Sri Krishna Mandir News

Gaura Purnima 2011 Report

2011-03-25T13:30:00.001+08:00

Hare Krsna!

We would like to extend our heartfelt greetings and well-wishes to all devotees, friends and well-wishers on the occasion of the Gaudiya Vaishnava New Year Day, the Gaura Purnima 2011 which was observed with great pomp and show at the Sri Krishna Mandir on the 19th of March, 2011.

This year kicks off the 525th Gaurabda year. That means it has been 525 years since the appearance of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu in this world.

The festivities started at 7pm and went all the way until about 11pm with a grand Sandhya Arati, Abhishek, cultural show (including a drama on the pastime of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu known as "The deliverance of Jagai and Madhai") and Prasadam. About 200 people attended the festival.

We pray that the message of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu spread far and wide this year and reach new heights. It is our fervent prayer that the doctrine of Lord Caitanya become famous in this world as the genuine platform of real religion. May He engage all of us in this great mission to the best of our abilities.

We would like to take this opportunity to thank all the devotees and well-wishers for their contributions of various kinds in making this festival a success.

Hare Krsna!

SKM Extends its wings to as far as Vrndavan, India

2011-01-26T22:12:00.003+08:00

During the devotees’ stay at Vrindavan, as part of their annual pilgrimage tour, the devotees were hosted by His Grace Vraja Vilasa Prabhu who happened to be the ex- temple president of the Nagpur branch of ISKCON. He had received his initiation, sometime in the 90s, from Lokanath Swami Maharaj, who is a prominent ISKCON Guru.

During the six day stay in Vrindavan, His Grace Sundar Gopal prabhu took the opportunity to enlighten Vraja Vilasa Prabhu about the existing problems in today’s ISKCON due to violation of Srila Prabhupad’s order regarding the system of initiation. The latter seemed to be very naïve to all these issues and expressed his utmost disgust for the gurus after he had heard all the truth about them.

After a 2-hour discussion it was not very surprising that he rejected Lokanath swami and wanted to identify himself as a servant and disciple of Srila Prabhupada. In fact, he has even expressed his willingness to open a temple in Vrindavan, under the banner of ‘Sri Krishna Mandir’ and work in cooperation with Singapore temple.

Indeed he also shared with us some of the bitter experiences that he had had with his “guru”. He conducts Preaching Programs in many places all over India. We can say that he is a stalwart in that field and each of his sessions would be attended by at least 300 to 500 people. As people were requesting for more and more of his programs, his “guru”, on the other hand did not seem to be very happy and felt insecure. So he actually went to the extent of cancelling one of the sessions that was to be held on board a cruise ship to Singapore and Malaysia, even without Vraja Vilasa Prabhu’s knowledge. This and many other incidents made him lose his respect for his “Guru”.

So this incident shows how the ISKCON “gurus” have been putting their followers in complete ignorance, about the actual system that Srila Prabhupada wanted, and totally misleading them. If anyone were to know the falsity in the “gurus” behaviour, it would only result in them being rejected out of disgust he very next moment.

Wishing A Happy New Year 2011 To All Of You

2010-12-31T16:50:00.000+08:00

Hare Krishna!!

We, at Sri Krishna Mandir, would like to wish all the devotees a happy new year 2011!

Although we always wish that we have a happy new year or month or day, difficulties always arise and we are thus more and more entangled in materialistic life. All these difficulties are nothing but reactions to sinful activities that we perform. How to come out of all these difficulties?

Lord Krishna declares in the Bhagavad Gita (18.66):

sarva-dharman parityajya
mam ekam saranam vraja
aham tvam sarva-papebhyo
moksayisyami ma sucah

TRANSLATION

Abandon all varieties of religion and just surrender unto Me. I shall deliver you from all sinful reaction. Do not fear.

This is the only way to become truly happy. So therefore, if one really wants a happy new year, one must chant

| Hare Krishna Hare Krishna |

|| Krishna Krishna Hare Hare ||

| Hare Rama Hare Rama |

|| Rama Rama Hare Hare ||

Rtvik Initiation In Melaka

2010-11-16T20:31:00.003+08:00

Hare Krishna!

Dear devotees, members & well-wishers,

There is always so much to tell from the pavilion of Sri Krishna Mandir but time seems to be a constraint.

Nevertheless, the last weekend is worth mentioning as some new developments transpired in regards to preaching in Malaysia.

On the Friday last, Raghupati Prabhu, Bhakta Pancha Tatva and our humble self left for the Malaya Giri Dham to stay for the night. The next morning, on the 13th of November, 2010, we had our lunch Prasadam at the Malaya Giri Dham and left for Melaka. A program was scheduled by Svarat Prabhu, the President of Pedas temple, in Melaka wherein 7 new devotees were to get initiated and one devotee took Brahmana initiation. That night we had a yajna and 7 devotees took initiation (became disciples of Srila Prabhupada) from Srila Prabhupada through the Rtvik system of initiation as authorized by Srila Prabhupada. His Grace Sundar Gopal Prabhu acted as the Rtvik representative of Srila Prabhupada and conducted the ceremony on his behalf. The yajna was conducted by His Grace Sacisuta Prabhu. All the new initiates were happy to accept Srila Prabhupada as their spiritual master and work under the direction of their respective temple presidents just as Srila Prabhupada wanted.

The next day, we observed the Govardhana Puja at Taman Sentosa, Klang. Almost 60 to 70 devotees attended the festival. Owing to the shifting the temple from Bujit Tinggi to Taman Sentosa, the devotees at Klang could not celebrate the festival on the actual date, that is on the 7th of Nov, 2010.

Stay tuned for more!

Hare Krishna!

A Month Of Ecstasy - Book Distribution Marathon

2010-11-16T19:52:00.000+08:00

Hare Krishna!

We are excited after one month of heavy book distribution. Every year, we put up a stall in the Deepavali Fair opposite the Mustafa Centre along Serangoon Road.

We had a lot of interesting people come by at the fair. The real nectar of devotional life is book distribution. Srila Prabhupada's books are the most powerful weapons against the merciless onslaught of Maya, especially in Kali Yuga.

We pray to Srila Prabhupada that he give more and more opportunities to distribute his books profusely. If the world has to become any better, it is possible only through his books.

Jaya Srila Prabhupada!

Deepavali Book Fair

2010-10-06T17:48:00.007+08:00

Deepavali (or Diwali) is popularly known as the "festival of lights". This is the biggest national festival in India. Singapore celebrates Deepavali with grand and grandiloquent by the Hindus and other faith as well.

Little India in Serangoon Road which is the heartland of Indian community is beautiful adorned with colorful decoration, gralands, numerous lights and stalls. Just One month before the Deepavali day street lights up in Serangoon Road which marks the beginning of vibrant colorful celebration.

Every year Sri Krishna Mandir is taking opportunity of auspicious and festive occasion set up a stall in Deepavali Expo which constitutes numerous other stalls, located opposite Mustafa Shopping centre (Serangoon Plaza). We term it as yearly book Distribution Marathon. The stall will be open from 7th Oct 2010 to 5th Nov 2010.

In the stall we sell umpteen varieties of items such as spiritual books, souvenoir, perfumed incenses stick, paraphernalia for worshipping, New year calendar and many more.

During this time, we distribute quite a number of Srila Prabhupada books at a very reasonable price for benefit of entire human society. Srila Prabhupada said “The More such literatures are read and distributed, the auspicity will be there in the world.”

We are trying our best in our attempt to bring peace and auspiciousness in the world and make this festival more splendid and colorful.

We would request you all, please rush into our stall (no 118) and grab the matchless gifts for you and your dear ones, on this auspicious and magnificent celebration of Deepavali Festival.

Wish you all a Happy Deepavali

Hare Krsna

Yours ever well wisher
Sri Krishna Mandir

Vyasa Puja '10 - Festival Report

2010-09-19T09:27:00.004+08:00

The day following Janmashtami was Srila Prabhupad's Vyasa Puja. Grand celebrations for organized for this festival also. Celebrations included Mahabhishekam, kirtan, homages from disciples and not to forget the wonderful prasadam! 108 delicious preperations were offered to Srila Prahbupada on the day!

This particular day being the appearance day of the Spiritual master is much more important for all the disciples than Janmashtami itself. Many people fail to understand the importance of this day. It is to be understood that without the help of the Spiritual master, there is no question of understanding Krishna. Therefore it is mandatory for every disciple to submit a written offering to Srila Prabhupada expressing their gratitude, as ordered by Srila prabhupada.

On the occasion, Sri Krishna Mandir also released their book - Vyasa Puja '10, which is a compilation of wriiten offerings from all those people whose lives were changed by Srila Prabhupada. Devotees were given the oppurtunity to read out their offerings in front of the beautifully decorated Prabhupada Murti. Sumptuous prasadam was served, which marked the end of the program.

Janmashtami Celebrations Draws Hundreds

2010-09-14T15:07:00.002+08:00

Hare Krishna!

Dear Devotees,

We are pleased to inform you that the devotees at Sri Krishna Mandir hosted very grand celebrations on the occasion of Sri Krishna Janmashtami on Thursday, the 2^nd of September. It was very encouraging to see such an attendance even on a weekday.

After the usual morning program, members of the congregation took turns to read Lord Krishna’s pastimes from the Krsna book. The reading went on all the way till the cultural program in the evening. The Lord sported a dark green outfit with wonderful decorations. The temple was beautifully decorated with flowers of different kinds. The temple also sported a completely new look for the festival with a new altar and a few other changes in the temple room. The devotees worked on the interiors of the temple without any sleep for two consecutive nights.

In the evening that day, there was cultural program and Mahabhishekam. The drama by the Krishna mandir’s Vaikunta players became the highlight of the show. Apart from that, there were bhajans, dance and a children’s program. The cultural program was followed by the Mahabhishekam which went on till 11:30pm. It was followed by a Maha-arati at 12:00am(early hours of 3^rd). The Maha-arati was very ecstatic with loud Kirtan being led by His Grace Raghupati Prabhu. The temple room was fully packed with hundreds of devotees for the last arati. We noticed a considerable increase in attendance for our Janmashtami celebrations compared to last year. After the celebrations, devotees broke fast with ekadasi prasadam.

Boat Festival 2010 - Festival Report

2010-09-13T13:59:00.004+08:00

Hare Krishna!

Dear devotees,

The devotees at Sri Krishna Mandir organized the boat festival this year in their newly launched farm community in Malaysia - Malaya Giri Dham. We also had a cultural fest on the eve of the festival which turned out be a very successful event.

Two buses full of devotees arrived at the farm in Malaysia on Friday, the 10th from Singapore. Devotees also came from other parts of Malaysia like Klang, Ipoh etc to take part in the festival.

The trip was designed in such a way that they are given an oppurtunity to experience the complete spiritual program - Morning program, bhajans, discourses etc.

Everyone present conveyed their heartfelt thanks to the management of Krishna Mandir for organizing such a festival.

Please click on the following link to view pictures and to read more about the festival:

http://malayagiridham.wordpress.com/2010/09/23/boat-festival-a-grand-success/

Divine Swing Pastimes of the Lord in Singapore

2010-08-25T13:36:00.009+08:00

Hare Krihsna!!
Jaya Radhae!Jaya Krishna!Jaya Vrindavan!
All Glories To Srila Prabhupada!

