BY BHAKTA PRABHU

March 11, KUALA LUMPUR (TUE) – Another mesmerizing and informative talk on glories of Lord Shiva was delivered by H.G.Vishnu Caitanya dasa. It was specially requested by “UNICS” the Hindu society of University Tenaga Nasional (UNITEN), in conjunction of Shiva rathri festival. The much needed information of Lord Shiva has definitely made the students revered the Lord as a great personality. Going further as explained by His Grace, Lord Shiva is incharge for the mode of ignorance, who is the destructive source for the whole creation. The glorification of Lord Shiva is also found in the vedas and puranas such as Srimad Bhagavatam, Shiva Puranam and so forth.

Bridging the gap between the two doctrines, i.e.  Shaivism and Vaishnavism, H.G. Vishnu Caitanya dasa’s methodology was liked by everyone who attended the session. Carefully presenting the points about the greatness of Lord Shiva, H.G. Vishu Caitanya dasa once again emerged as a contemporary speaker which left the crowd mind boggling.

About 50 students attended the talk including 2 lecturers from UNITEN. On behalf of VOICE of UNI, we would like to thank Bhakta Hemalan and UNICS for the opportunity.

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BY PRAJINDRA SANKAR KRISHNAN

Mar 19, KUALA LUMPUR (WED) – Many would have thought that the ancient teachings of the Vedas are no longer applicable especially in this era of modern technology but the students of Methodist Boys School (MBS) were definitely astonished to find out the truth in contrast to our common believes after attending a multimedia presentation entitled, ‘Science of the Vedas – its relevance in modern day society’.

The multimedia talk was organized by the Indian Cultural Society of MBS in accordance to their ‘Religious Week’ line of events. Bhaktin Padma, one of the Pandava Sena youths of Sri Jagannath Mandir Kuala Lumpur who is currently pursuing her Form 6 studies there took the responsibility to organize the multimedia talk. The talk was held in a computer lab and was scheduled to begin at 7.30am. It took quite a while to gather all the students. By 7.40am, the computer lab was crowded with approximately 70 students ranging from Form 3 to Form 6. The Indian teachers were very helpful in coordinating the students and calming them down. Around 10 Indian teachers attended the talk, which was a good turn up from the teaching force. After a brief introduction of the speaker by the host, the talk officially started at 7.45am.

Bhakta Prajindra Sankar, a representative from VOICE of Uni, Sri Jagannatha Mandir Kuala Lumpur was the guest speaker for the day. Accompanying the speaker was Bhakta Rajendran who provided technical support in arranging and setting up the laptop, projector, sound system, etc. The one hour talk was light and easy, aimed to ensure that the students understand the message being imparted. The whole session was kept interactive and there were also a number of video clips shown relating to the subject matter to enhance their understanding. The students responded well to this.

The speaker took the students on a journey through 3 different ways to acquire knowledge namely sense perception (Pratyaksha Praman), inference (Anuman Praman) and word of authority (Sabda Praman) while giving away many examples to enable the students to grasp the main points. The speaker focused on the 3rd way of acquiring absolute knowledge which is through the word of authority and then continued with the 2 systems of acquiring knowledge: inductive/ascending method and deductive/descending method. By giving few analogies, the speaker made it clear that the deductive method is the best system to acquire knowledge through the word of authority (Vedas).

Before revealing the Vedic hidden scientific treasures such as the science of the mind, soul, time, karma, reincarnation, etc, the speaker stressed the importance of Bhagavad Gita as the essence of ALL the Vedas and asserted that the rest of the presentation will be based on teachings of the Gita. The speaker spoke on the science of the mind, a subtopic more suited for students. Some of the main highlights were the mechanism of the mind, how senses, mind and intelligence interact, nature of the mind and what damage can an uncontrolled mind do to oneself and society. The speaker warned that an uncontrolled mind can lead to an undesirable action and this would trigger the Law of Karma to take its course that leads to unpleasant consequences. After briefly explaining about action and reaction, the speaker concluded the talk by giving practical techniques for mind controlling and better concentration.

