Can't get better than this!

Hare Krishna everyone!!

It can't get better than this!!

1. It is the Damodara month now, which means the result of devotional service is multiplied exponentially.
2. Lord Krishna declares in the Bhagavad Gita that one who preaches His message is the most dear to Him and there is no one more dear than he.
3. The Deepavali Fair affords us immense opportunity to preach, i.e. distribute books.

Srila Prabhupada wanted all devotees to distribute his books as much as possible. So this is the best opportunity for all of us to add some credit into our spiritual account. So we invite everyone to come and distribute books and experience the bliss of sankirtana.

Hare Krishna!

A Great Gathering of Fabulous Festivals

Sri Krishna Mandir celebrated a host of festivals at the end of August beginning with Jhulan Yatra. The details of the festivals are reported as follow:



Jhulan Yatra



The transcendental swing festival was hosted by Sri Krishna Mandir from the 24th to 28th Aug 07. For each of the five days, numerous devotees were allowed exclusive rights to decorate the transcendental swing. Whether it was decorating the ropes holding the swing or the stage where the transcendental swing resided, the decorations were done whole-heartedly for the satisfaction of the eternal couple Sri-Sri Radha Madana-Mohan.

A daily crowd of a hundred people with a weekend crowd of nearly six hundred graced the festival. All who stopped by eagerly awaited their turn to rock the transcendental swing. There were also many others who could not get enough and enthusiastically went forward either to again rock the swing or provide some cooling effects to the divine couple with the use of the peacock fan or the ‘chamara’.







The vibrant setting of the stage was made to replicate the cool green settings of Vrindavan. The lighting used for the stage was subtle and thus this made the transcendental swing stand out with its elaborate lighting and decor. It brought out a pleasing atmosphere that was picture perfect to everyone who was present. Many devotees gave feedback that the entire setup was very beautifully done and with the bhajan being played gave a blissful feel to the occasion.





Janmastami



The appearance day of Lord Krishna fell on 4th September 07 and many devotees were seen coming early to the temple and trying to help in whatever ways possible to mark the day as one of the biggest festival celebrated for The Supreme Personality of Godhead, Lord Krishna.



The deities were earlier fitted with brand new cream white coloured dresses and the temple hall was beautifully decorated all over with pleasantly fragrance flowers. More devotees started to stream in just before 7pm. Those who were present in the temple eagerly waited to see the deities in their glorious transcendental splendor. Everyone’s desire was fulfilled when the curtain opened at 7pm; devotees let out a silent gasp as they offered their obeisances to the deities. The kirtan then started along with the arti. At the same time other groups of devotees were busy in greeting people, looking after the prasadam distribution as well as stage and sound setup for the cultural show. As the kirtan wound down in an hour, the cultural show began in the cultural hall one floor below the temple hall.



Pandit Charan and the Kashyap family entertained the audience with bhajan in commemoration of Lord Krishna. The atmosphere was spiced up with the performance of a live band that played to the tunes of George Harrison and Boy George with songs like “My Sweet Lord” and “Bow Down Mister”. Everyone joined in the sing along of the Hare Krishna backed up by the unconventional combination of electric guitars, mrdanga and kartals.





With the audience fired up and eager for the next performance, the children made their way to the stage to exhibit costumes that depicted the incarnation of Lord Krishna during different yugas that included Lord Ramacandra, Lord Nrsimha, etc. The finale of the cultural show was the drama depicting the pastimes of Lord Krishna and more specifically His birth and the slaying of His demonic uncle, Kamsa.





The audience was then ushered to temple hall where kirtan and abhishek or milk offering to the deity of Lord Krishna started at approximately 11pm. With just half an hour remaining to the midnight hour, the president of Sri Krishna Mandir, His Grace Sundar Gopal Prabhu was then invited to say a few words on the significance of Lord Krishna’s appearance and pastimes in this material world. Laying out slokas from the scriptures such as Bhagavad-Gita and the Srimad Bhagavatam, Sundar Gopal Prabhu very elegantly and with much conviction roused everyone present with an excellent speech on Lord Krishna supremacy and causeless mercy and how we as insignificant entities can go back home, back to Godhead by following the instructions of Srila Prabhupada. Just before the stroke of midnight, the discourse of Lord Krishna’s appearance was concluded and everyone enthusiastically rose to their feet and waited to greet the deities.





