New Wave

Volume 03, Issue 13May 2017

TheMonthly Newsletter of ISKCON Delhi-NCR

News1. Children»s Workshop (26th Mar- 1st April) (ISKCON Dwarka)

Gopal Fun school is always looking for opportunities to inculcate values in children and session break holidays are a great opportunity to instil the same in them. A 5-day workshop was organized for this purpose. Some of the key highlights of this event were - Arts and craft and time management activities. Children attended raj bhoga arti in the afternoon followed by melodious kirtan in the temple hall and enjoyed very sumptuous Krishna prasadam.

2. Harinama Sankirtana (1st April) (ISKCON Dwarka)

Harinama Sankirtan was organized by devotees in Guru Govind Singh Indraprastha University Campus at Sector-16 Dwarka on 1st April 2017. Group of people from residential apartments in the university came out and joyfully participated in the sankirtan. The program was followed by prasadam for everyone.

3. Vrindavana Yatra (1st Apr) (ISKCON Gurugram)

A *Blissful 1 Day Vrindavan Yatra* was organized with new devotees, who took a perfect break from the hustle-bustle of city life and retired to a blissful and serene visit Sri Vrindavan dhama& refreshed their minds with the sweet nectar of the eternal transcendental pastimes of Lord Krishna.

4. Udgaar Festival by ISKCON Youth Forum (2nd April) (ISKCON East of Kailash)

ISKCON Delhi organized its mega Youth Fest, “UDGAAR- an Expression of Goodness and Joy”, at Siri Fort Auditorium on the evening of 2nd April. Mr. Vijay Goel, Min. of Sports and Youth Affairs was the Chief Guest at the fest, and Mr. Samvit Patra- BJP spokesperson, was the guest of honor. Amongst other prominent guests at

the function were: HH Gopal Krishna Goswami Maharaja, HH Bhakti Anughrah Janardana Swami, Dr. P B Sharma, VC-G D Goenka University, Braj Mohan Das (GBC College), Vrajendra Nandan Das (Director-ISKCON National Communications).The event was attended by 2000 youngsters from prominent institutes of Delhi. The fest included talks by the guests and HH Gopal Krishna Goswami from ISKCON. Quiz shows, Drama, Dance performance and Rock Show inspired youngsters to add spirituality to their lives.

5. Vaisnava Etiquette Seminar (3-8th April) (ISKCON Punjabi Bagh)

Vaisnava etiquette course was conducted for the 2015 batch. The congregation devotees were trained in various aspects of Krishna consciousness like entering temple hall,vaisnava dressing,prasadam serving and honoring etc.

6. Stress-management Seminar (4th April) (ISKCON Dwarka)

Netaji Subhash Place CPE Study Circle of Chartered Accountants, organized a seminar on ‘Stress Management’ at Celebrations Banquet, Pitampura. The seminar was deeply appreciated for its unique applicability in both corporate and everyday life.

7. Rama Navami (5th April) (ISKCON East of Kailash)

The week-long Rama-katha concluded with a cultural programme. Audience revelled in Rama-lila, dance recital and discourse. A yajna and a shobha yatra was organised before the Rama Navami day for the pleasure of the Lord and His devotees. Hundreds of devotees attended the maha-abhishek of the Lord amidst roaring kirtan. This was followed by a feast prasadam. Thousands of devotees participated in the festivities and partook the delicious prasadam. On this auspicious occasion, a new sankirtan bus was added to expand the distribution of transcendental literature to the suffering humanity.

12. Beginning of Tulsi Jala Dana (14th Apr) (All Delhi-NCR Temples)

Tulsi jala dana began on 14th April and will continue for one month. The rising temperature offers an opportunity to perform this service to a great devotee.

13. Saturday Love Feast Program (15th Apr) (ISKCON Gurugram)

Saturday Love Feast Program (5.00-7.00 pm) started at the under construction ISKCON Temple, Sector 45, Gurugram. The program starts with kirtan followed by a discourse and sumptuous prasadam.

