|
June 19: 24-Hour Kirtan & West Virginia Day in New Vrindaban by New Vrindavan Communications Posted June 20, 2010 New Vrindaban’s fourth annual 24-hour kirtan will begin at noon on Saturday, June 19, and ending at noon on Sunday, June 20. Kirtaniyas include Sivarama Swami, Madhava (Switzerland), Gaura Vani, Ananta Govinda, Acyuta Gopi, and Amala Kirtan. For more information about the 24-hour kirtan, contact (304) 843-1600 or mail@newvrindaban.com. Also on June 19, the Palace of Gold will be one of eleven tourist attractions participating in the Marshall County West Virginia Day Tour. The West Virginia Day Tour offers free and discounted admission to tourist attractions throughout Marshall County. People who visit at least five attractions are eligible to win a 32” flat-screen TV, Apple iPad, and two four-day passes to Jamboree in the Hills. West Virginia Day is an opportunity for Marshall County to showcase its local tourist attractions, restaurants, and shops. “The Palace of Gold is excited to be part of Marshall County’s tourism committee,” said Malati Dasi, one of New Vrindaban’s GBCs. “With eleven tourist attractions participating in West Virginia Day, Marshall County is set to become a destination of interest in North America. “The Palace of Gold Rose Garden will be in full bloom for West Virginia Day,” said Malati. “People can visit the rose garden anytime and walk around the Palace exterior, free of charge. There is an admission fee, however, for a tour of the Palace interior. During West Virginia Day, we will offer discounted admission for tours of the Palace interior.” The Palace interior is decorated with thirty-one hand-made stained-glass windows. Fifty-two varieties of marble and onyx were imported from Europe, Asia and Africa to create the marble floors and walls. All the furniture is carved teakwood from India. Under the thirty-ton main dome is a 4,200 piece crystal ceiling. “The Palace is the ‘Taj Mahal of the West.’ You do not have to visit India – India has come to Marshall County. The Palace is drawing visitors from all across North America.”
For participants of West Virginia Day, admission to the Palace of Gold will be discounted to $5 for adults and $2 for children. For more information about the Palace of Gold, contact (304) 843-1812 or www.PalaceOfGold.com.
We are celebrating a federal economic stimulus package that supports prasadam distribution. The Govinda's Restaurant in Tucson, Arizona is one of the newest recipients of federal funds from the Obama administration. Due to budget cuts at senior centers throughout Arizona, providing nutritious meals for seniors had become challenging.
As a result, The Pima Council on Aging arranged for seniors to eat meals at Govinda's, because they wanted a place for the seniors to go to get a healthy meal in an uplifting environment. Govinda’s was chosen because of its beautiful gardens, wildlife and spiritual atmosphere, as well as nutritious meals at a reasonable price.
Now many aging citizens come to Govinda’s to dine on the Lord's mercy, and Uncle Sam picks up the tab. That's what I call fulfilling the real duty of the government for its citizens.
|
Swan Boat Festivals by New Vrindavan Communications Posted August 5, 2010
“The Swan Boat Festivals are pure elegance,” says Bhakta Gerald Yule from Elm Gove, WV. This year, Bhakta Gerald has the unique privilege of navigating the Swan Boat across New Vrindaban’s Swan Lake every Saturday night, from Mother’s Day weekend to Labor Day weekend. “The Swan Boat is one-of-a-kind. For a few years, the devotees used to enter the Swan Boat in parades and festivals in Wheeling, Charleston, Pittsburgh, and other places. The Swan Boat always won a prize.”
The 15-foot, 3,000 pound Swan Boat was created in 1987 by local artist Soma dasa of New Vrindaban. Swans are a common feature in Vedic art, which is based on the ancient Vedic scriptures of India. In the ancient Sanskrit language of the Vedas, a swan is called a “hamsa,” and a spiritually enlightened person is called a “paramahamsa.” The Vedas explain that swans have the ability to “separate milk from water.” Thus, if milk and water are mixed into a bowl, a swan will drink the milk and leave the water. Similarly, a self-realized soul has the ability to distinguish spirit from matter, and he accepts what is spiritual and rejects what is material. The founder of New Vrindaban Community, His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, is recognized world-wide as a paramahamsa.
The Swan Boat Festival begins at approximately 9:15 pm with a torchlight procession, during which Lord Krishna is carried from the temple to the nearby boat house on Swan Lake. “There is always singing and dancing during the parade, with a mix of traditional Indian instruments and western instruments,” explains Bhakta Gerald enthusiastically. “It is a style of music called ‘kirtan,’ which originated in ancient India but is currently becoming trendy in the US and Europe.”
After Lord Krishna reaches the boat house, he is then offered his seat on the boat. Yule then boards the swan carrier and artfully glides across Swan Lake in figure eight’s. “I put the boat in neutral a few times so that the crowd can take photos of Lord Krishna. I crouch down inside the boat so that I become invisible to the camera.”
