DEDICATED TO OUR FOUNDER ACHARYA

HIS DIVINE GRACE A.C. BHAKTIVEDANTA SWAMI SRILA PRABHUPADA

JUNE 2024

BHAKTI SANGA NEWSLETTER

nama oṁ viṣṇu-pādāya kṛṣṇa-preṣṭhāya bhū-tale Contents:

śrīmate bhaktivedānta-svāmin iti nāmine
LORD NITYANANDA’S CHILD LIKE INNOCENCE
namas te sārasvate deve gaura-vāṇī-pracāriṇe
nirviśeṣa-śūnyavādi-pāścātya-deśa-tāriṇe AND DEVOTION 02
śrī-kṛṣṇa-caitanya prabhu-nityānanda 18 RAHASYAS 02
śrī-advaita gadādhara śrīvāsādi-gaura-bhakta-vṛnda ART OF SURRENDER 03
hare kṛṣṇa hare kṛṣṇa kṛṣṇa kṛṣṇa hare hare KIDS CORNER 04
hare rāma hare rāma rāma rāma hare hare COORDINATOR INTERVIEW 04
VERSE OF THE MONTH 05
BHAKTI SANGA JAPA GROUP MEDITATION OF THE MONTH 05
ANALOGY CORNER 05
Bhakti Sanga Japa Group connects Krishna- ŚRĪLA PRABHUPĀDA-LĪLĀ 05
conscious devotees across the world, be they JAGANNATH KITCHEN 06
a neophyte, serious sadhaka, or just someone VAISNAVA FESTIVALS 06
with a casual interest in spirituality, through
online conference calls. Bhakti Sanga group
facilitates devotee association with several
classes and japa sessions during the day.
Class sessions include lectures on Srimad
Bhagavatam, Sri Caitanya Bhagavata, and
children’s sessions on scriptures,
festivals/holy days, and assorted spiritual
topics. The virtual group provides an informal
setting where devotees can seek answers
regarding their sadhana and other spiritual
topics.

Come, experience Krishna consciousness in

the association of devotees, from the very
convenience of your home! 03

CONNECT WITH US
@bhaktisangajapagroup | Linktree

COMPILED BY: HG ANITHA RAMIYA MATAJI

01
EDITED BY: MEERA
LORD NITYANANDA’S CHILD LIKE
INNOCENCE AND DEVOTION

One day Nityānanda came naked before Śrī

Gaurasundara in the mood of a child while loudly
exclaiming, “Nimāi Paṇḍita is My Lord.”
Mahāprabhu laughed and then took off the cloth
from His own head and put it on Nityānanda.
Thereafter the Lord smeared fragrant sandalwood
pulp on the body of Nityānanda, offered Him a
flower garland, made Him sit in front of Him, and
then began to offer Him prayers. Nityānanda
accepted the service of Mahāprabhu and heard His
own open glorification without any agitation.
Prabhu highlighted the mood of service,
emphasizing that being steady in our devotion is
most important. For example, a small child may be As part of the Bhakti Sanga series of
eating mangos without clothes on, not caring for special sessions this month, we had the
anyone around him and simply enjoying the taste privilege to learn about the “18 Secrets of
of the mango; similarly, Lord Nityananda was in
Ramayana,” presented by HG Haridas
this mood, expressing unflinching devotion to Lord
Varya Prabhu.
Nityananda.
Sripada Ramanuja learned 18 Rahasyas,
Prabhu also touched on the importance of or secrets from his uncle Srisaila Purna,
following one’s sampradaya strictly and being which are considered key teachings and
attached to its specific principles while still showing principles in his philosophy of
respect to other gurus and their respective Visishtadvaita. These Rahasyas are
sampradayas. To explain this, Prabhu gave the fundamental to the correct understanding
analogy of how one cares for their extended family, of Ramayana. The first of the 18 secrets
but has more affection for their immediate family. is Vidya Sarvapi- Srimad Valmiki
Ramayana gives the essence of the
Vedangas and that is illustrated in the
Lastly, prabhu discussed kanaka (wealth), kamini
below slide
(women), kirti (fame), will only provide temporary
happiness. The path to real happiness is trinad api
suni cena, by being humble and submissive unto
the Lord. In the material world, we are conditioned
by the modes of material nature. If Krishna reveals
Himself, only then can we begin to understand
Him.

