New Vrindaban Brijabasi Spirit

Kuladri Two (5 Min.) from Vasudeva Das on Vimeo.

Tues. Feb. 12 at 5:30 PM at BlueHome Artworks shop Women’s Book Club
Preface and Text 3 of Nectar of Instruction

Thurs. Feb. 14 at 5:30 PM at the school building
Teahouse Music Event: open to all musicians, writers, and appreciators of the above.

Come and share your music, poetry, etc. and have fun, or just watch and listen and have fun.
Hare Krsna.

NOTE TO EVERYOINE:

If you will be having an event of some kind, and if you’d like me to add it to these weekly postings, please just drop me a line, with date, time, place, and event description.

This is a public service announcement!

Thank you.
Your servant in communication,

Lilasuka dasi

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New Vrindanized by Jaya Murari das

In the Sanat-kumara-samhita, this beautiful prayer is given, which awards direct service to Radha and Krsna!

Verse 1
O Radha-VrindabanChandra, please rescue me from the ocean of birth and death. Please save me from the problems born of home, family and friends. Please break to pieces the fears of your surrendered devotees.

Verse 2

O Radha-VrindabanChandra, today I place myself and everything I possess in this life or in the next at your lotus feet

Verse 3

O Radha-VrindabanChandra, I am an abode of offenses. I have abandoned all spiritual duties. I have no shelter. O Radha-VrindabanChandra, o my Lords, please give me your shelter.

Verse 4

O master of Radha, I am yours. O beloved of VrindabanChandra, I am yours. I offer my thoughts, words and deeds to both of You. You both are the goal of my life.

Verse 5

O Radha-VrindabanChandra, You are like two great oceans of mercy. Please be merciful to me. I take shelter of You and surrender unto You. Although I am a sinner and an offender, please engage me in Your divine service.

New Vrindavan is gearing up for the 2nd annual Festival of Colors, coming up this fall, Sept. 14, 2013.

Join us for the fun and chanting on Sat. Sept. 14.  The Festival of Colors is a very exuberant event, complete with music, dance and throwing of organic colored powders. The Festival of Colors, also known as Holi, is the American version of the traditional Indian Cultural Festival. Holi festival is a family friendly gathering of people united in the desire to celebrate life, where everyone is invited to join in. Millions of people celebrate this color festival all over the world. The Festival of Colors is, without doubt, the liveliest event in India and has now become the world’s most popular Indian festival. This special event celebrates unity, spirituality and culture in the most colorful way!

Hare Krishna!

See the FESTIVAL OF COLORS VIDEO and  more information on the  links below:

Festival of Colors Video

Gearing up for Festival of Colors

And here is the actual Festival of Colors direct website:   New Vrindaban Festival of Colors website

Kuladri One (5 min.) from Vasudeva Das on Vimeo.

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by Mandali dd

Dear respected Vaisnavas!

My humble obeisances to you.

Yesterday was a most beautiful day. We collected maha garlands from all five members of the Pancatattva as well as many fragrant flowers and decorative leaves from holy trees to create a sacred moment in what was, I feel, already the most beautiful space in the whole of Sridham Mayapur – the rooftop suite of the Vaisnava Academy – laden with the dust of the feet of all the exalted vaishnavas who resided there over and over in their travels through this sacred land.

When we established the presence of Their Lordships Sri Sri Radha Giridhari, we were soon fortunate enough to welcome and garland with fragrant prasadam flowers many of Nitai’s friends and admirers who gathered to glorify his beautiful life and great fortunate future. It just so happened that the residents of the Saranagati village in Canada that Nitai frequently visited were here in Mayapur to perform a two week program of chanting prayers from Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura’s Saranagati collection. All came to share this moment with us. Even Dina Tarini devi, Yamuna’s lifelong companion was able to be there in person.

The atmosphere was laden with beautiful emotions of longing, excitement, deep spiritual happiness, pride, and a sense of humorous adventure in sharing Krishna Consciousness. Nitai’s personal presence
was very much felt by all.

We heard enthusiastic heartfelt glorification of Nitai’s life from Dina Tarini Devi, Soma das, Visaka devi, Vrajalila Devi, Giriraj Gopal das, Pancaratna Das, Jagannath Kirtan Das, Deva Devi, Radha Sundari Devi and the wonderful kirtan by Sri Banabehari’s ‘milkmaids’, an affectionate name Yamuna Devi gave to the group of young girls that she taught over the ten years that she spent living in Saranagati Village.

Then we all moved on to the restaurant area, hearts melted with natural spiritual joy and eyes filled with tears of mixed happiness and longing in separation.

The celebration continued with honoring a rich feast of delicious prasadam and concluded with candlelit affectionate kirtana at the home of Vraja Lila Devi and Ekavira Das that went on into the night.

