Temple Premises - A Rich Cultural Heritage

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



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



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



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



Famous Names to have Graced the Premises



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




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




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




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




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




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




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




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




What do all this facts indicate?



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



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

Sri Krishna Mandir invites you for Sri Rama Navami

Hare Krishna!

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

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

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

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

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

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

For more information contact us at 62502280.

Hare Krishna!

Gaura Purnima 2007 - Appearance Day of Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu

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

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

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

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

Jai Nitai Gauranga! Jai Srila Prabhupada ki Jai!

Mangala Arati - The Complete Spiritual Experience

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

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

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

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

Significance of Sri Gurv-astaka

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

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

Narasimha Pranama

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

Sri Tulasi Pranama

Significance of worshipping Tulasi Devi

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

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

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

Hari Nama Japa

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

(Kalisantarana Upanisad)

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

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

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

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

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

- Hare Krishna

(Article by Krishna Caitanya Das)

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

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

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

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

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

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

Gaura Purnima -- Significance

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

namo maha vadanyaya

krsna-prema pradayate

krsnaya krsna caitanya namne

gaura tvise namah

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

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

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

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

Klang Ratha Yatra

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

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

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

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!!

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

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

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

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!!

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

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

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

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

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

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!!