June 2009 Dedicated to His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, Founder-Acharya of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness Serving the Congregation Srila Prabhupada: Human life is meant for knowing God. The animals, they cannot know, although the bodily demands of the animal and the human being are the same. The animals, they sleep; man also sleeps. Animals, they eat; man also eats. The animals, they are afraid of some enemy; man is also afraid of some enemy. The animals, they mate with the opposite sex, and men also do that. But what is the special significance of man? He can understand about God, but the animal cannot. Out for Spring...page 4 Non-stop kirtan...page 8 The Manor's congregation has been growing steadily over several years, with increasing numbers actively serving every week. This is one indicator of a thriving congregation, whose members continually increase their commitment to spiritual life and accept responsibility for serving others. Congregational devotees participate regularly in the day to day activities at the temple and run major festivals throughout the year. It is vital that devotees receive proper training and guidance so that they increase their depth of understanding and have a philosophically strong basis to complement their physical efforts. Two important events were organised recently, to nourish those who serve regularly at Bhaktivedanta Manor. April s Volunteers Day was attended by 120 regular volunteers, with seminars conducted by Gaur Gopal das and Bhutabhavana das. Attendees explored a series of topics covering seva, japa, study and time. The Art of Bhakti day course was conducted by Bhati Caru Swami and attracted around 140 devotees. Discussions focussed on sadhana, seva, sankirtan and prayer. Bhagavat Ashraya das speaks during the Art of Bhakti course
A weekend for the Lord of the Universe The second weekend retreat at the Radha Krishna Temple in Stratford, East London, was a resounding success. The event was organised by local congregational members with help from Antardwip das and Kamalangi dasi from Leicester. A Perfect King - Ramanvami Festival The retreat included presentations by Bhakti Purushottama Swami. Janananda Goswami involved the entire audience in a spontaneous dramatisation of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu's activities in Puri. After viewing a devotional film, the weekend s finale was a mini- Rathayatra (chariot procession) through Stratford s shopping precinct. The Lord will surely bless the devotees in East London for being such wonderful festival hosts, sponsoring it, serving very hard and even accommodating devotees in their homes, said Antardwip das, Devotees from different parts of the UK got lots of association, and by taking part in the mini-rathayatra the purpose of the weekend was complete. Recognising Unsung Heroes in Hertfordshire Radha Mohan das joins the chairman of Hertfordshire County Council, Cllr Nigel Brook,in honouring local youngsters who have had a substantial impact on the lives of others Sunday 5th April marked one of the most auspicious days in the Vaisnava calendar - Rama Navami, or the birth of Lord Rama. Lord Rama is an incarnation of the Supreme Lord who appeared on this earth several millennia ago. In celebration of this joyous occasion, children of all backgrounds attended a fun-filled children s festival at Bhaktivedanta Manor. Amidst the festivities, the children learned of Lord Rama - the perfect king and husband, whose life, depicted in the sacred Indian epic Ramayana, exemplified qualities of leadership, honour, devotion and selfless action. Indeed, it is described that Lord Rama ruled His kingdom exactly as a father takes care of his children; and the citizens, being obliged to the good government of Lord Rama, accepted the Lord as their father - a timeless and timely example for today s world leaders. As is usual on such festive occasions, the main altar in the temple was decorated to lavish perfection, with worshippers flocking to pray before Lord Rama and receive His blessings. Community devotees and temple managers alike converged on the streets of Watford for a colourful chanting and dancing procession, and the day culminated with spiritual entertainment in the temple marquee which kept everyone smiling with a warm glow as the evening chill set in! Page 2