LINK TO CLASS BY HG
ADI GADADHAR DAS

02
 ART OF SURRENDER
Hiraṇyakaśipu was ready to kill his own son,
Prahlāda Mahārāja. However, the Supreme
Personality of Godhead appeared before the demon
as Śrī Nṛkeśarī, a form that is half lion and half man,
and killed him. Hiraṇyakaśipu advertised himself as
greater than the Supreme Personality of Godhead.
Prahlāda Mahārāja challenged this claim, glorifying
the Supreme Personality of Godhead and declaring
that the Lord is all-pervading, that everything is
under His control, and that no one is equal to or
greater than Him. Prahlāda urged his father to be
submissive to the omnipotent Supreme Lord and
insisted on surrendering to the Lord with full faith. Prabhuji also quoted Srila Bhakti Vinod
This act of surrender was the focus of a class given Thakura's "Saranagati" bhajan, which
by HG Madan Gopal Prabhuji, who used a beautiful aligns with the six principles of surrender in
presentation to elaborate on the topic. Prabhuji Haribhakti Vilas and Bhagavad-gita 18.66
began the class by discussing a shloka that (sarva-dharmān parityajya).
highlights the Lord's quality of being bhakta-vatsala Prabhuji emphasized the phrase "Avashya
(loving and protective towards His devotees). He rakshibe Krishna" – Be confident that the
then explained how to surrender to the Lord. Lord will protect you. He gave examples
How to Surrender to the Lord: from scriptures of devotees protected by
Surrender means telling the Lord, "I am Yours; take the Lord, such as Prahlāda, Devaki, and
all my life under You." The Lord does not interfere
Draupadi. Pariksit Maharaj said, "Accept
with our freedom until we pray to Him. If we allow
me as a completely surrendered soul. Let
Him, He will protect us. What does He protect? Our
anything bite me, but you all brahmanas
devotional service to Him.
continue to narrate the Lord's pastimes."
Prabhuji mentioned the process of surrender from
Srila Prabhupada was confident that the
Haribhakti Vilas 2.676:
1. Accept religious principles that lead to Krishna Lord protected him through two heart
consciousness. attacks.
2. Reject anything that is not favorable for Krishna The Lord is eager to bring us back to Him,
consciousness. but we are not ready. Prabhuji concluded
3. Have faith that Krishna will protect from all the class by saying that although we have
difficulties. all our basic needs met, we worry about
4. Do not worry about how to maintain the body and our luxuries. Krishna consciousness aims
soul together. at uplifting our lives. Let's chant with full
5. Do not worry about where food will come from; heart and call out to the Lord.
Krishna will take care.
6. Consider oneself helpless and fully depend on
Krishna.

03 CLASS BY HG MADAN GOPAL DAS

 COORDINATOR INTERVIEW
HG PRAHLADA ANANDA DAS
HG Prahlada Ananda Dasa is an
initiated disciple of HH Gopal Krsna
Goswami Maharaj. He was born and
raised in a Vaisnava family and
received initiation in 1984 at ISKCON
Nairobi temple. Prabhuji graduated as
a Physician from Baroda Medical
College ( M S UNIVERSITY ) in 1977
and practiced Tropical Medicine in
Nairobi, Kenya till 1995. Prabhuji
migrated to USA in 1995 & has been
preaching and distributing Srila
Prabhupada books in LasVegas since
1997. Prabhuji’s mission is to engage
in Krishna Consciousness throughout
the day and propagate it for the
KIDS CORNER pleasure of Sri Guru and Gauranga.
Letter to Upendra Dasa December 8, INTERVIEW WITH HG PRAHLADA ANANDA DAS
1968
“We require so many householders to Camp: Bhakti sanga kids camp 2024.
set the example for others, how in Topic : Characters from Mahabharata
Krishna consciousness we can live Duration : 24th June - 25th July
peacefully, even in married life. Also The first week of kids camp they learned
we require so many Krishna conscious about Lord Krishna, Bhima, Mother Kunti,
children to show how nicely and Yudhisthir
beautifully a child can develop when
he is following the principles of God Activity : Kids are made technically sound
consciousness.” by arranging activities related to AI
technology.
We try and follow Srila Prabhupada's They will learn easy cooking and offer to
instructions in all possible ways, when the lord.
it comes to raising kids in Krishna Stay connected to know more.
consciousness it is our topmost
priority.
Our loving teachers have tried the best
to balance their own Krishna Conscious
life as well as volunteer to serve Lord
Caitanya's mission to spread Krishna
prema. What else would be a better
way, then to get kids stay connected to
bhakti life even during the summer
vacations.
This month after the teachers
appreciation class kids were on a
summer break enjoying the summers.
Kids are back after a short break for
the

