namahatta.org - Congregational Development Ministry

World Holy Name Festival 2010 is from September 17 - October 2, 2010.
Please read through for the full message from H.G Ekalavya prabhu.

Fourth Annual BBT Art Seminar now open for registration

The BBT will be holding its fourth annual art seminar in Vrindavana, India,
from November 5 25, 2010. Once again, the seminar will led by veteran ISKCON
artists Dhriti Dasi and Ramdas Abhirama Dasa, teaching both new and repeat
students practical techniques as well as the mood essential in producing
devotional art.

Global warming..... green-house gas emission..... jargons that we all are hearing very frequently.
what is the primary cause of global warming? is it industrial pollution? or, is it transportation?

The answer is No..........

Recently, Food and Agriculture organisation(FAO), an important wing of the United Nations, estimated that meat production accounts for 18% of green-house gas emissions, which all the more reiterates the importance of promoting vegetarianism.

Here is an interesting article on how, by becoming a veggie, one can help combat the climate change.

Read on...
http://ecocentric.blogs.time.com/2010/08/16/how-to-feed-the-world-by-going-veggie

By Vijaya das

World Sankirtan newsletter for the month of June 2010 has been published for the pleasure of Srila Prabhupada

The devotees of ISKCON of Silicon Valley (ISV) in San Jose are still glowing after recently completing the annual Bhaktivinoda Thakur Monthly Sankirtan Festival. They set for themselves the daunting goal of mobilizing 300 book distributors, but when the dust settled a record 556 people had gone out, with a net result of over 10,000 books distributed and over $18,000 collected in donations!

On July 17th I interviewed His Grace Vaisesika Das Adhikari, the architect and mastermind of this innovative approach of facilitating broad, congregational participation in book distribution by holding various Monthly Sankirtan Festivals (MSFs) throughout the year.

courtesy - dandavats.com

Srila Prabhupada taught that each of us should cultivate a mood of service
rather than finding faults in others. If someone acts wrongly, and we become
disturbed by it, that discloses our own flaw. We should instead think in
what way we can positively contribute to the situation and to the community,
so that these wonderful timeless teachings of the Lord are exemplified for
the benefit of all.

The same point has been stressed by His Holiness Romapada Swami Maharaja
to a devotee, when the devotee tells maharaj the difficulties that he had
been facing while associating with other devotees. H.H Romapada swami
maharaja very nicely explains the whole point of cultivating a mood of
service rather than finding faults in others.

Read on....

-Kaunteya das

On 16 May 2010, Aksaya Tritiya (traditionally considered a very auspicious
day to begin something - it is said that whatever one starts on this day
will have inexhaustible results), I was asked to hand over the Siksa Program
certificates to the congregational members of Sri Sri Radha Rasa-bihari
Temple, ISKCON Juhu, Mumbai.

-kaunteya das

A quiz for you:

In 1972 Srila Prabhupada wrote the local GBC: "I have just received one
letter from the black devotees in Cleveland who wish start their own ISKCON
Center independently of the white devotees there."

What Srila Prabhupada wrote the local GBC? What instruction Srila Prabhupada
gave him?

-Kasya das

ISKCON Congregational Development Ministry course given by HG. Kaunteya Prabhu

Siligury, May 6 – 9, 2010

Four day seminar took place in peaceful Siligury ISKCON temple Sri Sri Radha Madhava Sundar Mandir. 35 devotee leaders and preachers from different parts of North-east India ISKCON centers attended.

-Gauranga Vihari das

15 & 16 May - AKSHAYA TRITIYA 2010
SRI SRI GAUR NITAI SRI MURTHI STHAPANA MAHOTSAVA
SRI JAGANNATH MANDIR KUALA LUMPUR, MALAYSIA

This 16th of May, on the most auspicious tithi of Akshaya Tritiya, Sri Jagannath Mandir Kuala Lumpur (SJMKL), one of the largest and most active centres in Malaysia, is privileged to host a rare and very special event - the grand unveiling and installation festival of our new marble deities of the most munificent, magnanimous and enchanting forms Sri Krsna Caitanya Mahaprabhu and Sri Nityananda Ram

-Vijay Venugopal Dasa and Prema Padmini Devi Dasi

We were invited to speak at the Bhakti Sangam retreat of Lokanath Swami Maharaja, at Chokhi Dhoni,near Pune.

-Kaunteya das

I read this passage in Srila Prabhupada's purport to Srimad-Bhagavatam 7.1.12:"Ordinarily a murderer is hanged, and in the Manu-samhita it is said that a king bestows mercy upon a murderer by killing him, thus saving him from various kinds of suffering. Because of his sinful activities, such a murderer is killed by the mercy of the king."It reminded me of an article I had written on the death penalty,a couple of years ago: "Death Penalty: A Potential PR Nightmare?" which you can find here: http://www.dandavats.com/?p=4885

At that time I was surprised how a good number of comments were based on sentiment, on current humanistic views, or on plain ignorance; and not - how one would expect from Vaisnavas - on solid sastric reasoning.

By Vijaya das

Hare Krsna Prabhus,

Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Srila Prabhupada.

Many devotees are now returning from India after their pilgrimage to the
holy dhama. Srila Prabhupada wanted the sankirtan devotees to go to
India to get inspiration and then go back to their countries with
greater strength to spread the sankirtan movement of Sri Caitanya
Mahaprabhu. We had nice sankirtan meetings in Mayapur, with devotees
from Russia (Ambarish Prabhu), Italy (Anakadundubhi Prabhu) , Finland
(Tatvavad
Prabhu), England (Vishvambhara Prabhu), and the USA (Paramesvara and myself)
giving inspiring talks about book distribution. Radhanatha Swami, Devamrta
Swami, and Gopal Krsna Maharaja also blessed us with their realizations
during
the sankirtan seminars.

Issued by the Governing Body Commission of the International Society for
Krishna Consciousness

The following link contains a letter from the Executive Committee, a
transcription of the conversation of 8 October 1977 between Srila Prabhupada
and Narayana Maharaja (Bengali with English translation), and an analysis.

The Last Conversation

-kaunteya das

I am preparing for a four-day course that I will present in May, in ISKCON
Juhu, Mumbai, to the Western India participants of the ISKCON LEADS
trainings - some 40 devotees from various temples. The title of the workshop
is "Building Vibrant Vaisnava Communities" and I will be teaching it with my
"co-Minister of the ISKCON Congregational Development Ministry" hat on.