ISKCON Philadelphia Newsletter

Founder-Archarya His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
ISKCON Philadelphia Newsletter - 10/15/15
Message from the Temple President - Sikhi Mahiti das
Hare Krsna!
Our bi-weekly newsletter has been launched. A million blessings on Wendy and Owa (visiting
from South Africa) for making this possible. We have had a few successful issues. I hope they
have been as informative and enlivening to you as they have been for me.
In our newsletter, we want to share with you the activities of our community and temple
residents. We would also like to expand the newsletter to include the activities of the various
Bhakti Vriksha groups connected with ISKCON Philadelphia, so please keep us apprised of your
preaching activities.
Welcome New Residents!
I am happy to welcome to our temple Her Grace Mangal-arti devi dasi and her husband Mohit.
They have moved to our temple with the aim of increasing our preaching to students of
Philadelphia area Universities. Mangal-arti dd is a product of the preaching strategy, Bhakti
Lounge. (Mangal-arti's story can be found here.)
She came in contact with the devotees in New Zealand, and has grown in their association to be
one of the foremost preachers in Western settings. In her eight years in Toronto, she established
a center where new recruits live, hold evening programs of kirtan and lectures, prasada is
prepared and sold at various venues, and weekly book distribution is performed by all involved in
the Bhakti Lounge experience. She will expand this experience in Philadelphia under the
guidance of her Guru Maharaja, HH Devamrita Swami."
Assisting her for a short period of time are devotees she brought from Toronto, Sacidevi dd
(accepted diksha from HH Devamrita Swami on Oct 3rd in our temple) and Bhaktin Andrea (PhD
Psychology and new to ashram life). Another permanent member of the team, is Yasodev das.
He is a disciple of HH Devamrita Swami and has vast experience in Bhakti Lounge preaching in
Australia and Los Angeles, CA. He also became a devotee via the Bhakti Lounge experience in
New Zealand."
The goal of our temple is to fulfill the desire of Srila Prabhupada and expand Krsna
Consciousness in Philadelphia. He mentioned during his visit in 1975 that the devotees should
put there efforts into preaching at the many Universities. His Divine Grace has kindly sent us
devotees to take up this challenge.
Please join me in welcoming them to our community.
For more information on Bhakti Lounge, please see the videos at the following links:
Bhakti Lounge Video 1
Bhakti Lounge Video 2
Bhakti Lounge Video 3
Bhakti Lounge Video 4
your servant,
Sikhi Mahiti das
Temple President
In This Issue
Calendar
Weekly Sastra
HH Trivikrama Swami Visit
Bhakti Lounge Update
Govardhana Puja Celebration
Bus Trip to NYC Recap
Strategic Planning Committee Update
Seva Opportunities
Temple Financials
Quick Links
Calendar
Saturday 10/17
HH Trivikram Swami Visit
Sunday 10/18 at 4pm
Sunday Feast at Temple and Lecture by
HH Trivikram Swami
*Sunday Feast sponsored by Devamrita Swami
Disciples for his Vyasa Puja.
Wednesday 10/21 - 6pm
Wednesday Kirtan at Temple
Thursday 10/22 - 7pm (arati at 6:30pm)
Miracle on 2nd Avenue Book Reading
Friday 10/23 - Ekadasi
Fast from Beans and Grains
Sunday 10/24 (through 10/27)
HH Nityananda Swami Visit
Wednesday 10/28 - 6pm
Damodara Masa - Beginning of Kartika
Damodar lamp offerings morning and evening
Looking Ahead...
Friday 11/6 - Ekadasi
Fast from Beans and Grains
Thursday 11/12 - 6pm
Govardhana Puja Celebration at Temple
Friday 11/13 - Saturday 11/14
24 Hour Kirtan at Temple
Sunday 11/15 - Noon
Prabhupada's Disappearance Day
Weekly Sastra
"Even if one commits the most abominable action, if he is engaged
in devotional service he is to be considered saintly because he is
properly situated in his determination". Bhagavad-gita 9.30
HH Trivikrama Swami - visits Philly
Friday, October 16th - 19th
His Holiness Trivikrama Swami, was born in 1941. he was initiated by
His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada in 1969 and
given sannyas initiation in 1971.
During Srila Prabhupada's presence on this planet, he was regularly
assigned by his spiritual master to preach in various countries
throughout the world, such as Japan, Taiwan, Philippines, and India.