People from across the US travel to New Vrindaban to attend the Swan Boat Festival, which lasts between 30 – 45 minutes. “I personally talked with two different groups from New York and Toronto who traveled to New Vrindaban by coach bus,” says Bhakta Gerald. “They drove in Saturday morning, and stayed overnight at the Palace Lodge. They scheduled their trip so they could attend the Swan Boat Festival.”
In addition to the Saturday night festivals, the Swan Boat makes extra outings for special occasions such as Janmastami. Janmastami marks the day, approximately 5,000 years ago, on which Lord Krishna descended from the spiritual world to the planet Earth. New Vrindaban will hold four separate Janmastami celebrations due to the high volume of out-of-town guests who will visit. During all four Janmastami celebrations, the Swan Boat Festival will have the added feature of a brilliant fireworks display over the lake.
Here is the schedule for the Swan Boat Festival for the remainder of 2010. The festival is from approximately 9:15 – 10:00 pm.
Saturday, July 31 “I want to make the Swan Boat Festivals even better next year,” declares Bhakta Gerald. “This winter, I am going to re-paint the boat as well as Lord Krishna’s seat. After that, I am going to work on re-decorating the Swan Boat.”
New Vrindaban Community is located south of Moundsville – Wheeling, off Route 250. For more information about the Swan Boat Festivals, contact (304) 843-1600 or mail@NewVrindaban.com.
Often the word ``retreat`` denotes rest and relaxation. This year´s Vaisnavi Retreat in Vrajabhumi Asram, Brazil did afford devotees the opportunity to take a break from the fast-paced life of work and Rio de Janeiro gridlock. Yet the twenty devotees who joined the two-day program were treated to a feast of devotional activity. The two prominent R&Rs were ``recharge`` and ``rev-up.``
Held over the last weekend in May (chilly in this part of the world!), the theme of the sanga intended to challenge devotee women to understand their unique contribution to the Hare Krsna movement. Balancing philosophical talks with creative arts, the devotees sought to explore their potential and expand their understanding of the breadth of bhakti-yoga. The workshops and talks were conducted in an interactive style to encourage devotees to develop confidence and conviction in assimilating the message of the scriptures. Preaching as a way of life was very much emphasized throughout the presentations.
The Vaisnavi Retreat was inspired my experience of preaching in Brazil. This is my first visit to South America, and I´ve been so thrilled by how loving and enthusiastic the devotees here are. In my eagerness to have more of their association, I asked two leaders of the Rio de Janeiro temple, Vaisnava Krpa devi dasi and Sukhayanti devi dasi, to help plan a weekend filled with hari-katha, kirtana and lots of fun. Their good planning and publicity skills yeilded a program that was instructive and inspiring.
Seminars addressed the hows and whys women must care for their health. Vaisnava Krpa devi dasi lent her expertise in the field of wellness to a very informative dialogue linking the needs of the body and mind to a devotee´s long-term goal of uninterrupted devotional service.
I gave a class detailing how women´s contribution to the preaching mission are required. In a workshop led by Srimati devi dasi, a senior member of the Rio yatra, devotees were taught how to make a beautiful, balanced flower arrangement. After the workshop we took our creations and lovingly offered them to Sri Sri Krsna-Balaram. In the evening we were treated to a wonderfully devotional presentation by Sukhayanti devi dasi. She explained in a beautiful slideshow, the scenes desribed by Srila Krsna das Kaviraja Goswami in his song Nama Sankirtana (``Jaya Radhe, Jaya Krsna, Jaya Vrindavan`).
Bhaktin Aurea, a well-loved and active preacher in Brazil, spoke about her amazing plans to start an asrama for travelling preachers. During her talk, we spoke about how essential it is for devotees to support maverik projects with money and resources. In the previous evening, we had a very lively panel discussion revealing the challenges of working within our institution. Our experiences are very diverse, and every devotee was called upon to individually respond to a series of questions about how we cope with obstacles of sexism, loneliness and lack of recognition.
Two other seminars brought the devotees to a deeper understanding of the arts in Vedic culture: Lila Shakti devi dasi, a most exalted devotee and a professional peformance artist, led us in a series of exercises meant to enhance our concentration on Radha-Krsna. And Bhaktin Rosana, one of Rio´s most friendly and spirited devotees, gave a fantastic presentation on the historical and spiritual significance of mendhi. Then she allowed us to play with the mendhi, and each of us got a beautiful design to decorate our hands.
``I was so pleased that the retreat was so organized and professional,`` said Premananda devi dasi from Brasilia. The weekend proved to be a first step in bringing devotees together to enhance our individual and collective Krsna consciousness. It certainly was a weekend that brought together friends old and new for chanting, dancing, remembering Krsna and feeling happy.