Half Half lion man Narasimha Caturdasi, this year celebrated on the 8th of May, is one of the most important festivals for Vaishnavas, as it gives the opportunity to spend the day making extra effort to meditate on Lord Narasimha - Krishna s incarnation as a half-man, half-lion. Lord Narasimha especially offers protection to those who worship him sincerely, as he did for Prahlad, the young son of the demoniac king, Hiranyakasipu. This story was enacted twice in the day once in the morning by Bhaktivedanta Manor s resident monks with help from children, and again in the evening by the community youth, who presented a dynamic, fresh take on the familiar story. Just before their play began, the sound system broke down! After half an hour of trying to fix it, actors were ready to tell the waiting audience that the play was cancelled. Someone in the crowd suggested everyone sincerely chant the prayer to Lord Narasimha, and ask him to help. Markandeya, the play s director, decided to begin the play without a soundtrack. As the prayer ended the sound system came to life! Everyone cheered, and afterwards, reflected on the fact that Lord Narasimha is always ready to support and protect us, as soon as we offer our heartfelt worship. A special ceremony was also performed in the morning for the continual protection of the Bhaktivedanta Manor community. Other activities included a harinam procession in central London, witnessed by Sir Paul McCartney - who gave the singers a thumbs up, then folded his hands in the traditional gesture of respect. Page 3
Manor oxen win first prize The Manor s New Gokul Farm recently won the first ever ISKCON inter-farm ox-working competition. It was calculated that from May 2008 May 2009, the oxen at the Manor put in a total of 3500 hours working the land and powering the ox-mill. In second place was the farm at New Vraja Dham in Hungary, whose oxen worked for 3200 hours. Going to Pasture The Manor herd went to pasture on April fifteenth. It had passed five months of the winter in the new barns built by Lad Construction. The herd needed to wait until enough grass grew in the fields, and finally there was a week's worth of grass available. So six or seven cowherds opened the pens and directed the herd out to the fields. The bulls and cows found their footing even on mushy ground. Trotting and running, some kicked up their front heels or back heels. For a few calves, going out to pasture was a brand new experience. Four acres is the amount of land currently taken up by the New Gokul construction site, but when the buildings are finished, they will occupy just one acre. Ten construction workers are now regularly on the site, and the visitors' centre and the mill are coming up. Donations are being collected now. In April the farm devotees transplanted cabbages, cauliflowers, carrots, beetroot, and other vegetables from the plastic greenhouse to the fields. They covered the land with a thin black plastic fabric that prevents weeds from growing and has regularly spaced holes in it, which enables the planters to dig holes in straight lines. Two Sundays of planting were carried out by volunteers. Eleven cows are now being milked. One milker, Abhijan, is from Kenya and has been milking for three years. The other main milker is Nodar, from Georgia. He has milked cows for five years. This spring, two calves were born. Oat-planting machine in action For the first time at Bhaktivedanta Manor, oat seeds were planted recently. The oat-planting machine, designed to be pulled by oxen, is rarely seen today but is still used in Poland. When the oat plants are fully-grown, they will be harvested and the seeds will be crushed into flour in New Gokul s new ox-powered mill. Page 4
Volunteers in the fields After a concerted effort by the volunteer coordinators, volunteers flocked to take the Manor s developing horticultural project to a new level. A total of seventy people, young and old, helped the Head of Horticulture, Krishna Caitanya das to plant 48 sacks of potatoes. The team prepared compost and sowed vegetable seeds across three acres of land, including pumpkin, marrow, cucumber, cabbage and courgette. Several acres of Manor land are now used for horticultural purposes. I feel enlivened and encouraged because of all the volunteer help I received, said Krishna Caitanya das, I am optimistic about the future of horticulture at Bhaktivedanta Manor. If anyone would like to help at any time, please email Caitanya Jivan das: volunteering@krishnatemple.com. Page 5
Subduing Stress at the Source by Bhakta Nimesh Nowadays society has progressed much in the field of education. Thirty years ago only a minority were going to university and a degree was a luxury item, but now the government encourages and expects most students to make the step up from school to college to university to get a degree. It comes as no surprise then that we have more and more intelligent university graduates who naturally want to make it big in the world and make their way up the corporate ladder as soon as possible. Especially with the instability of the job market, students are in a rat race to get their foot in the door of a multinational firm before it s too late. The repercussion of such an ambitious drive to make it to the top is the increasing problem of stress. The Samaritans UK reported that more and more people in the age group 16-24 are facing stress and anxiety. The days have gone when the teenage and university years were years of stress-free life rather, the pressures of getting a top degree with which to get a leading job is stressing people out as young as the age of seventeen. The highest anxiety for UK teenagers is to have to choose which university and career to pursue at such a young