The talk ended at 8.45am and shortly after, the students adjourned back to their respective classes. The students and organizers gave very good feedbacks and looking forward for another talk in the near future.

The author would like to express his sincere gratitude towards all those who had been very helpful in organizing and making this talk a success especially HG. Srivas Caitanya dasa, Bhakta Rajendran, Bhaktin Padma and HG Mathura Lilesvari Mataji. ~Hare Krishna~

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Saturday, 22 March 08

Found the morning wake up extremely tough today. But I managed to get out of bed to the last evenings smell of freshly baked bread in Koti prabhu’s home. I think he recently purchased a bread making machine and he has been trying it out constantly, so much so that the place is more like a make-shift Baker’s Delight store. I did mention this to him and he had a good laugh.

After the morning prayers, it was time for Srimad Bhagavatam class by HH Bhanu Swami who is the Chairman of the Governing Body Commission of ISKCON. He seemed so familiar to me in terms of his body language but I am sure this is the first time I have met him. Anyways, he gave a nice lecture about some of the very human like activities of Krishna in His past times on earth and how it is eternally going in other parts of the universes. Once he was finished, numerous devotees gathered around him to ask questions. This went for almost 20 mins and I thought there must be a fast today because normally, devotees have the skill to disappear to the prasadam hall after the morning class in a matter of seconds.

Later in the morning, it was decided by Brahma Kunda and Nityananda Prabhu’s that I would help out in the kitchen the next morning and look after the book counter on the planned boat cruise on Sunday. All kind of images took its rightful place in my head when I heard that I will have to “help out” in the kitchen. More about kitchen vani in another post.

Around noon time, I went with Koti Prabhu to download some speakers and appliances for the evening lecture by HH Devamrita Swami. As we walked in, Annirudha Prabhu (Melbourne Temple President) was inspecting the cleanliness of the lecture room. He was not pleased. He pointed towards some areas that he wanted cleaned. Once he left, I stepped in and volunteered to tidy up the place. 30 mins later, it looked pretty good, thanks to a powerful vacuum cleaner.

In the evening, I attended the lecture by Chandra Vallabhi Mataji on the varnashramadharma. Chandra Vallabhi Mataji always impresses me.

She is a walking collection of Srila Prabhupada’s works. She can instantly recollect and share any of the numerous verses from the Bhagavad-Gita, Srimad Bhagavatam or the Chaitanya Caritamrta based on the situation or the topic at hand. It’s not hard to notice the genuine interest, passion and enthusiasm she has, to help one and all in understanding the process of Krishna Consciousness. Some parents were commenting to me that they are so happy to leave their kids with her because in no time they too have learnt the verses. Later in the evening, as I was climbing the stairs on an empty stomach, visualizing the feast in a cardboard plate, she asked me if I enjoyed the lecture. I had been sitting by the door all the way at the back, once again captivated by the contents of the Krishna philosophy. I could see that everyone in the room truly understood what the varnashramadharma actually stood for. I passed on my delight of having attending her class and mentioned that I am still surprised as to how she remembers so many verses.

It was now 7:25pm and 5 minutes away from HH Devamrita Swami lecture. Like a kangaroo, I hopped away to the lecture hall (avoiding the kitchen area lest I be called in to “help-out”) and took a prime spot in front on the floor. There was a very beautiful and melodious kirtan going on which was incredibly soothing. Minutes later, I could see many in the room with their eyes closed and swaying from side to side as they listened to the mataji sing. People joined in, trying their best to be melodious as well. And it did. And then suddenly, HH Devamrita Swami walked in and took his position on a chair on the stage.

Another riveting lecture! He spoke about the internal confusion that exists in many people’s mind and the reason why it exists. He is a summary in points of what he said:

-         We have spiritual and material quality. Our body is material and the soul is spiritual.

-         But we have been overwhelmed by our power to manipulate matter for our own pleasure that we think this to be the only way to be happy.

-         Each acquisition of material wealth leads to short term happiness and then we have to endeavour to satisfy our needs once again. And we keep doing this over and over again. This results in unhappiness, anger and confusion.

-         It has been concluded without any doubt by leading researchers that once a person has met the basic needs of life, there is no more increase in happiness with increased wealth.

