Bhakti Center Quarterly Report

quarterly report JULY-SEPTEMBER 2021

BHAKTI your

CENTER

spiritual

home

A Letter from the Executive Director More

than

taught

us

anything, the

power

this

pandemic

and

importance

has of

community. As COVID restrictions in NYC are lifting, we look forward to inviting you back into your spiritual home while continuing to offer high-quality online events to keep you nourished and inspired. We are here for you, and because of you.

We're

grateful

updates

with

to

you.

share

Please

the

reach

following out

if

you

have any questions, thoughts, or suggestions on

how

we

can

grow

and

improve.

Please

know that this is YOUR spiritual home. Our team

is

here

for

you

any

time–as

am

I,

personally. Thank you so much for continuing to

be

a

part

of

our

community

and

for

offering your generous support to the Bhakti Center.

yours in service,

Doyal Gauranga das DOYAL

GAURANGA

DAS

Weekly Kirtan

Weekly Soul Talks

Thursdays / 7:00pm – 8:00pm

Saturdays, 11:00am – 1:00pm

Jhulan Yatra 8/18- 8/22

Srila Prabhupada’s Appearance 8/31

Swing Festival Thursday 8/19 6:30-8:30 PM

Balaram Jayanti 8/22

Radhastami 9/13

Janmastami 8/30

Bhaktivinoda Thakura’s Appearance 9/18

SNAPSHOT This Coming Month at The Bhakti Center

Community Care Many

studies

between

have

demonstrated

religion,

happiness,

a

correlation

and

longevity.

Wouldn’t make

people

be happier and live longer (“Do Religious People Live

frenetic

Longer” Time Magazine, February 2018). Anecdotally,

bring

one

feel

imagine

meditation, the

and

material

why:

the

philosophy

world.

Bhakti,

benefits

of

prayer,

explaining

the

while

technically

not

perils

of

be

amazing

everyone

According to these studies, religious people tend to

can

it

feel

naturally New

more

it

to

the

Bhakti

loved

and

forward?

City,

people

happily

so

pay

York

if

to

the

our

it

spirituality,

connected

cared

In

wouldn’t

Center

be

and

for

that

preciously

amazing

to

Divine,

could

help

to

them

through

our

exceptional care? That’s the vision.

a

for

We will start small. Congregation members will soon

everyone), has all of these ingredients. It includes a

receive a survey to help us identify the most pertinent

profoundly

mystical

care

suggested

daily

religion

(religion

implies

sectarianism;

yet

scientific

meditation

Bhakti

is

philosophy,

practice,

a

a

clear

needs

define

its

our

scope,

thereafter.

description of the Divine, and more.

in

As

community. and

Our

develop

Radhanath

a

Swami

care

team

roadmap,

has

said,

will

shortly

“Krishna,

the Supreme Personality of Godhead, the cause of all factors

causes, the controller and master of everyone, takes

contributing to longevity and happiness including “a

the greatest pleasure in caring for His devotees. This

network

concept

Time

Magazine

of

indicates

social

additional

support”

and

“like-minded

of

end.

for

(Lecture 2/8/14, Mayapur)

their

spiritual

communities,

happiness

and

the

care

association.” In other words, when people feel cared in

It’s

devotee

eternal

has

no

pastime

of

beginning Krishna

and

no

Himself.”

longevity prevail.

Tulsi Rani dd is the Temple Care Coordinator at the Bhakti

To that end, the Bhakti Center is creating a new Care Team, led by Tulsi Rani dd. The team, while still in its infancy, has a big vision – to provide all Bhakti Center community members with a consistent, loving support

Center.

She

individual

This

childcare

could

support,

sky’s the limit.

include supper

mentorship,

on

a

busy

association,

workday

–

the

dedicated

and

collective

structured network

of

developing

system.

is

devotional nurturing and

to

supporting

spiritual

programs

teaching

development

and

relationships.

email at tulsi@bhakticenter.org.

by

She

courses

applications of Bhakti philosophy.

devotees

on

in

their

through

facilitating

also the

delights

a in

practical

She can be reached via

One who can see that all activities are performed by the body, which is created of material nature, and sees that the self does nothing, actually sees. Bhagavad Gita 13.30

New Team Members Our professional development continues to be a priority.

