May 2012 ISKCON-London Community Newsletter

COMMUNITY

news

May 2012 Highlights

• A New Look For Govinda’s • Youth Preaching • Book Distribution

Nrsimha Caturdasi • Govinda’s Restaurant Spiritual Counsellor System • Radha’s Boutique Volunteers Sanga • Outreach

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Community News

Nrsimha Caturdasi On Saturday 5th May we celebrated the auspicious appearance day of Lord Nrsimhadev. Many devotees flocked to the temple to take part in the festivities.

In the morning we were blessed with the association

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of Krishnakshetra dasa who have a wonderful class.

Afternoon there was big harinam procession on streets of London.

In the evening we had abhisek of the Nrsingha Shila and then drama depicting the Appearance of Lord Nrsinghadev by drama group , this year we arranged

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special sound effect of thunder and lion roaring just before sandhya arati darshan and special darshan on the altar.

Community News

where HG Kripamoya das and HG Jai Nitai Prabhu took part along with the ashram residents on the Sunday following Nrsingha chaturdashi day.

No grain breakfast feast was served at 7:30pm.

As a special treat - we also arranged dramatic reading of the appearance lila; organised by HG Parividha das,

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Community News

Spiritual Counsellor System

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New Counsellor

Congratulations!

Welcome to Sandhya Vandana devi dasi who has joined her husband, Jagat Palana dasa, in becoming a counsellor. They will be joint counsellors which means both men and women can join their group.

This month saw two members of our system receive first initiation.

Party in the Park!

First was Bhaktin Debbie who was initiated on Nrsimha Caturdasi in New Vraja Dhama (Hungary)

by His Holiness Sivarama Swami. Her new name is Devaki devi dasi.

Our annual Counsellor System outing to Regent’s Park will take place on Monday 27th August. This is open to all members of the Counsellor System and consists of drama, dance, games and of course‌ prasadam!

Maha Sanga with Krsna Ksetra dasa

Next was Bhakta Amol who was initiated at Bhaktivedanta Manor on Sunday 13th May by His Holiness Bhakti Vijnana Goswami. His new name is Amrtananda dasa.

On Friday the 4th of May we had a Maha Sanga whereby all counsellees and counsellors in the system were invited to attend an evening of Krsna Katha with Krsna Ksetra dasa.

The topic for the evening was Lord Nrsimhadev and lessons to be learnt.

On the previous meeting there was a private meeting with Krsna Ksetra dasa and all the counsellors where we discussed the different types of listening and how to be a good listener.

Any questions?

If you would like to join the Spiritual Counsellor System or have any questions then please contact Bhava Bhakti devi dasi on bhava.bhakti@gmail.com

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Community News

Volunteers Sanga On Tuesday 29th a special sanga was organised by the Volunteers Team.

We were fortunate to have His Holiness Bhakti Rasamrita Swami with us. Maharaja gave an enlivening talk to volunteers on the importance of taking up devotional service and serving together in a spirit of co-operation.

The sanga was well attended with around 40 devotees present and it was also broadcast live on mayapur.tv with many devotees tuning in.

If you are interested in volunteering at the temple, please contact the team at volunteers@iskconlondon.org.

A New Look For Govinda’s Govinda’s underwent a complete makeover during May. The restaurant was closed for a number of days to facilitate an extensive refurbishment of the dining and kitchen areas.

Under the expert guidance of Ananta Acaraya dasa, Govinda’s has a new, modern look.

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Community News

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Youth Preaching

University Preaching

The month of May was an exciting one for preaching work at ISKCON London. The main highlights are outlined below.

Media

Despite this being a comparatively quiet month for universities, being the end of the academic year and the time when most students are leaving for holiday breaks, we maintained our kirtan meditation sessions and managed to draw in vibrant attendees at each session.

The main preaching highlight this month was the hosting of a radio interview, conducted by Trevor Barnes from the BBC, to be aired in the coming weeks.

The simple and absorbing music meditation continues to captivate those students who attend, as do the sumptuous plates of prasadam distributed after each session.

The interview focused on faith involvement for the upcoming Olympics Games. This was a great opportunity to expand awareness of our temple in Central London and to further broadcast the practical principles of Krishna Consciousness in a city environment in the modern age. The interview featured Jai Nitai dasa and Sachi Kishore dasa, along with a supporting crew of eager brahmacaris from our temple.

In addition, we have continued to establish and build relationships that will be vital in promoting and facilitating the programs during the next academic year.

The journalist was able to appreciate the relevance and applicability of the Bhagavad Gita for athletes and people in general, and also explored Sachi Kishore’s eminent role as one of a team of chaplains selected to administer to the spiritual needs of athletes at the Games.

