The Organizing Team for Kuli Mela 2010 - New Mayapur France is happy to officially announce the dates and place for this second European reunion, after the first successful gathering which took place in Radhadesh, Belgium in 2008.
This Kulimela will start on Wednesday, the 4th of August, arrival day, through Monday, the 9th of August 2010, departure day. The event shall take place in the special surroundings of New Mayapur, France, a community set around a historic castle on a site spreading over 80 hectares. In this place that Srila Prabhupada destined to self sufficiency and simple living, it seemed obvious to choose these values as symbols. Which is why the theme of the event will be: Ecology!
This gathering invites a great number of Gurukulis and Vaishnavas of all generations to a 6 day festival where seminars, workshops and conferences will be held to encourage encounters and reunions as well as discover the links that bring us together and share our experiences in an atmosphere of inspiration...
An "Open House" day in the spirit of the festival "L'Inde dans l'Indre" will be held on Sunday 8th August for neighbouring people to discover our movement in positive and summery circumstances in which they will attend the shows, walk around the "mini market," and listen to bhajans and kirtans in the temple.
The achievement of this special event requires subsequent funds for the rental of the circus and other canvas tents for the shows and activities, shower and "dry toilet" settings to receive participants on the campsite arranged for the occasion, the rental of a sound system, as well as, of course, cooking up memorable feasts for all!
So we are appealing to your generosity to help the successful outcome of this project, by asking for a financial participation of your own choice. We thank you in advance.
Jai Shree Radhe!
The Organizing Team for Kulimela 2010 - New Mayapur France
Don’t have plans for Gaura Purnima, don’t live near a Temple, or just curious? Come visit Bhaktiville in Second Life and celebrate the opening of the new Sri Sri Radha Krishna Temple. Second Life is an online, virtual reality community where many devotees have temples. (To find out more about Second Life: secondlife.com/whatis/) We’re at Archers 186, 229, 33, or search in Events for Krishna. Come visit Bhaktiville and join the celebration!
Our schedule for Gaura Purnima is as follows (all times are Pacific Standard Time):
10 am: Fireworks and official opening ceremonies, Arati and Deity Flower Shower
11 am: Fireworks and lecture and greetings from Bhaktiville’s residents: Bhakti Thor, Bhakti Mimulus, and Dasi Lane
12 am: Fireworks and Virtual Prasadam at the Greenhouse Cafe, followed by tour of the grounds.
Program will be repeated again at 3 pm
3 pm: Fireworks and opening ceremonies, Arati and Deity Flower Shower
4 pm: Fireworks and lecture and greetings from Bhaktiville’s residents: Bhakti Thor, Bhakti Mimulus, and Dasi Lane
5 pm: Fireworks and Virtual Prasadam at the Greenhouse Cafe, followed by tour of the grounds.
Bhaktiville is always open and we have created it for the pleasure of the devotees. We have many things for your spiritual enjoyment.
Sri Sri Radha Krsna are available for darshan any time of the day or night.
Offer your obeisances or a flower to the Deities.
Sit in the temple or Prabhupada’s garden and chant japa.
Find the hidden grotto for meditation.
Sit by the ocean and read Srila Prabhupada’s books.
Sit on the pier by the ocean and watch videos or pick up some free gifts from the vendor.
Go to the Greenhouse Cafe—a relaxing atmosphere where virtual prasadam is served daily. Check out the cookbook for vegetarian recipes.
We have many animals in Bhaktiville—sheep, birds, our cows wander and float around, and our cat Kesava is very friendly.
Look forward to seeing you there! Contact satyadevidasi@yahoo.com for more information. Hare Krishna!
Once again — on Monday, January 18, 2010 — it is time for our annual Hawai‘i Rathayatra. On behalf of the New Navadvipa community I would like to extend a welcome to everyone to come and join us for this most auspicious and fun festival when Sri Jagannatha, along with Sri Baladeva and Subhadra Devi shower Their mercies upon people who have come from all over the world to the streets of Waikiki.
As is traditional for the New Navadvipa Temple, we are part of the Martin Luther King Day parade. The parade starts at 9 a.m. from Magic Island and proceeds towards Kapi‘olani Park, where we will have kirtans, booths and prasadam.
