bhaktivedanta manor newsletter january 2011

8/3/2019 Bhaktivedanta Manor Newsletter January 2011

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January

2011

Dedicated to His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, Founder-Acharya of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness

Srila Prabhupada:

...by supplying food to the

stomach the senses are

automatically satisfied. If

one tries to feed his eyes

or ears independently, the

result is only havoc. Simply

by supplying food to the

stomach, we satisfy all of the

senses...The conclusion is that

by serving Krishna (krishna-seva), everything is complete.

As confirmed in Caitanya-

caritamrta: If one is engaged

in the devotional service of the

Lord, the Supreme Personality

of Godhead, everything is

automatically accomplished.

Srimad Bhagavatam 4.31.14

purport

On Sunday 21st November hundreds of

volunteers from Bhaktivedana Manors

community came together for National

Seva Day. In partnership with Hertsmere

Borough Council and Hertsmere Forum

of Faiths, many volunteers worked

together to serve the local community.

The inspiration came from MitzvahDay, a Jewish led initiative to volunteer

time to good causes. Whatever name

you call it by, Seva or Mitzvah, the

essence is selfless community service,

explained Bhaktivedanta Manor

President Srutidharma das.

Volunteers donned their wellies, put

on their gloves and joined other faith

groups to begin to transform the

overgrown Rose Field (near Tabard

Rugby Club on Watling Street in

Radlett) into a communal picnic area.

A big thanks to everyone involved,

said James Clappison MP, who

attended the work in Radlett. This is a

wonderful project and a good example

to others.

Another group of Manor volunteers

helped to pick up litter in two parks in

Borehamwood: Maxwell Hillside Park

and Parkfields. Many helped to clean up

the New Gokul farm at Bhaktivedanta

Manor, Britains leading centre for cow

protection and working oxen.

Serving with a smile on National Seva Day

...continued on page 4


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Bhaktivedanta Manor Newsletter January 2011

Winter Marathon 2010Over the course of 2010, between

ten and fifteen devotees based at

Bhaktivedanta Manor travelled

around the country distributing the

transcendental literature of Srila

Prabhupada to the general public.

During the month of December

however, these efforts were stepped-up

as the Winter Marathon commenced.

Many devotees spent between eight

and twelve hours a day on the streets,

during the first three and a half weeks

of December, meeting people from

all walks of life, ages, and cultures,

giving them books on spirituality.

With this winter being one of the

coldest in a hundred years, the

devotees had a tough time, but they

braved the temperatures and the

sometimes unforgiving public, and

soldiered on, doing their duty. What

inspired them to carry on? For many,the opportunity to share with others

divine wisdom that changed their

own lives; for others the and to

please Srila Prabhupada during this

blessed month and for some the sheer

challenge of the cold, rain and snow.

Back at the Manor, some devotees

arranged a wonderful Marathon

Display around the altar of Srila

Prabhupada (pictured above). The

theme is based around a scriptural

reference of the very advanced

devotees being like a swans - which

are able to separate milk from water.

The devotees ability to separate

matter from spirit and focus on the

latter, makes him or her swan-like.

The large swan-wings protruding

from the Acaryas seat were not only

beautiful but each feather contained

the name of a devotee and their story

of how they received their first book.

In all, during the month of December

devotees from the Manor distributed

just short of 15,000 books. We thank

all the devotees involved for their

laudable efforts.


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Manor School embraces Interfaith Week

National Seva Day .....continued from front page Srutidharma das and LordSacks worked togetherto build bird boxes at

Canley Street NaturalPark in Kings Cross

Above: local faith leaders, James Clappison

MP, the Chair of Aldenham Parish Council Cllr

Ron Worthy and Sita Rama das of Bhaktivedanta

Manors Lotus Trust

A celebration of faith was held at Allum

Hall in Elstree as part of Interfaith

Week. Organised by the Hertsmere

Forum of Faiths the event was attended

by Manor School pupils who

mixed with local Jews, Christians

and Muslims of all ages. Theevening included music, dance,

and drama performances from

local pupils.

Children from the Manor School

charmed everyone with a play

about the importance of the

soul and the singing of the Hare

Krishna mantra. There was also

a small exhibition and mendhi (hand

decoration) workshops, something

particularly appreciated by Cllr Linda

Silver the Mayor of Hertsmere!

Food for All, volunteers from Barclays

Capital, Deutsche Bank, EY, JP Morgan,

Lloyds Banking Group and RBS joined

forces to prepare meals for Watfords

homeless community. Cooking was done

at Bhaktivedanta Manors kitchens.

Project leader Prashant Joshi, from

EYs Financial Services Performance

Improvement team commented: The

project was an overwhelming success,

with volunteers building strong bonds

between each other, working hard, and

serving the community in a powerfuland gracious way.

