January 2011

Dedicated to His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, Founder-Acharya of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness

Serving with a smile on National Seva Day

On Sunday 21st November hundreds of volunteers from Bhaktivedana Manors community came together for National Seva Day. In partnership with Hertsmere Borough Council and Hertsmere Forum of Faiths, many volunteers worked together to serve the local community.
Srila Prabhupada:

and Parkfields. Many helped to clean up the New Gokul farm at Bhaktivedanta Manor, Britains leading centre for cow protection and working oxen. ...continued on page 4

...by supplying food to the stomach the senses are automatically satisfied. If one tries to feed his eyes or ears independently, the result is only havoc. Simply by supplying food to the stomach, we satisfy all of the senses...The conclusion is that by serving Krishna (krishnaseva), everything is complete. As confirmed in Caitanyacaritamrta: If one is engaged in the devotional service of the Lord, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, everything is automatically accomplished. Srimad Bhagavatam 4.31.14 purport

The inspiration came from Mitzvah Day, a Jewish led initiative to volunteer time to good causes. Whatever name you call it by, Seva or Mitzvah, the essence is selfless community service, explained Bhaktivedanta Manor President Srutidharma das. Volunteers donned their wellies, put on their gloves and joined other faith groups to begin to transform the overgrown Rose Field (near Tabard Rugby Club on Watling Street in Radlett) into a communal picnic area. A big thanks to everyone involved, said James Clappison MP, who attended the work in Radlett. This is a wonderful project and a good example to others. Another group of Manor volunteers helped to pick up litter in two parks in Borehamwood: Maxwell Hillside Park

Gitajayanti MahaYajna
With travellers being advised to make only essential journeys due to heavy snow and icy roads, attendance at this year's Gita Jayanti celebration was understandably lower than in previous years. Nevertheless around 200 people attended the celebrations at the Manor, and another 150 tuned in to live broadcasts on the Manors website and Facebook page. While Bhakti Purusottama Swami and Kripamoya das led the five hour recitation, the cold melted away - as the heatwarming words of the Bhagavad Gita had their magical effect.

Bhaktivedanta Manor Newsletter

January 2011

10th Anniversary of the Radha Krishna Deaf Association Reaching out in local
The Radha Krishna Deaf Association (RKDA) recently held its 10th Anniversary and Diwali celebration in Victoria Hall in Harrow. The evening of devotional activity and entertainment was attended by special guests including the Mayor of Brent Cllr Harbhajan Singh, Angela Dias the Chief Executive of Harrow Association of Disabled People and the Honourable Patron of Harrow Council Alderman Keith Toms. The RKDA organises events aimed at deaf and non-deaf devotees of Lord Krishna. As well as organising regular events and producing resources for deaf people, they provide sign language training to non-deaf devotees, who then volunteer their time to translate during discussions, lectures, classes, dramas.

towns

Sukadev das, Ananta Purushottama das and other members of the Saturday afternoon Hari Nama (street procession) team organised an evening of Krishna consciousness in a local Watford hall. The event included drama, dance, a philosophical discussion, devotional music and a vegetarian meal. There are plans to repeat this every two months, and the next local towns in line are St Albans and Hemel Hempstead. If anyone who would like to get involved, please contact Ananta Purushottama das: ananta@krishnatemple.com.

Observing Remembrance Sunday

On Sunday 14th November devotees were honoured to attend the Remembrance Sunday Service for the local Parish of Aldenham. Held at Letchmore Heaths Village Green, Srutidharma das laid a wreath at the foot of the War Memorial on behalf of Bhaktivedanta Manor. Along with local priests he recited a prayer. Bhaktivedanta Manor supported the Service by provided seating and a gazebo.

