I just got this greeting from Padmalocana and Vrndavana-lila in Mayapur.

We wish you happy New Year 2007! Please bless us for more service in coming year.

In attached file find a New Year card for you, may Sri Panca-tattva bless all of you in coming year to come to Mayapur and be engaged in ecstatic service to Their Lordships!

Hare Krishna!

your servants,

Padmalochan Das & Vrindavan Lila Dasi

http://www.remembermayapur.com

 

Just in from Bhaktisiddhanta Swami...

Every day five thousand packets of prasadam, gour, flat rice, and kitri are distributed by the Nitai Pada Kamala boat and its enthusiastic inhabitants. Each packet costs 6 rupees and is a needed item at 4 local viilages. When the Nitai Pada Kamala boat 'putts' around the corner the villagers come running to get these simple rashions. For the locals, this is one of the most important Iskcon preaching events in the last six years.

Regarding donations towards flood relief work, all donations from outside India can be sent to our account at the American Express Bank, Kolkata. Details are as follows:-

Bank: American Express Bank, Kolkata
Account No.: 420081073
Account Name: ISKCON Gaura Purnima Festival Fund Bank
Address: American Express Bank Ltd, 21, Old Court House Street Kolkata 700001, West Bengal, INDIA
Swift Code No.: AEIBINDXCAL

Donors in India can remit funds to our account with UTI Bank Limited, Krishnanagar, Nadia Dist, West Bengal. The details are as follows:-

Bank: UTI Bank Limited
Account No.: 237010100005944
Account Name: ISKCON
Bank Address: UTI Bank Limited, 12 M M Ghosh Street, Krishnanagar, Dist Nadia, West Bengal 741 101
Swift Code No.: UTIBINBB005

Donors can approach the nearest branch of UTI Bank and provide the above-mentioned details and the money will reach our account within minutes. Alternatively you can get a demand draft from any Bank with a branch in Kolkata in the name of "ISKCON" payable at "Kolkata" and courier the same to "ISKCON, 31 Lake Avenue, Kolkata 700 026".

Bhaktisiddhanta Swami sent me these shots on Tuesday.

Here are a few photos for your perusal....The next day....truly a once in a lifetime experience...Then you have truly been to Mayapur...

You might have seen stories of flooding in Kolkata over the weekend. I knew something was up when Siddhi called me by mistake from Mayapur but ended up asking if she could use our room in the Mayapur Guesthouse to escape the flooding. Bhaktisiddhanta Swami sent me this message and pictures...

This is my first flood here in Mayapur...they say that it will only go up to a meter...due to heavy rains and the rising Ganga....at worst they will have to turn the electricity off...Tomorrow I can (if need be take a boat to higher ground and get a taxi to Kolkata). My present room is 4 stories up so no worries...

 

Since I've been busy on the weekend I thought some Radhastami shots from Mayapur, courtesy of Vrndavana-lila would be in order. I hope to have some of our pictures up by the end of today.

 

Yesterday's festival was well attended. The feast was excellent, thanks to Gopala Guru Prabhu and his team of cooks. I'm told the Varuni was very good. It was all gone by the time I got to the prasadam hall. Jhulana Yatra was also celebrated in style last night. I haven't been active with my camera recently so there aren't any pictures from me.

I just received these great shots from Vrndavana-Lila in Mayapur. I noticed a few photographers in action last night. If anyone has some good shots of Jhulana Yatra can you send them to me please?

 

These very nice pictures of the Panca-tattva popped up in my mail box courtesy of Vrndavana Lila a few days ago. I thought I'd share them here.

You can see more of her work here; http://mayapur.com/gallery2/main.php
 

From Bhurijana Prabhu...

Hare Krsna.This picture of bamboo was taken early one morning in Sri Dhama Mayapura.

Srila Prabhupada glorifies Krsna and His transcendental flute in the Krsna Book:

Krsna was very expert in playing the flute, and the gopis were captivated by the sound vibration, which was attractive not only to them but to all living creatures who heard it. One of the gopis told her friends, "The highest perfection of the eyes is to see Krsna and Balarama entering the forest and playing Their flutes and tending the cows with Their friends."

Bamboo forests grew upon Govardhana Hill. The sound of the wind rushing through the bamboo reassured the grazing cows that water was indeed nearby. Krsna's bamboo flute, despite it being faulted with many holes, was the treasure of Vraja. Once, after the gopis stole away Krsna's flute, leaving Him lamenting and unable to find it, Kundalata gopi spoke to Krsna: "Because Your bamboo flute was so full of holes, it was defective, and was hardly worth half a conch-shell when it was new, what to speak of now that it is old and battered. That such a flute was stolen from Your hand is actually a blessing. You are the prince of the cowherds, why should You lament the loss of an insignificant bamboo flute? All the gopis are very happy to hear the flute is lost."

The pastimes of Krsna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, are indeed amazing and unfathomable.

On our last day in Mayapur we went to the Ganga for a refreshing dip. It was pretty hot by that time and the water was cool but not nippy. The local buffalo herd was taking bath at the regular ghat along with devotees from all over the world, as usual.

Taking bath in the Ganga in Mayapur is a most purifying experience especially since we had just completed 15 days of meetings.

The garland lady gave Acintya Rupa a garland to offer to Ma Ganga and ended up with a new gamsha after some time of begging us for something. One doesn't usually take anything valuable when you go for a dip in the Ganga. It will get stolen. Still she seemed happy enough with what she received.

This story was created as a news item in Manila and then added to the story list as a test for Steve.

We've got the day off today so I've got some time to write. The GBC meetings this year have been running smoothly without too much drama. We are processing approximately fifty items of business as opposed to last year's seventy five which was out of control. I'm using a fairly large MindManager Map to keep track of all items and it is working very well.

I've also been testing the email to weblog which hasn't been working as well as we'd hoped. It's had a little tweaking so should be working now. Not only that but our connections here are really slow so it isn't that easy to get mail and check the web. It's just started to pick up over the last couple of days.

We've had a couple of interesting presentations over the last few days. Braja Bihari spoke on sources of conflict on the first day. Members of religious movements have more to get into disagreement over than your average person it seems. See if you can read the text in the slide behind Braja in the picture.

Jayadvaita Swami gave a very interesting presentation on the second day of the meetings. He has been studying what happens to religious movements after their founder departs. It's what is called the "post-charismatic phase" of a new movement. As it turns out we are pretty much on track. There isn't anything new that we are doing. As I mentioned before it seems there is plenty to disagree over. His observations were well taken and appreciated by all. Prabhupada wanted unity in diversity. We need to work out how to accommodate diversity without perversity. We can learn from our own mistakes and those of others it seems.