As midnight hour came symbolizing the appearance of Lord Krishna in this material approximately 5000 years ago, the curtains opened and the song Govinda, which is one of Srila Prabhupada’s favourite was played. With the end of the song, a short session of kirtan then followed. As more and more people started to come in to the temple hall, it was almost impossible to move so much so that even devotees playing the mrdanga had no space to manouver their hands to properly play the percussions. Even then, the devotees were not deterred and maximized whatever space that was left and started to dance and chant enthusiastically.





The celebrations concluded with the masses queuing for prasadam. Devotees who had observed a day long fast formed another beeline for the caranamrta (milk mixed with various niceties that was used to bathe the deity of Lord Krishna) to break their fast. Thus, the celebration of the appearance day of Lord Krishna wound down with an unexpected turnout of a thousand people reported showing up for the five hour festival. With the temple recently relocated away from the hustle and bustle of Little India and being distant from major public transportation service stops as well as the festival falling on a weekday, it was a welcome surprise that many turned up. This comes to show that such is the inconceivable power of the Supreme Personality of Godhead that He sometimes bewilders His own devotees.




Appearance Day of Srila Prabhupada

The day after Janmastami, 5th September 07 was Srila Prabhupada’s appearance day. The celebrations started an hour before noon where devotees gathered for offering abhishekam to the deity of Srila Prabhupada. This was then followed by kirtan that heightened the mood of about fifty devotees present. At the same time an offering of more than three hundred different food stuff was prepared for the satisfaction of His Divine Grace along with a large sun-flowered shape birthday cake. All of the prasadam was then distributed freely to the public after the festival. The president of Sri Krishna Mandir, His Grace Sundar Gopal Prabhu eulogized Srila Prabhupada in a manner befitting the Supreme Personality of Godhead.







With everyone around the world coming to know Lord Krishna through Gaudya Vaishnava sampradaya will undoubtedly come into contact with Srila Prabhupada’s book. These books are transcendental and will easily propagate the eternal knowledge of the Supreme Lord and our long forgotten eternal relation with Him will inadvertently start to develop. Srila Prabhupada has a given us all the gem through his books as well as his vani (instructions) and through them we act accordingly to purify ourselves through the chanting of the Holy name of the Lord and be eligible to go back home, back to Godhead. Thus, Srila Prabhupada authority as the spiritual master is rock steady and unquestionable as his instructions will always live on through the form of his books.







Jai Srila Prabhupada ki Jai! Jai Sri-Sri Radha Madana-Mohan ki Jai!

Our website is being archived!

Hare Krishna everyone!!!

Following the recent Ratha Yatra celebrations, in which the MP of Marine Parade GRC, Dr. Ong Seh Hong graced the festival by being the Guest of Honor, it is quite evident that we have the full support of the government.



The latest development is that the National Library Board (NLB) is on a web-archiving project to keep a chronological record of the cultural heritage of Singapore. We are proud to inform you that ours is one of the chosen websites to be archived. This is good news for our preaching work.



The future generations will have a chance of knowing the evolution, history, practices and principles of the Hare Krishna movement in Singapore.



We thank all the devotees, members and well-wishers for their valuable support in pushing forward the Hare Krishna movement.

Ratha Yatra 2007 - A Spectacular Festival

Ratha Yatra, The Festival of Chariots was celebrated in Singapore on the 22nd July at the Toa Payoh Stadium. The festival is the biggest of all other festivals organized by Sri Krishna Mandir. The festival this year was graced by His Honourable, Dr Ong Heng Song, MP for Marine Parade GRC and His Honourable, Mr A.S. Gill, First Secretary for Indian High Commission. As soon as the guests were seated, it was time for the Odissi dancers to showcase their talents. The intricate movements of the dancers were matched with precision and their display of artistry was exhibited right in front of the deities of Lord Jagannatha, Lord Baladeva and Lady Subhadra.






With the conclusion of the traditional Indian dance which, undoubtedly charmed one and all, the guests-of-honour were garlanded and invited to give a speech. Dr Ong gave a ceremonious speech on racial harmony. Soon after, Mr Gill and His Grace Sundar Gopal Prabhu, president of Sri Krishna Mandir, gave speeches on the significance of the chariot festival.