04 ARTICLE BY HG SITA PRITI DEVI DASI

 MEDITATION OF THE MONTH
nato ’smy ahaṁ tac-caraṇaṁ samīyuṣāṁ
bhavac-chidaṁ svasty-ayanaṁ sumaṅgalam
yo hy ātma-māyā-vibhavaṁ sma paryagād
yathā nabhaḥ svāntam athāpare kutaḥ
Therefore it is best for me to surrender unto
His feet, which alone can deliver one from
the miseries of repeated birth and death.
Such surrender is all-auspicious and allows
one to perceive all happiness. Even the sky
cannot estimate the limits of its own
expansion. So what can others do when the
Lord Himself is unable to estimate His own
limits? - SB 2.6.36
ANALOGY CORNER
Touchstone creates many valuable stones
and jewels but does not decrease in
power. Similarly, creation occurs many
times, everything is maintained, and, after
a time, everything is annihilated—but the
original creator, the Supreme Lord,
remains untouched and undiminished in
power. SB 4.11.19 P
VERSE OF THE MONTH
nijadhara sudhadayinn indra-dyumna-prasadita
subhadralalana-vyagra ramanuja namo 'stu te
To your dear devotees you give the nectar of
your lips (in the form of maha-prasad). You
satisfied King Indradyumna (who prayed for
your appearance). You are very eager to
protect your younger sister Subhadra. O
younger brother of Baladeva! I offer my
respects at your lotus feet.
05
ŚRĪLA PRABHUPĀDA-LĪLĀ
‘Peace Formula’
September 1969, Tittenhurst (London)
Meeting with George Harrison and John Lennon
Prabhupāda’s voice was soft and amiable as he
spoke of Kṛṣṇa as the universal father. “We are
all Kṛṣṇa’s children,” he said, quoting the
Bhagavad-gītā. “If we think of him, we chant
Hare Kṛṣṇa, we will have everything to gain and
nothing to lose. Chant Hare Kṛṣṇa, everyone.
Dance in ecstasy. My request is that you try to
understand this Kṛṣṇa consciousness
philosophy and make your own judgement.
“You want peace – I have read your
statements,” he spoke directly to John. “But we
must know the process. Kṛṣṇa says, ‘I am the
enjoyer, I am the owner, I am the friend.’ “
These were the words Prabhupāda always
referred to as the “Peace Formula.”
“Why do we claim ‘This is mine?’ Kṛṣṇa is the
Lord of every place. We come here in the
kingdom of God and we claim, ‘This is my
property.’ Is it not insanity?”
Kṛṣṇa is the friend of everyone. He is such a
nice friend that He is living with me in my heart.
Therefore I think people should have one God,
Kṛṣṇa; one scripture, the Bhagavad-gītā; one
mantra, Hare Kṛṣṇa; and one activity, to serve
Kṛṣṇa. Then there will be peace all over the
world.”
CONTRIBUTED BY HG JYOTI MATAJI
 JAGANNATH KITCHEN
CHHENA PODA

Ingredients:

1 cup fresh chhena / paneer

1/2 cup sugar
1/4 tsp baking powder
Nuts of your choice

Procedure :
1. Paneer / Chhena 1 cup.
2. To this chhena /paneer add 1/2
cup sugar. Mix well
VAIṢṆAVA FESTIVALS 3. You can add nuts, saffron, rasins,
cardamom powder if you like. Or just
JULY 2024 (USA CST) keep it plain.
4. Add 1/4 tsp baking powder and mix
July 1 | Monday | Fasting for Yogini Ekadasi
well. Add 2 tbsp fine semolina / rava,
July 2 | Tuesday | Break fast 05:20 - 10:23 am LT 2tbsp ghee and mix.
July 5 | Friday | Sri Gadadhara Pandita 5. The consistency should be like
Disappearance, Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura cake batter.
Disappearance 6. Pour this in a greased, lined
July 6 | Saturday | Gundica Marjana baking dish / container.
July 7 | Sunday | Ratha Yatra, Sri Sivananda Sena 7. Bake it for 1 hour at 165 degrees.
Disappearance, Sri Svarupa Damodara Gosvami 8. Check for the top to get nice
Disappearance golden brown color.
July 11 | Thursday | Hera Pancami, Sri Vakresvara CONTRIBUTED BY HG SITA PRITI DEVI
Pandita Disappearance DASI
July 15 | Monday | Return Ratha
July 17 | Wednesday | Fasting for Sayana Ekadasi
July 18 | Thursday | Break fast 05:31-10:16 am LT
July 21 | Sunday | First month of Caturmasya begins,
Guru (Vyasa) Purnima, Srila Sanatana Gosvami
Disappearance
July 25 | Thursday | Srila Gopala Bhatta Gosvami
Disappearance
July 28 | Sunday | Srila Lokanath Gosvami
Disappearance
July 29 | Monday | The Incorporration of ISKCON in
New York
July 31 | Wednesday | Fasting for Kamika Ekadasi,
Paksa Vardhini Mahadvadasi
06