age. When a successful applicant makes it on to the corporate ladder things don t become plain sailing from then on. Rather, that s where the headaches really start. Companies and their bosses in particular are always trying to get the most out of their personnel at the least cost price. Entry level workers often have to work twelve hour days and are expected to be expert at multitasking. The result is that workers have to concentrate on a hundred and one things at the same time writing up reports, answering phone calls, having conversations with their colleagues, sending emails, and taking lunch all at the same time. This is on top of any worries that they are carrying in their mind from home, such as the pressures of raising a family, arguments in relationship with a spouse or neighbours, paying the bills and so on and so forth. What is the result of such multi-tasking madness? The BBC ran a story about research from computing firm Hewlett Packard that reports that workers that are being distracted by email and phone calls suffer from a fall in IQ more than twice that found in marijuana smokers! The study, which was carried out at the Institute of Psychiatry, found excessive use of technology reduced workers intelligence. It s ironic that the original aim of multitasking was to increase the workers productivity, but such shortterm increases in productivity come at the cost of long-term productivity because the intelligence, the source of the worker s ability in the first place, is damaged. Neurological studies have shown that the brain does not operate optimally while multitasking. Expert neuroscientists say that when it comes to handling two things at once, the brain is fast, but not fast enough. However company bosses tend to make the mistaken assumption that the brain is just like a computer that can multitask without being affected. Rene Marois, a Professor of Psychology, gives an example, People think using a handset with their cell phone while driving is safe, but it s not because they are still doing two cognitively demanding tasks at once. In other words, a graphic example of the dangers of multitasking is one minute someone is saving time by discussing work matters on the mobile while they re driving to work and next minute an explosive car crash puts an end to their multitasking, their job and their life in one swipe. Is it really worth it after all? Long before modern scientific research, the Vedic scriptures have explained that the brain works best when it is fixed on one task. Krishna Himself says in the Bhagavad Gita that the best form of intelligence is one-pointed intelligence, whereas intelligence that branches out into many topics is weak. The Vedas describe that the best way to unlock the maximum potential from the ability of the brain and intelligence is by meditation. Meditation is the focus of all thoughts on one point. Research by Harvard Medical University suggests that meditation is especially good for relieving stress, because it decreases the heart rate, blood pressure, skin temperature and the amount of oxygen used by the body. Today s hardworking and intelligent young professionals would be making a wise choice by looking into the benefits of meditation, and perhaps adopting mantra meditation as a daily practice. Such daily meditation, also known as japa, has the potential to add a fulfilling dimension to our lives. Indeed, for some, the time spent chanting the Hare Krishna mantra is the most relishable part of the day. Page 6
Leadership Evolution Recently Nandagopa das took over from Jay Shetty as the president of IPS. Jay shares with us his experiences as the group s leader and Nandagopa outlines his vision for the future. Jay has headed up the group since 2006 and his major successes have included the launch of IPS music album 24, the summer trips to Northern Ireland, Belgium and Italy as well as the Janmashtami exhibitions 24 and One Way. Jay commented I would like to humbly thank all the devotees who, by their causeless mercy, supported me in my endeavours to render some service. I have had some wonderful experiences, built up some great friendships and learnt many valuable life skills during my time as the leader of IPS. I will be focusing on successfully completing the course and further expanding the very successful Krishna Consciousness Society based there. I will be serving in the youth team based at the Soho temple as well. Nandagopa das Nandagopa joined IPS in 2002. He became president at his university s Krishna Consciousness Society in 2004, completed the Bhaktivedanta Manor sabbatical training programme in 2005, entered the grhasta ashram (married life) in 2006 and received spiritual initiation from His Holiness Radhanath Swami in 2007. He currently works as an associate Nandagopa has been actively involved in various IPS projects including university programmes, Jammins, festival plays, pantos and international summer trips. Nandagopa remarked In our youth we have the capacity to be energetic, bold, dynamic and innovative in everything we do. If that passion is channelled in the right way and used in the service of the Lord, many wonderful things can happen. Proof of this can be found in ISKCON s own movement which grew rapidly some young boys and girls who did everything they could to assist Srila Prabhupada. Today those same boys and girls have become the leaders we all know and love. It was under their guidance and inspiration that IPS was set up in 1994 and it is by their blessings the group continues to go from strength to strength. 