Each event organised was based on

at least one of the following guiding

principles:

To relieve hardship and poverty

To bring a little joy where none exists

To help the environment

Together, Mitzvah Day and National Seva

Day attracted around 20,000 volunteers

to support at least 250 projects and

initiatives across the country. While both

events were organised by faith groups,

everyone was welcomed to take part in

Mitzvah Day and National Seva Day,regardless of race, religion or belief.

Energise University Retreat

warms over 85 students on acold winters day

At the Energise Retreat in November,

students from across England managed

to beat the frost and snow to attend

an action-packed day at the Manor. It

included a wide variety of interactive

workshops and a spectacular multimedia

presentation on the Bhagavad Gita by

Ranchor Prime.

After a tasty lunch, the students were

given the opportunity to milk and feed

the cows. The final session, entitled

The Power of Sound, included mantra

meditation and kirtan (devotional song),

which brought everyone to their feet

dancing the evening away.Yogvivek Swami visits New Gokul The head of the BAPSSwaminarayan Temple in

Neasden made a special visit

to the Manors New Gokul

farm. He praised ISKCONs

unique contribution in the

area of cow protection in

the UK and expressed his

wish to see such projects set

up in other parts of the UK.


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Canary Wharf: Bhakti at the Banks Bob Blackman MP and CBPatel visit Krishna Avanti

Bob Blackman, MP for Harrow East

and C.B. Patel, the Editor of the Asian

Voice made a special visit to the Krishna

Avanti School in Edgware. In his

column in Asian Voice Bob Blackmanwrote: I saw at first hand the excellent

work undertaken to build a state of the

art school incorporating the Hindu ethos.

The children gain knowledge of all the

world religions and understand all of

the various festivals that are held. The

school is a worthy addition to all the

other excellent schools in Harrow.

11th November saw history in the making

with the first corporate sponsored event

in the financial industry to host a Gaudiya

Vaisnava sannyasi (holy renunciate). In

the heart of the UKs financial district,

Canary Wharf hosted over 200 bankers

and traders in Barclays 512-feet high

skyscraper for an evening with HisHoliness Bhakticaru Swami.

This event marked the finale of sessions

at Barclays Wealth over the past year,

which saw bankers and traders from

directors to analysts gathering fortnightly

to hear about the Vedic view on banking

from fellow banker Sri Radharamana

das. Session organiser Ashika Patel

commented: The success of our

sessions can be gleaned from the

fact that most of our attendees are

from non-Indian origins who highlyappreciate the thought-provoking

Vedic version on banking.

Bankers individually met His Holiness

and left with answers to their deepest

of questions. Many pledged to meet

him in Ujjain (India) while others felt

that he had introduced them to their

spiritual potentials.

In particular, a banker who through his

PhD in physics helped to pioneer the

Large Hadron Collider (the world'slargest and highest-energy particle

accelerator) had a lengthy dialogue

with His Holiness in German. He is

now looking forward to following

up his discussion when Bhakticaru

Swami next visits London.

Our illustrious Founder-Acarya

The Disappearance of His Divine Grace Srila Prabhupada, a day that commemorates

the passing from this world of ISKCONs illustrious Founder-Acarya, is themost introspective event in the Temple calendar. The day, which included

films, remembrances, offerings, arati and glorification was a reminder that Srila

Prabhupadas divine personality, teachings and purity continue to have a profound

impact on the lives of his disciples, and indeed on all members of ISKCON.

His Holiness Bhakti Charu Swami was the special guest and Rupa Vilasa das was

the Master of Ceremonies for the morning session. The highlight of the day included

a special performance by Bhaktivedanta Players entitled That was a Great Fight!.

The play was a dramatic portrayal of Srila Prabhupada and his disciples arduous

struggle to establish the ISKCON temple in Juhu, Bombay.


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by Krishna Dharma das

As 2011 rolls in we face cuts in public spending, huge job

losses, benefit reductions and pay freezes in almost every

sector. Its the Big Society folks, but without the Big Money.

As Government looks to local communities for new ideas to

tackle old problems with the Localism Bill, at the same time

they are scything funding to local authorities, with cuts of

almost 30% expected over the next four years.

Its looking decidedly grim in many quarters as our national

finances struggle. And struggling they are. The UK's debts in

total are 466% of annual economic output once consumer debt

is included. In other words if the country was an individual he

would almost certainly be declared bankrupt.

While we may be running short of cash, at the end of the day

it only represents materialresources. So are we

running out

of those?

I dont

think so.

All our needs

are provided by

God. We

may be

able to

p r i n t

m o n e y

but we cannot

manufacture food or

an y other natural resource.

Earth, sun, rain, fresh air,

fruits, vegetables, grains -- one

of this lies in our power to provide,

and none of it is in short supply. God

can provide unlimited amounts. All

we have to do is manage it properly

As everything comes from God it

also belongs to him. We have

no factual claim over anything.Naked came we to the world and

naked shall we

l e a v e .

F o r g e t t i n g

G o d s

proprietorship we lay claim to the world and then lay waste to

her resources; the recent Gulf of Mexico oil spill disaster being

a graphic example.