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Bhaktivedanta Manor Newsletter

January 2011

Winter Marathon 2010

Over the course of 2010, between ten and fifteen devotees based at Bhaktivedanta Manor travelled around the country distributing the transcendental literature of Srila Prabhupada to the general public. During the month of December however, these efforts were stepped-up as the Winter Marathon commenced. Many devotees spent between eight and twelve hours a day on the streets, during the first three and a half weeks of December, meeting people from all walks of life, ages, and cultures, giving them books on spirituality. With this winter being one of the coldest in a hundred years, the devotees had a tough time, but they braved the temperatures and the sometimes unforgiving public, and soldiered on, doing their duty. What inspired them to carry on? For many, the opportunity to share with others divine wisdom that changed their own lives; for others the and to please Srila Prabhupada during this blessed month and for some the sheer challenge of the cold, rain and snow. Back at the Manor, some devotees arranged a wonderful Marathon Display around the altar of Srila Prabhupada (pictured above). The theme is based around a scriptural reference of the very advanced devotees being like a swans - which are able to separate milk from water. The devotees ability to separate matter from spirit and focus on the latter, makes him or her swan-like. The large swan-wings protruding from the Acaryas seat were not only beautiful but each feather contained the name of a devotee and their story of how they received their first book. In all, during the month of December devotees from the Manor distributed just short of 15,000 books. We thank all the devotees involved for their laudable efforts.

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Bhaktivedanta Manor Newsletter

January 2011

Manor School embraces Interfaith Week

A celebration of faith was held at Allum Hall in Elstree as part of Interfaith Week. Organised by the Hertsmere Forum of Faiths the event was attended by Manor School pupils who mixed with local Jews, Christians and Muslims of all ages. The evening included music, dance, and drama performances from local pupils. Children from the Manor School charmed everyone with a play about the importance of the soul and the singing of the Hare Krishna mantra. There was also a small exhibition and mendhi (hand decoration) workshops, something particularly appreciated by Cllr Linda Silver the Mayor of Hertsmere!

Energise University Retreat warms over 85 students on a cold winters day

At the Energise Retreat in November, students from across England managed to beat the frost and snow to attend an action-packed day at the Manor. It included a wide variety of interactive workshops and a spectacular multimedia presentation on the Bhagavad Gita by Ranchor Prime. After a tasty lunch, the students were given the opportunity to milk and feed the cows. The final session, entitled The Power of Sound, included mantra meditation and kirtan (devotional song), which brought everyone to their feet dancing the evening away.

Yogvivek Swami visits New Gokul

The head of the BAPS Swaminarayan Temple in Neasden made a special visit to the Manors New Gokul farm. He praised ISKCONs unique contribution in the area of cow protection in the UK and expressed his wish to see such projects set up in other parts of the UK. .....continued from front page

National Seva Day

Food for All, volunteers from Barclays Capital, Deutsche Bank, EY, JP Morgan, Lloyds Banking Group and RBS joined forces to prepare meals for Watfords homeless community. Cooking was done at Bhaktivedanta Manors kitchens. Project leader Prashant Joshi, from EYs Financial Services Performance Improvement team commented: The project was an overwhelming success, with volunteers building strong bonds between each other, working hard, and serving the community in a powerful and gracious way.

Each event organised was based on at least one of the following guiding principles: To relieve hardship and poverty To bring a little joy where none exists To help the environment Together, Mitzvah Day and National Seva Day attracted around 20,000 volunteers to support at least 250 projects and initiatives across the country. While both events were organised by faith groups, everyone was welcomed to take part in Mitzvah Day and National Seva Day, regardless of race, religion or belief.