We are pleased to inform you that the devotees at Sri Krishna Mandir celebrated the Jhulan Yatra festival with great pomp and show in the temple premises from 20th to 24th August. Balaram Purnima on the 24th marked the end of the gorgeous 5-day festival. With everyone being engrossed in the festive mood continuously for five days, it gave us a glimpse of the akhanda-utsav in the spiritual world.

Jhulan Yatra is an annual festival, wherein the Lord is made to sit in a beautifully decorated swing and all the devotees are given an opportunity to swing the Lord and His eternal consort, Srimati Radharani, accompanied by ecstatic bhajans.

Each day, the festival was sponsored by different families/groups and they came up with their own ideas for decorating the swing. It was a very pleasant sight to see all the devotees so much engrossed in enthusiastically decorating the swing for the pleasure of Their Lordships Sri Sri Radha Madanmohan. The whole temple was decorated in such a way that it gives the feel of a forest with various kinds of plants, fruits, flowers, etc.

The jhulan yatra celebrations would start everyday after the sandhya arati(Gaura Arati) and would go on upto about 8:30pm after which delicious preparations of prasadam would be served to all the devotees.

24th of August being Balaram Jayanti, there was also the enacting of the pastime of Balaram killing Pralambasura after the Jhulan yatra.

It was a great success and all the devotees thoroughly enjoyed the 5-day festival and are now eagerly looking forward for the next festival in line - Sri Krishna Janmashtami, which falls on Thursday, the 2nd of September.

We would like to inform all the devotees, well-wishers and friends that we are organizing a grand celebration on the occasion of Sri Krishna Janamashtami. We request you to come and join us un the celebration and make it a grand success!

Hare Krishna!!

Three Massive Chariots On The Little Red Dot

2010-07-28T19:10:00.001+08:00

Hare Krishna! Jaya Jagannatha! All glories to Srila Prabhupada!

We are excited to announce that we had a fabulous Ratha Yatra in Singapore this year!

We'll soon put up the slideshow of all the photos of the Ratha Yatra on this post. Meanwhile, you can view the PHOTOS HERE.

The Ratha Yatra was held from 5pm to 9pm on the 18^th of July, 2010, a Sunday, at the Yio Chu Kang stadium, a relatively central venue for all Singaporeans. The Guest of Honor was Dr. K. N. Raghavan, the First Secretary of Commerce at the High Commission of India, Singapore. About 5,000 people attended the festival. This year, we saw a significant rise in the attendance, book sales and Prasadam distribution.

It was a rainy day. But as soon as Their Lordships entered the stadium, the rain ceased and all the devotees and people in general reveled in the ecstatic kirtan accompanying the chariot procession. Unlike in other countries, we cannot take the chariots on the road. So we hosted the festival within the stadium premises as we have been doing since 2006. Our dream is to host the festival on the busiest street in Singapore – Orchard Road!

The Guest of Honor publicly expressed his gratitude for letting him participate in such a wonderful event. In fact, this was the first time he attended the Ratha Yatra festival in his life.

The three magnificent chariots paraded on the stadium track for 6 rounds, being accompanied by ecstatic kirtan. People from various races attended the festival. Many newcomers were dumbstruck at the grandeur of the chariot procession! One thing for sure – they all loved the Prasadam!

Since Srila Prabhupada was disallowed to place his merciful lotus feet on the land of Singapore in 1971, the Hare Krishna movement in Singapore has come a long way by his causeless mercy and under the guidance of His Grace Sundar Gopal Prabhu, a dedicated disciple of Srila Prabhupada and the President of Sri Krishna Mandir, the Singapore Hare Krishna temple.

Singapore is termed as “The Little Red Dot” – meaning small but conspicuous. Three massive chariots in a small country like Singapore translates to Srila Prabhupada’s causeless mercy! Jaya Srila Prabhupada!

---- By Tattva Vit Das, Singapore

Festival Report for Nrsimha Caturdasi '10

2010-06-03T17:03:00.001+08:00

Dear devotees, friends and well wishers,

Obeisances.

All glories to Srila Prabhupada.

Last week’s activities were nothing less than supremely blissful.

With the Nrsimha Caturdasi celebrations on Thursday, the 27^th of May, and the Sunday feast program along with an initiation ceremony, it was a perfect weekend here at Sri Krishna Mandir, Singapore.

The Nrsimha Caturdasi program included Mahabhishek (special bathing of the Deities), an address by the President on the importance of Nrsimha Caturdasi, cultural program, including a children’s Dasavatara item, children’s dance, a small bhajan and a drama depicting Nrsimhadev’s pastimes by the Krishna Mandir’s Vaikuntha Players.

We witnesseed an appreciable attendance of about 300. The program commenced at 1830 hours and went on until 2230 hours. The highlight of the show was the children’s Dasavatara item where all the children costumed as the various incarnations of Visnu. It was really worth watching! Sumptuous delicious prasadam was served after the program which included a large variety of foodstuffs. Special gifts were handed over to all the children participants by the temple president, His Grace Sundar Gopal Prabhu. By the mercy of Srila Prabhupada and Nrsimhadev, the program was a grand success!

And the immediate following Sunday we had an initiation ceremony in the temple. Three aspirants had come forward and taken the vow to follow the four regulative principles and chant sixteen rounds for the rest of their lives in the presence of Their lordships Sri Sri Radha Madanmohan, Srila Prabhupada, the sacrificial fire and of course all the devotees present. We had a fire sacrifice which was conducted by His Grace Saci Suta Prabhu, president of the Johor Bahru Hare Krishna temple. It was followed by an ecstatic Kirtan by Prem Bikash prabhu after which everybody was served Prasadam.

We would like to thank all the devotees who took part in the festival and special thanks to the head cooks of Sri Krishna Mandir, Chandralatika Mataji and Gandhini Mataji for preparing the wonderful variety of Prasadam for both the events.

The next festival which we all are looking forward to is the Jagannath Ratha Yatra which is to be held on the 18^th of July at the Yio Chu Kang stadium from 5:00pm to 10:00pm. So stay tuned!

Hare Krishna!

Dramas Reincorporated Into Sunday Program

2010-04-14T21:49:00.000+08:00

Hare Krishna!

For the past 3 years, our Sunday programs have been devoid of dramas - only Kirtan, Bhagavad Gita classes and Prasadam. Space constraint in the current premises was the primary consideration. But the last week, we just gave it a shot. It became a big hit.

We thought it would be a nice service to render to the congregation members. Dramas are a good device to educate the people on devotional principles and historical incidents recorded in the Srimad Bhagavatam and Caitanya Caritamrta.

The dramas have been the highlight of the weekend programs when we were in Norris Rd. We have definitely missed the dramas all these years.

Now, you have one more reason to come to the Sunday program. Those who want to volunteer to take part in drama can contact Mahaprabhu.

Haribol!!

SRI KRISHNA MANDIR IN PONDICHERY (INDIA)

2010-03-29T15:59:00.001+08:00

I, with another congregation devotee from Bangalore whom I met just a day before, arrived in Pondichery (Puduchery) on 18^th March 2010 at 4:30 am. H.G. Sivananda Sena Prabhu came to pick us up.

H.G. Sivananda Sena Prabhu was staying with us in Singapore in the year 2004 when our temple was at Norris Road. While ha was looking for work, he used to be helping us with our Food For Life Program and was spiritually trained by H.G. Sundar Gopal Prabhu, our Singapore Temple President. Shortly after that he was helping out Sri Krishna Mandir in Malaysia managed by H.G. Saci Suta Prabhu. In Malaysia he was further trained up by H.G. Saci Suta Prabhu and was eventually initiated (ritvik). After rendering valuable service in our centres at Klang and Johor Bahru, he had to go back to his home town, Puduchery, due to family obligations. He started a centre there just last year. After having to change a few locations, he moved to the current place at Janseerani Street.

Upon reaching the centre, we quickly bathed and attended the full morning program. After breakfast we both took some rest while Sivananda Sena Prabhu and H.G. Karuna Sindhu Prabhu (who was also trained up in Singapore) went for book distribution.There is also another Mataji who chants 16 rounds daily; she comes to the centre every morning, does service and returns home in the night. H.G. Sivananda Sena Prabhu, who is a very good cook himself, trained up the mataji and they cook and distribute prasadam to the poor everyday without fail. Just in a few months' time, the temple there is now well known for giving free Prasadam.

After the lunch Prasadam, Sivanandasena Prabhu showed us around the centre. It is a single-storey structure with 1 room, 1 hall in which the altar is installed and a kitchen. Adjoining this centre is another room in which the landlord stays. The landlord is a very nice, pious man. He did not rent out the place for the past 6 years or more. He comes for Prasadam everyday as he is staying alone.He is always ready to do any service. He is kind enough to let Sivananda Prabhu to use the roof top and the spacious courtyard.

Sivananda Prabhu is a good preacher. He attracts many people. He invites almost anyone he sees passing by the centre, poor or rich, boy or girl, man or woman, old or young, for Prasadam and preaches to them.

While we were there in Pondichery we were going out for book distribution, Prasadam distribution and Harinam twice a day.We had nice Harinams at the busy shopping hub.We also did Harinams at the famous sea side which is visited by thousands of tourists from all over India and the world, as Pondichery is a tourist state. In fact, just a week before I was there, our devotee from Bangalore(also trained in Singapore), H.G.Sanatana Prabhu gathered some 15 devotees and had a big Harinam there.

While I was there, H.G. Krishna Caitanya Prabhu (who is planning to start a regular Bhagavad Gita session at his residence in Anna Nagar,Chennai ) and H.G. Vijaya Hari Prabhu, who were with us in Singapore and now in Tamil Nadu, also came to help Sivananda Prabhu in his preaching. All of them who came had promised to come back again regularly to help Sivananda Prabhu in his preaching. They are planning to do college preaching in Pondichery, which houses more then 20 well known colleges for medicine and engineering.

More than 30 people attend the weekly Sunday program regularly. That is commendable considering the fact that Sivananda Sena Prabhu was preaching for only a few monthsIn fact, the landlord is also one of the regular attendees.He even volunteered to translate the final instructions of Srila Prabhupada pertaining to future initiations from English to Tamil language. During our stay there, we had very nice Prasadam cooked by Sivananda Prabhu everyday. We definitely would like to go back to Pondichery and hope to see the preaching growing tremendously there by the mercy of Krishna and Srila Prabhupada and the blessings of all Vaishnavas.

P.S.: The photos of the new centre will be out soon. There is some delay in procuring the photos. Once they are out, I'll put them up in this article.

Srila Prabhupada ki jai! Pondichery Yatra ki jai!

Raghupati Das

Prasadam Distribution in New Zealand

2010-01-05T21:08:00.010+08:00

Here in Christchurch, New Zealand there is a small group of devotees dedicated to Srila Prabhupada. These devotees operate a large Prasadam Restaurant on the Main Road of the Inner City. Above the Restaurant there is a beautiful temple room which houses Their Lorships Sri Sri Nitai Gauranga. In the morning devotees gather in the temple room for the morning program and worship. After the program, devotees cook throughout the morning. Then Their Lordships enjoy an offering of Subji, Rice, Dhal, Pakoras, Chutney, Halava and curd. There are also many filled breads, pies, muffins and salads offered.

After cooking and offering devotees serve delicious Krishna Prasadam to the customers, who happily eat while listening to kirtan music. The customers always leave feeling very satisfied having had a genuine experience of spiritual culture. Srila Prabhupada’s original, unedited books are also available for anyone who is interested in looking into the rich spiritual culture of Krishna consciousness.

