Friday, March 19, 2010
Miami Yoga meets Yogamaya
Report written by Tamal Krsna dasa brahmacari
After serving Sripad Vana Maharaj on his winter tour of America, I had a few weeks in Miami until he would return from his Brazilian tour. By good fortune, I was able to receive a box of Srila Gurudeva's divine literatures at no cost, via the GVP book-sponsorship program, and was thus able to stay connected to the disseminating flow of Sri Gaura-vani in this world. I have always struggled to distribute books on the street, but according to my own nature and the opportunities presented by providence I had some good success and fun. These are two highlights , both facilitated by our godsister Lasika didi who pilots the Bhakti House, a yoga ashram in Miami Beach:
First, the national television station PBS filmed a segment on the Bhakti House as part of an Arts & Culture in Miami program. I was filmed beside a large portrait of Srila Gurudeva answering the questions what are are yoga, mantra, and bhakti. We gave the whole camera crew mahaprasad and Srila Gurudeva's books.
Second, we were invited to lead a 4-hour module on bhakti as part of a yoga teacher training coursewithin the Jivanmukti lineage, and impersonalist yoga school. We boldly emphasized the infinitely superior charm of the personal conception and illustrated the nine limbs of devotional service as taught by Sri Prahlad Maharaj. Thereafter, we took the entire class (as well as the CEO of the yoga studio) on nagar-sankirtan to the nearby Bhakti House where they witnessed the arati of the Divine Couple and honoured mahaprasad. All of the participants expressed great appreciation, and upon the foundation of that favorable impression, each was presented with a copy of Beyond Liberation and Sri Prema-Samput. This is particularly exciting because these were yoga teachers in training, who in the future will influence their innocent students regarding the meaning of yoga. We pray that the incomparably beautiful conceptions of Srila Visvanath Cakravarti Thakur and Sri Gurupad-padma will steal their minds and color their presentation of Vedic philosophy with the rosy lustre of pure bhakti.
(What books remained when I resumed traveling with Vana Maharaj were entrusted to my mother Malati didi, who is very enthusiastic to distribute books in Miami in preparation for Srila Gurudeva's visit there this spring.)
Wednesday, February 17, 2010
Bhubanesvara Book Fair
Report written by Bansibadana dasa:
All glories to Sri Sri Guru & Gauranga
By Gurudev's causeless mercy and blessings, the 12 day Bhuveneshavar bookfair was very successful. We are able to distribute books and posters worth one lac and twenty thousand rupees. (books Rs.1,00000/ and postersRs. 50,000/-) This figure is almost double the sales of last year.
At present times, the books of our gosvamis in the line of Mahaprabhu,like Ujjvalnila-mani, Brhat-bhagvattamrtam, Madhurya-kadambini, Gita-govinda(with tika), Rasapancadhya, Jaiva- dharma, Cara vaisnava acharayjivani ,etc are not available in Orissa, nor in oriyan language, so people have warmly accepted these books. During the book fair 12 sets of Brhad-bhagvatamrtam and many copies of each of these big books alongwith lots of small books have been distributed. Also 25 copies of English Jaiva Dharma and 15 copies of English Bhagavad-gita with many many small english books were distributed. We have made a set of 9 Oriya books published so far and we distributed 150 sets of these Oriya books in the book fair.
On the last day of book fair, one persons probably the librarian of the local college took all of Gurudeva's Hindi, English and Oriya books worth Rs.6000/- We are now planning to go to all colleges in Bhuvaneshavar,Cuttack and Puri to show them the books and propose them to get themfor their college libraries.
Also we have translated just the prastavana of hindi Bhagvad-gita,written by Gurudev, into Oriya , printed its 10,000 copies which is likea pamphlet of 16 pages with title "Bhavat gitaar vastava uddesya" and freely distributed them during the book fair. The entire printing was sponsored by the books sponsorshp program, so we were able to do for free distribution for the occasion ofMokshda ekadasi(gita jayanti).
Everyday around 8-10 devotees went to Bhuvaneshara by car and among them would be 4-5 devotees from Mathura everyday accompanyingus turn by turn.
We are thinking to make a small booklet of Paramagurudeva article (Jive daya). around 20 or 30 thousand copies to distribute freely at Ratha-yatra.
