New Altars At Taman Daya Temple

Sri Krishna Mandir Taman Daya has installed new altars for the pleasure of Sri-Sri Gaura-Nitai and Sri Jagannath, Sri Baladeva and Srimate Subhadra Devi. The beautiful altar was designed and made in Malaysia and brought in the month of October '09 to commemorate the auspicious Kartika month that happens to be Lord Krishna's favourite month.

Malaya Giri Dham Update - 15th Oct 09

Hare Krishna Everyone!

The Malaya Giri Dham temple development is in full swing as you can see from the pictures attached. Brick laying for the temple has started. The window and door frames have also been inserted. The first picture shows the entrance to the temple. The second picture depicts the side of the farm community temple. Up next is road development that will include ground leveling and placement of gravel. Tune in next week for more news and development of this wonderful project inspired by Srila Prabhupada.

Malaya Giri Dham Blog

Hare Krishna!

For those who are not informed, we would like to first let them know that we have launched a new and exciting project - The Malaya Giri Dham Farm Community Project in Kota Tinggi, Johor, Malaysia.

Although still in a nascent stage and at a low profile, this project has already sparked a significant enthusiasm in the congregation members and other well-wishers and supporters. Some of them have been joining us there for the past few weekends as we were working on the temple structure. They all were very much enlivened to say the least.

Actually, we were publishing the news of this project in this page and www.krsnamandir.org. But owing to the popularity that it has gained over the past few weeks, we have decided to start this exclusive blog for disseminating news about the project. Visit the Malaya Giri Dham Blog.

Stay tuned! Haribol!

Vyasa Puja Homages Book Is Out

Hare Krishna!

For the pleasure of Srila Prabhupada and all the devotees, we have released the Srila Prabhupada Vyasa Puja Homages Book. This book contains the homages of all the disciples of Srila Prabhupada in the region of Singapore and Malaysia You can get a copy for yourself for $10.

Hare Krishna! Jaya Srila Prabhupada!

Krishna’s Swan Boat – A Special Pastime Of Sri Sri Radha Madana Mohana

We started this swan boat festival first in 1989 when our temple was located in Bencoolen Street. The festival was held way up on the fifth storey of the building. We used a children’s swimming pool, a little plastic pool for the event. It was here that Their Lordships Sri Sri Radha Madana Mohan took Their first boat ride.

The next time the event was held was in 1992 when our temple was in Mounbatten Road. The festival was held in a slightly bigger way. We had made a bigger fiber glass pool and a little swan boat for Them. Since it was held on the ground it created a very natural effect. Our devotees were very enthusiastic in seeing Their Lordship enjoying Their water pastimes.

The event then was suspended for a few years until we moved to Norris Road. Only in the year 2004 did we again revive the event. It all happened spontaneously while we were honoring Prasadam on the occasion of Radhasthami, the Appearance Day celebration of Srimati Radharani, the eternal consort of Lord Krishna. In a few hours, we somehow managed to organize the festival; the congregation devotees were taken in for a big surprise that evening as they attended the festivities of Radhastami.

The following year we wanted to make it even grander; we wanted a real big boat for the occasion. Someone donated a small boat about 8 feet in length and we were trying to build a swan over it. It seemed very difficult as it required professional assistance. We then tried to contact some design companies to see if they would be in a position to help us out.

It so happened that one Mr. Richard Tang came over to see us. On explaining the matter, he immediately agreed to make the swan boat for us for free as he saw the good work we were doing in feeding some 20,000 people with free food every month. He was overwhelmed with our good work and our serious sense of sincerity in serving the needy and unfortunate. He also remarked that were humbly serving the people without craving for fanfare. He was very happy to help. We then presented him some of Srila Prabupada’s books in Chinese as a token of appreciation.

The swan boat that he built was simply beautiful and was much bigger than anything that we ever had. This time we decided to hold the festival in a regular-sized swimming pool to accommodate the boat and all the devotees. The Jalan Besar Swimming Complex was chosen as the avenue and it proved to be a roaring success as many devotees attended the festival. Devotees from as far as Malayasia also came for the occasion. Our local MP too attended the celebration to bring the event to greater participation. It was so successful that it was repeated continuously for the past five years. In fact, it became one of our major regular festivals. One of our Guests of Honour, Dr.V.P.Nair, was so impressed with the event that he called his wife to come over although she was heading out to another function. He stayed on and was simply mesmerized by the beauty of the boat, the chanting and the devotional atmosphere. He was in ecstasy. The staff at the pool were very helpful and were also very happy in participating in the event. They said that they would look forward to meeting us every year; in fact, one of them came up to us and requested us to pray for her as she could feel the purity of the occasion and the devotees. They all enjoyed sumptuous prasadam. The crowd grew by leaps and bounds to also include many old folks from different homes.

As it always happens, success brings about enmity. We were told that this year onwards we would not be able to use the pool or any other pools for the event .It almost dealt a death blow for the Swan boat ride for Their Lordships. We were very disheartened as it was one of the festivals that most of the devotees enjoyed apart from our Ratha Yatra.

We were very worried as to what is to be done. One day, while having our Kirtan program at the beach at our regular place at the East Coast Park, it suddenly struck us as to why not we host the festival at the beach! It was definitely Krishna’s indication to us. It was a very brilliant idea and on consultation with the other devotees it was then unanimously agreed upon. We have now approached the relevant authorities for the necessary approval for the event to be schedule for the 6^th of September, 2009.

Meanwhile, as this was progressing, we had a surprise visit by our Mr. Richard Tang, the builder of the Swan boat. We had previously tried to contact him but to no avail; we had thought that he was not interested and perhaps not so keen in meeting us any more.

Mr. Richard Tang said that he was trying to meet us and had gone to our last address and was shocked to see that we had moved. He was in great dilemma as to how he could find us. On persistently inquiring from our previous neighbors, he finally got our new address. On arriving at our present temple he was so pleased to take Darshan of Sri Sri Radha Madana Mohan that he dropped a $1,000 dollar bill donation into our donation box. He was very touched.