This Restaurant project serves two main purposes, firstly to offer Krishna Prasadam to the forgetful souls of Kali-yuga, and secondly to facilitate Grhastas so they can work together rather than having to find ordinary jobs.

Devotees also hold regular preaching programs, inviting guests to learn more about Lord Sri Krishna and Srila Prabhupada.

We are very happy to meet Sundar Gopal Prabhu and to work in cooperation with him and all the devotees engaged in the various projects for Srila Prabhupada’s pleasure.

New Altars At Taman Daya Temple

2009-10-30T11:41:00.004+08:00

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

2009-10-16T21:38:00.005+08:00

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

2009-08-29T15:12:00.001+08:00

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

2009-08-29T14:59:00.000+08:00

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

2009-08-22T18:22:00.002+08:00

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

2009-08-12T10:18:00.011+08:00

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

2009-06-25T00:07:00.000+08:00

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

2009-04-28T13:07:00.002+08:00

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

2009-02-23T15:59:00.001+08:00

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

2009-02-07T09:27:00.025+08:00

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

2009-02-06T15:14:00.055+08:00

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^stNovember 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

2009-01-02T12:15:00.000+08:00

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

Media Rebuttals 1: Expat Priests

2008-12-25T20:50:00.001+08:00

Hare Krsna! Recently, there have been two articles - one in the Straits Times, the primary newspaper in Singapore, and the other in the www.sampradayasun.com. These articles directly or indirectly belittle the Hare Krsna movement here in Singapore as they provide either inaccurate or/and erroneous information. So we have rebutted these articles using factual information. In the first instant, our reply to the editor was not allowed to be published in the forum. Our second rebuttal was successfully posted on the sampradayasun.com.

The following is the rebuttal to the Expat Priests article in The Straits Times:

Well, I am quite disappointed with the article "Expat Priests" published on the 23rd of August (Saturday) in the Home Page B8. I feel that the interviewer might have been misinformed.

Before anything else, the word "Priest" itself was misrepresented. The actual word is "Brahmana". According to Vedic Civilization, the human society is divided into four social orders and four spiritual orders. The four social orders are Brahmana, Kshatriya, Vaishya and Sudra. This division is unavoidable for the smooth running of society. These divisions are not based on birthright. They are based on the aptitude and work of the person concerned. This is confirmed in the Vedic literature. The Brahmanas are the intellectual or the priestly class, the Kshatriyas are the warrior or administrative class, the Vaishyas are the business class and the Sudras are the laborer class. The Brahmanas are considered to be the head of the society, the Kshatriyas are the arms, the Vaishyas are the waist and the Sudras are the legs of the society.

The Brahmanas are first class ideal men. They have six kinds of activities. Firstly, Pathan Paathan; he is well-versed in the study of the Vedic scriptures. Not only is he well-versed, he teaches this knowledge to others without any monetary remuneration. A Brahmana never accepts any salary. He voluntarily keeps himself in a poverty-stricken condition so that he will not be intoxicated with wealth and be always dependent completely upon God for his necessities. He is not very anxious to maintain his body. He has full faith that God will supply him everything. His main concern in life is how to develop unconditional love of God. Then the next activity is Yajan Yaajan; he performs sacrifices to purify himself and he performs sacrifices to benefit others. Then Daana Pratigraha; he accepts donations from the general people, offer them to God, uses whatever is barely necessary to keep his body and soul together and distributes the rest back to the public. A Brahmana never hoards any money or anything for that matter. All these are the qualifications of real Brahmanas, not of so-called Brahmanas who only worry about their own bread and butter.

Well, let's now look at the article itself.

The article says:

In fact, community leaders claim that there has never been a locally born Hindu Temple Priest.

And....

"Singaporeans? Nobody is interested."

I am member of Sri Krishna Mandir and the Temple President His Grace Sundar Gopal Das has been a priest for the past 30 years. All these years, he never had any salary whatsoever. In fact, he trained so many others also in this respect. All of them follow these principles very strictly. They even have Chinese priests, what to speak of Indians. None of them accept any salaries. They are genuinely not interested in earning a salary. They are 100% dedicated to the service of the Lord. Therefore the above statements quoted in the article are completely false.

The article then says:

Even if a Singaporean Hindu wants to become a temple priest, he would have to head to India for training, as there are no schools here.

There it is:

Sri Krishna Mandir

9, Geylang Lorong 29, #03-02

(S) 388065

Tel: 6250 2280

They have already been teaching this invaluable science for decades now. Again the quoted statement is wrong.

In fact, the job of a priest or Brahmana is not just to mechanically perform some prayers keeping the public in the dark about the knowledge of self-realization. A real Brahmana is very compassionate. He always looks out for ways and means to enlighten the suffering humanity about the authorized science of self-realization based on authoritative Vedic sources such as Bhagavad Gita and Srimad Bhagavatam, which alone can bring complete peace to the afflicted soul.

I positively suggest that the interviewer kindly interview the monks and priests at Sri Krishna Mandir as you can find locally-trained priests there.

Prison Preaching Excellence Award

2008-11-28T14:50:00.001+08:00

Here's another feather in the cap for Sri Krishna Mandir. We have received the Prison Preaching Excellence Award on the 15th of November, 2008 at the Suntec City. Jaya!! Haribol!! All glories to Srila Prabhupada!!

Govardhana Puja Pictures

2008-11-19T22:35:00.000+08:00

The Govardhana Puja pictures are out. It has been quite some time. Any way, they are out.

Hare Krsna!!

Book Distribution Marathon Month Concludes

2008-10-31T13:35:00.001+08:00

Hare Krsna to all devotees & everyone!

Please excuse us for not updating this news page for over a month now. We have been quite busy in the Deepavali Fair distributing Srila Prabhupada books!!

Well, we are very pleased to announce that around 3,000 Srila Prabhupada books in the last one month!!Srila Prabhupada is undoubtedly very pleased. All the devotees who have participated in selling Prabhupada books are ecstatic beyond limits! It was really NECTAR!!

Please visit the Vaisnava Nectar page for more stories at the Deepavali Fair and devotees' preaching encounters and realizations while preaching at the fair. If there are none, they will be up soon.

Thank you. Hare Krsna!

Book Distribution Marathon Month in Singapore has commenced

2008-10-05T14:07:00.001+08:00

Hare Krishna!!

So, this year, we are at the Deepavali Fair again as usual distributing Srila Prabhupada's books. It commenced on the 29th of September. It will continue till 27th of October. So all devotees of Sri Krishna Mandir are requested to participate in this most auspicious preaching program that will please Srila Prabhupada the most.

Srila Prabhupada ki Jaya!!
Brhad Mrdanga ki Jaya!!

Boat Festival 2008 Report

2008-09-20T12:05:00.002+08:00

Hare Krsna everyone!!

With the boat festival, the major festivals of the 2008 have concluded.

The day was cloudy and just prior to the commencement of the festival, the clouds seemed to threaten us with a heavy downpour. They were pitch black, covering the entire sky except the moon. It seemed as if the Moon of Nadia Lord Gauracandra was witnessing this great festival. After all, the festival is His pastime.

Probably owing to this rain, the attendance was not much. About 200 people assembled. The kirtan was really first-class as was the prasadam. Extra prasadam was distributed to the needy outside the stadium complex.

We shall put up the pictures very soon.

Hare Krsna!

Harinama at Chinese Festival

2008-09-15T21:33:00.005+08:00

Hare Krsna!!

It was a very unique preaching opportunity indeed! A few weeks ago, one Chinese gentleman came to our Sunday Love Feast. He invited us to a joint celebration of all the societies, organizations and clans of Geylang Lorong 29 on the occasion of Mid-Autumn Festival which falls on the 13th of September, wherein each society, clan, etc. have to display their unique activity on stage for 5 minutes. Sundar Gopal Prabhu, our President here, accepted the invitation.

This is a Chinese traditional festival. Nevertheless, they opened up and invited all socities thus making it a multi-racial event. Dr. Fatimah Binte Abdul Lateef, the MP for Geylang Serai Community presided over the festival as Guest of Honor.

As soon as she arrived, a small girl devotee of Sri Krishna Mandir, Bhaktin Pavitraa, presented her some transcendental books of Srila Prabhupada in a nice gift pack thus making her very fortunate.

Amongst all the items displayed, our item stole the show!! It was HARINAMA!!

Everybody present there really appreciated the kirtana.

One comment was particularly notable. The Event Manager commented, "How is it that your temple is full of youngsters?" All the Chinese clans comprised of old people.

This is the dynamism of Srila Prabhupada! Srila Prabhupada ki Jaya!

Srila Prabhupada ki Jaya!

Radhastami 2008 Report

2008-09-09T19:04:00.003+08:00

Hare Krsna to one & all!

Yesterday, we have concluded the Radhastami festival. It went on very well. The temple room was exquisitely decorated with flowers. At noon, we had a Puspanjali for Srimati Radharani and a special Prasadam feast was served to the devotees and attendants. We had a special program in the evening too!

The highlight of the program was the initiation ceremony. Five devotees have taken vow to become disciples of His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada with the full blessings of all the Vaisnavas present.

The initiates were: Sridhara Dasa, Saksi-Gopala Dasa, Prahlada Bhakta Dasa, Radha Ramana Dasa & Anuradha Devi Dasi.

It is very heartening to see that the above-mentioned five people have taken up the path of Bhakti Yoga in all seriousness on such an auspicious occasion as Radhastami.

This was followed by another feast for the devotees and attendants of the ceremony.

With that we would like to conclude this post. Thank you for all your support once again.

The Significance of Radhastami

2008-09-09T18:24:00.004+08:00

Hare Krsna everyone!!

Radhastami is not very well known as compared to Sri Krsna Janmastami. The reason is that to understand Srimati Radharani constitutes even more confidential knowledge than to understand Sri Krsna. The following is a very brief understanding of the position of Radharani.

Madana means Cupid. We, in the material world, are all afflicted by the sharp arrows of Cupid. In fact, these arrows of Cupid are the cause of our perpetual bondage in this material world. Cupid reigns supreme in this material world.

But Krsna is called Madana Mohana - The Enchanter of Cupid. In fact, His beauty defeats the beauty of Cupid multiplied a million-fold. Everyone, in the material and spiritual worlds, are directly or indirectly enchanted by Krsna. Therefore, Krsna's position is supreme.

Although Krsna is such an ocean of reservoir of pleasure, there is one person who can completely enchant Krsna. That person is none other than Srimati Radharani. She is so perfect in Her devotional service to Krsna that although Krsna is very sober and completely aloof from all affection, even He cannot help but be attracted to Her. Such is the force of Her devotional service. Within the entire material and spiritual worlds, She alone can completely attract the mind of Krsna. Therefore She is also called Madana-Mohana-Mohini.

Therefore if we try to please Srimati Radharani, then Krsna will be more pleased with us than when we try to please Him directly. We observe this celebration in commemoration of the Appearance of Srimati Radharani so that Krsna will be very much pleased.

Ratha Yatra '08

2008-07-19T11:49:00.002+08:00

The Singapore Ratha Yatra ’08 or the festival of chariots was recently concluded on 13th Jul 08. It was held at Toa Payoh Stadium in its third consecutive year running. The guest-of-honour for the festival this year, His Honourable Mr. Inderjit Singh, MP for Ang Mo Kio GRC represented the head of state for Singapore and performed the long standing tradition of sweeping as is done by the King of Orissa just before the start of pulling of the chariot.