Walking home I felt, how wonderful it was to be allowed to stay on Earth and see how others appreciate someone you hold so dear!

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by Lilasuka dasi

The other day,  after the Sunday feast, some of New Vrindavan’s finest musical talents dropped by the BlueHome Artworks Gift Shop. They went there to share their music and to jam along with each other’s songs.

The night before, Jaya Rishi had approached Jesse, “I’ve invited some musicians to my room in the temple after the Sunday feast to get together for some music. Would you and Lila like to come?”

“Sure, thank you. But, hey, why not have it at Bluehome Artworks Gift Shop, where it might be more roomy and comfortable? And besides, since your room’s in the men’s asrama,  then Lila will actually be able to come.”

And so it was.   Everyone sat in a circle in the Gift Shop, and one at a time, each musician led a song of their choice.  Most of the musicians there sang songs that they themselves had written.

After they’d gone around the circle about 3 times, everyone seemed very satisfied. Some were pleasantly surprised hearing their godsiblings’ music for the first time.

Jason, a new devotee at New Vrindavan who has been a drummer for some time, said, “I’ve been very interested in getting involved somehow in music in New Vrindavan, so this gathering has been especially nice for me.”

Jesse explains, “This music event tonight really inspired me toward a project in which I’ve been interested for some time. Lila and I have wanted to host gatherings of musicians, songwriters, poets and writers, since N.V. is a community full of talent. Tonight turned out to be a great start!”

Jesse added, “I especially liked the way everyone took turns and paid attention to each other’s offerings.”

Look for an invitation to be sent out soon, inviting everyone, including listeners, to future gatherings of this type.

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A Pleasant Surprise

By Tapahpunja das

I attended the recent North American GBC/Temple Presidents Meetings in Houston held January 11-13^th.   I was invited to speak about the Small Farm Training Center with special reference to the development of the Green Wheeling Initiative.  The time slot for presenting my topic entitled, “Toolbox for Building a Green Congregation,” was slated for Saturday evening at 5:30 p.m.  I expected to have to sit through a slew of boring talks, but to my delight, the information that filled my ear holes all day Friday and Saturday was so positive and uplifting that is deserves to be shared and broadcast.

Like many devotees, I had come to accept the notion that ISKCON as the embodiment of Srila Prabhupada’s mission was resigned to mediocrity, that the preaching was flat, that book distribution was dead, that the GBC is out of touch, that most temples were becoming Hindu cultural centers and that the message of Krishna consciousness was unappealing to young Westerners. What I found in Houston was quite the contrary. While there’s certainly room for improvement, ISKCON is alive and well.

Without exception, every devotee presenter—new devotee or seasoned veteran—charmed the 70 plus conference attendees with lively reports about their fields of endeavor.  From Rabindra Swarupa’s scholarly research on Srila Prabhupada to Anuttama’s closing remarks, I walked away feeling proud to belong to a worldwide community of Vaisnavas sincerely endeavoring to spread Krishna consciousness far and wide.

Here are some of the highlights in brief:

-BBT book distribution under Vaisesika’s guidance has increased by a 20% jump.

–Motel Gita, the project to place Bhagavad-Gita’s is thousands of Indian owned motel rooms is booming.

-Krishna consciousness has a toe hold in Cuba thanks to Bhakti Marg Swami.

-ISKCON’ 50^th anniversary in 2016 promises to be a big event.

–Life Membership in ISKCON is getting a much needed face-lift.

-Krishna House in Gainsville is packed with new devotees. Kalakanta Prabhu and crew are educating and training future leaders.

–ISKCON’s  growth, worldwide, as reported by Badrinarayana and Romapada Swami, is awe inspiring.

-The Festival of Colors, as Jaya Krishna Dasa explained, is getting international attention.

–Kuladri Prabhu’s organizational skills in the Temple Support Office is expanding to include international responsibilities. Kuladri was honored with a standing ovation.

-ISKCON Resolve, the Child Protection Office, ISKCON Communications and Mahat Tattva’s program for brahmacari training are all making steady progress.

–Amburish Dasa was a surprise visitor with positive news about completing the massive Temple Kirtan Hall and the Vedic Planetarium in Mayapura.

My own presentation on sustainability was well received. I was surprised to learn that many temples already own farmland or are planning to buy it in the near future. I was invited to travel to Seattle, where Hari Vilas has purchased 12 acres, to Denver, where Tusta Krsna has 5 vacant lots to develop into community gardens, to Houston/Dallas, where Nityananda is actively looking for a farm and to New Raman Reti (Alachua), where Mukhya Devi has set aside 12 acres for an eco-village. I ended my journey at New Talavana, the 1400 acre Mississippi farm project.