Vaishnava Dasa Anu Dasa--Bansibadan Das .Jayshreedamodar Gaudia Math,C.T.Road,Puri-2, Orissa , India.
Sunday, December 13, 2009
Ekadasi Book Distribution and Harinama in Vraja
This is the view from Gopinath Bhavan - the parikrama path, then Yamuna River and out to Baelvan, where Laksmi-devi is still performing austerities to enter the rasa dance.Yesterday was Ekadasi. Maha-mantra prabhu from Canada put a table in front of the Bhavan and a couple of us helped. So many people are doing parikrama and go by. Many stop and look at the books and several buy them as well. And, we meet so many interesting people who we invite in to the temple. Yesterday Maha-mantra prabhu met Deborah from Italy who is just traveling in India and met a man on the bus to Agra who told her she should come to Vrndavana. What a fortunate soul.
There's always someone to connect with - someone whose path will cross these transcendental books. All we have to do is get out there - no matter where we are, even in the holy dhama.
In the afternoon we went on harinama through the alleys of Vraja. Gaura-Nitai led the way and rained Their mercy on all the living entities. We chanted and freed our minds of all the junk (well at least I have so much junk) that resides there and sang the Divine Names of the Lord.
We distributed books on the harinama as well. Many people from out-of-town come for parikrama. And everyone loved seeing our harinama party - about 12 of us went.Harinama-sankirtana ki jaya!
Transcendental book distribution ki jaya!
Friday, July 17, 2009
BOOK DISTRIBUTION IN PURI DHAMA
Book Distribution in Puri Dhama
Report written by: Sulata dasi
Report written by: Sulata dasi
On the morning of the Ratha Yatra, we all set out in the blistering heat towards the main road that joins the Jagannatha Mandira to the Gundica Mandira. Today, that same road, which is usually filled with locals going about their daily duties, would be host to millions of pilgrims from all over India and a handful from other areas of the world, all eagerly awaiting darsana of Jagannatha, Baladeva and Subhadra on their journey back to Vrndavana, Gundica.
In his morning class, Premananda Prabhu emphasized the importance of having the right mood throughout this special day. He said that we should fully give up all mundane talk and only do sankirtana, just like Mahaprabhu and His parikaras. He explained that by this sankirtana, we can attract Lord Jagannatha and that in our present condition we have no qualification to pull Him back to Vrndavana. Pulling the ropes of the cart will not purify our hearts, but sankirtana will.That day was particularly humid and the ocean breeze that Puri is famous for was notably absent, but the excitement and anticipation of receiving the sweet and merciful darsana of Patita Pavana Sri Jagannathdeva, helped us to forget the austere weather conditions.
We decided that the devotees who had not previously attended the Ratha Yatra should watch Jagannatha ascend the cart and that the others should pay their pranamas, have darsana, and make their way to the book stall.
AA few days before we arrived, Vamsi Vadana Prabhu, temple president of Srila Gurudeva’s Puri Matha, and Janardan Prabhu, a local devotee, had worked hard to arrange two stalls, one next to the Gundica Mandira and the other strategically placed on the main road. In the morning, Vamsi Vadana Prabhu and other brahmacaris, took hundreds of books to each location ready for distribution, and Premamanda Prabhu arranged for kitchari prasada for the thousands of pilgrims. .
By the time we arrived at the stall, the main road was already full of pilgrims. We grabbed an armful of books, put on our hats to protect us from the sun’s powerful rays, and plunged into the sea of pilgrims. We were immediately mobbed by eager devotees. It was really quite remarkable, as Orrisa is a very poor state and has one of the highest rates of illiteracy in India. The books seemed to fly out of our hands, sending us running back to the stall, for more books full of transcendental knowledge. The crowd was so dense and the weather was so extremely hot and humid that we had to retreat to the side of the road every half hour for some air and a drink of water.