Srutidharma das and Lord Sacks worked together to build bird boxes at Canley Street Natural Park in Kings Cross

Above: local faith leaders, James Clappison MP, the Chair of Aldenham Parish Council Cllr Ron Worthy and Sita Rama das of Bhaktivedanta Manors Lotus Trust

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Bhaktivedanta Manor Newsletter

January 2011

Canary Wharf: Bhakti at the Banks

from fellow banker Sri Radharamana das. Session organiser Ashika Patel commented: The success of our sessions can be gleaned from the fact that most of our attendees are from non-Indian origins who highly appreciate the thought-provoking Vedic version on banking. Bankers individually met His Holiness and left with answers to their deepest of questions. Many pledged to meet him in Ujjain (India) while others felt that he had introduced them to their spiritual potentials. In particular, a banker who through his PhD in physics helped to pioneer the Large Hadron Collider (the world's largest and highest-energy particle accelerator) had a lengthy dialogue with His Holiness in German. He is now looking forward to following up his discussion when Bhakticaru Swami next visits London.

Bob Blackman MP and CB Patel visit Krishna Avanti

Bob Blackman, MP for Harrow East and C.B. Patel, the Editor of the Asian Voice made a special visit to the Krishna Avanti School in Edgware. In his column in Asian Voice Bob Blackman wrote: I saw at first hand the excellent work undertaken to build a state of the art school incorporating the Hindu ethos. The children gain knowledge of all the world religions and understand all of the various festivals that are held. The school is a worthy addition to all the other excellent schools in Harrow.

11th November saw history in the making with the first corporate sponsored event in the financial industry to host a Gaudiya Vaisnava sannyasi (holy renunciate). In the heart of the UKs financial district, Canary Wharf hosted over 200 bankers and traders in Barclays 512-feet high skyscraper for an evening with His Holiness Bhakticaru Swami. This event marked the finale of sessions at Barclays Wealth over the past year, which saw bankers and traders from directors to analysts gathering fortnightly to hear about the Vedic view on banking

Our illustrious Founder-Acarya

The Disappearance of His Divine Grace Srila Prabhupada, a day that commemorates the passing from this world of ISKCONs illustrious Founder-Acarya, is the most introspective event in the Temple calendar. The day, which included films, remembrances, offerings, arati and glorification was a reminder that Srila Prabhupadas divine personality, teachings and purity continue to have a profound impact on the lives of his disciples, and indeed on all members of ISKCON. His Holiness Bhakti Charu Swami was the special guest and Rupa Vilasa das was the Master of Ceremonies for the morning session. The highlight of the day included a special performance by Bhaktivedanta Players entitled That was a Great Fight!. The play was a dramatic portrayal of Srila Prabhupada and his disciples arduous struggle to establish the ISKCON temple in Juhu, Bombay.

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January 2011

Spiritual or economic growth?

