, the “broken hill” site should not be used as a location for a well pad.

d. If signed, several Board Members would like to see a significant amount of the funds be dedicated to renovations at Srila Prabhupada’s Palace.

e. That the Board of Directors of ISKCON New Vrindaban first decide about whether or not to sign their lease.

As the resolution of these issues has the potential to change how directors vote, the Board has decided to wait for the results of any further developments before making a final decision.

2. 2013 Operations budget review

WHEREAS: It is the responsibility of the ECOV Board to review and approve the final calculation of expenditures made in any given year.

RESOLVED: The Board approves and adopts the final 2013 Operating Budget report and related documents submitted by Ranaka.

3. 2014 Operations budget approval

WHEREAS: It is the responsibility of the ECOV Board to approve all budgets and a Board subcommittee developed the 2014 operating budget based on actual budgets from prior years as well as projected income and expenses for the current year.

RESOLVED: The Board approves, adopts and authorizes the Operating Budget for the 2014 fiscal year in the amount of $275K, with the following stipulation:

For the “Manager’s Discretionary Expense Account,” any single expenditure that is $2,500 or less shall be authorized as long as Madhava Gosh, Ranaka and Jaya Krsna have all approved.  Any single expenditure over $2,500 shall require approval by the Board.

4. ECOV Mission Statement

WHEREAS: The Board wishes to describe ECOV’s mission in a clear and concise manner.

RESOLVED: The Board adopts the following revised Mission Statement, to be used uniformly across various media.

“ECO-Vrindaban promotes a simple, sustainable lifestyle centered on the care and protection of cows, local food production and the loving service of Lord Krishna, as envisioned by Srila Prabhupada, the Founder-Acharya of ISKCON New Vrindaban.”

5. Grant requests: Fence at the Temple Teaching Garden

WHEREAS: The Board wishes to improve the appearance and functionality of the garden most visible to visitors.

RESOLVED: The Board approves up to $5,224 for the installation of a new fence for the Teaching Garden, constructed from local lumber by members of the New Vrindaban Village Co-Operative.

Friend, don’t try to be popular. Treat the senses roughly. Break the love of this world. Don’t be attached to wife, children, friends and relatives. Friend, desiring to stay until the body perishes, reside in Vrndavana.

[Source : Nectarean Glories of Sri Vrindavana-dhama by Srila Prabodhananda Sarasvati Thakura, 1-58 Translation.]

Please click here for more photos

New Vrindaban Farm Report – Back To Godhead Magazine – October 1975.

Over the past eight years, the International Society for Krishna Consciousness has established fourteen successful farming communities in various parts of the world. As national economies founder and cities go bankrupt, ISKCON’s farms flourish and grow, proving that the Krishna consciousness movement is providing not only potent spiritual knowledge, but a viable alternative lifestyle as well. There’s full employment for everyone and natural prosperity when everything’s done for Lord Krishna.

New Vrindaban (Moundsville, W. Va.)—”While herding the beautiful bulls, the Lord, who was the reservoir of all opulence and fortune, used to blow His flute, and thus He enlivened His faithful followers, the cowherd boys.” (Bhag. 3.2.29)

This past summer was definitely bull season here. At Bahulaban, largest of New Vrindaban’s six farms, eleven of the seventeen new arrivals were bull calves.

Most of our bulls are used for ox teams because we don’t need so many for breeding. Right now our oxen program is in the rough stages, but what we have going is very promising. We’re working four teams regularly, and several others are being trained up. Many New Vrindaban residents enjoy watching the oxen as they haul the milk from the barn to the temple’s milk separator twice a day. The bulls are working better together all the time.

The medical program is also being improved to properly care for the increased number of calves. We examine each of them twice a day for any abnormality which might indicate sickness, and the sick ones get more complete treatment.

Milk production from the herd is soaring because there are so many “fresh” cows now. All told, the cows at Bahulaban are giving almost a thousand pounds of milk daily, and they’re still increasing!

For Lord Krishna’s birthday (Janmastami) we put the barn into excellent shape. Everyone who visited us for the holiday celebration was able to relish the purity and simplicity of Lord Krishna’s cow protection program. It’s easy to appreciate this wonderful service when we see so many milk preparations—sweets, curd, yogurt and cream—offered to the Deity of Krishna in the temple every day. When we satisfy the Supreme Lord, He satisfies us with His mercy.

• Read comments...