He then met us and explained that he had a dream recently about the boat and how Lord Krishna told him that the boat was not in a good condition and therefore requires a replacement. After witnessing this dream, he had frantically tried to contact us to see how he could fulfill the Lord’s desire.

We then expressed to him that the boat had suffered severe damages owing to our frequent shifting of premises; and we had difficulty in transporting and storing it as it was bulky. We actually needed a replacement but owing to the predicament that we were not allowed to use the pool we had not shown much interest in repairing it. In fact, we did not know who to turn to for help.

Mr. Richard Tang’s gesture indicates that Sri Sri Radha Madana Mohan are keen in going on a sea ride on a brand new boat and have therefore arranged for Mr. Tang to come by and give them a new boat. We were all in great ecstasy to hear this from the mouth of Mr. Tang.

The Lord is certainly in control of everything. We are sometimes not too sure whether the Lord is happy with our endeavors or not. But situations like this certainly prove how their Lordships are very personal and very reciprocative. We are all now working with renewed strength to make this another successful event for Their pleasure.

Mr. Tang is currently building the new boat according to the supreme desire of Sri Sri Radha Madana Mohan.

We invite all of you to come and take the mercy of the Lord in their new boat as the boat, the paraphernalia, etc. are all non different from the Lord especially so when the Lord had personally desired for this new boat.

By: Raghupati Das

Be Part Of Us – A Malaya Giri Dham Project Update

Dear devotees,

This is to enlighten you of the recent developments of our Malaya Giri Dham Varnashram project. We started by bringing a 40-foot container with 4 compartment-rooms. We then started to repair the toilet on the old building but ended up renovating the entire building. You can perhaps see the pictures of the development.

Now we are embarking on building the temple. It is to be built on the space between the old house and the 40-foot container. This requires laying of cement for the ground floor and later on, the fixing of steel rafters for the erecting of a roof for the new temple. The laying of the floor is also progressing steadily and is expected to be completed soon.We are planning to install Sri Sri Krishna Balaram deities once we complete the structure.

On the agricultural side we have now identified the site for the proposed flower garden and work has progressed steadily in clearing the land and eventually, we will be digging of a well on the site. This is to ensure that there will be a continuous supply of water for the plants. We also would need to erect a netting roof over the proposed flowering plot so as to prevent the attack of insects on the plants.

We have also marked the site for the proposed cow protection shed. Here we plan to rear cows for pleasure of Sri Sri Krishna Balaram. We already have prospective donors who are interested in donating the cows.

We are expecting the power to arrive any moment. Once this is accomplished we would then progress in completing the project rapidly. However we do require a lot of financial assistance for this glorious project of Srila Prabhupada. We do have the skilled manpower to complete the project but we are lacking financial support for the purchase of raw materials, etc. The entire estimated cost is about SGD$ 50,000.

In this material world, cow protection and brahminical culture please Krishna the most because these two activities bring about auspiciousness for the whole world. It is actually true. We can solve all the problems of the world just by introducing cow protection and brahminical culture. So anyone who takes part in this supreme welfare work is especially blessed by Lord Krishna and very soon, all his miseries will end and he will return back to the spiritual world, Vaikuntha. Therefore, we are offering a Life Membership wherein donors who donate SGD$3,001 or more, would qualify for a life time membership of the project. They would be able to stay for free in the Dham for a week in a year with food, board and lodging. Kindly lend us your helping hand in realizing this very important project.

Prospective donors who want to visit the Dham are most welcomed as we would be most glad to take you on a site tour. We do have guest house facilities for staying in; so kindly make an appointment with us and we would be most honored to host you. It would truly be an unforgettable experience that you would certainly cherish - to be living in the mode of goodness amongst the mountains, rivers and fruit orchards; and practicing spiritual life in such a peaceful environment, far, far away from the hustle and bustle of the highly materialistic urban civilization, which saps out the vital energy of human life.

Another Malaysian Temple Joins Srila Prabhupada's Family

Hare Krishna!

Slowly but steadily, the genuine rtvik system is gaining popularity among the Hare Krishna devotees all around the world. Well, in our region here, one Sriman Svarat Prabhu, the president of the Hare Krishna Yatra in the town of Pedas, Negri Sembilan Malaysia, has openly declared himself a follower of the Rtvik system of initiations and agreed to cooperate with His Grace Sundar Gopal Prabhu, the temple president of Singapore and Rtvik representative for the regions of Singapore and Malaysia as of now. Sriman Svarat Prabhu, the temple president of the Pedas Yatra, who was already an advocate of the rtvik system of initiation, invited him to Pedas to initiate 4 devotees on behalf of Srila Prabhupada. The new initiates were Vaisnava Das, Manjari Devi Dasi, Cintamani Devi Dasi and Mitra Vrinda Devi Dasi. The initiates were in ecstasy to be directly connected to Srila Prabhupada. They were very happy to have realized that they have been now saved from the disastrous bogus guru system that is currently prevailing in ISKCON.

Along with Sriman Sacisuta Prabhu, His Grace Sundar Gopal Prabhu, Sriman Visvambhara Prabhu and ourselves went up to Pedas. Visvambhara Prabhu, although a grhastha, is always enthusiastic to be in the association of devotees. So he traveled with us in great eagerness.

Pedas is a typical Malaysian small, quiet town occupied by a significant number of Oriya families that have been 2 to 3 generations there. Svarat Prabhu happened to move in there about 2 years ago owing to his work commitments. He started preaching to the Oriya people there in an estate temple there managed by the Oriyas.

On the 20th of June, 2009, we had a very nice initiation ceremony. They received us very well. Simple people that they are, they enjoyed the kirtana and the initiation ceremony. Visvambhara Prabhu, being an Oriya himself, spoke at length about initiation, about Srila Prabhupada, and about Lord Jagannatha in the Oriya language.