As soon as the speech ended, the kirtan then started off with a full swing. Led by His Grace Raghupati Prabhu, the kirtan electrified the atmosphere as everyone waited for the relocation of the deities from the altar to the chariots. As each of the deities was being carried off to their respective chariot, many took the opportunity to get close up photo shots of the deities.






The crowd offered their humble obeisance as each of the deities was seated on the chariot. As the pujaris on board the chariots started the arati, everyone gaped with wonder at the synchronous actions of the pujaris from the offering of lamp to the blowing of conchshells. As the arati ended, Lord Jagannatha was presented with a beautifully decorated pink shawl. The guest-of-honours, Dr Ong and Mr Gill were called upon to become sevaks to sweep the path leading to the chariot of Lord Jagannatha, similar to when the King of Orissa sweeps the chariots of the Supreme Lord just before the commencement of the pulling of the chariots. Thereafter the devotees eagerly took their position around each of the three chariots and waited for the signal to pull the ropes tied to the chariots.






The signal was given and the chariots started to make its way around the tracks starting with the chariot of the eldest brother of the three, Lord Baladeva, followed by Lady Subhadra and then the Lord of the Universe, Lord Jagannatha. As each chariot made its way around the tracks, devotees started to chant the Holy names of the Lord melodiously along with the sounds of kartal and mrdanga. Despite of the potential of a heavy downpour imminent, devotees nonetheless persevered and continued chanting and pulling the chariots. But Lord Jagannatha, who is merciful understood the hearts of one and all who were present. As the skies opened up shortly after the opening ceremony, the Lord of the Universe ensured that the showers were kept at its minimum, ensuring a cool but literally dry evening. Everyone was exhilarated by this show of mercy and the kirtan soon turned into ecstatic kirtan as devotees started to dance for the pleasure of the Lordships. The melodic chanting of the holy name of the Supreme Lord, Sri Krishna was heard constantly from the three carts enlivening the entire atmosphere in the stadium as more devotees entered the stadium and joined in the festivities.

Halfway through the festivities, delicious and sumptuous prasadam was served at the end of the stadium at no charge and long queues was seen at the serving lounge. As the evening winded down, devotees pulling the chariots became adventurous and started to speed up the movement of the chariots. With every ounce of energy in their body devotees came to a point where they were virtually running whilst pulling the chariots! Such a spectacle was a truly awesome sight. Soon after, it was time to stop the chariots and retire the deities to the altar. The kirtan however, still continued and finally came to an end after the singing of Nrsimha Pranama. His Grace Sundar Gopal then was invited to give a small talk. He touched on the mercy of Lord Jagannatha especially on the occasion of Ratha Yatra where He is merciful to everyone who comes into contact with Him either visually or through touch. All who were present at the stadium were indeed fortunate enough to have seen the Lord of the Universe as they had stamped their right of places in Vaikuntha or the spiritual world where there no anxiety arises due to the effect of birth, death, old age and disease.

Ratha Yatra 2007 was comparably the largest festival that has been organized by Sri Krishna Mandir. A significant number of people attended the festival regardless of the cloudy conditions. Everything from the preparation of prasadam, to book distribution to chariot modifications was done at a gargantuan scale. This was done all for the pleasure of Lord Jagannatha, Lord Baladeva and Lady Subhadra. Many people from all walks of life turned up just and just by their showing up, they received the causeless mercy of the Lord of the Universe.



Ratha Yatra 2007 was a huge success for Sri Krishna Mandir especially in the forefront of its preaching efforts. The local government is finally recognising our preaching efforts as it has allowed us to have this Ratha Yatra in such a grand scale. The evidence of its sanctioning the Hare Krsna Movement in S'pore was by sending its representative to be the Guest Of Honour. In fact, the grandeur of the festival had caught the eye of a local newspaper and an international news media. The festival was published in the TODAY paper dated 23rd July 07 and although it was a short pictured article, it nonetheless gave an excellent indication that the chariot festival of Lord Jagannatha had gotten the attention of the masses. (The TODAY paper has a guaranteed circulation of 250,000 people.) The event was also covered in Channel News Asia; a first Ratha Yatra to receive TV coverage in South East Asia and perhaps outside India in Asia. This is the biggest breakthrough for Sri Krishna Mandir in Singapore, which has accepted Srila Prabhupada as our only Diksa and Siksa Guru. By his mercy only the impossible has been made possible.