14. Mahamilan Family Get-together (16th Apr) (ISKCON Punjabi Bagh)

Mahamilan was organized by ISKCON Congregation Community at Baba Natha Singh Vatika,Punjabi Bagh. It included a Ratha-Yatra by kids and various games like blind faith, talent hunt and Krishna’s farm. The event ended with the book distribution marathon awards in the presence of eminent guests – HH Bhakti Madhuraya Govinda Swami, HG Gopisvara Prabhu, HG Sumukha Prabhu, followed by an ecstatic maha-sankirtan and a sumptuous feast. More than 1000 devotees from 57 Bhakti Vriksha groups participated in this annual spiritual picnic, aimed at developing loving relations among the devotees.

15. Meeting with the President of India (20th April)

H.H. Gopal Krishna Goswami Maharaja met Honourable President of India, Sh. Pranab Mukherji. Maharaja invited him to visit ISKCON Delhi and ISKCON Mayapur temples. Through various print media, Maharaja explained about the TOVP (Temple of the Vedic Planetarium, Mayapur). The president was informed about the various attributes & specifications of this upcoming mega project in Sri Mayapur Dhama.

16. Discover Your Permanent Happiness (DYPH) Seminar (24th April)

(ISKCON Dwarka)

This is a 7-day seminar which thematically covers all the basic concepts of spirituality. This seminar was facilitated by HG Amogh Lila das and was attended by 72 participants. The response was overwhelming and spiritually rejuvenating for everyone. The last day of the session was addressed by HG Piyoosh Goyal Prabhu, Temple President, ISKCON Dwarka, where all the participants were inspired by his strong presentation and honest approach.

17. Aksaya Tritya (29th April) (ISKCON Delhi-NCR Temples)

From the auspicious day of Aksaya Tritya, the chandan darshan of the Lord begin. Hundreds serve the Lord daily, by making the cooling chandan paste which is applied on the Lordships to keep Them cool during intense summer days. This day was also celebrated with increased spiritual activity.

(ISKCON Punjabi Bagh)

Rama Navami celebrations started with Mangal Aarti at 4:30am followed by chanting and dancing on the Holy names of the Lord. Charming darshan of Sri Sri Krishna Balram mesmerized the devotees HG Vrajendra Nandan Prabhu, ISKCON India Communications Head, famous for his nectarean Rama-katha, shared the insights on practical import of Rama-rajya in our lives. More than 1500 devotees gathered for auspicious abhishek of Sri Sri Sita Rama Lakshman, followed by enlightening discourse by HH Bhakti Madhurya Govinda Swami Maharaj, Everyone was enchanted by the drama titled “Search”. It concluded with sumptuous ekadashi prasadam feast.

(ISKCON Dwarka)

This grand festival was jubilantly attended by 5000 devotees and visitors. Rama-katha was delivered by HG Ramakant das (International preacher) from Vrindavan. In the evening, there was a fabulous abhishek of Sri Sri Sita-Rama-Lakshman-Hanuman followed by delicious dinner prasadam.

(ISKCON Gurugram)

Rama-katha by HG Radha Damodar Das was organized for this special occasion. Special activities i.e. maha-yagna, abhishek, Rama-katha, 56 bhoga offering, maha-arati and maha-kirtan made the event memorable for all the devotees.

8. Meeting with Amit Shah (7th April)

HH Gopal Krishna Goswami Maharaja met Sh. Amit Shah, National President - BJP and shared ISKCON’s activities for the society and presented Srila Prabhupada’s books.

9. Anand Utsav (9th April) (ISKCON Rohini)

Anand Utsav – A festival of gratitude was organized at City Park Resorts, Ghevara by ISKCON Rohini as a token of thanks for the generous supporters of Rohini Temple Project. The event began with special performance by Madhava Rock Band. HH Gopal Krishna Goswami Maharaja, ISKCON GBC & BBT Trustee

encouraged the supporters by his enlightening talk. The chief guest of the event was Mrs. Hema Malini, famous actress & member of Parliament. She remarked that “ISKCON’s contribution towards upliftment of society are laudable”.

