Nursing Homes

My current project is to bring Krsna into the the nursing homes. I always wanted to do such programs in such places where people are suffering a lot and can't really get out much.
When we visited my Grandma a few months back in a nursing home in PA I spontaneously brought in music to put on a dance performance for everyone there. I put on Jayadeva's beautiful 108 names of Gauranga song on and improvised some ballet dance with it. Generally older folks are very good audience for ballet as they really like it.
So I felt so happy that the names of Gauranga were resounding throughout the otherwise dull atmosphere with news and soap operas blaring all day. I also read Krsna book and showed windows into the spiritual world with old BBT calendars.
Lakshmi danced with me to and they are really charmed to see children.
I thought why not do that here locally too- HH BKG was very enthusiastic to hear of this and was very encouraging so I went ahead and scheduled some places.
Prema came along and we distributed maha flowers to each person as well as maha sweets. I started with an Odissi dance to the 1st stanza in Jagannath-astakam.
Most of them have never seen Indian Classical Dance so that is something new for them. Then a ballet with the Gauranga music. Then we spend a little time befriending the people and showing them books reading to them a story. I find it nice to use the childrens' Krsna books as they are simple divine stories with lots of large colorful photos. The patients are generally very sad bored and lonely so this has been such a nice service to bring some eternal light into their lives. They are so appreciative too and it's like they don't want us to leave- it's actually hard to walk out!
So we will continue to do such programs at least weekly at different places going back again establishing personal relationships. It is such a nice service for the children to become involved in as well. I am so grateful to have this nice opportunity to share Krsna with others as that naturally increases our own love and attachment to Him. Srila Prabhupada ki Jaya!!

Ocean Days
Last week we got to finally visit the ocean for a few days. It is so nice & peaceful there during the week. The water was really warm and Vrndavan had a great time inspite of having his cast still on. He gets it (hopefully) taken off tomorrow. I'm afraid it's going to be full of sand- and others things! Kids also loved playing in the 'hot bubble tub' which was like a small 3ft swimming pool. we stayed at a hotel right on the ocean. Kids didn't want to go until I reminded them when we visit their Grammy in CA we'll gets lots more ocean.
We also visited this huge battleship that fought in World War II. Normally it wouldn't be something I'd be into seeing but Kanu (my husband) wanted to go and thought the kids would like it too. It turned out to be very interesting and a fun tour with lots of photos from what life was like on there. It was huge and we got to walk through it all it was quite a maze!

Lakshmi's Birthday Party

Lakshmi's Birthday Party

Ratna Radhika and her sister Cintamani came and did pretty painting on hands & face.
They also sang sweetly while Lakshmi offered arati.

Prasadam time. Lasagna, salad, pizza, cake & icecream.

Ballet Recital
Couple of weeks ago we wrapped up the 2006-07 ballet season with the recital performance. Lakshmi and Vrndavan were both in my classes. Vrndavan has cast on due to a broken wrist from a hard soccer ball hit. Kids had a lot of fun in the theatre.

Happy 5th Birthday today Lakshmi Priya!


Spent morning at the temple with devotees.

Parth played Jagannatha Misra, the Lord's father Lakshmi played Mother Saci


Gaura Purnima 3/07


Late report- Gaura Purnima fetival was March 3. We celebrated the Lord's appearance as Lord Caitanya a little over 500 years ago. He came in this age of Kali to distribute the Holy Names of the Lord- the means of meditation in this age of Kali Yuga. The Holy Names, called the Maha Mantra:
HARE KRSNA HARE KRSNA KRSNA KRSNA HARE HARE HARE RAMA HARE RAMA RAMA RAMA HARE HARE are non-different from the Lord Himself and awaken the love for Him that is dormant in everyone's heart.
The Sunday School children did 2 plays enacting one of the Lord's childhood pastimes.
The first one was about how the Lord appeared.

Below left, Vrndavan played the astrologer explaining about this very auspicious appearance.

The singing Demigods come to see Nimai



Once there was a saintly person wondered by the Lord's house. His parents invited the sage in and offered him a seating place and washed his feet. They offered to cook for him, but he said he would rather cook for his Gopal (Krishna) Deity. He didn't realize yet he was in the house of Lord Krishna Himself!
It was already later in the evening already and as the sage offered prayers asking the Lord to please accept the offering he cooked for Him with love & devotion. As he was praying this, the Lord, in His childhood form called Nimai came in and started to eat the offering from the plate that was meant for his Gopal Deity. The sage upong seeing this was very upset. This little boy stole the offering! As he was lamenting loudly and Nima's mother & father ran in and felt so bad that their son stole the offering and chastised him and begged the sage to please cook again. Again he cooked and offered the foodstuffs to his Gopal and again little Nimai came in and started eating the offering. Again the sage lamented loudly and Nimai's parents begged the sage to cook one more time and they would make sure Nimai wouldn't come and disturb the offering. By this time it was 1:00 in the morning and the sage was very tired. So he cooks again and begins to offer it. Of course little Nimai came to eat the offering again. The sage was so crying asking him "WHY, WHY are you doing this to me"?
Nimai told him that you have called me so I came, I am yoiur Lord Gopal and little Nimai showed the sage His form as Lord Krishna holding a flute with crown and peacock feather. He explained that it was a secret and not to tell anyone.
The sage became so ecstatic, MY LORD offering his pranams. Then Nimai assumed his childhood form. The sage was filled with love & bliss and started to sing and dance and call everyone to join him.