During the festival, devotees took the opportunity to distribute the transcendental books of Srila Prabhupada as well as other paraphernalia that included Lord Jagannatha keychains, pendants, stickers, posters and even T-shirts designed by Sri Krishna Mandir’s own brahmachari. Prasadam was freely distributed to the public along with mouth-watering laddus and cakes. The three chariots belonging to Lord Jagannatha, Lord Baladeva and Lady Subhadra were beautifully decorated with newly sewn extravagant embroidery, throngs of strung up fragrant flower garlands and plenty of various coloured balloons.

Devotees and visitors alike started streaming into the stadium as early as 4.30pm and they were kept engaged at the store either by the books, paraphernalia or the ratha yatra documentary displayed on the large LCD screen. At the time of arati when the deities were on their respective chariots, the space between the stadium tracks and the stadium terraces was packed with so many people that there was hardly any space to maneuver. After the arati, His Honourable Mr Inderjit Singh flagged off the pulling of the chariot by sweeping the path leading to the chariot of Lord Jaganntha. The chariots were pulled in the particular order: Lord Baladeva, Lady Subhadra and Lord Jagannatha.

The kirtan at each of the three chariots kept everyone energised throughout the pulling the chariots. To combat thirst and encourage people to continue pulling the chariots, drink stations were positioned at the two extreme ends of stadium. Visitors spoken to felt that the festival was well organised and that they felt happy that they were part of such a wonderful and colourful festival. The festival was also published in colour in the largest selling English newspaper, The Straits Times as well as the Tamil newspaper. The success of this festival attributes to the fact the devotees at Sri Krishna Mandir follow the orders of their spiritual master, A.C. Bhaktivedanta Srila Prabhupada rigidly and preach accordingly without any liquidation to his work. Lord Jagannatha in that manner becomes pleased when His pure devotee is served properly and so The Lord of the Universe rewards accordingly.

Jai Jagannatha Ratha Yatra ki Jai! Jai Srila Prabhupada ki Jai!

New Nrsimhadeva Deity Installed!

2008-06-14T17:38:00.007+08:00

Sunday, 18th May 08 marked the auspicious day of the appearance of Lord Nrsimha. Over here at Sri Krishna Mandir, it was a cause for special celebrations as a new deity of Lord Nrsimha was installed. The older deity made of marble, was softened over time due to the constant abhishek (bath) of the Lord over an extended period of time. Just prior to over a month before the festival, the hand of the deity was broken and was temporarily sealed back in place. It was decided that a new deity made of sturdy element brought in and to permanently retire the old deity to the sea. The new deity arrived at Sri Krishna Mandir a week before Nrsimha Caturdasi and is made entirely of a compound of metal elements and weighs in at slightly over thirty-one kilograms.

The installation ceremony lasted for two days. The first half was held on the morning of the eve of the Nrsimha Caturdasi. The second half of the ceremony was held on the auspicious day itself. Part of the rituals included bathing the Lord with panca-gavya (five byproducts of the cow: urine, waste, milk, ghee and yogurt), and a fire yajna. The Taman Daya temple president, His Grace Saci Suta Prabhu, administered the entire ceremony. After all second-initiates (brahmana) offered abhishek to the Lord, the Lord then retired briefly to put on new garments assisted by brahmanas and away from everyone’s vision. The Lord then appeared all dressed up with elegance and opulence for everyone to have darshan for the first time. His Grace, Govardhan Prabhu initiated the first arati of the Lord manifested in the new deity over a rousing kirtan led by Tattva Vit Prabhu.

For the rest of the devotees, the opportunity to offer abhishek to the Lord occurred in the evening after Gaura arati. The Lord was brought down from the altar to a makeshift stage at the carpark at ground floor. After which, devotees made a beeline acquiring a small pot of milk for offering to the Lord. The cultural program started after the abhishek ceremony with performances by children, traditional Indian dancers and even a live band. The day was capped off with a drama depicting the appearance of Lord Nrsimha.

Jai Nrsimhadeva ki Jai! Jai Prahlad Maharaj ki Jai!

First Spiritual Retreat

2008-05-15T20:47:00.010+08:00

1st May 2008 marked a public holiday as Singapore celebrated Labour Day. Sri Krishna Mandir took this opportunity to stage the first spiritual retreat to Malaysia. Eighteen devotees from Sri Krishna Mandir were joined by two devotees from the Taman Daya temple in Johor, Malaysia. Devotees from Sri Krishna Mandir started their journey at 8pm on 30th Apr 08 to the causeway in Woodlands. As they approached the causeway, there was a long queue of vehicles as expected due to Malaysians going back home for the long weekend. The van carrying the devotees maneuvered to the nearest location to the Woodlands checkpoint without being caught in the jam. The devotees disembarked and started their journey by foot. Passing the causeway through the two checkpoints, the devotees embarked an air-conditioned coach in Johor that comfortably fetched them to the Taman Daya temple. Despite being arriving at a late hour the hospitality shown by the Taman Daya temple president, His Grace Saci Suta Prabhu and the other devotees made their guests feel homely as they served them prasadam consisting of biryani and sabji (vegetables). After prasadam, the devotees were shown their lodging at the Rose Cottage Hotel, a budget hotel with a simple yet comfortable stay having rooms equipped with air-conditioner, television and heater shower. Before devotees retired for the night, a small request was made by Sri Krishna Mandir Singapore temple president, His Grace Sundar Gopal Prabhu requesting all to join him for mangala arati the next day at 5am.

The next morning as the time ticked away to 5am, all the guest devotees from Singapore joined their Malaysian counterparts for the start of mangala arati. This was the first time that the Taman Daya temple has experienced such a huge gathering of devotees from Singapore and Johor for mangala arati. His Grace Raghupati Prabhu led the kirtan as devotees chanted the holy names and danced for the deities of Gaura-Nitai. After the Srimad-Bhgavatam class, devotees had breakfast and checked out of the hotel all ready for the adventures ahead. A 25-seater air-conditioned coach ferried them to their first stop, Malaya Giri Dhama, the future site of the first spiritual farm stay near Kota Tinggi, Johor. As devotees enjoyed the beauty and the bliss of the place, a clairvoyant wave of expected questions filled the air, “When will this project be completed?”

Next stop was Kota Tinggi waterfalls. Being a holiday in Malaysia as well, the environment was crowded with locals hoping to have a dip and feel the rush of the falls. The devotees manage to find a secluded spot at the top of the waterfalls just before the rapid falls. After quickly changing to their swimming attire, the devotees took a plunge into the pool. The coldness of the water was enough to jolt one into delirium. But the small rapid of water into the pool was refreshing as devotees took turns to sit in the midst of the rapids. It was duly labeled fresh water massage treatment by the devotees. As the rapids pushed against their bodies, a relaxing, soft touch was all that was needed to relax the joints and the body parts that are ached by the mediocre city lifestyle. After being rejuvenated, the devotees changed to dry attire and broke for lunch.

After lunch, devotees rested in the coach as it made its way to Desaru, a sleepy coastal town on the east coast of Johor. A half-hour pit stop was made at a fruit farm where devotees took the opportunity get their hands on cheap fruits and freshly squeezed fruit juices. Finally, the devotees made their final stop of the day at a beach resort in Desaru. Desaru, which is well known among the locals and Singaporeans for their wide sand tropical beaches became a transcendental playground for the devotees. After a game of beach football, the devotees headed into the water to cool off and engage in water games such as wrestling, tug-o-war and even something as naïve as wave slamming. Some even took off early from the beach to race in go-karts. Soon, the time came to depart, and all the devotees departed filling refreshed and light-headed.

The first spiritual retreat was a grand success with another retreat soon to follow in June. This trip has given devotees a temporary hermitage from the hustle and bustle of a stressful city life. Because of such a lifestyle, city dwellers become too attached to their work commitments and often fail to realize that there is more to life than working as if there is no tomorrow. This attempt of this retreat was to re-ignite sadhana bhakti for the city dwelling devotees through the morning program that Srila Prabhupada very heavily stresses upon. With the association of devotees and the congregational chanting of the holy names of the Supreme Lord, the retreat definitely brightened up a lot of faces. Sadhana bhakti that includes attending the morning program coupled with a day out in the water played a big part in re-igniting the devotional spirit of everyone. Even though it looks more like fun and games, there is constant association of devotees who are properly following the orders of their spiritual master, congregational chanting of the holy names of the Lord as well as prasadam honouring. It was indeed a win-win situation for all. Vinay, a Mauritiun teaching in Singapore summed it up the best, “Prabhu, when are you planning to go back again?!”

Minister Receives Bhagavad-Gita

2008-04-27T10:44:00.016+08:00

It was 10am on the Sunday of 27th March 2008 when a crowd gathered on the street beside the building where Sri Krishna Mandir is situated. Residents from adjacent condominiums were also waiting by their windows, observing the proceedings. An air of excitement lingered in the air as everyone awaited the arrival of Health Minister, Mr Khaw Boon Wan.

The Health Minister graced the Geylang Serai District as part of the ministerial community visit. As Geylang Lorong 29 was one of the stopovers for Mr Khaw, Sri Krishna Mandir decided to take this opportunity to distribute a copy of the Bhagavad-Gita As It Is to the minister. His Grace Raghupati Prabhu delivered the two copies; one in English and the other in Mandarin. Mr Khaw graciously accepted the two copies of the Bhagavad-Gita As It Is. To fulfill the order of our spiritual master, His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, we at Sri Krishna Mandir, have to actively preach and distribute his transcendental books describing and glorifying the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Lord Sri Krishna.

It is the mercy of Lord Sri Krishna that such a prominent head of state of Singapore was able to receive the transcendental instructions of a pure devotee in the line of disciplic succession.

Jai Srila Prabhupada!

Spiritual Retreat in Malaysia

2008-04-25T11:50:00.002+08:00

Hare Krishna!!

We have planned a spiritual retreat on the 1st of May, 2008 to Malaysia.

So we'll be moving in the night before and put up at the Sri Krishna Mandir at Taman Daya. We'll be having a mangala-arati on the 1st of May and after the solid morning program, we'll be heading to the Kota Tinggi waterfalls. From there, we'll pay a brief visit to the to-be farm community at the Kota Tinggi, and will head straight to the Desa Ru beach. There we'll have a kirtana following which we shall partake of prasadam. We'll spend some time at the beach and head back to Singapore in the evening.

This trip is a great way for serious candidates to get away from the hustle-bustle of a metropolitan and fully be with the devotees for a whole 24 hours and experience spiritual life.

Once the Kota Tinggi farm gets kicked off, that will be a valuable feather in the Yatra's cap.

Hare Krishna!!

A change in the Sunday Program

2008-04-24T12:30:00.004+08:00

Hare Krishna! To all devotees, well-wishers and visitors,

There will be a slight change in the kirtan schedule on Sunday.

The arati will start as usual at 6pm along with kirtan. With the completion of the arati at about 6:30pm, the kirtan will be stopped and a Hare Krishna bhajan will begin and it will last until about 7:15pm.

After this it is as usual - Bhagavad Gita lecture and Prasadam.

Kindly note that these changes will be in effect from the 27th of April, 2008.

Hare Krishna!