All-in-all, the one week journey was a pilgrimage, a real eye opener that blew away a lot of misconceptions and wrong headed thinking about Srila Prabhuada’s greater family of ISKCON devotees. I returned feeling invigorated and determined to make my own project, the Small Farm Training Center, a beacon of success and inspiration. ……………….Tapahpunja dasa

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New Cowherd Girls

by Lilasuka dasi

New Vrindaban has two new cowherd girls.  This will certainly keep the milking herd happy.

It’s always fun to try out doing something you’ve never done before. Or going back to doing something you haven’t done for a long time.  And when that new thing is milking Krsna’s dear cows, then the benefits are very high.  Kalindi dasi and Srimati dasi, Radha Vrindaban Chandra’s two new cowherd girls, are reaping the spiritual profits already.

They each have very different experiences with cows.  Srimati has had none!  When asked, “Why milk cows?” Srimati replied:

“I was attending one of the recent Friday morning Srimad Bhagavatam classes, where we are reading and discussing the letters that Srila Prabhupada wrote about New Vrindaban.  He emphasized the importance of living, depending on the land and the cows. And when I found out that they want everyone to come and spend time with Krsna’s cows, Kalindi and I got very excited!”

“We’ve only gone to the goshalla (cow barn) to get trained, and then to milk three times, but each time has been an adventure!  The first evening, we went in, not really knowing what to expect. The barn was pitch dark and we could hear cows kind of rustling around, but we couldn’t see a thing!  So we groped along the walls like blind people, all around inside the barn, but to our dismay, were not able to find a light switch. Towards the back of the barn, where it was super dark, I almost fell over some calves! Finally, as the cows became more restless, someone came in with a flashlight and just went over and flicked on the lights! Very embarrassing.”

All in all, though, Srimati feels very satisfied and close to the cows and to Krsna a result of this service.

She says, “The cows are very sweet and gentle. It’s easy to get to know them, and to get attached. They look at you with their big eyes and melt your heart.”

Kalindi, on the other hand, is a seasoned expert at milking and pitching hay.

In her own words, “I was one of seven children, and for a while, when I was very young, I was living on my grandmother’s farm. She had us doing everything, from milking cows to shoveling cow dung. Well, those skills are coming in handy now that I’m working at the cow barn once a week with Srimati. I also got very excited, hearing about how Srila Prabhupada wanted us to take good care of the cows. These are Krsna’s protected and loved cows  which is so much more significant than the poor cattle on my grandmother’s farm, who would end up being sold to slaughterhouses.”

Lalita Gopi, the current main cowherd girl, gratefully exclaimed that she’s had some people over the years come in and help to milk cows, “But no-one ever helped me shovel cow dung like Kalindi did!”

Kalindi says, “It was one of the first times Srimati and I actually milked. I was done milking my favorite cow, Yamuna, so I went just outside to shovel the cow dung out.  Suddenly I heard Srimati inside, yelling, “Oh no! Oh no!”

“Srimati, what’s going on???”

“Well, I was peacefully milking this cow, and I finally had my first almost successfully full bucket of clean, white, frothy milk, when the cow just lifted one rear leg and stepped- splash!-  into the bucket. Then she proceeded to lift her other rear leg and stepped into the same bucket!! What do I do???!! What do I do??!!”

Luckily, Lalita Gopi came along to save the day, but it was a tense moment for the new cowherd girls!

Kalindi commented, “You must approach the cow lovingly and carefully, since she is a milking mother.  I think it almost takes something like becoming one with the cow. The cows are mothers and are sensitive.”

Good luck to Kalindi and Srimati dasis, our two new adventurous cowherd girls!

                  Srimati dasi

Kalindi dasi

 

If you’ve been thinking of a project you’ve always wanted to make happen in New Vrindaban, ECOV is now accepting grant applications for projects related to its purposes.

ECOV (Earth, Cows, Opportunities & Villages) is dedicated to sustainable agriculture, cow protection, community development, and simplicity — all centered around loving service to Sri Krishna, as envisioned by ISKCON founder, Srila Prabhupada.

ECOV (also known as “GEETA”) is one of the two main nonprofit organizations serving the New Vrindaban Community. Current board members are: Anuttama das, Kripamaya das, Madhava Gosh das, Navin Shyam das, Ranaka das, and Chaitanya Mangala das. Advisers are Sukhavaha dasi, Jaya Krsna dasa and Varshana Swami.

Over the past few months we have received a number of inquiries and want to make it better known that ECOV is open to supporting projects in and around New Vrindaban that have a clear community benefit and are consistent with our mission.

We are reviewing grant requests now, especially until the end of February.

If this is relevant to you, please contact Ranaka or Madhava Gosh and they will get a Grant Application to you.

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