Worldwide Activities of Krishna Consciousness
The George Harrison documentary Interview with Mukunda Goswami Recently,
ISKCON spiritual master His Holiness Mukunda Gosvami was featured in the documentary George Harrison: Living In The Material World. The film was directed by Academy Award-winning director Martin Scorsese, and was premiered on the HBO TV channel on the 5th and 6th of October. The documentary follows the ex-Beatle on his spiritual quest, shedding light on many things, including his relationship with the Hare Krishna devotees. In the film Mukunda Gosvami, one of George‘s devotee friends, shares his memories about the ex-Beatle and the devotees recording the Hare Krishna maha-mantra, which later became a hit in the UK and all over the world.
Sixty new devotees join Gainesville’s Krishna House in last three years
The Krishna House in Gainesville, located just across the street from the University of Florida (UF), has seen sixty new devotees join over the past three years-an astonishing achievement at a time when few new Westerners are joining ISKCON.
It helps that the Krishna House is right next to one of the biggest universities in the United States, with over 50,000 students. But the key element, as president Kalakantha Dasa says, is that “Our whole reason for existing is to meet their needs. We are completely geared to facilitate the new person in Krishna consciousness.”
Most of those joining are young American students in their twenties, who found out about the Krishna House’s “Bhakti Academy” training program through its website, from receiving spiritual literature, or from meeting devotees at the famous Krishna Lunch program on the UF campus. There are also introductory programs for newcomers on Sundays, Tuesdays and Fridays.
Brazil gets ready for the biggest kirtana festival in the history of Latin America
Between November 11th and 15th, taking advantage of a national holiday, Nova Gokula, the biggest Hare Krishna rural community of Latin America, will have the honor to host a 48 hours kirtana, the biggest one ever done in the continent. Nova Gokula was established 33 years ago, at the base of Mantiqueira mountain range, in Pindamonhangaba, a small town in the state of Sao Paulo, and it has a great tradition of hosting festivals since its beginning. This one, however, promises to be the biggest of all times.
New devotee family community in South Russia
Purnacandra Gosvami spent the last 15 years of his life in Russia, mostly in Moscow, one of the largest cities in the modern world. He saw how hard it is to become and especially to continue being a devotee at such a place. In Moscow, as in any other megapolis,there are factories, exploitation of people, bad media influence, all of which makes it difficult for devotees to earn a living, and especially hard to remain Krishna conscious. There are many devotee parents who neither have a prosperous job, nor a good spiritual practice, and their children go to regular state schools in the absence of a gurukula. Also, not all devotees are active in preaching. Seeing all this, Purnacandra Gosvami had an idea to create an economically independent community of devotees outside of the city.
Srila Prabhupada used to say that those who are active, can stay in the city and risk fighting with maya for the sake of preaching, whereas for others, Prabhupada had recommended to live outside the city, in devotee communities. And even those who have been actively preaching for 20-30 years, at some point will need to move away from the city and get care and protection.
A village in a resort area on the shores of the Black Sea was chosen as a suitable place to realize Purnacandra Gosvami’s vision. He wanted to see devotees living in their own homes or flats around a temple. The families could be economically independent, while learning to spiritually depend on each other.They could study srimad-bhagavatam together, have festivals, help each other in daily tasks. A joint business could be created for the gahasthas. Mothers could help each other take care of children.
ISKCON’S first ever temple extends plea for help
ISKCON could be in danger of losing its 26 2nd Avenue Center on New York’s Lower East Side-the place where Srila Prabhupada started his worldwide movement-due to financial difficulties. And its caretakers are extending a plea for help. As Mukunda Gosvami recounts in his recent book Miracle on 2nd Avenue, he first rented the storefront with an adjoining apartment in May 1966 for Srila Prabhupada, who had travelled to America from Vrindavana, India less than a year earlier to spread his message of Krishna consciousness.
srila Prabhupada converted the little storefront, then a novelty gift shop with the marvelously prophetic name “Matchless Gifts,” into ISKCON’s first ever temple.
Contributors: Krishna Lila Dasi, Madhava Smullen, sri Krishna Murti Dasa