The program was so enthusiastic and inspiring that the devotees immediately proposed to build a beautiful temple for Lord Jagannatha. They then consulted our President Sriman Sundar Gopal Prabhu for his assistance in accomplishing the project for which he readily consented. The land to build the temple is already acquired and they need some funding and other technical guidance. This, once accomplished, would be the first ever temple for Lord Jagannatha in Malaysia, thus fulfilling the desire of Srila Prabhupada.

The Mangala Arati next day was attended by us and Svarat Prabhu's family and one more Oriya family who were greatly inspired by the initiation and are seriously aspiring to be initiated by Srila Prabhupada. The entire morning program including a very insightful Srimad Bhagavatam lecture by Sriman Sundar Gopal Prabhu and breakfast prasadam saw Svarat Prabhu very fervid in pushing on the movement there with newly-infused vigor. He and his family are going to attend our Ratha Yatra on Sunday, June 28, 2009.

I was very much inspired by the whole episode. It left me wondering how nice it would be if all the devotees of the world follow the instructions of Srila Prabhupada and cooperate in such an affectionate rapport.

Lord Balarama's Mercy

On the 18th of April 2009, a very significant event occurred to three devotees - Prahlad Bhakta Das, Tattva Vit Das and Mahaprabhu Das in the heart of Little India, Serangoon Road. Ratha Yatra 2009 was just round the corner, Mahaprabhu, Tattva Vit and Prahlad Bhakta Das were asked by the Ratha Yatra co-ordinator Sriman Raghupathi Prabhu to raise some funds for the upcoming festival in June. We enthusiastically took up this service and headed on a Saturday morning to accomplish this task for the temple.

Doing sankirtan is always a blissful service for the pleasure of Srila Prabhupada. In fact it is the best service. It is a way of how the fallen souls can be engaged in performing their devotional service to the Lord, in this way starting their devotional journey back home back to Godhead, the medicine for their ultimate freedom from this material disease of birth, death, old age and disease.

They were enjoying the bliss of meeting the people like merchants and well-wishers in the Little India area and telling them about Krishna. In fact they were all very enthusiastic upon meeting us. They were very warm in receiving us into their shops and many of them instantaneously responded by giving either cash or kind for the service of Lord Jagannatha. Even persons of other faiths also gave very willing. It was indeed very heartening to see such a flow of generosity from the very keen hearts of many people. The devotees felt that it must be through Sri Krishna Mandir’s many years of dedicated service to the people of Singapore by the way of food distribution, helping the needy and unfortunate and many other related services which must have touched the hearts of all the residents of Little India.

The devotees had business shop owners inquiring of our temple activities and always asking when the temple will be coming back to the Little India area again as they really miss all the devotees and especially the daily darshan of the Deities Sri Sri Radha Madan Mohan, and how they had enjoyed participating in the many festivities hosted by the temple.

As they were winding up the sankirtan collections for the day Prahalad Bhakta Das and Mahaprabhu Das approached the last shop in the area. Prahalad Bhakta Das who had been fervid all day, went into the shop as speedy as an arrow and was later followed in by Mahaprabhu Das. He very enthusiastically approached the owner for a donation. The owner however, was very agitated and was very angry at our presence in his shop. He remarked that for Sri Krishna Mandir, he was not willing to make any form of contribution as he felt that we were not representing the actual philosophy of the Hindus, by proclaiming that Lord Krishna as the Supreme Personality of Godhead. He felt that we should not deride the position of the other gods in our Hindu religion. Prahalad Bhakta then insisted that these views of his is not supported in our scriptures like Bhagavad Gita etc. and further added that one should not blindly follow the perverted views of many unauthorized persons like our traditional parents etc. and how we should take the word of the Lord as it is from the authorized scriptures.

On hearing this he was further infuriated and was seething like a trampled snake. He then started hurling very abusive language and became very offensive. We thought that it is best to leave the premises as it was getting a bit out of control. At this juncture when Prahalad Bhakta Das was trying to leave the shop, the shop owner slapped him and took out a long knife and placed it on his neck in a most threatening manner, to slash the throat of Prahalad Bhakta Das. The owner then challenged whether Lord Krishna could come and save him now. He was just like Hiranyakasipu who tried to challenge the potency of a devotee of the Lord. Prahalad Bhakta Das was becoming very nervous and frightened at this situation and was simply praying to the Lord to help him. The owner was creating a very big commotion that eventually caught the attention of many passer-bys. As a big crowd gathered eventually, it was only through their intervention that he was relieved from his predicament. As Prahalad Bhakta Das was leaving the premises the demonic owner kicked him further traumatizing him.

Prahalad Bhakta Das was very devastated by the whole episode and was very deeply shaken and distressed. The three devotees then hurried back to the temple to report the matter to the President Sriman Sundar Gopal Prabhu. Upon hearing about the encounter, he was most disturbed to hear as to how they were attacked. He insisted that we proceed immediately to the nearest police station to make a complaint. In fact he personally escorted them to the station to report the matter.

While they were making the report, seeing the seriousness of the subject matter, the investigating officer arrived at the station almost immediately to interview them about the incident. The investigating officer than personally brought them in a police car to the assailant’s shop to confront him on the issue. On arriving at the scene, the perpetuated assailant yelled out warning us to keep away from his premises but the police officer identified himself and insisted that he wants to interview him to hear his side of the story. On examining him and hearing his explanation, he eventually relented and related how he had attacked our Prahlad Bhakta Prabhu and even ended up showing the very knife that he had used in the episode. With a very grave look in his face the police officer sternly warned the assailant that he had committed a very serious crime and it would tantamount him in receiving a very stiff criminal sentence in jail. The owner became very remorseful and started pleading for mercy. He started explaining how he was feeling very sick when he was approached by our devotees and he mistook them as some unlicensed solicitors scourging the public for donations and thought that they were creating a menace.