All the pilgrims were very pleasant, and even though they only spoke scant English and Hindi, somehow we managed to communicate with them. It was an incredible feeling to be part of Mahaprabhu’s movement, under the guidance of Srila Gurudeva, carrying His message in our arms to thousands of devotees on the day that Krsna makes His way back home to His beloved Vrajavasis.At about 2 p.m. Baladeva Prabhu’s cart rapidly approached our stall and we had to quickly pack everything away. In a matter of minutes, the space we had occupied would be filled with thousands of devotes pulling the ropes of Jagannatha’s cart.After packing our books away, we joined Srila Gurudeva’s kirtana party, who were singing and dancing for the pleasure of Baladeva Prabhu. For the next few hours we were all absorbed in singing the holy names. No picture or video can capture the wonder of this festival and no words can describe how it felt to perform sankirtana on such an occasion.
At one point, Srila Gurudeva’s kirtana party were sandwiched between ISKCON and Caitanya Sarasvata Matha. Held high in the air above the heads of the dancing devotees were pictures of Srila Svami Maharaja, Srila Gurudeva, and Srila Sridhara Maharaja, all eternal devotees of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu who were carrying Krsna back home to Vrndavana, on the chariot of their hearts. For me, this was the highlight of the whole festival. I felt proud and fortunate to be sheltered by such a matchless Guru-parampara and happy to witness that by the arrangement of Mahaprabhu, all the kirtana parties came together as one family.When Jagannatha finally arrived, the skies opened up and rain began to fall. Jaya Jagannatha!The next day we all went back to area of the Gundica Mandira and spent the whole afternoon, evening, and night (until 12 a.m.) distributing books from the stall and within the crowd. Even the Mathura-vasi girls, who had never previously distributed books, fearlessly penetrated the crowd carrying the message of eternal happiness under their arm. On that day, even rickshaw, and pan wallas bought books from us. One rickshaw walla was so happy with the book that he said to me, “If you serve Jagannatha like this, you will always be happy.” Then he kissed the book and touched it to his forehead.
Late that night Baladeva Prabhu, and Subhadra devi entered the Gundica Mandira. Then, at about 1.15 a.m. Jagannatha also disappeared into Gundica Mandira, leaving behind the smell of His flower crown and the trail of His lotus feet in the dust. I felt sad knowing that it would be another year before I would have His darsana again, but I was happy and grateful He had allowed me to speak and distribute His glories on that day.Jaya Jagannatha, Baladeva and Subhadra!Jaya Srila Gurudeva, the greatest philanthropist, who is giving freely in charity, the gift of krsna-prema to those who are willing to accept it.
Jaya transcendental book distribution.
Wednesday, July 1, 2009
Jaya Jagannatha!
Last Sunday was Ratha-yatra in London in Trafalgar Square. Lord Jagannatha, Baladeva and Subadra mercifully gave darsan to thousands of onlookers in busy London. 
I went with the Gangamatas there with Srila Gurudeva's beautiful book, "The Origin of Ratha-yatra." We all met so many wonderful people who were so thrilled to receive this book from us, and to be able to learn about the different histories of Lord Jagannatha's descent.
One devotee we met said he had been looking for this book for so long and that we made his day. Here's a video of it:
When I was walking down the street alongside the parade, I was passing by this cafe. Two very elegant ladies were sitting outside drinking a glass of wine, and they stopped me and asked me what was going on. I explained a bit about Lord Jagannatha, and then they asked me what Hare means. I deliberately did not bring any little books with me (I usually always have a Way of Love with me). I had a Gopi-gita in my bag, and I took it out and showed them a picture of Radha and Krsna and explained how Hare is the devotional energy of the Lord. They loved the Gopi-gita and thought it was so beautiful. These women were very lovely and open-minded, so I told them they should get this book as it will transform their lives and their home. One lady went back into the pub, and came back out and gave me 10 pounds. It was really inspiring.
When we were about to leave, Sita and I saw this man very sad about the death of Michael Jackson. He was writing Michael's name and looked like he was crying. So, Sita went up to him and talked to him about it and gave him a Ratha-yatra book. He gave her one pound for it, which for him was a lot! He told me to take a picture of him giving a pound as it was a big thing for him to give someone money.
News reached Srila Gurudeva of the days activities and about how many wonderful people we met, and he sent his heartly blessings to us all and said he was happy to hear so many received these books.