-         It is important for people to know that we have a spirit soul which is superior in quality to the inferior matter. Hence we can manipulate matter but it must not be the sole purpose.

-         Matter should be utilized for the pleasure of Krishna. This benefits one and all.

A good question and answer session later, we arrived at the prasadam hall for dinner. Another sumptuous feast and we were back at the temple room for the closing prayers. Once done, we wearily went back home to prepare for what we think will be a very long Sunday.  

Samba, Hayagriva’s eldest son, has found previously unpublished letters from Srila Prabhupada in his father’s effects that Hayagriva had stored at his mother’s house before leaving his body. As his grandmother approached the end of her life, Samba retrieved the boxes and has had them for five years.

He is currently cataloging the contents of the boxes. The collection of letters that Hayagriva had are from Srila Prabhupada to himself, his wife Shama, as well as some to Kirtanananda and a few others. Most of them are already in the Vedabase but many weren’t.

The BBT archives are going to officially process them, but Samba was kind enough to let me get copies of all those that aren’t found in the VedaBase. My unoffical count is that there are 76 of them. Of those, Srila Prabhupada mentions New Vrindaban in 48 of them, which clearly demonstrates his interest in the project.

There isn’t anything earthshaking in them, and there is no single letter that is any kind of a magic bullet, but the body of them clearly demonstrate his commitment to having a farm project and to publishing and distributing books.

I have started scanning some of them and getting them converted to digital form and have permission from Samba to post them on brijabasispirit.com so they are now being posted once a week categorized as Prabhupada’s Letters.

In addition to the New Vrindaban discussion, a lot of them are about the editing work that Hayagriva was doing for Srila Prabhupada. There are even form letters where Srila Prabhupada is having to personally dun the temples for nonpayment of bills owed to the BBT for books. He has the letter typed then hand writes the name of the recipient in the salutation.

I will quote from one of them:

“So the best thing will be to keep daily count of your stock and how many magazines and books sold. Then, regularly, on Sunday of each week the sales proceeds may be totaled for issuing a check to the amount owed to my book fund and to the BTG accounts. Then on each Monday the check may be sent to Los Angeles. So you do this regularly and it will be very nice. “

No one can say that Srila Prabhupada wasn’t taking care of business.

BY BHAKTA RAJENDRAN

Mar 5, MALACCA, MALAYSIA (WED) - Indian Cultural Society of Multimedia University (MMU), Malacca Campus organized the 2nd multimedia talk entitled ‘Science of the Soul’. Previously, in March 2007, through the same Indian Cultural Society of Multimedia University Malacca Campus, we have conducted a talk on the “Science of the Vedas.”

Upon our arrival in MMU, we were directed to the venue (CLC-2008) and was informed that the talk will be delayed about an hour due to many students are still having their classes. We noticed that there were two Chinese students already occupying the venue. They came for the talk and stayed till the end of the show, appreciating the entire presentation.

The crowd gradually swelled to 80 students. After a short welcoming address by the organizer, Bhakta Rajendran took the center stage and played a flash show depicting the current social issues involving youth and some of the VOICE of UNI activities in being part of the solution in eradicating youth’s related problem back in Kuala Lumpur. He then gave a brief introduction about the speaker and the topic.

HG Rasika Murari prabhu, then impressed and entertained the audience with his usual jovial interactive presentation. He put forward many intriguing questions regarding the body, soul and its relationships. He gave many examples and analogies how we can understand that we are not this temporary material body but eternally a spirit soul. He also touched on the many benefits that we can derive simply realizing that we are souls. He mentioned that the many troubles in the current world affairs are due to bodily designation and conception and by knowing, understanding and appreciating these common platform, that we are all soul beyond color, religion, caste, country, etc. will results in ultimate peace in the world order. He also pointed out that the real human intrinsic nature is to serve and by cultivating this serving attitude, the negative vibes such as anger, greed and lust can be easily diminished.