The devotees were then called in by the concerned officer to meet the owner. He was very sorry for what he had done and was very apologetic for his actions. He seemed apparently to have known the President and was very sorry to have misbehaved with the temple devotees and was deeply regretful. Upon seeing the owner of the shop truly remorseful, the officer confided with the devotees on what their interest would be. The devotees too were of the opinion of letting him go and to drop the charges.

On leaving the shop the President noticed a very expensive golden club in the showcase of the shop and he inquired on its cost. Our President wanted it for Lord Balaram. It was very beautiful and the owner as a result of his folly to make up with the devotees then presented the golden club as a gift to Lord Balaram. The President was very pleased with the gift and remarked that how just a few days ago he was thinking of how Lord Balaram would be happy if only He had a golden club in His hands and now with this episode it has become a reality. He thanked Prahalad Bhakta for making this come true. Prahalad Bhakta Das was feeling very ecstatic and at the same time very humbled at how the Lord had used him for His glorious pastimes. They all thanked the owner and hurried back to the temple to present the golden club to the Lord. It was truly a most satisfying moment for all the devotees. Prahalad Bhakta Das was indeed deeply thinking that for Lord Balaram’s pleasure he would not even mind losing his life again and again.

The next morning during Mangala Arati (the First morning Prayer of the day at 5am) Lord Balaram was very blissful holding His Golden club and He was simply looking very gorgeous. All the devotees were overly ecstatic in beholding this most auspicious form of the Lord.On hearing the news of our Lord Balaram’s pastimes, all the devotees were in ecstasy. Some of the other shop owners too were very pleased to hear the news. In fact some of them related the notoriety of this particular owner who had been a constant pinprick, and who had portrayed himself as the self styled mafia head of Little India and had done various types of mischief to many a person. They were all happy to hear how he was humbled and they all prayed that he would now change over a new leaf.

Malaysian Preaching Tour Report by Bhakta Varun

Hare Krsna! All glories to Srila Prabhupada! His Grace Sundar Gopal Prabhu was invited by the President of Sri Krishna Mandir, Johor Bahru (JB hereafter), to officiate the opening of a preaching centre in Klang. This event being the highlight of the 5-day tour commencing on the 30^th of January, some other advances in preaching have also been made in other parts of Malaysia.

His Grace Sundar Gopal Das, Ranti Dev Das, Prem Vikas Das and I left for the Sri Krishna Mandir, JB, in the evening of the 30^th of Jan, 2009. After resting there for the night, we had a nice morning program on the 31^st of Jan, 2009 including Mangala Arati, Japa, Deity Greetings and Srimad Bhagavatam class. At about 1pm, we set off on a 5-hour journey for Klang. The opening ceremony was scheduled for the 1^st of February. When we reached there at 6pm, we were elated to see the devotees headed by Sacisuta Prabhu busy decorating the premises for the ceremony the following day.

After honoring the excellent Prasadam preparations by Radhika mataji, we were asleep early. On the 1^st of Feb, we went on a morning walk in a nearby park with Mrdanga and kartals and we did a Harinama in the park much to the amazement of the public there. The silent Tai Chi practitioners were certainly disturbed by the kirtan. Harinama Sankirtana ki Jaya!

We came back, prepared for the opening Yajna, and Sacisuta expertly conducted the Yajna, following which there was thunderous kirtan. Then, the prasadam was distributed to all the devotees. This was followed by a house program in the evening.

On the 2^nd of February, we set off to Ipoh in the afternoon and reached in the evening at 7pm. We were allowed residence at one Shree Krishna Mandir where Srila Prabhupada stayed way back in 1972. The pujari there was very friendly with us and allowed us to use the cooking facilities in the temple. We met one promising devotee in Ipoh who understands and is preparing to adhere to the Rtvik system of initiation as authorized by Srila Prabhupada. He informed to us that after fulfilling his current obligations, he would come out and preach boldly.

On the 3^rd of February, we had a Mangala Arati at the temple, prepared khicari, had Darsana Arati and had Prasadam. Then we met Mr. Manjeet, who is a brother-in-law of Ranti Dev Prabhu. He is a Major in the Malaysian Army. He took us for a short trip to Cameron Highlands full of beautiful scenery. There he asked Sundar Gopal Prabhu some questions regarding Krsna Consciousness and appreciated what Prabhu had to say.

We drove straight back to Singapore after that – a 9-hour drive.

It is always inspiring to observe and participate in the dynamism of Sundar Gopal Prabhu's preaching. It has been a very instructional and inspiring tour for me. Association of advanced devotees is so valuable that one makes rapid advancement in Krsna Consciousness.

Jaya Srila Prabhupada!

 

-by Bhakta Varun

Preaching & Sri-Sri Radha-Gopinatha Deities Installation in Ballarat, Australia in the Summer of 2009

The city of Ballarat in Victoria, Australia hosted devotees from Sri Krishna Mandir. The devotees were invited there by Vrndavan Das and Syamsundari Devi Dasi. The two devotees were originally from Singapore but have resettled in Australia along with their four children. Motivated by the instructions of His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Srila Prabhupada, they intended to open a preaching centre in Ballarat. The family decided to install Radha-Gopinatha deities with close consultancy with Sri Krishna Mandir.

With the sun starting on its course for the northern hemipshere on 14th January 2009, which marked the anniversary where Bhismadeva left his body, the deities installation was originally planned to be held on the very auspicious day itself. However, due to the delays in clearing the devotional paraphernalia customs on time, the subsequent day was chose for the ceremony. The ceremony was to be concluded on Friday, 16th January 2009. Following the deities installation, the first ever preaching program consisting of kirtan, Bhagavad-Gita discourse and prasadam distribution will be held in the evening of the same day.

