namahatta.org - Congregational Development Ministry

Development during the Year 2008

All Glories to Srila Prabhupada! All Glories to Gurudeva!

Introduction

Bangalore Bhakti-vriksha Yatra follows the Bhakti-vriksha method of preaching to spread Krishna Consciousness. By the causeless mercy of Guru and Gauranga, this year we could attract lots of new people to devotional service under the ISKCON umbrella; this brought about advancement in the existing members' spiritual lives, too. Everyone is enthusiastic, inspired and we could witness a steady growth all around.

Following are some of the factors in the Yatra's growth:

• The Sunday Love Feast has been extended from one location to four different ones simultaneously. This has helped more devotees to attend the Sunday program and take association of other devotees closer to their homes.

• Bhagavad-gita classes to increase seriousness and enthusiasm of devotees have been started in all sectors of the Bhakti-vriksha Yatra. Regular sector-wise classes cater to sincere and enthusiastic devotees and train them to become effective preachers of bhagavat dharma.

• Structured children programs and curriculums to attract the interest of young children. This also creates an opportunity window for parents to get a feel of what Krishna consciousness is.

• Individual spiritual commitment and goal setting. All Bhakti-vriksha leaders set a goal for themselves, on a personal and at sector and group levels. This helps in their urge to always progress in Krishna consciousness

• Seminars on different topics to inspire devotees to advance in Krishna consciousness and understand and overcome obstacles in their spiritual lives.

• Mangala arati and Tulasi arati centers have been established in all sectors where devotees gather in the morning and evening and take part in devotional service.

• Introduction of the Servant of the Month Program to train more servant leaders in organizing and conducting programs. A unique concept, which allows Bhakti-vriksha leaders to coordinate all major functions in their yatras, thus providing an opportunity to shoulder higher responsibilities.

• Regular Siksa Program. While spiritual progress is intangible, in order to enthuse members to progress enthusiastically, we follow the Siksa Levels as detailed by ISKCON's Congregational Development Ministry. Siksa Programs are conducted at regular intervals and members are enthused to increase their spiritual commitment.

• House Visitation. Bhakti-vriksha leaders visit the homes of members during the week and keep them enthused to follow the tenets of Krishna consciousness. This opportunity is also used to visit homes near the members' houses and invite them to regular programs.

• Prasadam distribution. A sweet preparation, khaja, is cooked by enthusiastic devotees during the week and distributed when we go for house visitation and in the programs conducted over the weekend

Statistics

The following table gives an overview of the growth of our yatra this year; details are explained below.

Sectors

In the beginning of 2008 our yatra had one common weekly program for those serious in developing their Krishna consciousness. These devotees are identified from various Bhakti-vriksha programs and recommended by their respective Bhakti-vriksha sevaks. However, with growing traffic in Bangalore, the amount of time spent by leaders and devotees was more on the road than spent together.

For this reason we decentralized our yatra and its weekend programs. We divided it into four sectors: Bangalore South, East , West, and South Central, each under a sector leader.

Bhakti-vriksha leaders are encouraged to participate in programs near their homes, and devotees can attend Sunday programs close by. This has enabled more people to attend our programs and spend more time associating among themselves.

Programs

The number of programs being conducted has increased from last year. Stress has been laid on programs depending on age and level of spiritual advancement, along with the regular Bhakti-vriksha programs. The number of programs today are as follows:

1. Six children programs. These programs help inculcate the glorious Indian vedic tradition among children.

2. Forty-five Bhakti-vriksha Programs. This forms the backbone of our yatra. As the number of devotees attending a Bhakti-vriksha groups increases it is divided, so that the ratio of leaders to devotees he/she takes care of is adequate to give proper time for spiritual growth.

3. Three Bhagavad-gita classes. This helps to groom future Bhakti-vriksha leaders by making them acquainted with the rich philosophy of Krishna consciousness. Regular tests are conducted based on the bhakti-sastri model. This program is mainly intended for interns and Bhakti-vriksha leaders.

4. Ten Manjari (outreach) Programs. These are programs that eventually transform into Bhakti-vriksha groups.

5. Three Train the Trainers Programs. Interns and Bhakti-vriksha leaders are trained to preach effectively; specific stress is given to increase their skills of facilitation, communication, etc. They also help devotees with tips to counteract mayavada philosophy.