15 years on - what does the future hold? Let s see what Krishna has planned, but in my opinion, IPS is all about getting involved in exciting projects, meeting some cool people, developing a deeper understanding of life, learning new skills and most importantly having fun! Krishna is the supreme enjoyer - He loves having fun and his devotees have just as much fun! So if you want to act? Sing? Dance? Eat? Chill? Manage? Discuss? Think? Play? Write? Build? Cook? Create?... IPS will help you add Krishna and experience real happiness. Miss it...miss out! Chandrika Punitharajasingam Age: 24 Studied: BSc (Hons) Mathematics (Queen Mary, University of London) Currently: Completing Mathematics PGCE to teach to 11-18 year olds (Goldsmiths, University of London) What made you start attending IPS events? I joined a few faith societies at university and found that the Krishna Consciousness society gave me a lot of food for thought and everything I heard sounded too good to miss out on. The people I met were genuine and caring, hence I started to attend more events they do! What did you find appealing about KC? hearing interfaith debates and seeing how the KC philosophy answers all sorts of question with logic and intellectual arguments. But what moved me was seeing devotees service attitude - it wasn t just that the philosophy was good but it was changing people s hearts, and this I d never seen anywhere else before. What services are you currently involved in? Assisting the girls team with university preaching and IPS s Mentorship System. Interesting fact about yourself At both Queen Mary and Goldsmiths, I was requested to be on their college prospectuses, shoot by Goldsmiths College. This will be used in recruitment material to encourage people into teaching maths. Jammin is a fortnightly youth event organised and facilitated by IPS Forthcoming Jammins: 29/05 - Harrow - Dead and Gone 05/06 - East - Cultism Vs Spiritualism 06/06 - Crawley - The Three Gates to Hell 12/06 - Harrow - Moral Combat 19/06 - East - Kick You in the Face 20/06 - Crawley - War, Religion and Terrorism 26/06 - Harrow - Soul Jam For more details see wwww.psena.com Subject to change
Weekend Warriors On Saturday 9th May, Temple residents, Pandava Sena, general congregation members and the Saturday Lunchtime Hari Nama Party came together for the first Weekend Warrior expedition. After inspirational words from Visvambhar das and Tattvavit das, over forty devotees drove to Reading in a fleet of ten cars. On that day they performed a total of five hours of Hari Nama and distributed 300 of Srila Prabhupada s books to interested public. The distribution of his spiritual books was very dear to ISKCON s founder Srila Prabhupada. Many devotees love to take part but find it hard to find the time or courage. Therefore, Weekend Warriors has been formed in order to give more devotees the opportunity to get involved. The team dedicates the second Saturday of every month to public chanting processions (Hari Nama) and book distribution in local towns. The next Weekend Warriors event will take place on Saturday 13th June. For more information contact Sutapa das: sutapa@krishnatemple.com College of Vedic Studies 13 June Indian Head Massage 13 June Henna 27 June Mantra Meditation 4 July Ayurveda for women 4 July Vastu 11 July Happy Healthy Back through Yoga 18 July Vedic Astrology 18 July Essential Teachings of the Bhagavad Gita To book a place phone Nila Madhava dasi on 01923 851010 or email covs@krishnatemple.com Grassroots Interfaith Invited by Yamuna Soto, the interfaith group Grassroots had a memorable experience at Bhaktivedanta Manor. Sounds for the Soul 24 hours of non-stop devotional music and song erupted as Sacinandana Swami and expert kirtaneers from around the world converged on the city of Birmingham over the weekend of 23-24 May. The event was held at the Sri Balaji Temple community hall and was organised by ISKCON Birmingham. Calendar - dates for your diary June 2009 Wed 3rd Bhima Nirjala Ekadasi (total fast, if you have broken any ekadasi) Fri 5th Panihati Cida Dahi Utsava (Chipped Rice Festival) Fri 19th Yogini Ekadasi Mon 22nd Disapp of Sri Gadadhara Pandit & Srila Bhaktivinode Thakura (fasting till noon) July 2009 Thu 2nd Sayana Ekadasi Sat 18th Kamika Ekadasi Sunday 28th June Bhaktivedanta Manor Dharam Marg Hilfield Lane Aldenham Herts WD25 8EZ 01923 851000 www.krishnatemple.com Please send your news, photos and comments to Radha Mohan das at: newsletter@krishnatemple.com Page 8 2009 All articles & photographs copyright of Bhaktivedanta Manor