Letter to Srila Gurudeva from Karol Bagh, Delhi sanga
Good news:
Our sankirtan party has split into two parties. First party is going on van regularly whereas the second party is now going on Rickshaw with KHICHARI Prasad loaded on rickshaw. This rickshaw party is going to big markets and feeds 300-400 people and simultaneously doing 3 jobs together. 2-3 boys carry books bag and distribute them. 2-3 boys doing kirten along with Distributing khicheri Prasad to 300-400 people daily. We are trying to spread the mercy of Caitanya mahaprabhu on your behalf. Many people are coming forward to sponsor the Khicheri Prasad. Rather than coming to the temple, for the kaliyuga jives Caitanya mahaprabhu showed this way by sending the sankirten parties to different directions.Nityanand prabhu and Haridas thakur did the same way and spread the mercy. We are also planning to distribute sweat water (sharbat) to the people along with kirten and books as it is very hot in Delhi (Temperature has touched around 45’ C- Half the boiling point). On 21st May we had a very big pandal programme at paharganj .Around 250-300 people were there from many nearby localities like Sadar bazaar, Nabhi Karim, and Pahar ganj. This is the real Ambulance for the soul suffering from millions of life times – The real Life (soul) saver . Gurudev, I understand that a saint like your Divine grace can inspire and bless us to do such programs. Even though some of our activities can be in the mode of goodness but it helps us to maintain better contact with the General public.
In addition to above , this week we organised a big Harinam sankirten in Karol Bagh market where we use to have our Rath Yatra.In this harinam there were around 300 persons. It started from our house and also terminated at my place. In between the procession many people of the market welcomed our procession and distributed water, juices, milk and prasadam etc. Now the police men and women also know us and welcome and escort our procession.In the procession we had a palenquine in which Lord Jagannath, Lord Baldev ,and Subhadra along with Caitanya Mahaprabhu and Nityanand prabhu were there. We also had Gurudev and Swamiji on the alter. After that we had big feast of 56 bhog ( 56 offerings) with bahjans and kirten. We got 2 buses from Paharganj and Sadar bazar.
Aspiring for the service of Sri Guru and vaisnavas. Rohini nandan das ( Karol bagh) Typed by : Ved- Vyas das
Our sankirtan party has split into two parties. First party is going on van regularly whereas the second party is now going on Rickshaw with KHICHARI Prasad loaded on rickshaw. This rickshaw party is going to big markets and feeds 300-400 people and simultaneously doing 3 jobs together. 2-3 boys carry books bag and distribute them. 2-3 boys doing kirten along with Distributing khicheri Prasad to 300-400 people daily. We are trying to spread the mercy of Caitanya mahaprabhu on your behalf. Many people are coming forward to sponsor the Khicheri Prasad. Rather than coming to the temple, for the kaliyuga jives Caitanya mahaprabhu showed this way by sending the sankirten parties to different directions.Nityanand prabhu and Haridas thakur did the same way and spread the mercy. We are also planning to distribute sweat water (sharbat) to the people along with kirten and books as it is very hot in Delhi (Temperature has touched around 45’ C- Half the boiling point). On 21st May we had a very big pandal programme at paharganj .Around 250-300 people were there from many nearby localities like Sadar bazaar, Nabhi Karim, and Pahar ganj. This is the real Ambulance for the soul suffering from millions of life times – The real Life (soul) saver . Gurudev, I understand that a saint like your Divine grace can inspire and bless us to do such programs. Even though some of our activities can be in the mode of goodness but it helps us to maintain better contact with the General public.
In addition to above , this week we organised a big Harinam sankirten in Karol Bagh market where we use to have our Rath Yatra.In this harinam there were around 300 persons. It started from our house and also terminated at my place. In between the procession many people of the market welcomed our procession and distributed water, juices, milk and prasadam etc. Now the police men and women also know us and welcome and escort our procession.In the procession we had a palenquine in which Lord Jagannath, Lord Baldev ,and Subhadra along with Caitanya Mahaprabhu and Nityanand prabhu were there. We also had Gurudev and Swamiji on the alter. After that we had big feast of 56 bhog ( 56 offerings) with bahjans and kirten. We got 2 buses from Paharganj and Sadar bazar.
Aspiring for the service of Sri Guru and vaisnavas. Rohini nandan das ( Karol bagh) Typed by : Ved- Vyas das
University Bhakti Yoga Club Houston
Watch this video of the devotees in Houston engaged in University preaching program.