Below: Radha played Nimai, Subhadra: Jagannatha Misra, Poorna: Mother Saci Parth: Bhraman sage

Oh no! AGAIN he stole the offering!








Well done children!












Program continued with Garuda prabhu from VA giving a nice class, and Batu Gopal leading a beautiful kirtan.

The Daily Tar Heel
Newspaper

Four-year-old Lakshmi Manna, of Hillsborough, dances at the Hare Krishna temple in Hillsborough on Sunday night. Hare Krishnas are part of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness, which has about a quarter of a million members across the world.

HILLSBOROUGH - Seated on a red-cushioned chair about 6 inches from the floor, Hollie Kennedy swayed from side to side, clapping along with others to the beat of a devotional song.

Indian drums, cymbals and a keyboard-like instrument called a harmonium accompanied the chorus of dozens of devotees. They sat cross-legged on the wooden floor facing Kennedy, who was dressed in all white.

No one paid much attention to the handful of toddlers scurrying around the room.

It was Sunday night at the Hare Krishna temple - the New Goloka Dhama - in Hillsborough.

Minutes after the song, attendees began their well-known chant, the Maha-mantra, an integral part of the Hare Krishna movement.

"Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare …"

The chant, which can be recited in private with beads or with a group, literally means, "O Krishna, O energy of Krishna, please engage me in Your service."

"By chanting his holy name, you can directly associate with the supreme Lord," said Kennedy, a senior member of the temple and speaker for Sunday's program.

The movement first came to the West in the 1960s through an Indian man named A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada.

He began the International Society for Krishna Consciousness, which has about a quarter of a million devotees worldwide.

"You have personalities that embody different aspects of God, but they're also fully God," said Jeff Swicegood, the kitchen manager and "munk" of the temple. "Krishna is the original personality of Godhead."

Kennedy said one of the central beliefs is that humans are "all eternal spiritual souls."

"We also believe in reincarnation of the soul according to one's actions," she said. "You can put an end to the cycle by re-establishing a relationship with God."

The men and women wore a line of yellow paint on their foreheads and sat on different sides of the temple.

"It may seem kind of odd and conservative, but the separation between the sexes is meant to make them more peaceful for spiritual advancement," Swicegood said.

The paint, derived from Indian clay, symbolizes the body as a temple of God, he said.

The Hare Krishnas believe in strict adherence to four regulatory principles: no meat, fish or eggs, no intoxication, no gambling and no illicit sex.

Swicegood said these four acts "clear the way" to one's highest intelligence.

"It's like training," he said. Similar to athletes, they "abstain from things to make their workouts more profound."

UNC graduate student and temple member Ellen Crary said the principles help believers serve God.

"You want to become 100-percent conscious of serving God," she said. "At all times, you're acting in a way that is in total congruence with your spiritual nature."

This is part of what attracted Crary to convert in 1982.

"I grew up with a religion that is something that you do on Sunday," she said of her Catholic upbringing. "It's not something that necessarily had a huge impact every other day of the week."

Crary lives across the street from the temple and attends services daily at 4:30 a.m.

Swicegood said that to initiate into the religion, a person must chant 16 rounds each day for one year and follow the four basic principles.

Every Thursday afternoon, he loads up a truck and visits UNC with what he calls "spiritual food" - rice and beans, French bread and juice - to serve up to 100 people.

He said that his belief in Hare Krishna constantly affects him.

"Basically, as soon as I get up in the morning, I start remembering Krishna in so many different ways ­- chanting Krishna's name, serving Krishna," said Swicegood, who lives in a shed behind the temple.

"Krishna says that when one is in love with him, one glorifies him 24 hours a day."

Happy New Year

The past few weeks have been a whirlwind of activity. We had a very special guest visiting our New Goloka Community, Jayadeva prabhu aka John Richardson. The week before Christmas my husband & I both got slammed with a flu. I'm am still fighting the remnants of it even today! Jayadeva was singing at the noon arati each day so that was a very special treat for all. Noon Kirtan Bliss

I somehow was so involved in the programs that I didn't get many pictures or recordings which I should have! Christmas Eve was an interactive concert. He sang Gauranga, Jaya Jagannatha, Das Avatar song was sung by his talented daughter, Gaurangi. The New Goloka Sunday School kids acted it out with mudras. He also sang Kishor Kishori song to which Dayavira pr made a slide show to showing many beautiful pictures of The Supreme Lord Krishna along with his brother, Balarama. People were very happy chanting along. The following week was New Year's Eve program at Peace Unity Church in Chapel Hill with Jaydeva which included lots of singing chanting dancing & meditation from 8-1. I was really happy to greet the new year in such a way.
Weather has been mild so am grateful for that. Yesterday we had a good hike deep in Eno Mountain and had a picnic by the river. Keeping up with Mrdanga lessons and Odissi dance and will be back to teach ballet next week. That's all for now....
Christmas Angel