Without a doubt, the Ratha Yatra festival will only grow bigger every year from now onwards by the will of Lord Jagannatha and countless number of heartlanders as well as expatriates will come together and will chant:

HARE KRISHNA HARE KRISHNA KRISHNA KRISHNA HARE HARE
HARE RAMA HARE RAMA RAMA RAMA HARE HARE

harer nama harer nama harer namaiva kevalam
kalau nasty eva nasty eva nasty eva gatir anyatha

(In this age of Kali, there is no other means, no other means, no other means of self-realiazation than chanting the holy name, chanting the holy name, chanting the holy name of Lord Hari.)

The Causeless Mercy of Lord Jaganntha

There are numerous accounts of miracles that had been showered on devotees by Lord Jagannatha or Lord of the Universe. Actually, Lord Jagannatha is none other than The Supreme Lord Krishna, Himself. As Lord Jagannatha, He displays His causeless mercy to one and all, even to the lowest of men. This is true account that occurred in the early 1800s and it goes to show how The Supreme Lord can leave behind everything just to help a devotee.

Bandhu Mohanty was very poor and as such he had no support to maintain his family, consisting of his wife and two sons. His wife asked him out of agony one day that why he was not going to his rich friend of whom he was so proud. The friend about whom Bandhu Mohanty mentioned was Lord Jagannatha, but they were produced in the court before the king his wife did not realise the essence of what her husband was saying all the time. So his wife compelled him to go to the house of the friend whosoever he was. He under took his journey to Puri. It was night already. Their two little sons were crying for food. They came just near the temple. Bandhu Mohanty consoled his wife saying. "My friend's palace is too big. He is very rich but it is not right to enter his house now as it is night. We will go tomorrow." All slept, being weak, hungry, tired and sad. But his wife did not sleep.

Suddenly, on a golden tray many kinds of food were brought by a robust man whose colour was very black. He left the place very quickly. She fed her sons and when Bandhu Mohanty was awake from his sleep, he was thunder-struck, hearing everything from his wife. But the golden plate was missing from the temple and found with them. This made a great noise in the small town. The police arrested all the family members and you not entertain them? So release Bandhu Mohanty at for severe punishment the next day.

The king dreamt that very night of Lord Jagannatha. As if giving order, the Lord said to him, "Oh King! When guests come to you, do once; he is my devotee." It was done, and he was given service as a cook in the temple. Even now, descendents of Bandhu Mohanty are the main cooks in the kitchen of the temple and they daily offer food to Lord Jagannatha on a golden Tray.

Jai Jagannatha! Jai Baladeva! Jai Subhadra!

Toa Payoh Stadium Map & Bus Guide

APOLOGY

Celebrating Lord Nrsimhadeva's Appearance

We are facing a lot of hindrances in the process of forwarding the Krishna Consciousness movement. So only by the causeless mercy of Lord Nrsimhadeva can we get rid of all these obstacles. Lord Nrsimha is especially severe against those who want to stop the preaching of the message of God as delineated in the Bhagavad Gita and the Srimad Bhagavatam.



It is our great fortune that He is gracing us with this festival called Nrsimha Caturdasi. We must grab this opportunity to serve Lord Nrsimha as much as we can.



We, on behalf of Sri Krishna Mandir, invite one and all, irrespective of caste, creed, race, colour or any such bodily distinctions, to take part in the festival.



Hare Krishna!!!

It's getting bigger: Out in the papers

The plight of Sri Krishna Mandir has attracted the attention of the press. On April 2nd, The New Paper featured our case on a full page article on page 9. Following is the scanned copy of the article in the New Paper.






Following is the scanned copy of the article in the Tamil Murasu:








Hare Krishna!!

Temple Premises - A Rich Cultural Heritage

Since 1919, 9 Norris Road has been a focal point for the development of social welfare and education in Singapore.Given by the Arya Sangam for the welfare of the Indian Commmunity, the land measuring the size of 5547 square feet in area, was eventually developed by the Ramakrishna Mission.



A Tamil school was inaugurated and beginning from 1932. Night classes were conducted to teach English, Tamil, hygiene and morality for the sake of the poor working adults. Free food was also distributed to the students.



In 1936, the construction of the second story building was completed. The period between 1937 and 1941 saw the burgeoning of the of the welfare activities. In 1937, a girls' school was started for the benefit of girls in Singapore and Malaya. In 1939 the YMCA (Young Men's Cultural Union) was started to give more emphasis to the character development of the young. Many regardless of race and creed participated. Many locals including Muslims, Christians, Taoist and Buddhist participated and benefited.