10. Hanuman Jayanti Celebration (11th April, 2017) (ISKCON Dwarka)

Hanuman Jayanti festival was celebrated at AIIMS, New Delhi. There was a lecture on the glories of bhakta Hanuman by HG Prashant Mukunda Das followed by kirtan and prasadam. Devotees were quite enlivened after hearing the nectarean pastimes of Hanuman and his teachings.

11. Visit by Students (12-13th Apr) (ISKCON Gurugram)

A Special Kirtan, educational and motivational activities were performed for 350 students who visited from Laburnum School.

Question – In BG 2.8, when Arjuna says that nothing material, not even the attainment of heaven will solve his problem, does this indicate that Arjuna is saying that his problem is spiritual not material? Can we have spiritual solutions to material problems? Or do we need material solutions for material problems?

Answer – First there is a need to clarify the difference between ‘spiritual’ and ‘material’. If by ‘spiritual’ we refer to the soul (or something divine) and by ‘material’ we refer to matter, then we have to understand that material problems will require material solutions. One should not anticipate some miraculous spiritual intervention to solve a material problem. For example, if Arjuna

is fighting a war and somehow the wheel of his chariot breaks, it is not that Krishna will solve Arjuna’s problem m i r a c u l o u s l y . Although, in some exceptional situations Krishna may do so, but usually that doesn’t

happen. We see that Arjuna really labours very hard to achieve an extraordinary level of material competence in archery and becomes world’s topmost archer. So, when we talk about spiritual solution to material problem that doesn’t mean material apathy or material irresponsibility.

Even in the Vedic tradition, e.g. Ayurveda (theistic medical science), wherein existence and benevolence of Vishnu is acknowledged, for a particular health problem, a particular medicine is prescribed for solving the problem. Therefore, even in the Vedic tradition we find that there are material solutions to material problems. It is not that in Ayurveda, only worshipping Vishnu can cure an illness, the patient has to take medicine and follow necessary treatment protocol.

Question – We can also understand ‘spiritual’ or ‘material’ in terms of orientation or purpose of our life. Are we living for material gratification or aggrandizement or are we living for spiritual purification? Is our purpose in life ‘material’ or is it ‘spiritual’?

Answer – This means that spiritual solution is not a substitute for material solution rather it is the foundation for it. Let us understand this with an example. Consider a situation in which everyone in the world starts chanting Hare Krishna mahamantra

and everybody becomes a devotee. Does that mean that there will be no problem in the material world? No. Still there will be suffering and material solutions would be required for alleviating these sufferings. So even if everyone is chanting the mahamantra, still we have to make some arrangement for providing food, shelter or clothing. Therefore chanting of mahamantra is not the substitute for our basic bodily needs. However, if our orientation is spiritual, it will bring selflessness and will avoid selfishness. Material systems of providing relief from miseries, if enhanced with spiritual foundations can deliver wonders.

Therefore, Bhagavad-Gita is definitely a spiritual solution. How? It changes Arjuna’s orientation completely. Arjuna at the starting of Bhagavad-Gita has been thinking in terms of ‘me and mine’ but after hearing the message, his focus of thinking changes completely and he picks up his weapon and fights. He fights with his material weapons and material skills (archery) but with spiritual orientation.

Question – What exactly does the Bhagavad-Gita solve?

Answer – It helps us to develop the right disposition for dealing with the material problems we face so that we are able to implement solutions properly. If we do not have the spiritual disposition and we are not connected to Krishna in our consciousness in the mood of service, then our actions will make problems bigger than they need to be and we will become overwhelmed by the problems. We will do things or take decisions, which ultimately will make things worse.

To summarize, yes the Bhagavad-Gita is the spiritual solution to the material problem but that doesn’t mean that it is a substitute for the material solution, rather it is the life force that ensures that the material solution works.

Does the Gita offer spiritual solution to spiritual problem or to material problem?