Please come join us to make this festival even more joyous. We do have accommodations and prasadam available for a very nominal fee at the temple. Also, there are hotels within walking distance to the Rathayatra site at a great rate. For more info on accommodations and transportation, please give a call at 808-295-3106 or email at vishaka_devi108@hotmail.com
Deities of Lord Jagannath, Lord Baladeva and Subhadra Devi at New Navadvipa.
Several of the founders and long-term London devotees will help devotees celebrate the historic 40th anniversary of the Sri Sri Radha-Londonishvara Temple. Founding prabhus Yamuna dasi, Shyamasundar das, Gurudas and Malati dasi will be in attendance for the eight days from Saturday November 14 to Sunday November 22. Many other devotees whose lives have revolved around Sri Sri Radha-Londonishvara, like Ranchor prabhu and H.H. Mahavisnu Swami, will also participate.
On the 14th, a open-top bus tour of London will feature kirtan around Buckingham Palace and the Tower Bridge from 3 p.m. The event, as with many other activities of the eight-day celebration will be webcast live on the Internet.
On the 15th we will start with Adivas ceremony and inauguration of the festival with presentations from stalwarts on longevity in devotional service.
From the 16th to the 20th, pioneers of the UK yatra will give presentations on early days in UK, establishing the temple, meeting with Sriman George Harrison, Rathayatra, Prabhupada in London, Deity history and the 40 years in London.
On Saturday, Nov. 21 we have the Radha Krishna temple 40th anniversary gala dinner, a cultural evening at the historic Troxy Theatre in London with the Gauri-vani kirtan band and many visiting sannyasis like Radhanath Maharaj and Maha-Visnu Swami.
The 22nd, as per the lunar calendar, is the actual appearance day of Sri Sri Radha Londonisvara, and we have full day of festivities, which include Pushya abhisek, ecstatic Harinam and Kirtans with "As Kindred Spirits."
Other highlights include Harinama to historical places visited by Srila Prabhupada and offerings to Sri Sri Radha Londonisvara from Their long-term servants.
Forty years ago, ISKCON made its first mark on the streets of London. The unmistakable sounds of cymbals, saffron and shaven heads charmed and startled Oxford Street in London's West End, reaching the Evening Standard with the headline "Hare Krishna Startles London". Nowadays ISKCON is woven into the fabric of London life, and parades of devotees sharing the Holy Names with shoppers, revelers, business people and international tourists is still very common.
1969 was the year that the late George Harrison of the Beatles produced the chart-topping Hare Krishna Mantra single, and the Hare Krishnas made their first appearance on British television, singing live on Top of the Pops.
Shyamasundar das, who was one of the first Krishna devotees in London and a friend of George Harrison, said: "To many, the Hare Krishnas represented the psychedelic spirit of the sixties, although their philosophy is one of actual abstinence, of non-violence and pure vegetarianism."
Govinda's, one of the first vegetarian restaurants in central London, is still going strong. The first-ever Radha Krishna Deities in ISKCON were in London, and Srila Prabhupada installed Them in Bury Place, the first ISKCON temple in the UK, near the British Museum. In 1979 the temple moved to Soho Street, just off Oxford Street, which is Europe's busiest shopping street.
"As the Member of Parliament for the Cities of London and Westminster, I am looking forward to take part in the celebrations marking the 40th anniversary of ISKCON in London," said Mark Field, MP. "The chanting processions of the orange-garbed devotees in Oxford Street have become a welcome and indeed exotic part of the city's multi-cultural landscape. The help that members of the Hare Krishna movement have given to the homeless has been much appreciated, and I hope that they will continue their good work for many years to come."
We still need devotees to fill several one hour kirtana slots. We are also hoping for one or two expert kirtana leaders to be featured at the event. Please feel free to sign up by contacting Radhika dd, lita9139@yahoo.com, 305-282-8496.
You can also contact Radhika for lodging arrangements. We are hoping for this to be a well attended event, please post the flyers in your temple, local yoga centers, etc. and feel free to invite friends and family.
A Prasadam breakfast, lunch and dinner will be served at the temple on Saturday the 30th as well as breakfast the following Sunday morning. Devotees are welcome to stay for the regular scheduled Sunday program beginning at 4:00 pm. Prasadam is served afterward at 5:30pm.
Thank you so much and we hope you will join us in chanting the Holy Names!