He is well known for his full obedience to Srila Prabhupada's
teachings, mood, and instructions. As Srila Prabhupada personally
said about him: "He will always go wherever I send him".
He is currently heading up a temple in Orlando, Florida, USA. He is also actively preaching in
Poland, and he has been accepting disciples on behalf of his spiritual master and ISKCON since
1987.
Join us in getting the association of one of the most senior preachers in our ISKCON movement.
Schedule
Friday, Oct 16th
Home Program - Bhagyashri Pargaonkar home
Lansdale, PA - 610-680-7684 (space is limited--please call to RSVP)
5:30pm - 8:00pm
Saturday, Oct 17th
Temple - Srimad Bhagavatam class
7:30am
Home Program - Surya Kolluru home
Berwyn, PA - 610-296-3998 (space is limited-please call to RSVP)
5:00pm - 8:00pm
Sunday, Oct 18th
ISKCON Delaware Sunday Feast
Krsna Kirtan das - 302-453-9642
11:00am - 1:00pm
ISKCON Philly Sunday Feast
4:00pm - 8:00pm
Bhakti Lounge - We Make it Easy
By: Mangal-arti dd
This September, 651 books were distributed,
connections were established with over 400
guests and steady weekly events and prasadam
distribution commenced. The word is out,
whispers are in the air - have you heard about
it? A wave of enthusiasm is hitting the hearts of
devotees as Philly is creeping up in the world
sankirtan charts. Almost everyday, rain or shine, devotees pack up the temple van and
brave the elements to visit various universities and city festivals with the message of
Lord Caitanya.
We are a small team with a clear mission. We
make it easy for people to :
1) come to Krsna consciousness
2) practice Krsna consciousness
3) distribute Krsna consciousness
There is a deep desire and distinct vision that
there will be a student club in every major
University in Philadelphia, lunch prasadam
distribution on campuses, steady weekly
evening programs to engage and cultivate
guests we meet on sankirtan and together we
will top the world sankirtan charts for Srila
Prabhupada's pleasure.
Beaming ear to ear, smiles overtake the faces
of devotees when guests turn up at our weekly events having bought copies of Bhagavadgita from us on the street. There is nothing more enlivening than hearing a guest at one of
our evening events explain how he or she started to read Srila Prabhupada's books and
thought they should come visit us. For testimonies from guests, watch a series of Bhakti
Lounge Interviews.
Lord Balaram is pulling together an international team of experts and it seems like he has
a plan! Gauraraya das and Sundarangi devi dasi are taking over the hearts of University
students with their delightful burgers, samosas, muffins and cookies - people come back
looking for more. Pratik, assisted by Billy, is bringing over students to the Bhakti Yoga
club at Temple University. Swapnil makes arrangements at UPenn for Ivy league
students to come and explore the universe of Krishna science. Shyam-kisore and
Narsimham are boldly paving the way for weekly programs and prasadam distribution at
the Drexel campus. Yasodev das stirs hearts with his kirtans while Mulakarana devi dasi,
Andrea and Sachidevi take over the streets with books.
Last but not the least, every endeavor requires a great leader and clear vision. Sikhi
Mahiti prabhu lays it out very succinctly, 'Get Jagannath some new pujaris, fill up the
temple ashrams'. Let's smash the heck out of Maya's camp with cookies, cakes and
books, let's take over hearts. Watch this space for more inside news on the Bhakti camp.
Strategic Planning Commitee
In preparation of the 50th Anniversary of ISKCON, our Board of Directors, including our GBC
Anuttama das and our Temple President Sikhi Mahiti das, recently passed a resolution to
establish a Strategic Plan for ISKCON of Philadelphia.
What is a Strategic Plan?
In short, our Strategic Plan will be our guide for maintaining
and expanding ISKCON of Philadelphia as an influential,
forward thinking organization, focused on establishing Krsna
consciousness in the Philadelphia region. As a road map it
will describe where the organization is going over the next
several years and how it is going to get there. This process is
a tool that will help us do a better service by focusing the
energy, resources, and time of our devotional community in a
unified direction.
Key Components
The key components of the Strategic Plan will be to reaffirm our mission, articulate our vision,
define our core values, assess the key priority areas, develop time-based goals, as well as
strategies and action plans to meet those goals.
Updates
Throughout the planning process we will keep the community updated on the progress. There will
also be times when we will be seeking your participation and feedback so, we humbly ask for
your cooperation and blessings as we proceed forward. If you have any inquiries please contact
Dronacarya das at [email protected].
