Volunteering

INTERVIEW WITH JHULAN LILA DEVI DASI

The Community Newsletter team had a chat with Jhulan Lila devi dasi, sankirtan devotee and one of the current residents in the ladies ashram at ISKCON-London, to talk about her experiences in Krishna consciousness, the lockdown and the ladies ashram sankirtan activities.

Community Newsletter team: Hare Krishna, thank you for speaking to us. For people that do not know you, where are you from and how long have you been staying in the ladies ashram at ISKCON-London?

Jhulan Lila devi dasi: I was born in Switzerland but am originally from Sri Lanka. I have been staying in the ladies ashram at ISKCON-London for two years now.

Q: How did you come into contact with ISKCON and

Krishna consciousness?

A: I came into contact with ISKCON through a very dear devotee. I always remember, without the mercy of this devotee I wouldn’t be in Krishna consciousness today. The most profound contact afterwards for me with Krishna consciousness was definitely Srila Prabhupada in his glorious Srimad Bhagavad-Gita and Srimad Bhagavatam, which changed my whole life systematically. Q: That’s really interesting. How have you been

coping during the lockdown and any realisations you want to share about the lockdown?

A: I have been coping during the lockdown surprisingly well. There were very intense, purifying times and there were wonderful and very ecstatic times. I never experienced so much depth in the relationships with the Deities and the other Vaishnavis before, here in the temple. It brought intimacy and gratefulness to Their Lordships to a next level. This lockdown allows us to have time to restrospect and reflect on ourseleves and where we are at in our spiritual lives. So, while we are walking through our own internal journeys of Krishna consciousness this lockdown brings us also closer to the journeys of other devotees through sharing and discussing Krishna consciousness with each other.

I realised how deeply and personally Krishna takes care of every single soul with so much compassion and mercy, how careful and affectionate He reciprocates with each of our desires and challenges to bring us closer to Him That inspired me to care more personally and individually with other devotees according to their nature and character and in this way assist and serve Radha-Londonisvara’s will and desires.

Krishna says in Bhagavad-Gita 9.22 “But those who always worship Me with exclusive devotion, meditating on My transcendental form, to them I carry what they lack, and I preserve what they have.” In this way all the devotees who meditate upon our Lordships in their hearts, who are missing Them greatly, will surely be carried back to the lotus feet of Radha-Londonisvara.

Q: Since May as the lockdown rules have been a little

relaxed, for example allowing people to visit parks more often, what have the ladies ashram been doing?

A: The Srila Prabhupada’s Mission Group of the Ladies Ashram is going to the park twice a week for three hours to do harinama and book distribution with social distancing.

Q: It must have been nice to get outside again!

How have you found this new way of book distribution? And what kind of response did you have from the public?

A: To be outside has relaxed and opened our minds and helped us to not constantly be absorbed in ourselves but also share the mercy of the holy names with others. It was unusual for the first time for us since all the streets were just dead and empty like a background scenery of a movie. Oxford Street where I used to stop people for book distribution, hundreds of people in masses were just gone! We could hear the birds singing, the air was fresh and the few people in the parks were more peaceful and relaxed. That’s why our book distribution changed in a way, instead of approaching people. They were already sitting in the parks or walking and were more open to talking to us, since they were locked down as well for a long time and a lot of them felt lonely and had a need to speak. The response of the public is definitely more open-minded for spiritual topics with more appreciation. Restaurant kitchen after cooking breakfast and lunch some days. On Saturdays we participate in the Sankirtan Calling Party for two hours and twice a week we are reading from the Nectar of Instruction. Every day I try to give pleasure to our Lordships by singing Gaura Arati to them and once a week we have our mentee meetings.

Q: Wow, that’s a lot of services the ladies ashram is

involved in! Finally, I wanted to find out what inspires you about the ISKCON-London community?

A: What inspires me the most about the ISKCONLondon community is the unity of their dedication to Radha-Londonisvara although from so many different backgrounds they are all coming together to serve Radha-Londonisvara and in this way we share the same mood. It’s like a big family centred around Radha-Londonisvara, the very core manifestation of Srila Prabhupada´s heart and soul.

Q: Thank you very much for speaking to us!

Q: It sounds like the perfect time to distribute books

to the public! What other activities are the ladies ashram involved in?

A: Besides our usual services in the Pujari department (for example making garlands, fruits transfer, raj bhoga transfer, laundry, preparing bathing trays, changing the Deities bed sheets, dressing Srila Prabhupada, cleaning the pujari fridge) and cleaning the Ladies Ashram every day, we also clean Govinda’s

DAILY SCHEDULE

ARATI TIMES

04:30 Mangal Arati 05:00 Tulasi Arati 07:00 Deity Greetings 08:00 Dhoopa Arati 12:30 Raj Bhoga Arati 16:15 Dhoopa Arati 19:00 Sundara Arati 21:00 Sayana Arati

These are times when items are offered for the pleasure of Their Lordships.

DARSHAN TIMES

04:30 to 05:00 07:00 to 07:30 08:00 to 11:45 12:30 to 13:00 16:15 to 18:30 19:00 to 19:30 21:00 to 21:30

These are times when the curtains are open and Their Lordships can be seen.

CLASS TIMES

07:30 Srimad-Bhagavatam / Caitanya-Caritamrta 13:00 Introductory Talk * 18:00 Bhagavad-Gita * * Excluding Sunday’s

LUNCH PROGRAMME (Monday to Saturday) 13:00 to 14:00 Introductory talk and lunch.

SUNDAY FEAST PROGRAMME

15:30 to 19:30 Includes arati, introductory talk and feast.

ISKCON-London Radha-Krishna Temple 10 Soho Street London W1D 3DL +44 (0)20 7437 3662 info@iskcon.london www.iskcon.london

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