That crisis along with other market forces has seen oil prices

soaring over the past year. Its made me renew an old love

affair with the bicycle and indeed wonder if our whole high-

tech lifestyle needs a review. For sure the burgeoning demand

for material goods sweeping the world cannot be sustained.

The West, with 12% of the worlds population, accounts for

60% of private consumption spending. The undeveloped

countries are some way behind us, but they dont plan to stay

that way. TV and Hollywood have shown them a splendid

vision of the other side, and they are now jostling in the world

market place along with the rest of us. The competition looks

set to get fierce. Somethings got to give.

Maybe its time for a new approach. Government is perennially

obsessed with growing the economy, but is that helpful? They

want to see a healthy cash flow, more business, more people

working, more spending and generally more consumption all

round, but this can only exacerbate the problems we face, both

globally and personally.

The more absorbed we become in striving for material

improvement the more we neglect our spiritual lives, and

consequentially become increasingly victimised by lust and

greed. Its a vicious cycle.

We have to reduce demand, not increase it. Consume less,

bring down the fever of materialism, find a bit of inner peace.

After all, can we honestly say that having that latest car, phone

or TV has actually increased our happiness? Probably it only

increased our debt and anxiety.

The Bhagavad-gita speaks about simple living and high thinking

as the human ethic (reflected in the Lifestyle Movements

catchy live simply so everyone may simply live slogan).

Keep our external needs to a minimum and focus on finding

the divine within ourselves. There is a reservoir of pleasure in

our hearts if we only take the time to look. And to give us that

time God supplies our material needs in abundance, as long aswe do not mismanage them in a frenzy of greed.

As Gandhi said, there is enough for our needs but not for

our greed. Are we really taking only what we need? That

depends. Those advanced on the spiritual path happily survive

with minimal resources -- one or two moderate meals a day,

a few (non-designer) clothes and a simple dwelling. We may

not be quite ready for that level of frugality, but we can work

towards it by steady spiritual practise. We will definitely feel

better for it and so will the world.

And as for growing economies; thats also recommended by

Krishna in the Bhagavad-gita, although perhaps not the type of

growth sought by the government. Grow food, says Krishna.Practise religion and be happy. Its a local solution, anyone

can do it, we can grow food anywhere, and its completely

sustainable. An idea whose time cannot be far away.

Spiritual or economic growth?


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January 2011

Sat 15 Putrada EkadasiMon 24 App of Srila Gopala Bhatta;

Disapp pf Srila Jayadeva GoswamiSat 29 Sat-tila Ekadasi

February 2011

Tue 8 Vasant Pancami; App of SrilaRaghunatha Das Goswami &Srimati Visnupriya Devi;Disapp of Srila Visvanatha

Cakravarti ThakuraThur 10 Appearance of Sri Advaita

Acarya (fast till noon)Mon 14 Bhaimi Ekadasi, fasting till

noon for Varahadeva

Tue 15 Appearance of Lord VarahadevaWed 16 Appearance of Sri Nityananda

Prabhu (fast till noon)Fri 18 App of Srila Narottama Das

ThakuraTue 22 Appearance of Srila

Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Thakura(fast till noon)

Mon 28 Vijaya Ekadasi

2011, All articles & photographs copyright of Bhaktivedanta Manor

A gift to Great Ormond Street HospitalOn behalf of

B h a k t i v e d a n t a

Manors Lotus

Trust, Japa Yajna

das presented Great

Ormond Street

Hospital with

a cheque for over

3000. The funds

were raised during the

Ahimsa Charity Walk,

which took place in

Fryent Country Park

last summer.

Prime Minister receives Bhagavad GitaAt the recent Downing Street Diwalifunction Srutidharma das presented

a copy ofBhagavad Gita As It Is to

Prime Minister David Cameron.

On receiving the book the Prime

Minister said, I remember coming to

Bhaktivedanta Manor and I enjoyed

my visit immensely. I shall keep

this Bhagavad Gita in 10 Downing

Street.

Bhaktivedanta ManorDharam Marg Hilfield Lane

Aldenham Herts WD25 8EZ(for sat-nav only, please use

postcode WD25 8DT)

01923 851000www.krishnatemple.com

Please send your news, photos andcomments to Radha Mohan [email protected]

A sweet start to the New YearSri Sri Radha Gokulananda's special midnight darshan

brought a sweet start to 2011 at Bhaktivedanta Manor

as hundreds of devotees came to celebrate and offerprayers for an auspicious year ahead. As devotees

joined in the temple room kirtan, outside on the streets

of central London another kirtan party cheered up

the crowds. Headed by Parasurama das, around 70

devotees had everyone singing and dancing as

they wove their way through Oxford Street,

Trafalgar Square, Covent Garden and

Chinatown.

Wishing you a spiritually uplifting and happy new year

bhaktivedanta manor newsletter january 2011

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