Devotees at Lake Wendouree Olympics memorial

Five devotees from Sri Krishna Mandir touched down in Melbourne and were received by the family on 12th January 2009. Arrangements were made by the gracious hosts to accommodate the visiting devotees in their house and prasadam was constantly in plentiful supply. After honouring prasadam heartily, the devotees then took an evening walk along the famous Lake Wendouree which, hosted rowing, kayaking and canoeing in the 1956 Olympics. A cool breeze blew as some devotees chanted their rounds while the host gave a short tour of the area. The gracious host then brought the visiting devotees to the highest peak in Ballarat named Black Hill. From there, devotees got a glimpse of a beautiful sunset on the horizons beyond the city of Ballarat. As it was summer, someone then remarked with the setting of the sun that it was 9pm in the evening and that it was time to go back for rest.

At the summit of Black Hill overseeing the city of Ballarat

The devotees were up before 5am the next day for mangala arati and this was followed through with the entire morning program as prescribed by Srila Prabhupada. The subject of the Srimad Bhagavatam class was on “The Passing Away of Bhismadeva” which, coincided with the changing of the course of the sun to the northern hemisphere. Obviously, the devotees accepted that the chain of events were not merely coincidental but was due to the will of The Supreme Personality of Godhead, Lord Krishna. At the conclusion of the Srimad Bhagavatam class, prasadam was served. Thereafter, everyone got busy to prepare for the deities installation ceremony and the preaching program scheduled for later in the week. From calling authorities on the outcome of clearing customs for the devotional paraphernalia to making long trips to Melbourne to buy ingredients for prasadam distribution, abhishek ceremony (bath of the deities) and fire sacrifice to rushing off to the library to put together a presentation to encourage people to chant the holy names of Lord Krishna, everyone was heavily but joyfully engaged in the service of the Lord.

Srimad Bhagavatam class

By Wednesday, 14th January 2009, nearly all the devotional paraphernalia had cleared custom authorities and all the other necessary items were gathered for the ceremony including a brand new clay mridanga that was received in a pristine condition. After the morning program on the 15th January 2009, the first half of the deities installation ceremony took place. Led by chief priest, His Grace Saci Suta Prabhu, the president of Taman Daya temple in Johor, the deities of Radha-Gopinatha were taken out to a veranda within the residential compound where their blindfolds were taken out and dressing changed for abhishek. As the abhishek ceremony started all the devotees gathered around and glorified the eternal couple through kirtan. With the conclusion of the first half of the installation ceremony, the devotees broke their fast.

First day of installation of Sri-Sri Radha-Gopinatha deities

With the stage set for the full day program the next day, the devotees decided to relax a little by going on a short tour on the outskirts of Ballarat. Their first stop was a walk through Hepburn springs nature trail, followed by a relaxing stopover at the Lake Daylesford. En route to the lake, devotees came across an apple tree that cannot be found in the tropical region of Singapore and Malaysia. After plucking a couple of apples, everyone made their way to the lake where devotees sat on a man-made wood jetty and dipped their feet into the cool lake munching away their crunchy green apples with the summer sun shining brightly above. One devotee joked that the lake has been turned into a tirtha similar to the Ganga and Yamuna river due to contact with devotees and playfully scooped up a bottle of lake water for distribution.

Devotees at Lake Daylesford

Thereafter, the devotees then made their way to Hanging Rock (Mount Diogenes). Before that they made a quick stopover at a small valley that hid a waterfall. It took another half hour before they reached the base of Hanging Rock. The devotees hiked for approximately forty minutes before they reached the peak of Hanging Rock, and got a beautiful view of the plains of the small towns of Newham and Hesket. The devotees then made a final stop at Baccus Marsh; a small town that comprises of a series of vegetable and fruits farms. According to Vrindava Prabhu, his family sometimes visits a this town to acquire fresh fruits. The way they select their fruits is to go down to the plantation and pluck the fruits themselves. However, the farm that Vrndavan Prabhu frequents was closed for the day and so the devotees were brought to a large store run by Italian migrants where they made cheap purchases of organic fruits and products. They also took a brief stopover at a vegetable farm before deciding to return.

Approaching the peak of Hanging Rock

The second half of the deities installation ceremony took place the subsequent day on Friday, 16th January 2009. After the morning program, the deities were brought out to the veranda again for another abhishek. Upon its conclusion, the deities were dressed nicely and the yajna or fire sacrifice ceremony then was invoked. The deities installation ceremony was concluded with the end of the fire sacrifice with everyone present circumambulating the fire sacrifice pit. The deities were placed at the altar in the temple room after which, the devotees started to prepare for the evening program.

Yajna (fire sacrifice) on the second day of the deities installation ceremony

From cutting vegetables, cooking and baking cupcakes to setting up sound system, everyone was fervently engaged. With the stage set, the guests started to stream in steadily and on time at 5pm. Guests were made up of various races, from Chinese to Caucasian to Indians. And on top of that most of the guests were distinguished members of society working in Ballarat city councils, to managing waste water recycling projects in the state of Victoria to officers from the multi-cultural society as well as professors from the local University of Ballarat.

Bhajan session led by His Grace Raghupati Prabhu as guests prepare to offer lamp (on the right)

Kirtan began at 5.30pm led by His Grace Raghupati Prabhu as everyone made their way to the temple room. During the Narasimhadeva Pranama, guests were invited to offer lamps to the deities and for whatever reasons cited whether it be for a happy and prosperous year or as part of a tradition, majority of the guests queued up to wait for their turn to offer lamp to the deities of Sri-Sri Radha-Gopinatha. A discourse of the Bhagavad-Gita took place at about 6pm at the lounge beside the temple room given by His Grace Sundar Gopal Prabhu. From the looks on the faces of everyone, it was an eye-opener for them as none of them has heard such descriptive and authoritative pastimes of The Supreme Lord. Understandably, the reactions of the guests were justified as His Grace Sundar Gopal Prabhu was merely repeating the words of his spiritual master His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Srila Prabhupada.