Rama Navami was a blissful event

2008-04-23T18:32:00.007+08:00

Hare Krishna everyone!!

Sri Rama Navami celebration was very encouraging for the devotees. Despite being a week day, the attendance was about a hundred. Most of them were new faces. And surprisingly, six of them were Chinese!!!

All the people liked the Hare Krishna kirtana, the abhisheka, the class and of course the Prasadam. When asked how they liked the festival, many of them replied that it was like a really rejuvenating experience. They seemed to feel full of vitality despite a tiring day of work.

The festival was especially blissful to the devotees as a result of seeing so many souls witnessing the transcendental event. This is the sole happiness for the preacher - to see others happy in the association of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Lord Krishna or Lord Ramacandra.

One can be happy only in the association of God, Krishna because our position is to be with Krishna, serve Him with love and devotion in the kingdom of God, Vaikuntha. We have come far away from Him to enjoy on our own. This we have been doing since time immemorial. This much-hyped quest for happiness in this material world is nothing but a struggle for existence. Everyone is only embarassed by the ever-entangling network of misery. If we just turn our face back to God, we will begin to feel blissful again. As Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu used to say:

"I have gotten the Lord of My life and soul, for whom I was burning in the endless fire of lusty desires."

So this explains the rejuvenating experience of the new witnesses of the Sri Rama Navami.

So by the mercy of Srila Prabhupada and Krishna, everything is all slowly falling in place. The Singapore Yatra is beginning to evolve in the true line of Lord Caitanya's movement ever since Srila Prabhupada is the centre without any deviation.

Hare Krishna to all, thanking you for your attendance!

Rama Navami 2008

2008-04-09T20:33:00.002+08:00

We will be celebrating the Rama Navami, the Transcendental Appearance Day of Lord Ramacandra, on the 14th of April, 2008 (Monday). The program timings are as follows:

7:00pm - Arati and Kirtan
7:45pm - Abhishek
8:15pm - Lecture on Lord Ramacandra
9:15pm - Prasadam

We invite everyone to attend this great festival and get blessings of Lord Ramacandra.

Thank you!

Hare Krishna!!

Can't get better than this!

2007-10-29T13:24:00.000+08:00

Hare Krishna everyone!!

It can't get better than this!!

It is the Damodara month now, which means the result of devotional service is multiplied exponentially.
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.
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

2007-09-18T21:28:00.000+08:00

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!

2007-09-18T12:26:00.000+08:00

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

2007-07-28T00:30:00.000+08:00

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

2007-07-14T14:56:00.000+08:00

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

2007-07-10T21:37:00.000+08:00

APOLOGY

2007-07-01T12:42:00.000+08:00

Celebrating Lord Nrsimhadeva's Appearance

2007-04-30T22:40:00.000+08:00

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

2007-04-03T13:00:00.000+08:00

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

2007-03-30T20:50:00.000+08:00

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

2007-03-26T21:05:00.000+08:00

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

2007-03-12T20:44:00.000+08:00

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

2007-03-12T20:22:00.000+08:00

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)

2007-03-01T16:21:00.000+08:00

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

2007-03-01T14:12:00.000+08:00

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.

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

Klang Ratha Yatra

2006-12-22T13:12:00.000+08:00

Owing to the successful attendance last year, Sri Krishna Mandir is organizing a tour to witness the Ratha Yatra festival in Klang, Malaysia which is on the 30th of this month. Devotees will be leaving at 7am on the 30th and will return on the 31st night. All the devotees will be staying overnight in Klang. For more details, contact Raghupati Prabhu (Tel.)92370244.

Tribute to a great Vaishnavi

2006-12-18T13:06:00.000+08:00

The 10th of December 2006 is a significant day in the Singapore Yatra of the Hare Krishna Movement as it was the disappearance day of Devaki Mataji, the beloved mother of His Grace Sundar Gopal Prabhu.

Although one did not see her in the frontline of the yatra, she played a very significant role in establishing the Singapore Yatra as was revealed by His Grace Sundar Gopal Prabhu on the day of her funeral, the 11th of December 2006. Her life was exemplary. His Grace Sundar Gopal Prabhu shared some of his memories of her.

When her children were kids, she used to take them to the Krishna Temple in the Waterloo Street. It was only later when her children contacted the Krishna Consciousness movement of Srila Prabhupada that she revealed to them that whenever she had taken them to the Krishna Temple her only prayer to Lord Krishna was that all her children become His devotees. Sure enough, Krishna fulfilled her desire!!

Sundar Gopal Prabhu shared with us one more incident which happened in 1979. At that time, he was the sole bread-winner for the family. He had five sisters to maintain apart from his mother. But his only desire was to serve the instruction of his beloved spiritual master, Srila Prabhupada, by spreading the Krishna Consciousness movement. He wanted to quit his job and join the movement full-time. When he asked permission from his mother to do so, his mother at once agreed to his proposal. "Yes, you should do this immediately.", she said, although she knew of the financial constraint the family would have to face owing to this decision. This was the beginning of the Singapore Yatra of the Hare Krishna movement.

Another incident was when Sundar Gopal Prabhu decided to marry after a long time in Brahmacari life. Devaki Mataji was extremely upset that her son did not take sannyasa in order to preach!! This is extremely unique as no mother wants her son to renounce the world but to our greatest surprise, here is a mother who is upset that her son is getting married!!

Before departing, she visited all the holy places namely Vrindavan, Mathura, Kurukshetra, Jaipur, Hardwar and Rshikesh although she was advised by many not to go as it might pose a danger to her life. But she insisted, "If I have to die, let me die in the holy land of India." While returning after a successful completion of the yatra she suffered a massive heart attack in Mumbai. But she tolerated the pain for nine hours before she reached Singapore. From the airport, she was directly admitted to the Singapore General Hospital ICU on the 6th of December. She was there for 4 days before she suffered another fatal attack. 2 hours later, she departed on the 10th of December, at 2053 hrs in the presence of loud kirtan in the ICU chamber.

These are some of the incidents which depict the mood of a devotee. A devotee is always wanting to spread the glories of Lord Krishna. Thus she played a behind-the-scenes role in the spreading of the Krishna Consciousness movement in Singapore which is now expanding beyond the frontier of this island.

We would like to thank all the devotees, donors, well-wishers and friends for all of your kind and generous support for the recent bereavement of late Srimati Devaki Mataji who departed from our association.

A New Chapter - Sri Krishna Mandir Malaysia

2006-11-01T22:57:00.000+08:00

Sri Krishna Mandir Malaysia is now established!! Due to an overwhelming response to the activities of Sri Krishna Mandir Singapore, many Malaysian devotees wanted a centre in Malaysia too. By the mercy of Lord Caitanya, we could open a centre in Malaysia. A grand opening ceremony was performed on the 29th of October, Sunday. This is the first time in 31 years Sri Krishna Mandir Singapore expanded to another country. This is the biggest success in our preaching work.

The location of the temple is very significant. It is situated in a central area which is easily accessible by the residential estates, factories and the commercial complexes which are surrounding the area of the temple.

Another aspect which is especially noteworthy is that the temple is located in an area called Taman Daya which is Malay for "Merciful Estate". Lord Caitanya, the munificient incarnation of Godhead, and Lord Nityananda, the original spiritual master, are the presiding deities in temple.

The temple and the restaurant are situated in the same building but are separated by 3 shops in between. The temple hall is actually more spacious than the one in Singapore. The restaurant also is bigger than the one in Singapore. The quarters for the devotees is just above the restaurant. Prasadam Distribution is very dear to Srila Prabhupada and Lord Caitanya and this restaurant is especially opened to satisfy them both. For a nominal amount of RM 2, one can eat as much as he wants.

The temple opening ceremony was especially grand. Sri Krishna Mandir Singapore arranged a bus for the devotees of Singapore to attend the opening ceremony and the bus was completely filled. All the devotees were very enthusiastic to witness the spreading of the Sankirtana movement.

His Grace Sundar Gopal Prabhu, the President of Sri Krishna Mandir Singapore, started off the ceremony at 1130 hrs with a very inspiring opening lecture. This was followed by talks by Raghupati Prabhu and Brahmanya Prabhu, the President of the Malaysian Yatra. Following this was the kirtan which is the most important part. All devotees from Malaysia as well as Singapore took part in the kirtan very enthusiastically. All were greatly enlivened and could get a glimpse of the real United Nations the way it was experienced in the 70's.

The kirtan continued from the temple premises to the restaurant. After the kirtan went for about 20 minutes in the restaurant, it was called off and there was Prasadam Distribution. After resting for a while, the devotees from Singapore headed back at 3 pm with great enthusiasm.

This great event was possible due to the enthusiastic missionary spirit of His Grace Sundar Gopal Prabhu. It is not as easy to get things done in Malaysia as it is in Singapore. But His Grace Sundar Gopal Prabhu was so determined that he stayed there and made the temple ready for opening in just 10 days' time! That was incredible! He did not even return to the Singapore temple for celebrating Srila Prabhupada's Disappearance Day. He was cent percent engaged in expanding Srila Prabhupada's movement. Therefore, he must be so dear to Prabhupada.

His Grace Brahmanya Prabhu's efforts are not to be belittled in any way either. He was the one who found the place for establishing the temple and he was very actively involved in setting up and renovation.

Srila Prabhupada and Caitanya Mahaprabhu are pouring down showers of mercy upon us.

Devotees are requested to help, especially monetarily, in this regard to help push the Malaysian Yatra!!

Jai Malaysian Yatra ki Jai! Srila Prabhupada ki jai!!

Srila Prabhupada's Disappearance Day

2006-10-21T13:34:00.000+08:00

It is ironical, in the first place, to say that Prabhupada is absent. The event, namely the disappearance of Srila Prabhupada in 1977, bewildered quite a number of people.

This is due to the fact that Srila Prabhupada is a spiritual, transcendental personality. His disappearance and appearance is the same.

Many, many times Srila Prabhupada, while delivering lectures, in private conversations and in his books, has stressed the importance of association of the vani (words or instruction) of the spiritual master, not the vapuh (body). A spiritual master is to be heard, not to be seen.

The reign of Srila Prabhupada will continue through his books for 10,000 years as he himself prophetized.

"Everyone is sleeping in the darkness of Kali-yuga (Iron Age of Quarrel), but when there is a great acarya, by his calling only, everyone takes to the study of the Vedas to acquire actual knowledge."

----------Chapter 20, "Description of Autumn", Krsna book

Srila Prabhupada is undoubtedly such a powerful acarya who freely distributed the Holy Name all around the world.

We celebrated the 110th Disappearance Day of Srila Prabhupada, the Founder-Acarya of the Hare Krishna Movement, today on the 26th of October 2006.

The special thing about the festival was that the neem twigs and a flower used personally by Srila Prabhupada were available for darshan. We also read some of the pastimes of Srila Prabhupada from the book, "Prabhupada Nectar". Everyone felt fortunate to hear of the special activities of our beloved spiritual master.

Jaya Srila Prabhupada ki jaya!!

2007 Calendar on the shelf!!

2006-10-11T14:14:00.000+08:00

It cannot get better than this! What an auspicious way to start the new year?! The Sri Krishna Mandir Calendar for the year 2007 is on the shelf. It is more exciting due to the "Prabhupada Quote of The Month". Grab a copy yourself and distribute it to others too.