Snatam Kaur Concert

Wednesday night we went to the Blessings Project in Winston-Salem to see Snatam Kaur and her band on their peace tour. My Mother also practices this Sikh's Kundalini Yoga so she has been sending me her Cd's for quite a few years now. She has a very angelic personality and voice. Happy we got to finally attend the concert.
Arci devi from the store Kindred Spirits & her husband arranged the program. They started out serving nice prasadam- rice, sabji, puri chips, salad, lasagna & mango nectar. All very yummy. Me & kids sat right up in front row. She encourages everyone to sing along. She has a lot of devotion to Yogi Bhajan.

In the midst she led some Kundalini Yoga breathing with movements with music which was alot of fun. The Guitar player is Guru Ganesh and the tabla player Krishan. snatamkaur.com & spiritvoyage.com












She also plays the violin. Afterwards we got to meet with her. Lakshmi gave her a big hug. The kids enjoyed the concert too and they liked her. We all left feeling happy & peaceful.

TriYoga Workshop Charlotte, NC

This past weekend Mother Krsna Priya and I went to Charlotte for weekend workshop with Kaliji. We had a wonderful time. Saturday night was satsang and after singing Krsna Bhajans Kaliji announced that I was now certified in Level I surprise surprise! And M Krsna Priya certified in Basics.

Duke Gardens
We had some really nice warm sunshine this week. We went to Duke Gardens, the "crest jewel" of Duke Univeristy. 55 acres of beautiful gardens trails and resting places.Many nice lakes and waterfalls trhoughout. It is such a nice place for japa and meditaion and for the kids to play. Cant' believe it took me2 years before visitng there! It's only 14 miles from here so I hope to get there more often. We went with Kalindi, Radha & Shyam. We had a nice picnic and look forward to visiting again, esp the Asian Gardens which we didn't see yet.

There was a beautful big chapel there


Gold, organge, red green & yellow trees

Playing Monkeys in the Magnolia tree
Playing with a friendly Praying Mantis

Fairies

Gandarvika's 5th Birthday party was Saturday evening. It was a costume party and most of the girls came dressed as fairies. The kids had lots of fun playing pin the peacock feather on Gopal, they sang the Damodarastaka prayers offering candles and of course prasadam- soup, cake and ice cream. I took the picture when I picked them up. They were all very happy.

Amaya, Subhadra, Radha, Gandarvika, Radharani & Lakshmi

Dracula


For Sunday Feast entertainment, my husband and I did the skit, Dracula Gets a Bhagavad Gita. I did this in Utah so we already had the script and pre-recording. This was the first time my husband was Dracula.
People were laughing so much when he appeared. The temple room was packed and we felt so happy that people really liked it and made them laugh. It is a nice skit that has philosophy and humor together.


I played the book distributor and first we discuss lust the detrimental effects of lust anger and greed. Dracula gets frustrated as we discuss philosophy and his foolishness is revealed again & again. When I first take out the Bhagavad Gita, he screams and hides "AHH put that book away! It is more brilliant than thousands of suns!"
"Yes, Godhead is light, ignorance is darkness, where there is Godhead, there is no darkness".
He asks how he can free of such a strong desire for blood. I give him a prasadam sweet and he becomes ecstatic. He is invited to Sunday Feast at the Hare Krsna Temple and leaves with a Bhagavad Gita.

Disappearance Day of His Divine Grace
Srila Prabhupada 10/25

Devotees gathered at the temple Wednesday evening to glorify the founder Acarya of ISKCON, His Divine Grace Srila Prabhupada. Srila Prabhupada departed from this world in 1977 from Vrndavana.
From 5:30-6:30 devotees had opportunity to share. We were fortunate to hear from direct disciples such as Drsta prabhu, Battu Gopal prabhu, Lokanatha prabhu, Apurva prabhu, my husband and Mother Sadhvi. I felt so fortunate to be there amoungst devotees hearing Srila Prabhupda's glories. Locana was initiated by Srila Prabhupada in 1969. He is an artist & he made many of the murtis of Srila Prabhupada in our temples.
Srila Prabhupada gave us so much dedicating his life to spreading the holy names worldwide. He has left us so much, temples, Deities, and the many instructions in his many divine books.
After offerings were spoken, a feast that was cooked for Srila Prabhupada was offered to him.
Battu Gopal prabhu read the prayers for the pushpanjali (offering of flower petals) & Drsta prabhu then led the Guruastaka prayers kirtan while Mother Sadhvi offered arati.

Sri Sri Radha Golokananda

Lochan prabhu reads a letter he received from Srila Prabhupada

Devotees in Kirtan

The festival ended with a grand feast outside in the pavilion.
Please visit http://www.prabhupadaconnect.com/ & Prabhupada.com to see more about the glories of Srila Prabhupada & his divine attributes. Srila Prabhupada ki jaya!!