With the commencement of the Second World War, 9 Norris Road became the venue of an 80-bed hospital to treat the war bomb victims. War victims were also given shelter at the premise until 1945. Subsequently, an orphanage to house and look after the poor orphaned children of Singapore workers, who were killed during the construction of the infamous death railway(Burma-Siam railway), was started and this then became the forerunner of the eventual development of Boys' and Girls' Homes at premises.



Famous Names to have Graced the Premises



An impressive list of famous names adorns the history of the present Sri Krishna Mandir premises. Renowned men of universal fame have visited the premises in the course of their activities. National leaders, war heroes and philanthropists have rendered support and aid for the welfare activities at 9 Norris Road.




During the war years, Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose frequented the premises and subsequently opened the new dormitory building to house the orphanage.




In 1950, Pandit Jawaharalal Nehru the first Prime Minister of India, visited the Norris Road premises and attended the opening of the Boys' Home building.




In 1955, Mr Gulzarilal Nanda, the India Deputy Prime Minister and cabinet minister, visted the premises and presented a cheque for the purchase of books for the library on behalf of the Indian government.




Other important personalities to have visited the premises between 1955-1983 include Dr.Zakir Hussein(Former President of India), The Yang De Pertuan Negara of Malayam Federation, our Senior Minister and then Prime Minister, Mr Lee Kwan Yew, Mr. Ahmed Mattar(former Environment Minister), Mr. Rajaratnam(former Foreign Minister),etc.




Further to all of these visits, key leaders and philanthropist and men of business repute have contributed their energy and funds to developing 9 Norris Road as a centre for the spiritual and material welfare of the population.




In 1955, Dr.C rajagopalachari, the then Governor-General of India donated funds, both on behalf of the Indian government and from his personal account, for the development of the educational services rendered at the premises.




Mr Malclom MacDonald, the British Governor- General of the Southeast Asian colonies presided as the Chairman of the temple construction committee in the 1940s and 1950s. In addition, the entire construction of the structure in 1952 was borne by a single person who was none other than the late Mr.Govidaswami Pillai, one of the leading businessmen and philanthropists belonging to the local Indian community.




What do all this facts indicate?



This shows that 9 Norris Road has been duly recognised on history as one of the focal nerve centers for the provision of welfare services and spiritual and cultural activities. Sri Krishna Mandir is today located in a place of immense worth. Sri Krishna Mandir rightly fits into the Indian cultural setting that the premises is known for.



On top of all the celebreties who graced the premises, the premises is now the abode of Sri Krishna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead. So we appeal to everyone to support us in preserving the prestige of this site of great historical and cultural importance.

Sri Krishna Mandir invites you for Sri Rama Navami

Hare Krishna!

The festivals are starting to roll by in the year 2007. We have already celebrated the Gaura Purnima early in the month, now we got to pull up our socks for Sri Rama Navami.

The program starts on the evening of the 27th of March (tomorrow) at 7 pm. The program consists of:

• Abhishek (accompanied by kirtan)
• Discourse on the pastimes of Lord Sri Ramacandra
• Sayana Arati
• Non-grain Prasadam

All devotees are required to fast until sunset without even water and break fast with non-grain (Ekadasi) Prasadam.

By these festivals, the Supreme Lord is blessing us with His unparalleled pastimes constantly throughout the year just to take everyone of us back home, back to Godhead. So everyone must be eager to participate in such festivals as this and make tremendous spiritual advancement.

Everyone is invited irrespective of caste, religion, creed, colour, race, nationality!!!

For more information contact us at 62502280.

Hare Krishna!

Gaura Purnima 2007 - Appearance Day of Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu

Gaura Purnima 2007 fell on Saturday, March 3rd, 2007. On this day of appearance of Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu, devotees fasted from dusk till dawn. Come 6.30pm, devotees slowly started to stream into the temple to eagerly observe Tulasi Puja. After Tulasi puja, the program began with a bang with kirtan. With the sounds of mrdanga, kartal and conch shell being played, devotees then greeted the deities as the curtain opened. It was a truly splendid and wonderful birthday party as the deity of Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu stood behind a large birthday cake and witnessed the masses of devotees gathered for the ecstatic kirtan that was played especially for His pleasure.

