Rough notes from a Radhanath Swami Mother’s Day lecture:

From the big Saturday night packed house event:

Festival of Inspiration 2008 Nama-Yajna « Hare Krishna.

Impressions of a visitor:

A New Vrindavan Morning

Impressions of a resident:

VedaBase Hint: Copying Large Quotes

and

New Vrindaban Festival of Inspiration 2008

Okay these were from last year but …

Bhajans

If you know of any other links to posts about the 2008 Festival of Inspiration, please let us know.

Click here for the complete report.

by Gokulataruni dd

Two days ago I woke up to a phone call telling me that Gopi Lila passed away. Though I knew that this was coming it still came as a surprise. She was someone that was dearly loved by the devotees in our community, and will be greatly missed.

Gopi Lila joined at the rainbow gathering in the early 90’s and spent well over a decade living in the New Vrindavan and Columbus temples. Her son, Gopala Bhatta, was born in the little green house next to Tapah Punja’s garden. For a while she lived with her husband and baby on the third floor of the temple building. I remember her walking around, gathering herbs with little Gopal toddling behind her. Her son had long hair at the time and she wrapped it into a top knot and put kajjal on him so that he would look like baby Krishna. Seeing them brightened everyone’s day.

The thing I remember about her the most is what an amazing mother and wife she was. When I was pregnant I spent a lot of time talking to her and getting tips on childbirth and caring for a baby. She was into a very natural way of life and had given birth to both of her children in houses, without the use of modern medicine. I enjoyed hearing her stories and I learned a lot from her about what it meant to be a mom.

She also helped me out quite a bit financially during that time. She passed on a ton of maternity clothes, nursing shirts and baby things that kept me going for quite awhile. My son is close in age to her daughter and whenever they would visit (since she lived in Columbus at that time) the two played together.

The last time I saw Gopi was right before she moved to China. Her husband, Hari Bhakta, had been hired to teach English as a second language over there. I remember thinking how brave she was to move with two little kids to a country where she had never visited and didn’t know the language. We sat around joking about some of the problems she would likely encounter. Though she had a few hesitancies, her adventurous spirit eventually took over and she moved overseas.

While she was in China we kept in touch and she wrote about the things she struggled with there, sometime amused by it, sometimes frustrated. After that she went to India to spend time with Hari Bhakta’s family. While she was there she started to write about different health problems and infections that she was getting.  She was soon diagnosed as having the advanced stages of cervical cancer.

After that her health rapidly declined. I was amazed though by how well her and her husband were handling it. I’m sure that they had their weak moments and breakdowns, but every time I spoke with them they were amazingly detached from the situation. Both of them seemed very clear and focused on the fact that she had spent all of her years as a devotee preparing for this. They both accepted that it was time for her to move on.

I spoke with her a few days before she passed away and I couldn’t believe how much things had changed since the last time we had spoken. She was on too much morphine to have a conversation and was moaning from the pain.

Though I will miss her I am glad that her passing was relatively quick and that she is no longer suffering. Her husband stayed home with her the last few months and did everything possible to take care of her and make her comfortable during her last days. The devotees from Boston also spent a lot of time with her and were there with her when she passed away. My sympathies go out to her family that has been left behind.

After the road work is a good view of the pasture at Mahaban.

Parking at the Prabhupada’s Palace and looking up these cherry blossoms block the sky.

My Dear Kirtanananda,

Please accept my blessings. I am in due receipt of your letter of 12 August, 1969, sent along with a package of sandish. I am sorry that I was not able to see how you have nicely made the sandish because upon arrival it was found to have gone bad. So I do not think it will be practical to continue sending foodstuffs through the mail. It has not proven successful. Anyway, I thank you very much for your efforts in this connection. Your proposal to sell sandish to the temples will also not be practical.

I am very pleased to learn that there is a new boy living in New Vrindaban, named Dan, and please help him advance nicely in Krishna Consciousness.

You have not mentioned anything about Jadunandan and Taruna Dasi. I hope everything is going nicely for them and their child in New Vrindaban.

As the Composer I.B.M. machine will be in Columbus by this time, Hayagriva and Shamadasi may go there to take care of the book composition as early as possible.

Please convey my blessings to the others. I hope this will meet you in good health.

Your ever well-wisher,

A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami

If you live between Rt. 250 & the Big Barn, you are an invited to attend as a guest of FOI, but you still need to register. Come to the Registration Cabin (aka the Goraksa Seva Cabin, or the CD Cabin or whatever you know it by) beginning Sunday May 4th at 12 noon to pick up your FOI Wrist Band. Please come in person as they will only be given one per person, in person. (Remember, you will need a wrist band for the seminars and prasad.) This offer is for legitimate residents only and does not apply to anyone living outside of the area described.

The Pujari department of the ISKCON Radha Vrindavan Chandra Temple is organizing a pujari meeting on the 8th of May 2008 at 2:30 PM in the templeroom. All interested are welcome to attend and participate with suggestions.

Most of the topics will be related to the upcoming festivals, namely FOI and Narasimha Caturdasi.