Boat Festival - A huge preaching success

2006-10-05T15:04:00.000+08:00

The advertisement has done it for us again! From the very beginning of the day, people began to call up the temple for further details about the festival. The Strait Times has the largest readership in Singapore. Atleast half a million people would have seen our advertisement. Just by once chanting the maha-mantra which was featured in the advertisement, their lives became successful.

Many tens of newcomers turned up for the festival. The swan boat arrived at the venue at about 6pm. Everyone was awaiting the arrival of Their Lordships. As soon as They arrived on the scene at about 6:15pm, everyone jubilantly accompanied Them to the boat with ecstatic kirtan. Then they were seated on the beautiful swan boat decorated with flowers and ornaments. People were just gazing at the beautiful vehicle of Their Lordships.

This was followed by a 3-hour boat ride. As soon as the boat began to move, many devotees jumped into the water and those who were outside were performing the kirtan. In this way the whole crowd enjoyed the 3 hours to the fullest.

After a tiring kirtan, everyone was rejuvenated by the sumptuous prasadam and the many numbers of guests were thankful to us for providing them the opportunity to attend such a wonderful festival.

Many scores of books were distributedon that day. Srila Prabhupada, our beloved spiritual master, must surely have been pleased at the effort.

The way the Hare Krishna festivals are gaining popularity in Singapore, it looks like the Hare Krishnas are going to conquer the whole of Singapore in the very near future.

Forthcoming Radhastami & Boat Festival--- The Last Of The Majors

2006-08-31T18:15:00.000+08:00

The upcoming Radhastami and the Radha-Krishna Boat Festival mark the end of the festive season for the year here at Sri Krishna Mandir.

The Radhastami is to be celebrated on the Friday, 1st of September and the Transcendental Boat Festival follows on the following Sunday, 3rd of September, 2006.

On the Radhastami, there will be a puspanjali (flower-offering ceremony) at 12 noon until when all the devotees are required to fast.

Devotees of Lord Krishna do not try to approach Him directly because this is very difficult. They try to please Srimati Radharani because She is extremely merciful and if She recommends us to Krishna, Krishna has no choice but to accept us.

The Boat Festival is the most awaited of all the festivals of the year for the devotees and well-wishers alike. It is to be held at the Jalan Besar Swimming Complex near the Lavender MRT Station from 6pm to 9pm on the 3rd of September, Sunday.

Their Lordships Sri Sri Radha Madanamohana take a ride in the waters of the Swimming Complex in a gorgeous swan boat. The whole procession will be accompanied by non-stop sankirtan (congregational singing of the holy names and dancing). This will be followed by a full meal prasadam.

We request your attendance in this festival, which is the last of the major festivals this year.

Hare Krishna!

Sri Vyasa Puja '06

2006-08-31T11:10:00.000+08:00

On the 17th of August this year, we celebrated the 110th anniversary of the appearance day of Srila Prabhupada.

The appearance day of the spiritual master (or acarya) is technically called Vyasa Puja. This is because the spiritual master is the true representative of Srila Vyasadeva, the original compiler of all the Vedic literatures and the incarnation of the Supreme Personality of Godhead.

To be a true representative of Srila Vyasadeva, the acarya should in no way differ from the opinion of Vyasadeva or the Supreme Personality of Godhead. In the Bhagavad Gita (15.15), Lord Krishna says, vedais ca sarvair aham eva vedyah. After scrutinizingly studying all the Vedas one comes to the conclusion that Krishna is the Supreme Personality of Godhead. In other words, He is the supreme enjoyer, supreme proprietor and the supreme friend of everyone. But elsewhere in the Bhagavad Gita (7.19), Krishna also says:

bahunam janmanam ante

jnanavan mam prapadyate

vasudevah sarvam iti

sa mahatma sudurlabhah.

"After many births and deaths, he who is actually in knowledge surrenders unto Me, knowing Me to be the cause of all causes and all that is. Such a great soul is very rare. "

This means that one who understands the true message of Vyasadeva is not common. To understand the message as it is, one has to receive it from a bonafide disciplic succession. A bonafide disciplic succeession is nothing but an unbroken chain of spiritual masters who are at the highest realization of the Absolute Truth. Such personalities are extremely rare. They are worshipable by everyone because they have the solution to all the problems of the suffering humanity and they can give the highest perfection of life even to the most fallen.

It is our great fortune to come into contact with such a person. Although we cannot repay the debt to our spiritual master, we can show our gratitude by following his instruction.

On the Vyasa Puja Day, all the people whose lives have been touched by the transcendental messages from the lotus lips of the pure devotee acarya offer their writings glorifying his uncommon qualities and pastimes.

The Sri Krishna Mandir celebrated the appearance day of Srila Prabhupada, who by his pure devotion unto the Supreme Personality of Godhead, broadcasted the pure message of the Vedas all over the world awakening all the sleeping souls in this dark material world.

The abhisheka ceremony (bathing ceremony) was performed at noon following which was the puspanjali (flower offering), the kirtan accompanying both the events. About 200 people enthusiastically participated in the ceremony.

The best part was the devotees' expressing their love for Srila Prabhupada in their written offerings. Almost all the people present, including the kids and old alike, read out their offerings. It was a very touching experience. It has to be because the Singapore Yatra is especially blessed by Srila Prabhupada. All the devotees could feel this very intensely. The reading went on until 2:30pm and the prasadam was delayed by an hour but no one complained! They were all blissful in glorifying a pure devotee of the Lord.

Srila Prabhupada must surely have felt satisfied by the sincere, although possibly imperfect, prayers of his beloved disciples and followers.

Jaya Srila Prabhupada!

Janmastami Extravaganza!!

2006-08-28T16:09:00.000+08:00

Hare Krishna! All glories to Srila Prabhupada!

Lord Sri Krishna celebrated His birthday in great pomp and style here in Sri Krishna Mandir, Singapore. From 7pm right upto 1 am, the temple was buzzing with transcendental vibrations. The birthday dress of the Lord looked beautiful on Him. He was so charming that it was only with great difficulty that one can take his/her eyes off His divine form.

The festivities started off at 7pm with the aratrika accompanied by heavy kirtan. The temple was so opulent with the more-than-3000 crowd that packed the temple joining the kirtan.

About 100 people from an old folks' home arrived to watch the festivities. Following the kirtan was a series of cultural shows which included 2 dances, a children's drama and a talk and finally, the adult drama. The temple hall, the prasadam section and the cultural show section were full with people at any given time.

The audience were rapt in attention while watching the cultural programs culminating in the final drama "The Killing of Kamsa" played by the Vaikuntha Players of Sri Krishna Mandir. Following the cultural programme was the abhisheka ceremony(bathing of the Lord in different liquids such as water, milk, ghee(clarified butter), honey, yoghurt, rose-scented water and fruit juice).

After the Lord was bathed, everyone was waiting for the mid-night aratrika. All the devotees broke their 24-hour fast after the aratrika. The prasadam was one thing which everyone undoubtedly enjoyed.

The feedback of the guests was most encouraging to the devotees. They all were totally impressed by the whole festival. By seeing all the guests satisfied the devotees could at once know that Srila Prabhupada was satisfied and thus, Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu.

Many people who attended the festival were through the advertisement published in The Strait Times. The newspaper turned out to be a great preaching field, as observed in this festive season beginning from the Ratha Yatra. Literally, thousands were benefitted by this adventurous move. Due to this bold step taken by His Grace Sundar Gopal Prabhu, the President of the Sri Krishna Mandir, the results are showing. Lord Krishna brought so many thousands to the temple on that one single day. To achieve this feat in Singapore is possible only due to the mercy of Srila Prabhupada. His movement can only grow bigger and bigger.

Jaya Srila Prabhupada!!

A one-of-a-kind Jhulan Yatra '06

2006-08-11T15:28:00.000+08:00

This year, the Jhulan Yatra was special in so many ways. This was the first time the Jhulan Yatra being held outside the temple premises. It was open for everyone to see.

The most attractive feature of the festival however, was the beautiful Vrndavana scene in which Their Lordships Sri Sri Radha-Madanmohan had Their swing pastime. The stage was gorgeously decorated by Bhakta Santiraan and other devotees. It looked just like the beautiful Vrndavana forest with trees, creepers, flowers, magnificient parrots of different colors, monkeys, a peacock (all artificial except the trees, some of which were also artificial) with the picture depicting Radha & Krishna in Their swing pastime as the backdrop. The swing was hung from a tree branch and magnificiently decorated with flowers. Their Lordships swung on a beautiful throne adorned with flowers atop the swing.

The view was so enchanting and breath-taking that there was a complete traffic jam every now and then. They were taking photographs from their cars and some became so enthused that they immediately parked their cars wherever they could and participated in the festival. The passers-by just could not take their eyes off the scene. They were spellbound!!

The kirtan, which could be heard from many lanes away, surcharged and purified the whole atmosphere and everyone was engulfed in festive joy.

The last day of the Jhulan Yatra coincided with the Balarama Jayanti. The killing of the demon Pralambasura by the kids was a most enjoyable experience. Crowds in the hundreds gathered to watch the show. It was very enlivening.
When the demon was finally "killed" by our heroic kids, everyone ran to grab the prasadam that fell out of the body of Pralambasura.

On all the five days, sumptuous prasadam was served to many hundreds. Everyone were really turned on after having their prasadam. Then there was a very impressive score of book sales.

This festival really boosted our image and preaching. So many new faces turned up and each and everyone were so impressed and moved that many of the newcomers enthusiastically came on all the five days.

All in all, it was a unique festival and Their Lordships Sri Sri Radha-Madanmohan were very merciful upon the conditioned souls by displaying the glory of Their ever-triumphant pastimes in the mundane world as stated in the Brahma-samhita (5.42):

ananda-cinmaya-rasatmataya manahsu

yah praninam pratiphalan smaratam upetya

lilayitena bhuvanani jayaty ajasram

govindam adi-purusam tam aham bhajami

Translation

I worship Govinda, the primeval Lord, whose glory ever triumphantly dominates the mundane world by the activity of His own pastimes, being reflected in the minds of recollecting souls as the transcendental entity of ever-blissful cognitive rasa.

We, at Sri Krishna Mandir, thank everyone for participating in all aspects of the festival and there are many more to come in the next one month. So, stay tuned! For a brochure on the upcoming festivals, please make a visit to our temple. Hare Krishna!!

Tremendous response from the Chinese community

2006-07-31T15:41:00.000+08:00

Jai Srila Prabhupada!

The Singapore Hare Krishna Yatra has entered a different phase resulting from the tremendous response given by the Chinese in Singapore.

For many years, the Chinese in Singapore did not have anything to do with Krishna Consciousness. Surprisingly though, there was a sudden growth in the number of Chinese devotees in a matter of last few weeks. The Chinese (of course, the others also) seem to love the ecstatic kirtans, the Bhagavad Gita classes (both Chinese and English), the dramas, the sumptuous Love Feast, it is just a great weekend for all of them. More Chinese books are being sold. They started chanting on the beads. They performed valuable service in making the Ratha Yatra a grand success.

Starting with only 3 to 4 people, the attendance of Chinese devotees for the weekend program increased to nearly 30 in six weeks' time.

The children are also learning dance from our dance teacher Bhakta Xavier for performing in the festivals.

Srila Prabhupada is showering downpours of mercy on the Singapore Yatra. Long live Srila Prabhupada's great movement! Hare Krishna!

