"Kripamoya is one of the most well-known devotees in the UK. A disciple of Srila Prabhupada since the early seventies, he is a great singer and kirtana leader, and travels extensively to preach Krishna consciusness . His current role is that of facilitator for the many nama hatta groups in Southern England, and editor of the national congregational newsletter.

Kripamoya is based at Bhaktivedanta Manor."

Kripamoya prabhu has published two articles about congregaional development in ISKCON Communications Journal:

• Congregational Development In ISKCON, and
• Congregation in Conflict

His newsletters will be published at namahatta.org under Vaishnava News. Inside this article you'll find the first one.

Update on the Situatuation in Russia:

You find an update on the public outcry a Russian-Orthodox Archbishop's comments about Lord Krishna being an "evil demon" are causing here, at Kurma's Blog. Kurma prabhu is a famous ISKCON-chef who holds vegetarian cooking-classes all over the world and publishes a personal blog, dealing with cooking and other issues.

Vaishnava Newsletter

Compiled by Kripamoya Das

Moscow: India's PM gets involved

The struggles of the 5000-strong Vaishnava community in Russia's capital city of Moscow took a new political twist over the last week, which saw the issue reach an international level.

When devotees last year vacated the temple building they'd occupied for 14 years it was demolished following firm, written promises from the city government of a new site and permission to build a new temple. The Mayor of Moscow, Mr. Yuri Luzhkov, having promised the devotees a new site, later found some discrepancies with his written agreement and subsequently refused them permission for both a new temple and the site.

The devotees now have only a few portakabins on a site they no longer have permission to use. It was rumoured that the Mayor might have been influenced by certain figures in Russia's national Church, only just emerging from decades of oppression itself and consequently anxious to establish its former position.

When the Russian Vaishnavas and the Russian Orthodox Church recently met head-to-head in a live televised debate on a popular programme, the television viewers were asked to vote by telephone as to who they thought had a most convincing argument: the Russian Church, which said that the devotees were unpatriotic and not part of Russian culture, or the devotees, who argued that since every one of the 5,000 Vaishnavas in Moscow was actually Russian, this made Krishna consciousness a substantial spiritual movement of the Russian people. The devotees, who are well known and popular in Moscow, attracted the most votes as the public thought they should get their temple.

Rubbing salt into the fresh wound of the Mayor's refusal earlier last week was Orthodox Archbishop Nikon who, in a public letter to the Mayor, demanded that he not give in to public opinion and continue to refuse permission. In his outrageous November 30th letter he describes Krishna as: "an evil demon, the personified power of Hell opposing God," and further requested the Mayor to ban construction of the proposed temple in Moscow saying it would otherwise become: "an idolatrous
disgrace erected for the glory of wicked and malicious 'god' Krishna". He added:

"Construction of the temple to Krishna offends our religious feelings and insults the thousand-year religious culture of Russia."

The letter was forwarded by ISKCON to Doordarshan TV, India's national station, who decided to make an emergency one-hour feature programme of it. They showed scenes of the demolition and congregation members crying in the street, then cut to a live interview with Moscow's spiritual leader Bhakti Vijnana Goswami by satellite van in a street in Vrindavan, India (something unheard of in this remote and holy place). They then interviewed the Foreign Secretary of India who was asked what he was going to do about this outrage. Subsequently, the Prime Minister of India, Mr. Manmohan Singh promised he would bring the issue up with Vladimir Putin during a state visit to Russia this week (Dec 4th -8th)

The Archbishop's comments took many by surprise, particularly because he and the Church have experienced State persecution throughout the 70-year Communist rule. Now, however, they are anxious to prove that they are the one national form of religious expression. Unfortunately, the behaviour of this particular man, and those who support him, is a demonstration of what happens when religious feelings and nationalism mix.

Yet if Vaishnavism is merely "Indian," and as such not in Russia's interest, the Church has another problem. India and Russia have enjoyed good relations throughout the Cold War and consequently there are many economic, educational, political and military connections between the two countries. A slap in the face for 'Hare Krishna Hinduism' and the broken promises for a new Krishna temple - the only one of its kind in Russia - has now been interpreted as a slap to the 15,000 Hindus living in Russia and the majority religion of India. The demolition of the temple was quoted by the U.S. Department of State in its annual International Religious Freedom Report among instances of religious intolerance against Hindus and other religious minorities in Russia.

The Vaishnava community worldwide hopes and prays that when the two leaders sit down to talk of trade this week they will also talk of religious freedom and of this situation particularly.

Jaganatha Temple Ponders Entrance Policy

BHUBANESWAR, INDIA, November 25, 2005: Will January 2006 bring cheer to non-Indian devotees of Krishna who have so far been refused entrance to the Shri Jagannatha Temple in Puri, Orissa on the east coast of India?

Well, it just might. The town of Puri is home to Jaganatha and the annual million-strong festival of Rathayatra. Although the followers of Srila Prabhupada have introduced the Lord's colourful chariot festival to cities all over the world, none of them has so far been allowed to enter the temple because they were not born in India.