As the evening wore on, the time became ripe to offer abhishek to Gaura Nitai. With the help of temple devotees, the deity of Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu then changed to a comfortable outfit suitable for receiving the shower of milk that offered by assembled devotees. He was then led down to a specially-built stage under marquee on ground level with the kirtan party and myriad of devotees accompanying behind Him. Devotees then took this opportunity to offer abhishek to the Lord as the kirtan was played more enthusiastically. After an hour of abhishek, the Lord took His leave and the temple devotees then started the cultural program in His honour. By then, prasadam was also started to be served and several devotees then made a beeline to receive the prasadam.

The audience in the jam packed marquee was treated to an excellent discourse on the life of Caitanya Mahaprabhu and was kept amused by the children segment of the program. The celebrations came to a close with a wonderful drama played out devotees on the causeless mercy of Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu. The drama depicted the sinful lives of Jagai and Madhai and how Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu with the help of His eternal associates delivered the sinful brothers. The audience and other onlookers were captivated with the entire display and authenticity of the drama.

Gaura Purnima 2007 was celebrated over a period of two days on the first weekend of March where a total crowd of 600 people participated in the festival. Approximately 1000 people, most of whom included passer-bys, tourists and curious onlookers also caught a glimpse of the festival and also indirectly received the mercy of Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu. Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu showered His mercy by gracing the event with His presence and because of that alone, hundreds of devotees and the hundreds more of others who witnessed the event felt spiritual bliss; something that could only be felt 500 years ago when Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu was Himself physically present in the material world. This strongly justifies the mission of Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu on the spreading of love of Godhead by chanting the holy name of Krishna which is still very much potent and spiritually gratifying.

Jai Nitai Gauranga! Jai Srila Prabhupada ki Jai!

Mangala Arati - The Complete Spiritual Experience

Every morning at 5:00 am, the bells ring and the devotees one after the other enter the temple hall of Sri Krishna Mandir, 9 Norris Road, Singapore. It’s time to start the day with a spiritual experience beyond parlance.

The divinity of the Mangala Arati is special as it coincides with the Brahma Muhurtham – a period of time : 2 hrs before sunrise, considered ideal for spiritual practice.

The devotees after offering their respectful obeisances to the Guru (Spritual master – His Divine Grace : Srila Prabhupada) await the opening of the altar screen to get a glance of the delightful form of Sri Sri Gaur Nitai, Sri Sri Radha Madhanamohan and the Lord of the Universe (Jagannath, Baladev and Subhadra Devi).

After offering their due respects, its time to recite a beautiful prayer to the spiritual master called the Sri Sri Gurv-astaka.

Significance of Sri Gurv-astaka

“Srila Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura, who appeared in the middle of the seventeenth century, is a great spiritual master in the Krishna conscious chain of gurus and disciples. He says, “One who, with great care and attention, loudly recites this beautiful prayer to the spiritual master during the Brahma – Muhurtha obtains direct service to Krishna, the Lord of Vrndavana, at the time of his death.”

The devotees beautifully dance and participate in the course of the mantra thereby creating a spiritual experience. The sweet rhythm with the beating of the drums creates a completely spiritual experience not to be found any where in the concrete jungle of Singapore.

Narasimha Pranama

Lord Narasimha, is the destroyer of all inauspiciousness. The Lord appeared in the wonderful half-lion and half-man form in order to protect his five-year old devotee Prahlada, from the atrocities of his demoniac father Hiranyakashipu.
The devotees, therefore praise and invoke the blessings of Lord Narasimha.

Sri Tulasi Pranama

Significance of worshipping Tulasi Devi

In the Skanda Purana it is said: ‘Tulasi is auspicious in all respects. Simply by seeing, simply by touching, simply by remembering, simply by praying to, simply by bowing before, simply by hearing about or simply by sowing this tree, there is always auspiciousness. Anyone who comes in touch with the Tulasi tree in the above-mentioned ways lives eternally in the Vaikuntha world."

As the embodiment of the lila-sakti (pastime potency), Vrinda devi is the organizer of all the transcendental pastimes between Sri Krishna and Srimati Radharani. In Goloka every thing is animate (cit) and only for the pleasure of Sri Krishna. Vrinda devi makes this happen. She is assisted by many confidential associates (which include two parrots) and with their help she makes sure that every thing is pleasing to Sri Krishna. She controls how the wind blows, when and where it rains, how the trees bend, and so many other things for the pleasure of the Divine Couple.