Jhulan Yatra '06 -- 5th to 9th August

2006-07-19T12:46:00.000+08:00

Owing to the stupendous response, the Jhulan Yatra this year is going to be the biggest festival of all. An ever increasing number of interested devotees are coming forward to serve Their Lordships Sri Sri Radha Madan Mohan on the auspicious Jhulan Yatra Day.

This year's festival will be held at the temple premises for five days from the 5th to the 9th of August. The program is scheduled from 7pm to 9pm.

All devotees will get the once-a-year chance of serving Their Lordships directly by swinging Them.

Sumptuous prasadam will be served to one and all. Please come with your family, friends and relatives.

Hare Krishna!!

Special Chinese Bhagavad Gita classes inaugurated

2006-07-14T20:46:00.000+08:00

The last Saturday, there was a group of about 20 to 25 Chinese and we had to inaugurate a special Chinese Bhagavad Gita class. There was an English class, a Chinese one and a Tamil one. This is a great step forward in our mission.

Especially after the Ratha Yatra, the Hare Krishnas of Singapore caught the eye of the upper class of society and also, the Chinese.

The festivals in the pipeline, namely, Janmashtami, Radhashtami, Jhulan Yatra, The Transcendental Boat Festival, Prabhupada Appearance Day, etc. promise to draw more of the international crowd. Eagerly looking forward to these festivals.

Ratha Yatra '06 --- A Major Breakthrough

2006-07-13T16:17:00.000+08:00

The Ratha Yatra held on the 2nd of July 2006 here in Singapore, was a grand success. Around 3000 people visited the event and thus received the special mercy of Lord Jagannath.

The success of the festival is the result of the bold step taken by Sri Krishna Mandir to publish a half page advertisement in The Strait Times on the Ratha Yatra day.

ye yatha mam prapadyante

tams tathaiva bhajamy aham

As we surrender unto Krishna, so He rewards. We decided to spend money for the advertisement and the Lord rewarded us with sending so many educated class of men to the festival. This is just the beginning.

Srila Prabhupada, our dear spiritual master, always wanted us to make it BIG. We must depend on Krishna. After all, it is all Krishna's property. Isavasyam idam sarvam. If we just desire to glorify Him, He will provide us every facility; and as we glorify Him, He becomes pleased and that pleasure extends to us as we are His parts and parcels, and we also feel blissful in our hearts.

This is the formula for peace, prosperity and happiness. The United Nations Organisation (UNO) is missing this formula and therefore it is a failure as there are so many hot and cold wars taking place.

Who else but we, have this formula? So there is a great need to preach this message and for this purpose, the Hare Krishna festivals are great opportunities. People get to see the Lord (darshan), buy books (which are the basis of our movement), learn our philosophy and thus everyone will be at peace. All our festivals are actually the highest welfare work for mankind. If the intelligent class of the society understands our message, peace shall reign all over the world.

Hare Krishna!!

Ancient Chariot Festival comes to Singapore!!

2006-06-26T22:25:00.000+08:00

Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare
Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare

Programme:

Date: 2nd July 2006 (Sunday)
Venue: Toa Payoh Stadium
Time: 5pm to 10pm

For enquiries contact:

Sri Krishna Mandir, 9 Norris Road, Singapore-208252

Tel: Raghupati Das or Lawrence @ 62502280

Email: raghupati@krsnamandir.org.sg

Website: www.krsnamandir.org.sg

Free entry and prasadam! All are invited!

Lord Jagannath Chariot Festival, one of the most widely attended festivals in the world, is coming to Singapore. "Jagannath", meaning the Lord of the universe is the source of the English word "Juggernaut".

This colorful melodious extravaganza would be organized at the Toa Payoh Stadium, offering a rare view of the age old wisdom of the Vedic tradition.

Come and experience the splendor of a timeless tradition with your family on the coming Sunday!

Jagannatha Ratha Yatra

2006-06-19T13:29:00.000+08:00

The biggest festival of the year is coming up!! The Jagannatha Ratha Yatra is just two weeks away!! On the 2nd of July (Sunday), we are going to celebrate the Ratha Yatra at Toa Payoh stadium from 5pm to 10pm.

We need a lot of service from all the devotees especially on the Ratha Yatra day, the previous day and the day after Ratha Yatra. Let us all enthusiastically take part in the service of Srila Prabhupada and Lord Jagannatha

Since it is going to be a big event this year, we request all the devotees to contribute whatever amount they can to make the event a grand success.

yajnarthat karmano nyatra

loko yam karma bandhanah

tad artham karma kaunteya

mukta-sangah samacara

"Work done as a sacrifice for Visnu has to be performed, otherwise work causes bondage in this material world. Therefore, O son of Kunti, perform your prescribed duties for His satisfaction, and in that way you will always remain free from bondage."

Therefore all devotees are requested to contribute some of their earnings for the sake of the sankirtana yajna following the precepts of the Bhagavad Gita and following in the footsteps of great Acaryas like Rupa Gosvami and Sanatana Gosvami.

Bring all the people you can to the Jagannatha Ratha Yatra festival. Hare Krishna!!

Jagannath Snana Yatra

2006-06-09T17:15:00.000+08:00

A series of major annual festivals will kick off with the Jagannath Snana Yatra on the 11th of June, 2006.
The Snana Yatra festival is held every year just 2 weeks before the annual Ratha Yatra festival. This festival is interesting because after the Lord takes His snana (bath), He “gets sick” for 2 weeks and then after “getting well” He ventures out into the streets on the Ratha Yatra Day to bestow His all-merciful glance on all the fallen souls.
Of course, the Lord’s sickness is far different from our sickness. His sickness is His pastime whereas ours is a punishment!!
So, on June the 11th, we have an Abhishek ceremony for Jagannath at 7pm. Jagannath is unconditionally merciful. Take and let others also take the fullest advantage of this opportunity! Bring along all your friends and relatives. All are welcome! Thank you! Hare Krishna!!

It was a great week-end festival

2006-05-15T14:37:00.000+08:00

The last weekend was filled with festive colours and joy at Sri Krishna Mandir. The public holiday on Friday was a blessing of Lord Nrsimhadev. This facilitated us to make it a grand three-day celebration. The celebrations kicked off with a grand abhishek for Lord Nrsimha, which was accompanied by heavy kirtan. Following this was a cultural programme which included children's Dasavatara costume parade, a couple of dances which were performed by devotees and well-wishers, a very entertaining children's quiz and a spectacular drama which was enacted by Sri Krishna Mandir's Vaikuntha Players. The second day was dedicated to children's programmes of which the drama was the highlight. The Sunday was the Bengali night. The usual Sunday crowd at Norris Road was much benefitted by the tumultuous kirtan which lasted for about one-and-a-half hours. The Drama which followed the kirtan was very much appreciated by the audience.
On all the three days, a variety of sumptuous prasadam was served to our guests, devotees, well-wishers and outsiders.

Coming Up.......Nrsimha Caturdasi

2006-04-24T11:22:00.000+08:00

This year, the Nrsimha Caturdasi falls on the 12th of May, Friday. It is Lord Nrsimha's mercy that it is a public holiday. That prompted us to plan a grand three-day festival from Friday to Sunday. So we will be having stage shows on all the three days. On Friday, we will have an English program, on
Saturday, we have a special children program and on Sunday, we have a Bengali program.

On Friday, we have an abhishek for Lord Nrsimha at 6:30p.m. followed by Sandhya Arati at 7p.m. and at 8p.m., we have the cultural program.

Lord Nrsimha is especially fierce against the demons, as you can see in the picture above. So, by participating in this festival, all inauspicious things which are just like demons, will be vanquished and the path to spiritual advancement becomes easy and clear. All devotees are required to fast till sunset. Thank you! Hare Krishna!!

Upcoming Fest --- Rama Navami

2006-04-01T11:02:00.000+08:00

We, at Sri Krishna Mandir, are pleased to announce the upcoming festival -- Rama Navami, the appearance day of Lord Ramacandra, which falls on the 7th of April, this month.

We have a talk on the glorious pastimes of Lord Ramacandra in the morning. On this auspicious occasion, devotees can chant more rounds, read more about the pastimes of the Supreme Lord and offer some devotional service at the temple and thus advance in their spiritual life. Moreover, all devotees are required to fast till sunset.

The programs start from 7pm with the Sandhya Arati. Following that is a class on the pastimes of Lord Ramacandra, Sayana Arati, drama and Prasadam distribution.

Gaura Purnima fest and the 2nd ritvik initiation

2006-03-16T21:54:00.000+08:00

On Tuesday, the 14th of March, devotees celebrated the Gaura Purnima at Sri Krishna Mandir with great pomp and show. Despite it being a weekday, the evening was filled with hundreds of devotees. Devotees performed many types of devotional service at the temple the whole day. All of them received the special mercy of Caitanya Mahaprabhu.

The evening programs started off with the initiation ceremony. Four aspiring devotees got initiated by Srila Prabhupada at around 7pm. This was the 2nd ritvik initiation held at Sri Krishna Mandir. His Grace Raghupati Das was the chief priest. The initiates were (from left) Tattva Vit dasa, Mahaprabhu dasa, Prema Vikasa dasa and Ujjvala Siromani dasa.

Following the initiation ceremony was the grand abhisheka ceremony for the Gaur-Nitai Deities. A power-packed kirtana resounding in all directions, accompanied the abhisheka. Each devotee contributed some milk for the abhisheka.

The Temple President, His Grace Sundar Gopal Das, delivered an inspiring talk on the special significance of the Gaura Purnima and the infinite causeless mercy of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu.

On the 19th of March (Sunday) a cultural programme will be held commemorating the Gaura Purnima. The programme commences from 7pm. Those who could not attend on Tuesday can make it on Sunday. Thank you! Hare Krishna!!

Gaura Purnima Celebrations

2006-03-10T11:22:00.000+08:00

It is the appearance day celebration of Lord Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, the most munificent incarnation of the Lord, on the 14th of March, 2006. Everyone is invited to come and receive the mercy of Lord Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu. At 5pm, there will be an initiation ceremony for aspiring devotees. There will be a grand milk abhisekha for the Lord at 7pm. Everyone will get the chance to bathe the Lord in milk and thus obtain His mercy. All devotees are encouraged to receive the mercy of the Lord by performing more chanting, reading or engaging in some devotional service in the temple. All devotees are required to fast till moonrise.

On the following Sunday, the 19th of March 2006, we have a grand cultural program from 7pm to 9.45pm.

We would require many hands in various services for both the above mentioned days. Everyone is welcome to perform some devotional service at the temple.

Please come along with all your family members, friends, etc. Everyone is invited!

First Ritvik Initiation Ceremony

2006-02-19T20:45:00.000+08:00

The above ceremony was conducted for the first time at the Sri Krishna Mandir.The new initiates took their spiritual vows of following the four principles and chanting a minimum of 16 rounds daily infront of Srila Prabhupad ,the Deities and Agni.
The ceremony was conducted by His Grace Raghupati prabhu, the chief Priest.The new initiates were very please to be connected to the Parampara through Srila Prabhupad, the Maha Bhagavad pure devotee of the Lord.Their connection with Srila Prabhupad was already there once they started accepting him by reading his books,however with this Ritvik initiation ceremony their formal connection with Srila Prabhupad becomes firmly establish as a commitment.We are humbly requesting all Vaisnavas to bless them with their mercy and prayers so that they will remain firmly fixed up in their service and vows to Srila Prabhupad.Hare Krsna.