Nitya SevaNitya Seva-Niswartha Seva is a selfless monthly donation program for serving the Lord. It’s purely voluntary, based on the desire, inclination and capability of the donor. The mode of donation could be through cash, cheque or ECS. One can choose to donate any amount as Lord Krishna sees our intent behind that donation. A formal receipt will be provided for each donation. For more details,

• For ISKCON, East of Kailash, Pleasecontact HG Baladeva Sakha Prabhu @9312069623

• ForISKCON,PunjabiBagh,PleasecontactHGPremanjanaPrabhu@9999197259.

• ForISKCON,Dwarka,PleasecontactHGArchitPrabhu@9891240059.

• For ISKCON, Gurugram, Please contactHG Rameshwar Giridhari Prabhu@ 9899651230 / Ritesh Rampal @9654230342.

Vaishnava Calendar

May - 2017

May 4 - Sita Navami (Appearance of Srimati Sita Devi - Consort of Sri Rama)

May 6 - Mohini Ekadasi (Fasting from grains and beans) Break fast time next day between 5.35-10.03 am

May 9 - Lord Narsimhadeva Appearance (Fasting till dusk) Only Ekadasi Prasadam to be taken

May 14 - End of Saligram and Tulasi Jala Dan

May 22 - Apara Ekadasi (Fasting from grains and beans) Break fast time next day between 5.26-10.00 am

International Society for Krishna ConsciousnessFounder Acharya - HDG A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada

ISKCON, East of Kailash - Hare Krishna Hill, East of Kailash, New Delhi-110065 | Web: www.iskcondelhi.com | Live Darshan: live.iskcondelhi.comFacebook: www.facebook.com/iskcondelhiContact: 011-41625804, 26235133

ISKCON, Punjabi Bagh - 41/77, Srila Prabhupada marg, West Punjabi Bagh, Delhi-26 Contact Person: HG Premanjana Prabhu (8802212763)

ISKCON, Dwaka - Plot No.-4, Sector-13, Dwarka, New Delhi-110075Web: iskcondwarka.orgFacebook: www.facebook.com/iskcon.dwarka/Contact: 9891240059, 8800223226

ISKCON, Gurugram - Sudarshan Dham, Main Sohna Road, Badshahpur, GurugramContact Person: HG Rameshwar Giridhari Prabhu (9899651230) / Ritesh Rampal Prabhu (9654230342)

Temple ScheduleProgram Time

Mangala Arati 4:30 AM

Japa Meditation 5:15 AM

Darshan Arati 7:15 AM

Guru Puja 7:30 AM

Srimad Bhagavatam Discourse 8:00 AM

Raj Bhog Arati 12:30 PM

Usthapana Arati 4:15 PM

Sandhya Arati 6:30 PM

Bhagavad Gita Discourse 8:00 PM

Shyana Arati 8:30 PM

Temple Closes 9:00 PM

We hope you liked the newsletter. Please send your feedback/comments/suggestions at iskconcongregationeok@gmail.comor 9310410999

Upcoming events:1. Sita Navami (4th May) (ISKCON Delhi-NCR Temples)

The appearance of the eternal consort of Lord Rama will be celebrated with kirtan,abhishek and feasting.

2. Narsimha Caturdasi (9th May) (ISKCON Delhi-NCR Temples)

In his 4th incarnation, the Lord appeared as half man-half lion. Coming out of a pillar, He took this form to protect His dear devotee, Prahlada Maharaja, a 5-year old boy. On this auspicious day, devotees witness the divine abhishek of the Lord, amidst ecstatic kirtan. They also observe a complete fast till dusk and partake of ekadashi prasadam thereafter.

3. Summer Camp (22nd May- 31st June) (ISKCON East of Kailash)

The Summer camp is an annual event, which is much looked forward to. This camp provides children a platform to learn in a spiritually charged environment. Fun filled activities, such as drama, painting, dance as well as art and craft, bring out the best in kids. Moral stories from scriptures and daily darshans at the temple, plant the transcendental seed of bhakti in their little hearts. The grand finale on 1st June will be an exhibition of how the children spent the fortnight.