The summon bonum of the Tulasi Pranama is to invoke her blessings to attain the transcendental service of Sri Sri Radha and Krishna

Hari Nama Japa

hare krsna hare krsna
krsna krsna hare hare
jare rama hare rama
rama rama hare hare
iti sodasakam namanam
kali-kalmasa – nasanam
natah paratoropayah
sarva-vedesu drsyate

(Kalisantarana Upanisad)

“The sixteen words – Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare/Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare – are especially meant for counteracting the contaminations of Kali. To save oneself from the contamination of Kali, there is no alternative but the chanting of these sixteen words.”

His Divine Grace – Srila Prabhupada has recommended that one should chant a minimum of 16 rounds a day.

The devotees take this up with all earnest and the temple witnesses people chanting japa (chanting to oneself, just loud enough to hear one’s own chant). One gets to sincerely chant and hear the Lord’s name at this part of the morning clock. As one can see above, this chant is the only solution to the miseries in this age of Kali. Irrespective of caste, creed, qualification, gender, etc., everyone is invited to take part and enjoy the transcendental bliss by invoking the Lord’s name.

The Mangala Arati, thus puts things in the best perspective to start the day with bliss and joy. It sets the tone for the rest of the day and keeps the devotee in the mood of service to the Supreme Lord.

Sri Krishna Mandir welcomes one and all to take part in the blissful Mangala Arati programme.

- Hare Krishna

(Article by Krishna Caitanya Das)

This year, the Gaura Purnima falls on the 3rd of March. Who is Caitanya Mahaprabhu? Rupa Gosvami composed a very nice verse when he first met Caitanya Mahaprabhu.

namo maha vadanyaya
krsna-prema pradayate
krsnaya krsna caitanya namne
gaura tvise namah

This verse summarizes the mission of Lord Caitanya in a nutshell. Lord Caitanya is the self-same Lord Krishna, the foster child of Yasoda and Nanda Maharaja. vrajendra nandana yei, saci-suta hoilo sei. Lord Krishna demands in the Bhagavad Gita: sarva dharman parityajya mam ekam saranam vraja. He first of all demands unconditional surrender before He awards devotional service to anyone. But Caitanya Mahaprabhu awards the highest perfection of life, love of God, to a society devoid of God-consciousness. krsna-prema pradayate.

This is the reason why He is called the most munificient of all incarnations. maha vadanyaya. To attain the highest stage of love of God, one must take to the lotus feet of Caitanya Mahaprabhu. There is no other way in this Age of Kali.

The appearance day of Lord Caitanya is a very good opportunity to render some devotional service to His Lordship. On the top of it, it falls on a saturday. What more can you ask for? We also need a few hands on the friday to prepare festival. On the saturday, the program will be conducted in English and on Sunday, in Bengali.

Bring along all your friends and relatives. Everyone is invited!

Gaura Purnima -- Significance

This year, the Gaura Purnima falls on the 3rd of March. Who is Caitanya Mahaprabhu? Rupa Gosvami composed a very nice verse when he first met Caitanya Mahaprabhu.

namo maha vadanyaya

krsna-prema pradayate

krsnaya krsna caitanya namne

gaura tvise namah

This verse summarizes the mission of Lord Caitanya in a nutshell. Lord Caitanya is the self-same Lord Krishna, the foster child of Yasoda and Nanda Maharaja. vrajendra nandana yei, saci-suta hoilo sei. Lord Krishna demands in the Bhagavad Gita: sarva dharman parityajya mam ekam saranam vraja. He first of all demands unconditional surrender before He awards devotional service to anyone. But Caitanya Mahaprabhu awards the highest perfection of life, love of God, to a society devoid of God-consciousness. krsna-prema pradayate.

This is the reason why He is called the most munificient of all incarnations. maha vadanyaya. To attain the highest stage of love of God, one must take to the lotus feet of Caitanya Mahaprabhu. There is no other way in this Age of Kali.

The appearance day of Lord Caitanya is a very good opportunity to render some devotional service to His Lordship. On the top of it, it falls on a saturday. What more can you ask for? We also need a few hands on the friday to prepare festival. On the saturday, the program will be conducted in English and on Sunday, in Bengali.

Bring along all your friends and relatives. Everyone is invited!