I am happy to inform you about the upcoming Japa Retreat being held in Villa Vrindavana, this coming July. I am also excited because this will be the first Japa Retreat in Italy. The Japa Retreat is a four day total immersion in your relationship with the holy name. It is a powerful way to make major improvements to your chanting and increase your taste for the holy name. The Japa Retreat is designed to take your chanting to a whole new level and thus strengthen and inspire your Krishna consciousness in new and profound ways. Why a Japa Retreat? The Japa Retreat was developed by His Holiness Sacinandana Swami to help devotees go deeper into their chanting--and thus deeper into their relationship with Krishna. Seeing how easy it is to take our chanting for granted, Maharaja saw the need to create an ideal environment for devotees to get the most out of their chanting, to overcome bad habits, and to begin to deeply relish the holy names in ways that would have a transforming effect on them. The Japa Retreat is that ideal environment. The retreat is held at a retreat center where participants spend five days and four nights absorbed in the holy name, living far away from the distractions of daily life. It is rejuvenating, enlivening, and transforming. It is the ideal environment for the Holy Name to reveal Himself to you in a special and memorable way. What Can You Expect? Participants commonly report that they:
When and Where is the Retreat?
July 4-8, 2010 Facilitate by Yajna Purusha das & Purusha-sukta das (from Bhagavat Life, facilitators for Japa Retreats in US) What are the Costs and What is Included? Early Registration by May 23, 2010: 175 Euros per person Standard Registration from May 24 to May 31, 2010: 190 Euros per person Late Registration from June 1 to June 25, 2010: 203 Euros per person Includes accomodation for 4 nights, 4 lunch meals of healthy and delicious prasada in Govinda's restaurant, temple breakfast and evening milk, facilitation, etc. It doesn't include June 4 lunch meal (just prior the begining of the retreat), and Govinda's will be open in the evening, in case you prefer to take a complete meal or pizza instead of simple temple milk and cookies. Contact Us
For more information or if you have any questions about registration:
Sri Lalita dasi Let me end with one inspirational quote from Srila Prabhupada: "When one realizes that the holy name of the Lord is identical with the Supreme Person, he becomes completely eligible to chant the holy name of the Lord. Such an ecstatic chanter (and dancer) must be considered to have a direct relationship with the Lord." (Cc Adi 7.73, purp) I sincerely hope that you can join us for the Japa Retreat in February. Please come! Your servant,
Sri Lalita Dasi Testimonials I can honestly say that the Japa Retreat was one of the most profound experiences of my life. The benefits from the experience have continued until today, and I expect them to continue forever. Giriraja Swami The Japa Retreat was and continues to be one of the most meaningful and impacting events of my life. Never before had I experienced an actual taste for the chanting and a realization of fact that chanting is a way to have direct association with Lord Krishna through His sound. Chanting used to be a task to be completed every day but now I actually look forward to spending time with Krishna each morning. Rasa Acharya Das (Gurukuli) I have been chanting the maha-mantra for over thirty years, but this retreat has finally shown me how to chant. I have a new found appreciation for the Holy Name and His devotees. This appreciation hashad a profound effect on my spiritual life. It encouraged me so much. I feel that I now have many more true friends that can come to me in time of need and vice versa. This is true Vaishnava culture: dasa, dasa, dasa, anudasa. Every devotee should take this Japa Retreat, you will be eternally grateful. Krishnadas Kaviraja Das I feel that attending the Japa Retreat was probably the kindest thing that I have ever done for myself. As the years have gone by, I have added so many different types of activities to my life other than the simple service to Krishna I engaged in as a new devotee. I now feel that there is hope for me again and that I can once more start to experience the taste I used to have for chanting the Holy Name. It was money well spent and an excellent way to spend quality time with my husband. Gopalasya Priya Dasi My only regret is that it has taken me this long to work up the courage to attend this retreat. I came to get a taste for chanting the holy name...and I have found the company and companionship of likeminded searchers, who, collectively have blessed me with a taste to keep on aspiring to hanker for the nectar of offenseless, unconditional absorption in the holy names. Manu das (Gurukuli) I felt the same happy feelings I did when I was new to Krsna consciousness and many devotees were training me. It was a better experience than a pilgrimage to India in terms of getting what I need to be a better devotee. Karuna Dharini Dasi Everything about the Japa Retreat was transcendental and sublime: The intent, the advance organization, the facility, the subject matter, the attendees, the presenters, and the outcome. Every soul even remotely interested in advancing in Krishna consciousness should attend at least one of these Japa Retreats. And they in turn should share its glories with every life they touch. In this way, let us all inundate the planet with japa and make our lives sublime. Yamuna Devi (ACBSP) The Japa Retreat is a unique and necessary presence in ISKCON. The many festivals we attend are wonderful-always very busy and often overwhelming. For some devotees, they can distract one from facing themselves and their own internal life. The Japa Retreat is a contemplative time for self-evaluation. This process of internal reflection is a powerful one and the Retreats I have attended are among the most profound experiences of my life. That is certainly the case in terms of making a doubt-free connection with the Lord. I truly believe that this work, if carried on, can revolutionize and revitalize our movement. Yadunath Das
The Japa Retreat was the most powerful and important event in my spiritual life since my initiation 27 years ago. My faith and determination have been supercharged. The knowledge and realizations that I received from the seminars, interactive sessions and the association of devotees who are all so seriously dedicated to improving the quality of their japa have left lasting impressions on me. And the tools I acquired have already begun to propel me deeper into the transcendental experience of attentive, heartfelt chanting. The Japa Retreat is a great example of ISKCON at its best.
|
|