Bhagavad-Gita discourse given by His Grace Sundar Gopal Prabhu

During the distribution of the sumptuous prasadam that included biryani, bee-hoon, tofu curry, fruits and strawberry cupcakes, guests spoken to were pleased with the program based on its uniqueness and the joyful spirit that it was held. Many remarked that the Bhagavad-Gita discourse was very informative and assured the devotees that people will become devotees easily if this preaching occurs on a mass scale. Obviously, the main attraction was the prasadam with guests packing up to five take-away boxes. Several guests also remarked of a permanent temple housing the deities with the same program carried out would have been truly spectacular. Some of them even went on as far as speaking about land acquisition and temple construction and encouraged us on ways to do it. One common thing reflected by everyone was that this congregation should be held more frequently. This encouraged Vrndavan Prabhu and his family as they were eager to plan out the next preaching event that will most likely be held on Gaura Purnima in March.

Honouring prasadam while watching Sri Krishna Mandir video presentation

After the first preaching program, the devotees visited several houses of guests who in turn invited the devotees to their homes. On 18th Jan 09, devotees made their way to a cheese farm in Tampone where they had met a Caucasian lady named Anna who asked many spiritual questions. She excused herself saying that the reason she was asking many questions was that she lived in Kashmir, India for a year and grew interested and inspired by the Vedic culture. She also confessed that she was given a picture of Caitanya Mahaprabhu and was unfailingly chanting the following mantra together with her daughters:

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

She continued to query on the background of the devotees and continued with her questioning. Finally after being very much enlightened and contented, she invited the devotees to her house to meet up with her family the subsequent day. Owing to the fact that she lived in a six hundred acre farm and looked after two hundred cows, she assured the devotees that she does not kill any of her cows. Unfortunately, the devotees were unable to accede her request as they were flying back to Singapore the next day. However, Vrndavan Prabhu made arrangements and brought his family over to visit them in the weekend. Anna and her family were given prasadam as well as taught the Hare Krishna maha-mantra. She was inspired and wanted to take up Krishna consciousness seriously. She was eager to setup a temple for The Supreme Lord in the rural area and will be willing to assist in spreading the holy name of Krishna.

To say that the preaching in Ballarat to be successful is an understatement as the devotees managed to touch the lives of many people through their compassion and their warm reception. The preaching proceeded on even when returning from Melbourne to Singapore where devotees met with a lady who was traveling to London. She was inspired enough to acquire the original Bhagavad-Gita As It Is. As the devotees had exhausted themselves of preaching resources, she was encouraged to acquire the transcendental book from London.

More preaching to appreciative guests

With Sri-Sri Radha Gopinatha in the centre and with our spiritual master His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Srila Prabhupada as the captain and guiding light, all who came into contact with the devotees have gotten tremendous pious assets. And only with association with devotees and hearing and chanting of the holy names will these people gradually become devotees as Lord Krishna has promised in the Bhagavad-Gita (7.28):

yesam tv anta-gatam papam

jananam punya-karmanam

te dvandva-moha-nirmukta

bhajante mam drdha-vratah

Persons who have acted piously in previous lives and in this life, whose sinful actions are completely eradicated and who are freed from the duality of delusion, engage themselves in My service with determination

Furthermore, the devotees did not expect such a rousing reception and optimism from the people whom they had met. The Supreme Lord Krishna works in mysterious ways and although we are trying to know Him, we will never get to know Him in full. Thus, we only need to follow the instructions of the bonafide spiritual master, Srila Prabhupada, to serve Lord Krishna with full faith in that He engineers everything that we have experienced, are experiencing and are bound to experience.

Jai Sri-Sri Radha-Gopinatha ki Jai! Jai Srila Prabhupada ki Jai!

Europe Preaching Tour [15-Nov-08 to 30-Nov-08] Diary by Bhakta Vinay

Note: For photos on the Europe Tour please visit the Photos page.

Holland

Amsterdam & Rotterdam

            Our Temple President, His Grace Sundar Gopal Das was invited by a devotee, Sriman Sarasa Kanai Prabhu, in Antwerp (Belgium) to preach in Europe and at the same time see whether there is any prospect to open a centre there. When I heard about the news, I asked Sri Sudar Gopal Prabhu if I can join him for the tour. I have always heard from my friends and relatives from Europe about the magnificent temples that Prabhupada had established in Europe and I always had the desired to take darshan from the Deities there. So it was really a dream coming true for me.

            We landed in Amsterdam Schipol Airport on Saturday, 15^th of November 2008 and our friend from Antwerp came to pick us from the airport. The very first thing that I appreciated in Europe was cold weather; it was really a good break from the hot humid climate in Singapore. From Amsterdam, we drove all the way to Rotterdam where we had some preaching programme at a devotee’s house.

             Holland has the second largest population of Indians in Europe and most of them have their roots in Utter Pradesh and Bihar in India. They were initially brought to work on the sugar cane plantation in the previously known ‘Dutch Guyana’ (now Surinam) in the Latin America. After Surinam gained independence from the Netherlands, many of them migrated to Holland. Thanks to Prabhupada’s mission, many of them have embraced Krishna Consciousness in their life.

Belgium

Antwerp

             We arrived in Antwerp on Saturday itself and were soon captivated by the nice monuments and scenery of the city. The streets are bordered on the two sides by a series of Renaissance-style guildhalls, many of which been renovated in the recent century. Belgium is home to two main linguistics groups of people, the Flemings (Dutch speakers) and the French speakers. Antwerp is situated in the north part of Belgium and most of the people living there are Flemings.

           Our preaching in Antwerp was very successful, people were really interested to know the alternative system that we were presenting and were embracing it. Our devotee friend in Antwerp, Sriman Sarasa Kanai Prabhu, is very keen to assist us in the mission of opening a centre there. We are currently in the process of securing a unit in a four-storey building in the centre of the city where we will have deities worshiped daily, book distribution, Sunday programs and a vegetarian restaurant. We can proudly say we have finally made a breakthrough in Europe through our first ‘Ritvik’ centre there.  