Siksa Levels

As of today, around five-hundred members attend programs regularly in different parts of the city. Even though spiritual progress in intangible, in order to enthuse the members to progress enthusiastically, we follow the siksa levels detailed by the Congregational Development Ministry. As a devotee reaches the stage of Srila Prabhupada Asraya, he/she is groomed as an intern for a Bhakti-vriksha leader. The statistics portraying members in different siksa levels is shown below:

Books

As Srila Prabhupada said, books are the basis of our movement and this has been proven right in case of our yatra. Not just the marathon month, but as the yatra progresses, Srila Prabhupada's small and big books are distributed enthusiastically throughout the year, along with sale of Krishna conscious paraphernalia like tilak , arotik paraphernalia, cymbals, and mrdangas. To quote a few numbers:

• 300 Bhagavad-gita sold from Gaura Purnima till now;
• 400 copies of small books of Srila Prabhupada have been sold

Festivals

Important Vaishnava festivals were celebrated with great enthusiasm this year; public attendance at each of them was inspiring.

Gaura Purnima

Gauranga Mahaprabhu's birthday was celebrated with much enthusiasm and dedication. While we were expecting only 700 devotees, close to 1,200 attended the program and took home the mercy of the most munificient incarnation, Lord Gauranga Mahaprabhu.

After days of constant preparation by all Bhakti-vriksha members across the city, the evening started off with arati to their Lordships Sri Sri Radha-Madhava, Jagannath, Baldeva and Subhadra, and Panca-tattva. Next came an inspiring lecture on Mahaprabhu's prophecy of spreading the Lord's name to every town and village. The lecture was translated into three languages simultaneously.

This was followed by an inspiring drama on the pastimes of Gauranga Mahaprabhu, and then the devotees had prasadam. A gift set containing dry prasadam, a photo of Panca-tattva, and a sheet explaining how to offer food to the Lord was given to all devotees who attended the program.

The preaching team took special care to see that the contact details of new acquaintances were taken down so that they could be invited to Bhakti-vriksha programs later.

Janmastami

Taking cue from the large crowd that attended the Gaura Purnima festival, separate functions were held in different locations and the turnout was inspiring. Functions were held on subsequent weekends for three weeks in different areas. While 1,200 devotees attended the program in Bangalore East, around 250 each attended in the other sectors. In each of the sectors the preaching teams went an extra step to collect contact details of new people who had come to take the blessings of the Supreme Personality of Godhead.

Balaram Jayanti

As the appearance of Lord Balaram fell on a weekday, around seventy devotees gathered in the evening to glorify Lord Balaram. The devotees had taken time out of their schedule to prepare wonderful items for this special occasion. It was also the day when the Bhakti-vriksha leaders reaffirmed their commitment to help each other in spreading the message of the holy name and become more serious in their devotional life.

Radhastami

The celebration of Radhastami coincided with the celebration of Janmasthami in one of the sectors. Around 250 devotees joined to glorify Srimati Radharani. The program started with an ecstatic kirtan, followed by a class on the glories of Srimati Radharani and ended with sumptuous prasadam.

Damodar Arati Programs

In the month of Kartik, Damodar arati programs were held in the houses of Bhakti-vriksha members. The program consists of singing Damodara astakam, reading about the glories of Kartik month, and offering lamps to Lord Damodara. It was inspiring to see that all Bhakti-vriksha member wanted to have a Damodar arati program in their homes, but owing to time and resource constraints, programs could be held only in the homes of the most enthusiastic devotees. These programs culminated with the Kartik Purnima feast in all sectors, where devotees read about the glories of Bhisma pancaka and broke their fast.

Spiritual Picnics

In order to increase interaction among devotees and make people aware of the holy places in and around Bangalore, picnics are held regularly. Sometimes only the members of a single Bhakti-vriksha group take part, at other times the total yatra.

One such picnic was to Melkote, the famed place of Sri Narasimhadev and Chaluva Narayan Swami, where around three-hundred devotees attended. Worth noting is that the devotees attending the picnic were either Bhakti-vriksha members or their acquaintances. It is usually seen that devotees make rapid progress in their spiritual life after joining on such spiritual journeys and getting inspired by other devotees and the mercy of holy dhamas. Devotees also went on trips to Malur, Tirupati, and other places.

Please see also this article, where Prema Padmini Mataji describes this outing
in her Bhakti-vriksha Diary.