The talk was well received and Rasika Murari prabhu was seen answering many questions at the end of the talk. There were about 10 students surrounded him for about 40 minutes asking about ISKCON, Srila Prabhupada, Bhagavad Gita and our philosophy. They were truly satisfied by his answers and let him go only when the security personnel prompted them to leave the venue at about 11.15pm.

The next talk in MMU Melaka is scheduled sometime in May 2008.

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BY ANANDA TIRTHA DAS

Mar 1, MAYAPUR, WEST BENGAL - On March 1st, the seventh day of the meetings, the morning presentations focused on the Youth Fund and Mayapur Temple of Vedic Planetarium, while the afternoon session consisted of a presentation by Bhaktivedanta Institute (Kolkata) and straw voting on proposals.

Ramabhadra Prabhu presented a detailed update of the current status of the Youth Fund effort. So far, four installments, totaling $3,950,000, has been disbursed to about seven hundred youth around the world. Some unsolicited letters of appreciation were shared with the Body, the common theme being gratitude for the help and renewed faith in ISKCON.

A further $5,550,000 is due to be disbursed in several installments up to 2011, making the total amount payable $9,500,000. There was sustained applause for major contributors to the fund such as Bhakti Charu Swami ($1,000,000) and an anonymous contribution of $500,000 arranged by Radhanath Swami. Los Angeles temple, which contributed well above its quota, also drew special mention.

Overall, the development of the Youth Fund, from the original overwhelming $400,000,000 Turley lawsuit that threatened many temples, to the present status has been nothing short of a miracle, with ISKCON leaders, attorneys, the Bhaktivedanta Book Trust, and temples worldwide uniting to reaching out to our hurt youth while simultaneously protect Srila Prabhupada’s name and mission. The presentation ended with a reminder to all of the necessity to raise the balance required to complete the disbursement sum.

Next, Ambarisa Prabhu led the presentation on the current status of the Temple of Vedic Planetarium project in Mayapur of which he is Chairman. The GBC were treated to a graphic animated video of the completed temple. Ambarisa Prabhu announced that the final legal permissions to begin construction are under process.

There are three main groups preparing for the planetarium aspect of the temple. These groups are researching the 5th Canto of Srimad-Bhagavatam and other Vedic texts. They are also creating an interactive website (wiki) to share their research.

Ambarisa Prabhu introduced the members of the present team of devotees dedicated to working on the project and stated that he hopes the temple will be completed in five or six years.

The afternoon session commenced with a presentation by Mukunda Madhava Prabhu on Bhaktivedanta Institute preaching. Following in the footsteps of HH Bhaktisvarupa Damodara Swami, the devotees of BI Kolkata are continuing holding well-attended student conferences throughout India on the topic of science and religion. They continue to lecture in various colleges and the Indian Science Congress and continue to distribute BI and Srila Prabhupada’s books.

The evening concluded with further straw voting.

March 2, the eighth day of the meetings, was the Annual GBC Retreat Day, as already reported separately.

The final two days of the meetings March 3 and 4, mainly dealt with topics for final voting, elections of officers and dates for future meeting. Topics voted on included:

Jurisdiction of ISKCON Centres
Garden of Inspiration (Samadhis in Mayapur) and Commemoration Committee
GBC Budget
Financial Reporting by Ministers
Relocation of Radha Govinda (New York)
ISKCON Fund Raising (central office)
Moscow Temple Development Committee
Guru Seminar and Retreat Proposal
Annual World Holy Name Week
Srila Prabhupada Puja and Murti Care Standards
Initiations where there are no Temples
Latin American Regional Governing Body
GBC Committee to Review Appointments to the GBC Body

It was also voted that the Board of Examinations will function under the Ministry of Educational Development.

On March 3, the GBC were paid a lively visit by the teachers and students (ranging from age 3-20) of the Sri Mayapur International School. Lalita Devi Dasi, Headmistress, spoke briefly about the school, and Anuttama Das, on behalf of GBC, in turn greeted the children stating that the GBC “Feels very inspired and grateful to see you all developing nicely in Krsna consciousness. Our time in leading this movement is limited and we know that some of you are going to come forward to take big responsibilities in Prabhupada’s movement. We look forward to spending our older years under your protection.”