France

Paris

         Of all the cities in Europe, Paris is considered to be one of the most important and famous one. It was Prabhupda’s desire to preach Krishna Consciousness in these important cities of the world. Our guide in Paris was my friend Gary, a Mauritian student, who has been staying in Paris for the past eight years. Although not a practicing devotee, Gary was indeed very pleased to receive some good devotee association from our Temple President Sri Sundar Gopal Prabhu. We took him to the Krishna Temple in Paris and he had darshan of Their Lordship Sri Sri Radha-Parisisvara. By taking darshan from the deities, honoring Krishna Prasadam at the temple and rendering some service to the devotees, Gary was introduced to Krishna Consciousness during the few days Sri Sundar Gopal Prabhu stayed in Paris.

             Paris is a cosmopolitan city where we came across people from all over the world. By Krishna’s mercy, we also have encountered other like-minded devotees who were surprised and pleased to meet us on the streets of Paris. During our short stay in Paris, we felt that we could have achieved more if we had more time. However, we can always come back in the future to continue the work that we have started.

England
London

             We arrived in London early in the morning on Saturday 21^st November and the weather was freezing cold. My uncle, who has been staying in London for decades, was there to receive us at the station. He was our guide and brought us to visit the famous places there. London is one of the world’s business, financial and cultural centre. The central London itself is the headquarters of more than half of UK’s top 100 listed companies. Our mission there was first to meet one of our main supporters in London and secondly to explore the opportunity of setting up a centre in London.

             I was really thankful to my uncle who brought me to have darshan of Sri Sri Radha Londonisvara, the deities at the Krishna Temple in Soho, London. These are the deities that Srila Prabhupada installed when he came to London in 1969. The temple itself is located in a strategic location and has a very nice restaurant in the busy city area.

Scotland
Edinburgh

             From London, we traveled all the way to the north of England and ended up in Edinburgh, the capital city of Scotland. With its vast collection of Medieval architecture, castles and stone tenements, Edinburgh is considered to be one of the most picturesque cities in Europe. Its rich cultural settings have earned it the vote of being one of the most beautiful cities in Europe. We stayed in the central part of the city, where all the main attraction like the Edinburgh castle, St Hiles Cathedral, Scottish Museum and Edinburgh Zoo are just a walking distance away.

                          While walking on the street in Edinburgh, we were very pleased to come across devotees who were distributing books on the street in Edinburgh. Despite the freezing cold weather and the chilling wind effect, they were relentless in the devotion. They were very jubilant to recognize the saffron dress of Sri Sundar Gopal Prabhu and were impressed to see him, being the Temple President of Sri Krishna Mandir, walking humbly on the streets of England and trying to find ways on how he can please his spiritual master and Lord Krishna.

             Edinburgh was our last city to explore and from there we traveled all the way back to Amsterdam where we flew back to Singapore. The whole tour was indeed, a very memorable event for me where I had to chance to associate more with more advanced devotees, chant with them in the early morning, listening to the daily classes of His Grace Sundar Gopal Prabhu. At the same time I was trying my best to help him in his desire to serve his spiritual master Srila Prabhupada and Lord Krishna. It is said in the Srimad Bhagavatam that devotees’ association is so powerful that it can immediately awaken us, the conditioned souls and makes us progress in Krishna Consciousness.

Hare Krishna,

Bhakta Vinay

Media Rebuttals 2: Hare Krishnas In Singapore: The Success Story

Review On ‘Hare Krishnas in Singapore: Agency, State And Hinduism’ Essay in the SOJOURN (Journal of Social Issues in South East Asia) Issue 23: April 1, 2008

I appreciate the effort of the authors in their research on the evolution of the Hare Krishna movement in Singapore. Their essay (click here for the full article) was divided into two sections: Firstly, the State – Hare Krishna nexus and secondly, the Hinduism – Hare Krishna nexus. For the most part of my review here, I would comment on the former section as the latter for the most part comprises individual opinions which depend on individual perception whereas the former comprises many conclusive statements by the authors which are partially or entirely incorrect owing to their insufficient research both spiritually as well as factually.

It is mentioned in the preamble of the essay that

“This paper … serves as a documentation of the growth of the Hare Krishna movement in Singapore.”

Since this documentation is going to be the basis of future study on the Hare Krishna movement in Singapore, I, being a full-time member of the Sri Krishna Mandir, felt it very much necessary to rectify the many erroneous conclusions of the authors.

Firstly, the cause of the so many splinter Hare Krishna groups should be understood in the proper perspective. To understand this, one must understand the executive order of Srila Prabhupada, the Founder-Acarya of the Hare Krishna movement as delineated in his Will, the Direction of Management (DoM) and the July 9, 1977 directive.

The crux of the fragmentation of the Hare Krishna devotees in Singapore or in any other country for that matter, lies in the differences of their understanding of mainly the July 9^th directive. The July 9^th directive is a plain written order by Srila Prabhupada on the method of accepting disciples into the movement (technically called initiation) especially after his departure. It is very clearly mentioned in that letter that an aspirant should be initiated by a proxy (technically called Rtvik) representative of Srila Prabhupada and that the newly initiated disciple becomes a disciple of Srila Prabhupada. In fact, this point has been stressed thrice in that document. The representatives were also named and they numbered eleven with a provision to increase according to necessity.

Following Srila Prabhupada’s departure, these eleven representatives of Srila Prabhupada most unrightfully proclaimed themselves as ‘gurus’ and the general body of devotees were kept in dark regarding the actual intention of Srila Prabhupada. They initiated disciples on their own behalf and there was a sense of competition between the ‘gurus’. In this way, due to their severe offence at the lotus feet of Srila Prabhupada, they degraded so much so that many of them went to the extent of committing heinous crimes such as murders, rapes, pedophile, etc.