Finally, things may be changing. All those who have a say in the matter are set to assemble at Muktimandap of Shri Jaganatha Temple and take a decision on the centuries-old tradition. As a heated debate rages whether to or not to allow Hindus, Buddhists and Jains of foreign origin into the Hindu temples, most particularly the 12th Century Shri Jaganatha Temple, Puri Shankaracharya Nischalananda Saraswati is expected to convene a meeting with the Gajapati Maharaja of Puri, Sevayats (servitors), temple administration and the Government representatives to discuss the issue by the end of December. Sources close to Shankaracharya, who is on a religious trip outside the State, said, he is aware of the development and is keen to sort it out in consultation with the stakeholders.

"He will return to Puri by the last week of December and would initiate the discussions immediately,'' sources said emphatically. The move of the Shankaracharya assumes significance as he heads Muktimandap, which is the apex decision-making body of the temple and whose verdict is also accepted by other Hindu temples and places of worship. Even Hindu organizations like Vishwa Hindu Parishad have called for relaxation of the tradition and allowing Hindus, Buddhists and Jains of non-Indian origin to enter the Jaganatha Temple.

Preachers to Be:700,000 viewers.

Channel 4's two-part 'Preachers to Be,' a programme revealing the educational process for Christians, Muslims and Hindus learning to be priests, has been generally considered a success by all involved. To the devotee community it was great publicity that presented viewers with a favourable impression of the lives of young devotees (apart from one quirky scene of a young monk talking about his underwear, that is!) and reached some 700,000 people on a Saturday night.

To the programme makers it was a good show that received great feedback and was chosen as 'Pick of the Day' by several reviewers in its first week. When I spoke to director Ken Kirby his only regret was that the 300 hours of footage had to be edited down to two one-hour programmes rather than the three parts originally planned.

He'd spent almost two years bringing it to fruition accompanying devotees to India and basically having a great time with them. For the 'premiere' broadcast he'd brought his family out to Bhaktivedanta Manor where it was shown live on a large screen in the theatre. He was back for the second week, again with his family, and after discussing all the devotee's comments he and his wife and children enjoyed a wedding feast.

One of the Channel 4 programme commissioners said that she'd been moved to tears during the 'Robing ceremony' where a young devotee receives his saffron cloth and a lively kirtan takes place in Srila Prabhupada's rooms at the Manor.

Initially the television company had been curiously reluctant to have the 'Hare Krishnas' as the 'Hinduism' section of the programmes. However, this was settled after lengthy explanations from
Haridham das, ISKCON's communications person, who convinced the Channel 4 people that the saffron-robed youngsters were part of a tradition that went beyond Oxford Street, and beyond 'the Sixties.'

Scenes of devotees conducting traditional weddings and funerals will have helped many thousands of people to understand the full extent of the Vaishnava community's pastoral and spiritual activities.

Story of God: only one point of view.

Fronted by Professor Lord Robert Winston this Sunday evening programme was quite a watchable presentation of the history of how different civilisations have understood God, and of the 'development' of monotheism, the notion that only one God exists. Well, at least I didn't cringe too much until the second half.

It followed the now obligatory historical-geographical path from what is now Iraq through Sumeria and Mesopotamia through to the beginnings of the Hebraic culture. Then of course, we cut to India where the notion of one God - or is that millions of gods - developed much later than in the Middle East. Oh dear, I thought, when will 'Hinduism' be credited with something approaching the right dates? It got worse when Mr. Dilip Lakhani was introduced to the viewers as a 'Hinduism expert.'

Now Professor Winston - obviously an intelligent scientist but not a theology expert - did try to introduce viewers to the idea that the term Hinduism incorporates two distinct schools of thought and that only one of them actually believes that the impersonal 'One-ness' is the supreme reality. But in introducing Mr. Lakhani as the expert he really highlighted the school that perhaps made more immediate sense to him.

Far from being an unbiased academic, Mr. Dilip Lakhani is actually the founder and director of the Vivekananda Centre, as much known for teaching the complete Vedas as the Pope is known for teaching Islam.

But of course, the Professor wasn't about to get into the differences between Mayavada and Vaishnava philosophy with a teatime audience on a Sunday evening. So he and his programme advisers chose someone whose message seemed to substantiate the easy-to-chew idea that "all
the gods are actually one."

By the end of the series I can safely predict that the Professor will have reduced God from Objective Reality to Subjective Illusion produced 'somewhere in the limbic system of the brain'. In the middle and lower portions of the temporal lobes to be precise. That he has to end the 'Story of God' with such a disheartening and soul-destroying concept will no doubt be faithful to what he and others understand as the 'evolution of ideas', its just that we as Vaishnavas don't agree that a modern theory should be allowed to eclipse a so-called ancient one, simply because it is new.

To reduce the soul and God to a series of neural firings and hormonal interchanges within the brain is to try to present the effect as the cause - popular science but just not good sense.

By Kripamoya das.