namahatta.org - Congregational Development Ministry

by David Haslam

The other day I was reading an article about the preaching work done by Jehovah’s Witnesses and the Mormons compared to ISKCON devotees' book distribution. They noted that from what they could see, both were more successful in making followers, and questioned how this could be.

One focus is, what is the purpose of book distribution?

by Vasu Murti das

In 261 B.C., the Indian emperor Ashoka witnessed firsthand the innumerable casualties he caused during one of his many military campaigns. His heart was filled with grief. He converted to Buddhism. 19th century scholar and writer H.G. Wells considered Ashoka's conversion to Buddhism one of the most significant events in world history.

Ashoka, formerly a bloody and ruthless emperor, became a remarkably kind and gentle leader. Ashoka established some of the first animal rights laws. He stopped the royal hunt, stopped the sacrifice of animals in his capital city, stopped the killing of animals for food in the royal kitchens, and gave up the eating of meat. Ashoka made it illegal to kill many species of animals, such as parrots, ducks, geese, bats, turtles, squirrels, monkeys and rhinos. He forbade the killing of pregnant animals, or animals that were nursing their young. He declared certain days to be "non-killing days," on which fish could not be caught, nor any other animals killed. He established wells and watering holes, places of rest and hospitals for humans and animals alike.

The vyasa-puja of HH Prabhavisnu Maharaja was observed in the morning and Aditi Dukhaha Prabhu sang his intense kirtanas. Back at the room we found the GSM had no more memory space for taking pictures; we had to transfer them to portable USB memory via Bluetooth and delete them from the mobile phone. Using a devotee's laptop, struggling with the settings, we finally succeeded. Lunch was brought to our room by eager devotees, and we went to conduct a seminar, 'Happy Vaishnava Life,' at 5 pm.

"Your Letter of Recommendation from the outlaw bikergang, the Devil's Serpents, was certainly complimentary...but it does raise other questions."

...Why should the temple be bothered or burdened with the responsibility of being the only authorized outlet for recommending people? Any sastric evidence for such an idea, that the spiritual life of people should be somewhat negotiated only and exclusively through the administrative structures of the places of worship? In Vaisnavism we don’t have a demarcation between clergy and laity: second initiation and the privilege to directly serve the Deities are open to every member of the extended community. Why not empowering those who have come to the stage of being second initiated devotees with the opportunity to recommend candidates for initiation? Why a brahmana living outside the temple should be considered less reliable than every temple officer?

The Devil always likes to help saints 'organise' religion, and organised religion can be problematic. But without human structures, the saint's messages and good public works may not endure over the next three generations.

For thousands of years, whenever saintly people have searched for a good spot to live, they've chosen places of tranquillity, far removed from the noise and clamour of the town. In a quiet place, undisturbed by distraction or temptation, surrounded by the beauty of nature, they've said their prayers, studied their scriptures, and engaged in meditation.

Islands, deserts, mountains and forests have all been home to generations of monks, yogis and contemplatives of every religious description. The fact that so many of them have actually found transcendence and salvation through their solitude is glorious. The great literary works of spiritual guidance written by them—the outward fruits of their inner life—are a lasting treasure for the world.

by David Haslam

• Do we take the need for association seriously?
• Do we truly know and understand the importance?
• Do we actually care?

Srila Prabhupada always stressed the need for association of devotees, with this association we develop the taste of pure devotional service and a deep understanding and appreciation of Krishna.

If we are always in association we can come to the point were we actually take it for granted or think that life would be far better away from the prying eyes of others, for those like me who have limited association at times stare into the pit of self pity and convince ourselves that in some way we do not need it anyway.

But I am also reminded of the importance of making sure that those devotees and aspiring devotees close by should be cared for, but at what stage do we say enough is enough, they neither care nor appear to have any interest in coming?

Its funny; doing my research on scientists' understanding of consciousness, what I found is that they don't really have any! It always goes back to the philosophers. Why? because they can't give an answer to the nature of consciousness, "not yet anyway," as they like to say.