This interview launches our new initiative to explore our potential to venture into the media arena as a new avenue for our preaching effort.

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KC Lounge The men’s Friday programme explored a wide range of topics this month, inviting healthy debate and deeper exploration into the relevance and applicability of Krishna Consciousness in the world today.

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Community News

The main topics explored where the Lessons from 24 Gurus (taken from the Srimad Bhagavatam), the Science of Sound, and a newly launched series called the Wisdom Chronicles, which is based on Radhanath Swami’s Soulwise articles.

We also held a very successful cooking workshop this month to encourage attendees to adopt a more nourishing, healthy and spiritual diet that was both sumptuous and practical in a place like London.

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Community News

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Book Distribution During the month of May we distributed 1,468 books, collected ÂŁ3,230 for a total of 1,285.25 book points.

The scores were as follows:

Name

Days Lakshmi

Book Points

Big

Maha Big Medium Medium Hard Hard

Set

Bhava Bhakti Counselle Smart Box 1

5.00

1.50

Uddhava Damodara Dasa

1

3.00

2.00

1

Aditi DD

1

6.00

2.00

1

Hari Kirtan das

1

8.00

2.00

Gaura Kishore group-Smart Box

1

24.00

2.50

10

Unknown smart box

1

15.00

4.00

16

Bhakta Ben

1

10.00

4.25

2

1

Bhakta Dale

1

9.00

4.25

2

1

Jayananda das

2

23.00

11.00

4

4

4

Bhakta Pasha

2

29.00

13.75

5

5

5

Tattva Jnana Dasa

3

60.00

22.50

14

62

WW east

1

64.00

24.50

1

35

4

WW south

3

148.00

30.75

7

16

35

Weekend warriors

1

99.00

40.50

18

Nrsimhadev Harinam Party

1

125.00

49.75

Bhakta Alexey

1

118.00

57.50

NPKTSP

1

265.00

87.50

Sachi Kumar Nimai das

2

239.00

102.00

Sharada dd

1

415.00

110.00

Bhakta Shiv

7

289.00

113.00

53

Bhakta Laurie

12

645.00

298.00

149

Sundara Nitai das

10

631.00

302.00

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Small

6

2

4

4

18 199

27 1 30

6

32 22

14 30

30

14

380 2 28

148

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Community News

Govinda’s Restaurant Govinda’s collected £25,289.69 in May, of this amount: catering £150. ********************************************************* Govinda’s takings: £25,139.69 ********************************************************* • • •

14 working days.

Average day for the restaurant: £815.80.

Govinda’s took in £2,4762.53 less then May 2011 owing to restaurant refurbishment.

Radha’s Boutique Radha’s Boutique collected £7,766.91 in May.

Outreach During the month of May Jai Nitai dasa carried out the following outreach activities: 16th - Attended UK Strategy meetings 17th - Hosted the UK Management Council meeting at ISKCON London 18th - House program with the Dattani family with 30 devotees in attendance 24th - Gave a talk at a bhakti yoga event for professionals near Liverpool Street. There were 35 people in attendance.

26th - Attended South Regional meetings.

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Community News

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TEMPLE VACANCY

Radharani’s Temple Cleaner Required

Minimum Wage Monday & Tuesday 4 hours a day 9.30am to 1.30pm

Contact: Kasinath dasa on 07400 858811

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Community News

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Daily Programme Times Arati Times 4.30am – Mangala Arati 5.00am – Tulasi Arati 7.00am – Deity Greeting 8.00am – Dhoop Arati 12.30pm – Raj Bhoga Arati 4.15pm – Dhoop Arati 7.00pm – Sundara Arati 9.00pm – Dhoop Arati

Darshan Times 4.30am to 5.00am 7.00am to 7.30am 8.00am to 11.45am 12.30pm to 1.00pm 4.15pm to 6.30pm 7.00pm to 7.30pm 9.00pm to 9.30pm Lunch Programme Monday to Saturday 1.00pm to 2.15pm

Classes 7.30am – Bhagavatam or Caitanya Caritamrta 1.00pm – Introductory Talk 6.00pm – Bhagavad Gita (except Sunday) Sunday Programme 3.30pm – Bhajans 4.15pm – Dhoop Arati 4.30pm – Introductory Talk 5.30pm – Sunday Feast 6.00pm – Questions & Answers 7.00pm – Gaura Arati

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Radha-Krishna Temple 10 Soho Street London W1D 3DL

T: 020 7437 3662 E: london@pamho.net W: www.iskcon-london.org

International Society for Krishna Conciousness Founder-Acharya: His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Srila Prabhupada