Lord Nityananda Trayodasi

2006-02-09T16:26:00.000+08:00

Sri Krishna Mandir is celebrating the Appearance day of Lord Nityananda Prabhu on the 10th of February 2006 with a Puspanji at 12.00pm, followed by a Maha Arati and prasadam.There will be an evening program beginning at 7.00pm followed by a talk on the pastimes of Lord Nityananda Prabhu.
Kindly make time for this very auspicious event as Lord Nityananda is very merciful to the fallen souls of this kali yuga.To earn His mercy devotees observe a half day fast.

Myanmar Yatra

2006-01-31T20:10:00.000+08:00

We, together with Madana Mohan Das recently visited Myanmar through the sponsorship of Capt Henry, a resident and devotee from Myanmar.The preaching there is conducted under the supervision of Srivasa Pandit prabhu.Seen in the picture is the recently purchased Hare Krsna temple in Yangon.

The Gurukula students in Mandalay having their prasadam.There are about 30 students in the Gurukula.

Speaking at a preaching engagement to a very enthusiastic gathering of devotees in Mythinyina, a town in the Northern part of Myanmar.

One of the many scenic spots in Myanmar.The confluence of the Irrawady river in the Northern most part of upper Myanmar.All in all our preaching engagement lasted about almost 20 days.It was very hectic with programs almost everyday.The 2.5 million Indians are very keen about Krsna Consciousness.

Sri Klang Ratha Yatra 2006

2006-01-31T19:45:00.000+08:00

Some 35 devotees from S'pore recently went on to participate in the Klang Ratha Yatra.It was organised by the devotees from the Krishna temple in Klang.The festival started at 7.00pm and ended at almost 2am the next day.

The continuous Kirtan kept everyone spiritually uplifted during the entire parade of almost 3km route.It was indeed a valuable experience for most of the S'pore devotees who were witnessing the event for the first time.It was a very big success.

The S'pore devotees in downtown Kuala Lumpur visiting the capital city.

Vaisnava Aparadha (Offenses onto the Lotus Feet of a Devotee)

2006-01-07T14:40:00.000+08:00

"Play Entitled Capala Gopal". The offenses committed by Capala Gopal onto the Lotus feet of Sri Srivasa Thakur resulted in Capala Gopal contracting leprosy,a drama would be enacted by the Sri Krishna Mandir's Vaikuntha Players this Saturday the 7th and Sunday the 8th of January at 7.00pm.
There will be also a talk on the Bhagavad Gita followed by Arati and prasadam.All are welcome.

Ushering the Year 2006 With 24 Hrs Kirtana

2005-12-29T14:41:00.000+08:00

Sri Krishna Mandir is wishing everyone a very happy and prosperous New Year.

The best way in welcoming this New year would be by performing sacrifice and in kali Yuga the only recommended sacrifice is the chanting of the Lord's Holy Name,Hare Krsna Hare Krsna Krsna Krsna Hare Hare/Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare.

The Temple will be conducting a 24 hours of continuous Congregational Kirtana beginning on the 31st at 7.00pm up to 7.00pm on the 1st of January 2006.All inauspiciousness would be driven away, clearing the way for a very good start for the up coming New Year.

Why not take advantage of this opportunity to further our spiritual lives by constantly chanting the Lord's Holy Name.You could come along with your family or friends to party with us throughout the whole night and get immersed in the spiritual ecstasy,a feeling that you could only relish in the association of the deities and the devotees.

EXPANSION OF FREE FOOD DISTRIBUTION TO INDIA.

2005-12-20T13:21:00.000+08:00

Along with Sri Krishna Mandir's welfare program locally, we have now inaugurated a program of feeding the poor in India.The program is aimed at feeding the numerous poor and disable people in Vrindavan, India.Anyone interested in helping in this endeavour are humbly requested to contact us at the temple.All donors enjoy the double tax deduction relief benefit under the IRAS double tax relief scheme, in addition to obtaining pious merits in serving the residents of the Holy Land of Vrindavan and pleasing Lord Krishna immensely.

CORRECTIONS!!

2005-12-16T18:31:00.000+08:00

There is a little mistake in our 2005 calendar which has the Disappearance day of Srila Bhaktisiddanta Saraswathi Thakur listed on the 16th of December instead of the 19th of December.Please take note that the correct day is the 19th of December.Any inconveniences cause is deeply regretted.

There will be a puspanjali celebration at 12.00 noon followed by a grand feast honouring Srila Bhaktisiddanta Saraswathi Thakur.Please take note that we should observe a half day fast for the occasion.Blessings of great Vaisnava Acharyas are very essential for our spiritual upliftment.

Sri Klang Ratha Yatra & Kuala Lumpur Sightseeing Two Day Tour

2005-12-11T21:40:00.000+08:00

Sri Krishna Mandir is organizing a two day festival trip to the Sri Klang Ratha Yatra on the 31st of December, followed by a Kuala Lumpur Sight seeing City tour on the 1st of January 2006. The party will then arrive in Singapore early on the 2nd morning.The cost for the trip is $100/- per person inclusive of transportation,prasadam and lodging.

Those interested please contact Sriman Raghupathi Prabhu at 92370244 for your immediate reservation.

Awarding of Institution Of public Character Status

2005-12-03T15:45:00.000+08:00

Recently Sri krishna Mandir welfare Society, the welfare wing of Sri Krishna Mandir has been awarded the IPC status from the National Council Of Social Services.This is due to its untiring efforts in feeding the unfortunate and the Needy.Since inception in 2002 it has fed almost some 500,000 people with santified food called prasadam.

Now with this status donors to SKM welfare society will henceforward enjoy double taxation benefit i.e. for all donations received it earns twice the amount in tax relief under the IRAS Double Taxation Scheme.

For every dollar donated you will receive two dollars in tax relief.So why not support SKM welfare services and enjoy merits of pious activities cum tax benefits as well.Those interested Donors please contact us for your double tax relief benefits.

2005-11-21T19:31:00.000+08:00

We would like to thank all the devotees, donors, well-wishers and friends for all of your kind and generous support for the recent bereavement of late Srimate Chandra devi dasi who departed from our association.
It has been a very difficult and trying moment for all of us especially in Krsnamandir as she was very dear to all of us.Lord Krsna has His plans, he gave us this wonderful devotee and now He has separated us for reasons best known to Him.However spiritual she is still continuing her Krsna conscious service, for a devotee living, there is service to Krsna and after leaving the body the service is continued,there is no disruption.
We all pray to Sri Sri Radha Madana Mohan to bless us all to serve them like her.
Hare Krsna.

Memorial Service for Devi Mataji

2005-11-08T07:24:00.000+08:00

Please accept my humble obeisances, All glories to Srila Prabhupada.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Devi Mataji left her body on 5th November 2005 (same day as Srila Prabhupada's disappearance day). Devi Mataji had been serving Sri Krsna Mandir tirelessly and with great dedication to fullfil Srila Prabhupada's cause. All the devotees, members and friends of Sri Krsna Mandir are saddened that we are not able to physically associate such a wonderful devotee. However, as devotees of Krsna we are pleased that Devi Mataji has left this material world in an auspicious month and will continue to be in the association of Krsna the Supreme Personality of Godhead.
As Srila Prabhupada has said,
".... and spiritually, there is no such difference, appearance or disappearance. Although we feel separation, that feeling is there, but spiritually, there is no difference between appearance and disappearance."

We would like to announce that there will be a memorial service for recently departed Devi Mataji. The memorial service will be held at the Mandir on Wednesday 9th November 2005 from 7.00pm onwards. All are invited.

Hare Krsna,
Chamal.

2006 Calendar Is Now Here

2005-10-17T19:40:00.001+08:00

The next year's calendar is now available.

This new calendar is redesigned in a new format with very beautiful paintings depicting the various pastimes of Lord Krsna.It comes with a wire 'o' binding much convenient for hanging.They are priced at only ten dollars each.They make an excellent gift for the festive occasion.

Anyone interested in bulk orders can see the temple authorities for some better deals.Please hurry while stock last.

Kartik Vrata - Damodhara Month 18th of October 05

2005-10-11T20:39:00.000+08:00

Come this 18th will be the beginning of the most auspicious month of Damodhara.All devotees take extra pennace of fasting from urad Dahl and performing various austerities like doing extra rounds and eating frugally to increase their devotion to the Lord.In this month, devotees offer lighted lights and sing the Damodharastaka to lord Damodhara both morning and evening to obtain special mercy.
To glorify the Lord congregationally at the temple, in the association of the vaisnavas is most purifying.Most devotees take this time of the year to go to Vrndavan to perform their vrata there but for those who cannot then the temple which Srila Prabhupad claim as non different is equally the same.So please take advantage of the special mercy.Hare Krsna Lord Damodhara Ki Jaya.

Volunteers Urgently Needed

2005-10-11T19:51:00.000+08:00

Owing to the overwhelming success in our mass prasadam distribution on Sunday to the foreign Indian and Bangla Deshi workers we are in urgent need of volunteers to help in this program.

Volunteers are needed to help distribute prasadam,to give personalise attention to interested parties, and to assists in many other ways.
Devotee members who can speak either the Tamil or Bengali language would be a big advantage.
If you have the heart please make some time for this noble cause to reach out to the many souls who are bereft of this supreme mercy of the Lord.

Deepavali Fair Has Started

2005-10-05T16:39:00.000+08:00

The fair has just began and we are inviting all devotees to patronise and also help in distributing Srila Prabhupad's books.

It is very inspiring to meet many new people who are just now making contact with the devotees.Many old acquaintances are also calling to meet and chat.The Fair brings about a festive mood within everyone,it is very gaily lit with lights and festoons and with our Hare Krsna mahamantra songs, it kind of sums up the whole mood.

Please do not miss the opportunity,do come along with your family and friends. We will be around till the 31st.

Upcoming North and South India, 15 days Tour

2005-10-01T13:24:00.000+08:00

The temple is organising a 15 day tour visiting the holy
places like Vrindavan, Haridwar, Rishikesh, Mathura in the North, and Kancheepuram, Mahabalipuram, Thirupathi, Sri Rangam, Madhurai and Chennai in the south.

The tour is expected to leave on the 4th week of November.For all further enquires and reservation please contact Sriman Raghupathi Prabhu at 92370244

Deepavali Fair - 3.10.05 To 31.10.05

2005-09-27T11:29:00.000+08:00

Sri Krishna Mandir wishes all its members a very happy Deepavali.In anticipation of this up coming festival it has taken a stall opposite the Mustaffa Center where a yearly fair is organised.We are inviting devotees to help us to distribute Srila Prabhupad's books,Cds,paintings , calenders,incense and many more items.This would be a chance to participate in Srila Prabhupad's service, a service of preaching that is so dear to him.This would be a very special way to celebrate by pleasing Srila Prabhupad.The fair would start on the 3rd of October to the 31st of October from 3.00pm to 10.00pm.Those interested in this transcendental service kindly contact the temple.

Mass Prasadam Distribution Program

2005-09-19T18:56:00.000+08:00

Sri Krishna Mandir has just launched a new prasadam feeding program for the foreign workers Some 1,000 people were fed on Sunday the 18th of september with free food comprising of rice, Dahl and vegetables.

This program is aimed mainly at the 100,000 workers who are gathered in the Little India area on Sunday. Anyone interested in helping in this prasadam feeding program kindly contact us for your valuable support