Wishing A Happy New Year 2011 To All Of You

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

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

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

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

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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

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

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

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

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

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

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)

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

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.