We aim to create sustainable systems that allow us to serve

you,

our

ever-growing

global

community,

to

the

best of our abilities. As we enter a new chapter in our journey,

we

are

honored

and

fortunate

to

welcome

several new team members to our staff:

Sahar Ghavami - Fundraising and Volunteer Associate Minna Seibel - Program Administrator Barbara Sanchez - Program Manager Tulsi Rani dd - Temple Care Coordinator Sila van der Swaagh - Facilities Manager Braja Bijay das - Temple pujari

In Person Programs After

a

weekly

year-long Thursday

tremendously

hiatus,

Night

we

Kirtan

nourishing

and

finally in

opened

2021!

uplifting

It to

up

has

our

been

welcome

guests back into our space for singing and dancing together.

We

have

also

launched

a

brand

new

weekly

event,

Soul Talks, which is specifically catered to introduce new guests to the teachings and lifestyle of Bhakti.

This

program

many

of

the

has

become

people

we

a

great

connect

destination

with

on

the

for

street

through Soul Spot, as well as online meetup groups.

Lastly, as city regulations are now allowing in-person gym and yoga classes to take place, we have brought a crew of dedicated teachers together to reopen our yoga studio with in-person classes. Gradually, we are planning

more

in-person

workshops,

events,

and

trainings. We hope to see you back home sometime soon!

Soul Spot

Our Bhakti Center outreach efforts officially kicked off two years ago this summer. At that time

our

program

consisted

of

weekly

Kirtan

and

book

distribution

in

Washington

Square

Park. Since that time, our program has expanded.

Through the pandemic and the winter months, we consistently hit the streets two days per week. When it got too cold to sit and chant, we performed walking Harinam on Thursday evenings, filling the gap left by the suspension of Thursday Night Kirtan.

As people started attending regularly, we developed "next steps" including home programs, Gita classes, and Soul Talks, one of the Bhakti Center’s first post-pandemic weekly in-person offerings.

Soul

Talks

allows

newcomers

to

explore

the

philosophy

of

Bhakti,

including

practical examples of how to apply ancient teachings into daily life.

Some

of

our

regulars

have

attended

weekend

Bhakti

retreats,

and

even

moved

into

our

ashram!

If you're in town, please join us on Sundays in the park.

For additional information on Soul Spot, please contact Brajarani Dasi. via email at Brajarani@bhakticenter.org.

She can be reached

Bhakti Center Staff July 2021

Doyal Gauranga Das - Executive Director Amrit Krishna Das - Cook Barbara Sanchez - Program Manager Bhima Prana Das - Cook Braja Bhijay Das - Pujari Brajarani Dasi - Human Resources Leader Gaura Sharan Das - Kitchen Manager Minna Seibel - Program Administrator Krishna Gor - Reception Manager Radha Bhakti Dasi - Mentoring Program Leader Rasika Gopi Dasi - Community Groups Leader Sahar Ghavami - Fundraising and Volunteer Associate Silas van der Swaagh - Facilities Manager Sri Rupa Charan Das - Pujari Sundarnath Das - Finance Director Tulsi Rani dd - Temple Care Coordinator Vasudeva Das - Head Pujari

We build on foundations we did not lay We warm ourselves by fires we did not light We sit in the shade of trees we did not plant We drink from wells we did not dig We profit from persons we did not know

This is as it should be.

Together we are more than any one person could be.

Together we can build across the generations.

Together we can renew our hope and faith in the life that is yet to unfold.

Together we can heed the call to a ministry of care and justice.

We are ever bound in community.

May it always be so.

Rev. Peter Raible

As we welcome new team members at the Bhakti Center, we recognize and are eternally indebted to the countless dedicated souls who have built the foundation of where we are today and who continue to support this project from places around the world.

EMAIL info@bhakticenter.org with inquiries DONATE at our website bhakticenter.org

Authentic spiritual education, experience & community.

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