With the mercy of Lord Jagannath, Baladev and Subhadra and with
special blessings of Srila Prabhupada and His Holiness Gopal Krishna Goswami
Maharaja, we feel great pleasure to announce the date of the historic Lord
Jagannath Ratha Yatra (Festival of Chariot) in Ludhiana. This year Ludhiana
Ratha Yatra will be held on 19th December 2009 (Saturday). Next day on 20th
December, 2009 there will be Hare Krsna Mahotsav. Detailed schedule will be
sent later. Please make note of this important event.
Kindly advertise this festival date on your temple's notice boards and
inform your local temple, congregation members, devotee community, and
Nama-Hatta groups.
Over a million pilgrims are expected to visit the sprawling ISKCON camp at Kumbha Mela 2010 in the holy city of Haridwar in India between February and April 2010, which will coincide with the celebration of the 500th anniversary of Lord Chaitanya's acceptance of sannyasa. Kumbha Mela is the largest religious gathering in the world attracting over 75 million pilgrims who bathe in sacred waters to 'cleanse their sins'. Hundreds of religious organisations set up camps at the site of the Kumbha Mela to preach to the pilgrims who stay there for a few days. It is an incredible feat of human logistics and planning led by the Indian Government, which sets up temporary infrastructure for the visiting millions including pantaloon bridges, toilets, medical camps, public announcement systems, food and water arrangements, crowd control and security.
"ISKCON will have one of the largest camps at the Kumbha Mela site," said Sresta das, Vice President of the ISKCON Kumbha Mela Committee. "Our camp will run from the first week of February to coincide with the Shiva Ratri bathing day till April 30."
Activities at the ISKCON camp will include diorama shows, book distribution, prasadam distribution, harinama processions with bullock carts, daily temple programs including mangala arati and sandhya arati, deity worship at the Padayatra cart, health camp with qualified doctors, accommodation for guests, multi-media exhibits and a cultural programme that will feature shows, plays, movies, singing, dancing and lectures. Special arrangements will be made for guests on the "snana days" (auspicious days for bathing).
"One of the key features of Kumbha Mela 2010 is that we will celebrate the 500th anniversary of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu's sannyasa," continued Sresta prabhu. "In March 2010, we are hosting the World Spirituality Week that will bring together important spiritual leaders from around the world and sadhus from various sampradayas as well as ISKCON sannyasis to glorify Lord Chaitanya. Visitors to our camp will be greeted by a 30-foot statue of Lord Chaitanya."
His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, Founder Acharya of ISKCON, laid importance to the Kumbha Mela. He stayed at the ISKCON camp at the Kumbha Mela in Allahabad in 1977, and said, "Kumbha Mela is sat-sanga. If you go to Kumbha Mela to find out a man of knowledge, then your Kumbha Mela is right. Otherwise, yad-buddhih salile sa eva go-kharah. If one thinks that this salila, the water, to take bath in the water, is Kumbha Mela, he is a go-kharah. But the real [Kumbha Mela means:] 'Now there is an assembly of so many saintly persons. Let me take advantage of their knowledge'."
The ISKCON Kumbha Mela Committee requests the worldwide devotee communities to attend and serve at this event, which is one of the most important preaching platforms for us. We have set up a rota system for volunteers to come and help at the site. We need volunteers in all areas of our camp: for cooking and distributing prasadam, for managing the cultural programmes and participating in them, and for the book distribution as well as the stalls. We also need devotee doctors who can stay at least for a week over the 8 week period and manage our mobile hospital for visiting devotees and pilgrims. We need enthusiastic preachers, singers and musicians. We will also welcome plays, dance performances, multi-media shows and other forms of devotional entertainment from temples around the world.
Devotees wishing to volunteer their services at the Kumbha Mela camp can contact the Kumbha Mela Committee by email at info@iskconkumbh2010.com. Those who wish to stay at the camp can send the attached Accommodation Booking Form to the same email. The accommodation includes tents, bathrooms, bedding and prasadam of a clean and hygienic standard. Charges are nominal. Reserving a European-plan tent (a family sized tent with double lining on all sides) costs Rs. 12,500 for three days (includes bedding, attached bath, hot water and full prasadam).
For more information about the Kumbha Mela, contact Ramesh Kallidai, International Communications Director, Kumbha Mela 2010 at ramesh@iskconkumbh2010.com.
Upcoming events
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