The GBC then vacated their seats to be replaced by the younger children with Narayani Dasi, 12, becoming the Chairperson. Praghosa Das then presented the children with a proposal for voting. Unanimously the children voted on being served Ekadasi snacks by the GBC. After the children honoured prasadam, their enlivening visit ended with twelve-year-old Kanai leading kirtan with all the children and GBCs.

Prahladananda Swami presented the Sannyasa Ministry report to the GBC Body. There are currently eighteen candidates for sannyasa of whom three—Jagat Guru Das, Prabhodananda Sarasvati Das, and Purnacandra Das—are approved to accept sannyasa this year.

The second GBC meeting later this year will be at Juhu, Bombay, from October 19-23. Preceding this will be the second Guru seminar, from October 15-18. Next year’s Annual General Meeting in Mayapur will be from February 12-23.

This year’s election of the Executive Committee was done in record time: this year’s chairman will be Ramai Swami; First Vice-Chairman, Romapada Swami; Second Vice-Chairman, Madhu Sevita Das; Special Duty Officer, Kavicandra Swami; and Secretary, Bhakti Purusottama Swami.

Other appointments were of Hrdaya Caitanya Das as an Acting GBC member and Tamohara Das as Assistant GBC member. Candrasekhar Das and Kaunteya Das continue as Candidates for GBC.

The GBC also released a statement appreciating the services of the late Suhotra Prabhu, former GBC member.

The final session of this year’s meeting was a Self Evaluation exercise conducted by Anuttama Prabhu. Each GBC, Deputy and Minister received a “Personal Success Worksheet” and a five page “Self Assessment for Leaders” sheet which they had to fill out to assess their strengths and weaknesses. Anuttama then directed everyone to pick a particular area in which they would like to improve and consult two or three fellow attendees to share advice on this. Attendees found the exercise stimulating and thought-provoking.

The meetings ended with Chairman Bhanu Swami thanking all the attendees, staff, and helpers for their participation in making the meetings a success. He particularly thanked the Deputies for doing lot of background work which facilitated the meetings to end early. In turn, there was sustained applause from the Body for the hard work of all the members of the Executive Committee. Incoming Chairman Ramai Swami praised Bhanu Swami for being an excellent communicator and never getting flustered even under pressure.

On their way out, each meeting attendee was offered a gift bag containing useful items like gamchas, cups, maha oil and Ganga water. This is arranged by Jayapataka Swami every year. Despite his absence (attending his mother’s funeral) his disciples carried on the tradition.

The next evening, (March 5th), Ramai Swami and other GBC members gave a brief public summary of the highlights of this year’s meetings to Sri Sri Radha Madhava and a packed temple room of devotees. This was immediately followed by Radhanath Swami leading kirtan in the Panca Tattva temple on the eve of the first official day of this year’s Gaura Purnima Festival.

What a time we had! Jay Prabhu was commenting a few hours back at noon prasadam time how fast the past 4 days went. If I may so use the material way of describing the days, then it would be, “Rocking!”

(Pic: iskcon.net.au)

More photos: will post soon in a day or two.  

I stepped into the temple at 4:30pm on Friday, 21 March. It took many of us only a few seconds to sway to the tunes of the lovely kirtan led by the ever energetic Annirudha Prabhu (Melbourne Temple President). By this time, the temple room was already choc-a-bloc of devotees, first time visitors and well-wishers. One could genuinely see the enthusiasm on every ones face and the whole temple complex wore a carnival look.

The Gaura Nitai deities looked truly wonderful in their colourful garments, garlands and earrings glittering in the bright light. I overheard many people also commenting that the Jaganatha deities looked wonderful on the day. In fact, I thought so too. They had some beautiful head gears.

Once the kirtan finished, Annirudha Prabhu guided all of us to attend the fire ceremony at the prasadam hall. I am sure that many in the room heard only the “prasadam” part and soon there was a rush to the top floor. Unfortunately, many learnt later on that they would have to watch the fire ritual for a while, inhale some smoke and a lecture before they could make a bee-line for the feast which they had heard so much about.