by Krishna Dharma das As 2011 rolls in we face cuts in public spending, huge job losses, benefit reductions and pay freezes in almost every sector. Its the Big Society folks, but without the Big Money. As Government looks to local communities for new ideas to tackle old problems with the Localism Bill, at the same time they are scything funding to local authorities, with cuts of almost 30% expected over the next four years. Its looking decidedly grim in many quarters as our national finances struggle. And struggling they are. The UK's debts in total are 466% of annual economic output once consumer debt is included. In other words if the country was an individual he would almost certainly be declared bankrupt. While we may be running short of cash, at the end of the day it only represents material resources. So are we running out of those? I dont think so. All our needs are provided by God. We may be able to print money but we cannot manufacture food or any other natural resource. Earth, sun, rain, fresh air, fruits, vegetables, grains -- one of this lies in our power to provide, and none of it is in short supply. God can provide unlimited amounts. All we have to do is manage it properly As everything comes from God it also belongs to him. We have no factual claim over anything. Naked came we to the world and naked shall we l e a v e . Forgetting G o d s proprietorship we lay claim to the world and then lay waste to her resources; the recent Gulf of Mexico oil spill disaster being a graphic example. That crisis along with other market forces has seen oil prices soaring over the past year. Its made me renew an old love affair with the bicycle and indeed wonder if our whole hightech lifestyle needs a review. For sure the burgeoning demand for material goods sweeping the world cannot be sustained. The West, with 12% of the worlds population, accounts for 60% of private consumption spending. The undeveloped countries are some way behind us, but they dont plan to stay that way. TV and Hollywood have shown them a splendid vision of the other side, and they are now jostling in the world market place along with the rest of us. The competition looks set to get fierce. Somethings got to give. Maybe its time for a new approach. Government is perennially obsessed with growing the economy, but is that helpful? They want to see a healthy cash flow, more business, more people working, more spending and generally more consumption all round, but this can only exacerbate the problems we face, both globally and personally. The more absorbed we become in striving for material improvement the more we neglect our spiritual lives, and consequentially become increasingly victimised by lust and greed. Its a vicious cycle. We have to reduce demand, not increase it. Consume less, bring down the fever of materialism, find a bit of inner peace. After all, can we honestly say that having that latest car, phone or TV has actually increased our happiness? Probably it only increased our debt and anxiety. The Bhagavad-gita speaks about simple living and high thinking as the human ethic (reflected in the Lifestyle Movements catchy live simply so everyone may simply live slogan). Keep our external needs to a minimum and focus on finding the divine within ourselves. There is a reservoir of pleasure in our hearts if we only take the time to look. And to give us that time God supplies our material needs in abundance, as long as we do not mismanage them in a frenzy of greed. As Gandhi said, there is enough for our needs but not for our greed. Are we really taking only what we need? That depends. Those advanced on the spiritual path happily survive with minimal resources -- one or two moderate meals a day, a few (non-designer) clothes and a simple dwelling. We may not be quite ready for that level of frugality, but we can work towards it by steady spiritual practise. We will definitely feel better for it and so will the world. And as for growing economies; thats also recommended by Krishna in the Bhagavad-gita, although perhaps not the type of growth sought by the government. Grow food, says Krishna. Practise religion and be happy. Its a local solution, anyone can do it, we can grow food anywhere, and its completely sustainable. An idea whose time cannot be far away.
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January 2011

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January 2011

Wishing you a spiritually uplifting and happy new year

A sweet start to the New Year
Sri Sri Radha Gokulananda's special midnight darshan brought a sweet start to 2011 at Bhaktivedanta Manor as hundreds of devotees came to celebrate and offer prayers for an auspicious year ahead. As devotees joined in the temple room kirtan, outside on the streets of central London another kirtan party cheered up the crowds. Headed by Parasurama das, around 70 devotees had everyone singing and dancing as they wove their way through Oxford Street, Trafalgar Square, Covent Garden and Chinatown.

Prime Minister receives Bhagavad Gita

At the recent Downing Street Diwali function Srutidharma das presented a copy of Bhagavad Gita As It Is to Prime Minister David Cameron. On receiving the book the Prime Minister said, I remember coming to Bhaktivedanta Manor and I enjoyed my visit immensely. I shall keep this Bhagavad Gita in 10 Downing Street.

January 2011
Sat 15 Mon 24 Sat Tue 29 8 Putrada Ekadasi App of Srila Gopala Bhatta; Disapp pf Srila Jayadeva Goswami Sat-tila Ekadasi Vasant Pancami; App of Srila Raghunatha Das Goswami & Srimati Visnupriya Devi; Disapp of Srila Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura Appearance of Sri Advaita Acarya (fast till noon) Bhaimi Ekadasi, fasting till noon for Varahadeva Appearance of Lord Varahadeva Appearance of Sri Nityananda Prabhu (fast till noon) App of Srila Narottama Das Thakura Appearance of Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Thakura (fast till noon) Vijaya Ekadasi

February 2011

Thur 10 Mon 14 Tue 15 Wed 16 Fri 18

A gift to Great Ormond Street Hospital

On behalf of Bhaktivedanta Manors Lotus Trust, Japa Yajna das presented Great Ormond Street Hospital with a cheque for over 3000. The funds were raised during the Ahimsa Charity Walk, which took place in Fryent Country Park last summer.
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