Mark Your Calendar for Govardhana Puja
Celebration
In just one month, we will be celebrating Govardhana
Puja on Thursday November 12th from 6-9pm.
Sponsorship Opportunities
New Outfits for the Deities: $3,001
Govardhana Hill: $1,501
Flower Garlands: $501
Prasadam: $501
-Visit temple office for details on sponsorships
Schedule
6:00pm
Gaura Arati
6:30pm
Lecture
7:00pm
Dance/Drama
7:15pm
Govardhana Hill Aarti and Bhoga Offering
7:45pm
Prasadam
About Govardhana Puja
Govardhan-puja, the worship of Govardhan Hill, is a festival begun by Krishna Himself to honor a
prominent feature of the rural land of Vrindavan, Krishna's hometown. His father and the rest of
the village elders had prepared a sacrifice for the demigod Indra, but Krishna suggested that
they worship Govardhan Hill instead, since the hill was so integral to the livelihood and
recreation of His cowherd community.
Indra himself was not pleased by this, and sent torrential rain intended to devastate the entire
area of Vrindavan. In response, Krishna lifted Govardhan Hill and held it above His head for
seven days, sheltering all the residents of Vrindavan from the deluge. After Indra apologized for
causing such an inconvenience to Krishna and His townsfolk, they resumed worship of the hill,
offering immense quantities of food in a festival, which is commemorated up to the present day
by Krishna's devotees. For more information visit Krishna.com.
Sunday School Visits New York City
On Saturday October 3rd, the Sunday school class, and
several congregation members, braved the windy, rainy
weather and made pilgrimage via a yellow school bus to
New York City to honor the 50th anniversary of Srila
Prabhupada's arrival in USA. Despite the cool, damp day,
enthusiasm and spirits were high among everyone.
Our first stop was the ISKCON Brooklyn temple where we
took darshan, enjoyed an enlivening kirtan and shared in
delicious prasadam made by the temple devotees. After a relaxing lunch, we traveled to
Matchless Gifts at 26 2nd Avenue, where Srila Prabhupada set up his very first temple to attract
young seekers into Krsna consciousness. Here we were engaged in a wonderful reading of
Miracle on 2nd Avenue by Jagannatha Priya dd and Jahnava dd after a kirtan led by Ramana.
Dronacarya das then read Prabhupada's mission for spreading Krishna Consciousness.
Next on our tour was a visit to Tompkins Square park
where, on October 9, 1966, Prabhupada first chanted
the maha-mantra Hare Kṛṣṇa, Hare Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa
Kṛṣṇa, Hare Hare/ Hare Rāma, Hare Rāma, Rāma
Rāma, Hare Hare under an elm tree. In recognition of
this historic event, we circumambulated the elm while
chanting and basking in its presence.
To indulge our sweet tooth, we ended our trip with a stop at the Donut Plant where we were
enthusiastically greeted with free samples and a small arati with the store deities.
Filled with donuts, prasadam and lots of bhakti bliss, we returned to Philadelphia with
Prabhupada's tremendous accomplishments and sacrifices close to our hearts.
Many thanks to Mother Surya and Ramana for organizing this
wonderful day!
(photos courtesy of Mitravinda dd)
Seva Opportunities for Upcoming Events
If you are like many, you may have a strong desire to serve Krsna and the temple but work,
have a family and/or aren't sure how you can get involved. As you know, we celebrate many
auspicious occasions throughout the year and for most, we have special programs and festivals.
Much work goes into planning and implementing these events and we often need a lot of
additional help.
We'd like to invite you to sign up for a seva opportunity for your favorite upcoming event and
help us in planning these wonderful celebrations in service to Krsna and Srila Prabhupada.
Opportunities include decorations, prasadam coordination, kirtan, garlands and more. Many
services can even be done from your home.
Please click on the Seva Opportunities link below to find out what is available for each event.
Once you have selected your service and event, please email Wendy at
[email protected].
Seva Opportunities
Temple Financial Report
Each month, we post the temple's financial status on the bulletin board outside of the temple
office. For September Operations and Construction financials, please click below:
September Financials
Quick Links
Construction Donations
ISKCON Desire Tree - For Downloadable Lectures
Krishna.com
ISKCON of Philadelphia | 41 W. Allens Lane, Philadelphia, PA 19119 | Website