All the devotees that are existing in this island were trained in Sri Krishna Mandir (which was called Shiv Mandir in the late ‘80s and early ‘90s), a regular temple with worship of their beloved Deities, Sri Sri Radha Madan Mohan, Jagannatha, Baladev and Subhadra, Sri Sri Gaura Nitai and Nrsimhadev. After they were trained to a certain standard, they were then initiated by either this ‘guru’ or that. Following such initiation, these bogus ‘gurus’ played politics with the temple authority and induced their own disciples to form factions and to work against the temple authority as is the trend in our current ISKCON. In this way, so many splinter groups came into existence and Sri Krishna Mandir is the parent of them all.

The devotees at Sri Krishna Mandir have dedicated their life completely to the service of Lord Krishna and follow the strict daily temple program and preaching work everyday as enunciated by Srila Prabhupada whereas all the other groups comprise devotees who work outside for an income and due to lack of association of full-time temple devotees, follow a boiled down Hinduized version of Krishna Consciousness and hardly have any strength to practice the rigid guidelines set out by Srila Prabhupada. That is why they are restricting their activities to only weekly evening programs conducted conveniently either at houses or Hindu temples with no monetary overheads required.

Although the Singapore government had barred Srila Prabhupada in the year 1971, it amended its ways and has now recognized Sri Krishna Mandir as the sole authority to practice and preach freely the Hare Krishna religion within the island even at times keenly supporting our many festivals and benevolent activities. Ministers of Parliament grace our festivals as guests of honor thereby further reinforcing their faith in us. Others still have to hide in the backyard of the Hindu temples to avoid the limelight lest they might be penalized. Moreover, any one affiliated with Sri Krishna Mandir does not have any problem at the while entering or leaving the country in their devotional attires. So far, we did not have any incidences of any one being apprehended while dressed in their devotional attires at the immigration.

Albeit it is true that the Hare Krishna movement here cannot be affiliated with the world-wide ISKCON owing to the natural protective measures taken by the Singapore government, it is a blessing in disguise for the devotees here in Sri Krishna Mandir because in this way, they are shielded from the influence of the so-called ‘gurus’ who have track-record of being murderers, rapists, thieves, rowdies and what not? This measure by the Singapore government is laudable as it facilitates Sri Krishna Mandir in proving its genuineness and sincerity in establishing Srila Prabhupada’s position as the sole Diksa Guru.

Sri Krishna Mandir was so successful that the government had no qualms in endorsing the registration of a second society called Sri Krishna Mandir Welfare Society to execute the Food For Life program. Esteemed charitable organizations like the Lee Foundation, Shaw Foundation, The Singapore Totaliser Board and the Chinese Kwan Im Thong temple have generously donated both in cash and in kind to support the Food For Life program in which we were distributing food to the tune of twenty thousand people every month for the past five years.

The Prisons Authority of Singapore recognizes the Sri Krishna Mandir as the only Hare Krishna counseling authority in its Prisons Preaching Program. Therefore Sri Krishna Mandir plays a vital role in the rehabilitation of the inmates of the prisons in Singapore. Owing to its benevolent work in the prisons, Sri Krishna Mandir periodically receives many accolades and adulations from the Prisons Department. No splinter groups are allowed in this activity.

Owing to its good-standing in the country, Sri Krishna Mandir has been granted an official membership in the Inter-Faith Religious Council. It plays an active role in contributing to the religious harmony here in Singapore. The meetings are chaired by a Member of Parliament of the Singapore government.

One more feather in the cap of Sri Krishna Mandir is that the Singapore government has authorized Sri Krishna Mandir by issuing police permit to conduct house-to-house and street-to-street book distribution programs apart from placing book tables in strategic locations around the island to distribute Srila Prabhupada’s books. This facility is the prerogative of Sri Krishna Mandir alone.

Owing to the important role that Sri Krishna Mandir is playing here in Singapore, the National Library Board (NLB) has deemed its website to be an important part of Singapore’s documentary heritage and would like it to remain available to researchers and generations of Singaporeans in the future by archiving it.

Sri Krishna Mandir has come a long, long way by gaining considerable recognition from the same Singapore government which once barred Srila Prabhupada from entering the island country. This has all been possible by the mercy of Srila Prabhupada and Krishna and the forty years of sincere, genuine efforts of the devotees in serving their beloved spiritual master, Srila Prabhupada.

In fact, no other Hare Krishna splinter group here could come even close to what Sri Krishna Mandir achieved in its preaching endeavor over the decades. In fact, they are still taking shelter of the Hindu temples where the pioneering devotees preached as long back as 1979 (not 1992 as the author claims).

There is a gulf of difference between Sri Krishna Mandir’s achievement in establishing Srila Prabhupada’s precepts and that of all the other glow worm groups here and consequently, from any angle, it was not right on the part of the author to mention Sri Krishna Mandir on equal terms with the so many splinter Hare Krishna groups.

This incredible success that it has achieved is only due to the causeless mercy of Srila Prabhupada and Krishna. It was not the result of our “ability to negotiate our place within mainstream Hinduism” as the author speculated. We have come this far and only time is separating us from establishing a permanent temple here and by the mercy of Srila Prabhupada and Krishna, we are sure we will achieve that in the near future.

We are very sure that Srila Prabhupada and Krishna are very pleased with our determined efforts in establishing the Hare Krishna movement here in Singapore. We pray that the authors do justice to these sincere efforts of the devotees of Sri Krishna Mandir.

Since ISKCON is venturing into Hinduization of itself in order to seem relevant and appealing, the Singapore success story is definitely an eye opener and can be most easily emulated in all parts of the world to successfully revamp ISKCON by strictly following the order of our spiritual master, Srila Prabhupada.

By Tattva Vit Das