I found an article that says it all, and way better then I could. so here it is:

A team of devotees from Bhaktivedanta Manor headed by Ramanuja Prabhu, disciple of HH Giriraja Maharaja, have set up a TV programme called "Hare Krishna Culture" which is already being broadcast on Satellite TV. This programme is dedicated to ISKCON and His Divine Grace AC Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada (Founder-acarya of ISKCON). It is being run under the name Hare Krishna Mission Ltd and it is a completely non-profitable organisation run entirely by volunteers.

This programme has lectures by senior devotees of ISKCON, kirtans from around the world, and interviews and footage of Srila Prabhupada by ISKCON Cinema. It has been very warmly received by devotees and the general public, with very good reviews in the UK and Europe.

It can be viewed in UK and Europe on a free Sky channel called MATV, channel 793 at 10.00 am every Sunday, repeated on Wednesdays at 4.30 am (UK time).

A cold day, and today guru-puja was shifted to a summer auditorium—which meant it was designed to let in the breeze which, in autumn, was freezing. The legendary Russian singer Aditi Dukhaha Prabhu was at the mike, and his kirtana really rocked!

Aditi Dukhaha and Aindra in Sri Mayapur, 2007—click to view.

by Ravindra Svarupa das

Spanning the cusp between the 15th and 16th centuries, Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu taught and exemplified complete absorption in divine love through the chanting of the names of God. Mahaprabhu propagated a spiritual discipline that carries the guided practitioner through clearly demarcated stages, beginning with a tentative interest (adau sraddha) and culminating in an extraordinary exultation of ecstatic spiritual emotions (prema). Mahaprabhu succinctly conveyed this whole adventure in a sequence of eight instructive verses (Siksastaka).

The first of these verses is, in essence, a promise by the author: when the chanting of the name of Krishna is fully accomplished, all anomalies and impediments being weeded out (vijayate sri-krsna-samkirtanam), the chanter will have experienced seven benedictions or blessings. The aspirant should therefore have faith (sraddha) in this promise—a guarantee, really...

by Rasika Murari das

As per our agreement and commitment at the 3rd CD Ministry Convention in Taiping, two members of our Vision Team visited the Johor Bharu yatra, located some three-hundred km South of Kuala Lumpur, for a weekend seminar on congregational development.

The yatraleader, Giri Gopal Prabhu, a very enthusiastic and dynamic person, who attended the Taiping CD Ministry Convention, requested assistance on the subject of service attitude, etiquette, self development, and organizational structure for vertical and lateral growth of the yatra.

This letter was sent to me by a friend, a reaction to the report of the road accidents following this year's Gaura-purnima festival. It wasn't really meant for publication, but it's very relevant for devotees everywhere, so I'll publish it here without disclosing the author's name.

Reading about the recent road accidents here makes me very sad. At the same time I know that road safety is not being ignored in India only, but all over ISKCON, including Germany. At least here materialists are often more responsible than devotees in this regard; HH Bir Krishna Maharaja writes about this on his website www.bkgoswami.com.

Only recently did I travel with devotees by car when I noticed that I was the only one using a seat belt. Everyone else, including driver and co-driver, didn't—in spite of snow and ice on the road, and the fact that German law imposes heavy fines on those caught without seat belt.

by Bir Krishna Das Maharaja

I mentioned that I would write about living longer in the present body. In order to understand this topic one has to understand the larger topic of how the material energy affects the bodies and minds of devotees, whether or not they are aware of it, or even in denial of it.

If we had the siddhis that yogis have, such as laghima, becoming light enough to float on a sunbeam, or mahima, becoming very big or heavy—and I am not talking about getting fat—or prapti, being able to reach out and grab something from a distant locale, we could definitely ignore certain aspects of the material nature. But since we don't have these siddhis, it behooves us to be aware of how the material nature affects our bodies.

It is amazing to me how devotees are oftentimes in denial of this: in our diet, sleeping habits, use of spiritual paraphernalia, eating habits, safety procedures, etc.

Following this year's Gaura Purnima celebrations, two serious road accidents took place, involving seven ISKCON devotees—five left their bodies, and two have been critically injured. All of them have been working with ISKCON's Congregational Development Ministry, as community preachers (Mathuradesh) and editorial staff (Mayapur).

Both accidents took place the day after Gaura Purnima, 12 March 2009.