I truly enjoyed the fire ceremony. The pujari who did it was so committed to the process. I apologise but I can’t recollect his name at the moment. He arranged the area of the ritual so beautifully with flowers, coconuts, pineapples, apples, banana leaves etc. There was plenty of rice, some twigs for burning and a bowl of golden ghee. His pronunciation of the Sanskrit mantras sounded perfect and he held everyone’s attention till the last minute. His Holiness Bhanu Swami (Governing Body Commission, Chairman) was also seated next to the pujari. Seated next to them was Annirudha Prabhu along with Uddhava and Adam Prabhu leading a nice but very quiet kirtan throughout the entire ceremonial process.

Once the ritual was over, a seat was set up for His Holiness Devamrta Swami. He made his nice, slow walk to the seat to deliver one of the most thrilling lectures I have ever heard. Basically, he spoke about the importance of Gaura Purnima and the magnanimous nature of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu. He said that in today’s economic world, businesses in general are fond of giving free things to entice customers to buy something which they really don’t need. But because people also like to accept things that come free, they end up buying the product which is of no use to them. Chaitanya Mahaprabhu gave the world something that is of greatest need to the people, the greatest necessity for a troubled world – the art of loving Krishna. And it’s all free. People over time have forgotten this need and have been suffering immensely without a solution for a long time. Sri Krishna as Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu showed people how they can lead a glorious life by remembering Sri Krishna.

What I remember most about this hour in the day was the intensity with which HH Devamrta Swami spoke which truly captured everyone’s emotions. Once the lecture ended, there was a good silence before people slowly raised to their feet, thinking about what he had said. Perhaps, this lecture will be put up on the ISKCON Melbourne site for all of you to hear.

Feast time!!! I was about to bullet to the prasadam hall when Kripa Sindhu Prabhu stopped me in my tracks and said he needed me to do some service. First, I was to bring the prasadam buckets to the room and then once set up, I was to serve as well. I was delighted. Easy. Along with other devotees, we quickly ran to the kitchen, picked the heavy food buckets, swam through the thronging crowds, trekked up the stair case and placed them on to the tables. We did this 4 times! This is equal to a months work out, I think. In fact, it’s better than swimming. A devotee uses all his muscles carrying the prasadam buckets up and down. And it makes you hungrier too. But I have to serve which means delayed dinner. I was slightly devastated but I rarely get this opportunity so better make the best use of it. After some minor confusion, the tsunami of waiting diners started. Just when I was about to start serving, a mataji requested if she could do some service. So I gladly took a step back and offered by job. Sacrifice I tell you. I stood there for a while before moving down to the temple room.

By the time, I made my way back to the prasadam hall, I had already mediated on the next days breakfast and lunch prasadam on the card board plates. There were only a few items remaining but I couldn’t care less. It was finger licking’ good! Honestly, I can’t remember what I had. Once done, I helped in some crowd management at the prasadam hall before retiring to the temple hall again. This time there was another beautiful kirtan. And the temple room was packed again and we were singing, jumping, dancing and clapping. I lost my voice by the end of the night.

By the time, I stepped out of the temple, it was 10pm. That’s when I realized that in the midst of all the activities, I had genuinely forgotten to offer a nice prayer to Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu on His appearance day. I had wanted to wish Him a very happy birthday and thank Him for all the guidance He has been offering me over the months. It also dawned on me that I did not get any gifts, flowers or fruits to present Him with. I went home very sad at my actions and chastised myself for being so ignorant.

Next morning, as I walked to the temple, Bhakta Pete crossed by path as he was just about to leave the temple on his bike. Bhakta Pete by the way has the best hand writing in the universe. Right up to Brahma loka, he has no competition. I shall put a photo of his writing sometime soon. Anyways, as he was leaving, he said, “Prabhu, please have this garland. It was on Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu yesterday. You can have it. Hari Bol!” And he rode away.

I stood there with this long garland in my hand, immediately thinking about my sad state of mind the previous night and recollecting the forgiving and magnanimous nature of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu which HH Devamrta Swami had spoken about.

Hari Bol ! Hari Hari Bol !
May everyday be a Gaura Purnima day.