Your servant, Mandali Dasi

–
Govindam adi purusam tam aham bhajami…

  (A)  Main Conference Room under Guest Lodge

  (B)  Large Prasadam Hall Adjacent to Temple Room (Behind Srila Prabhupada’s Vyasasana)

  (C) Small Kitchen/Prasadam Hall Adjacent to Temple Room (Behind Jagannath’s Altar)

  (D) Carpeted Room Next to “A”

  (E) Guest Lodge Room 8 on Ground Floor  Between Snack Bar & “A”

 FRIDAY, May 9th

7:00 am              Guru-puja

7:30 am              Darsana-arati

7:45-9:00 am          Class: Memorizing Slokas: B.V. Madhava Swami

8:15 – 10:30 am         Breakfast Prasad Served

11:00 – 11:30 am       (A) Welcome by Organizers

11:30 –   1:00 pm      SESSION I

(A) The Guru-vandana Prayers: An Overview: Candramauli Swami

(B) Pitfalls on the Pilgrim’s Path: Laksmi-Nrimsha Das

(C) The Healing Power of Prasadam: Krpamaya Das & Soma Das

1:00 – 2:30 pm       Lunch Prasad Served

3:00 – 4:30 pm       SESSION II

(A) Spiritual Economics: Romapada Swami

(B) Vaisnava Youth Empowerment through Entrepreneurship and Education: Vasudeva Das & Prithu Das

(C) Hopeless to Highest Hope: Nanda Dasi

(D) Mahabharata in America: Sankirtan Das

4:45 – 6:15 pm       SESSION III

(A) The Complete Art of Transformation – The Vedic Way: Sacinandana Swami

(B) Esoteric Hints of Japa: Atmarama Das

(C) Srila Prabhupada’s Virtual Encyclopedia: Nrsimhananda Das

6:30 – 7:30 pm       Dinner Prasad Served

7:00 pm              Gaura-arati

8:00 pm              Entertainment in Tent

SATURDAY, May 10th

7:00 am              Guru-puja

7:00 -8:00 am      (E) Yoga with Damodar

7:30 am              Darsana-arati

7:45-9:00 am              Class: Bringing Our Chanting to Perfection: Sacinandana Swami

 8:15 – 9:30 am           Breakfast Prasad Served

10:00 –   11:30 am    SESSION I

(A) PLENARY: Leadership & Service: A Spiritual Perspective: Peter Burwash

(B) Catch the Fever of Book Distribution: Vaisesika Das

(C) Teaching Vegetarian Cooking Classes:  Apurva Das & Kamalini Dasi (Limit 12)

11:45 – 1:15 pm      SESSION II

(A) Visiting Radha Kunda & Syama Kunda: Romapada Swami

(B) Taste for the Holy Name: Arcana-siddhi Dasi & Karnamrta Das

(C) A Pleasing Management Pleases Prabhupada: Anuttama Das

(D) Using Bhaktivedanta VedaBase: Ekanath Dasa

1:00 – 2:30 pm       Lunch Prasad Served

3:00 – 4:30 pm       SESSION III

(A) The Yoga of Comedy: Beth & Yadunath Das

(B) Mending Broken Relationships: Sukavaha Dasi & Vrajalila Dasi

(C) Writing to Share Krsna Consciousness: Srinandanandana Das with Madhava Ghosh Das & Sankirtan Das

(D) Prayers to the Holy Name: Awakening the Heart to Chanting with More Feeling: Divyambara Dasi

 4:45 – 6:15 pm       SESSION IV

(A) Spiritual Recovery from Consumerism: Varsana Swami

(B) TBA: B.V. Madhava Swami & Dravida Das

(C) Preparing for a Krsna Conscious Marriage:  Krsnanandini Dasi, Tariq, & Arcana-siddhi Dasi

(D) The Magic of Cow Protection (Excursion/Tour): Balabhadra Das

6:30 – 7:30 pm       Dinner Prasad Served

7:00 pm              Gaura-arati

8:00 – 11:00 pm      Maha Nama-Yajna in Tent:  Sacinandana Swami & Friends

SUNDAY, May 11th (Mother’s Day)

7:00 am              Guru-puja

7:00 -8:00 am      (E) Yoga with Damodar

7:45 am              Darsana-arati

8:00-9:30 am      Class: Honoring Our Mothers: Radhanath Swami

8:15 – 10:30 am          Breakfast Prasad Served

11:00 – 12:30 pm       Special Presentations Dedicated to Our Mothers

 (A) Laughing in the Material World: Yadunath Das & Beth & Friends
      Vamana (Drama): Directed by Bhaktimarga Swami

12:45 – 2:15 pm      SESSION II

(A) Remembrances by Departed Vaisnavas (DVD Premier): Siddhanta Das

(B) Preaching Power of Rural Communities: Tapahpunja Das

(C) Teaching Vegetarian Cooking Classes:  Apurva Das & Kamalini Dasi (Limit 12)

2:00 pm              Sunday Feast