Goloka Dhama March Newsletter

BY: BHAGAVAT DHARMA DASA

Mar 10, ABENTHEUR, GERMANY (SUN) — Dear devotees and friends of Sri Sri Radha Madana Mohana, Hare Krishna! Please accept our hearty greetings and we hope that you are all well and fine. First of all, let me thank all of you who have been here on Feb.27th -28th at our Isthagosthi and Gaura Purnima Festival. It was very nice to see you all again in Goloka Dhama, helping us to find ways by giving your good advice so that we can make important decisions for the future. By your coming, you showed that you care to keep this temple going on. Others wrote their valuable points for discussion and yet others donated generously to support our attempts for maintaining Goloka Dhama.

Some devotees volunteered to create new forums in order to mange the affairs of the temple. For example, for increasing our preaching, we are going to have a Harinam team who are willing to regularly perform chanting in the public. Mitravrnda Mataji volunteered to take personal care of our female devotees. Also we are planning to hold seminars in order to use our facilities more efficiently in the preaching mission. We are arranging a Seminar weekend for the Pfingst holidays and Bhakti Yoga Course in August. More details on these seminars will be posted soon in our website.

Some of you may not be able to regularly render full-time service to the Lord. Nevertheless, Krsna accepts whatever Bhava is given to Him by showing interest in His service or maintaining His temple. Srila Prabhupada writes in his purport to SB 8.23.2: "The Supreme Personality of Godhead is known as bhava-grahe janardana because He takes only the essence of a devotee's attitude. If a devotee sincerely surrenders, the Lord, as the Supersoul in everyone's heart, immediately understands this. Thus even though, externally, a devotee may not render full service, if he is internally sincere and serious the Lord welcomes his service nonetheless."

On Sunday, February 28th we celebrated a beautiful Gaura Purnima Festival with approximately 50 guests. It is always very inspiring to have many guests and dance in the Sankirtan of the Holy Names. We wish so much to be your hosts and hope to be able to serve you by maintaining a good standard of service to Sri Sri Radha Madana Mohan.

Our dear pujari devotee, Damodara Priya devi has just arrived from India where she has been trained in more details of Deity worship for the past few months. She is very inspired and will improve our standard of service. She is also willing to distribute the knowledge about this beautiful process of serving Krsna with love and devotion, which can assure you for going back home back to Godhead. Contact her if you are interested to learn this art.

Hare Krishna! We end this Newsletter with some inspiring words of Srila Prabhupada and a beautiful story told by Sacinandana Swami, and wish you all a spiritually strong time with powerful chanting of the Holy Names.

Your servant,
Bhagavat Dharma Dasa

"The process of devotional service -- beginning with chanting and hearing -- is called sadhana-bhakti. This includes the regulative principles that are intended to awaken one to devotional service. Devotional service is always dormant in everyone's heart, and by the offenseless chanting of the holy names of the Lord, one's original dormant Krsna consciousness is awakened. This awakening to Krsna consciousness is the beginning of sadhana-bhakti. This can be divided into many different parts, including faith, association with devotees, initiation by the spiritual master, engagement in devotional service under the instructions of a spiritual master, steadiness in devotional service and the awakening of a taste for devotional service. In this way, one can become attached to Krsna and His service, and when this attachment is intensified, it results in ecstatic love for Krsna."

Caitanya-caritamrta Madhya 19.177, Purport





The Power of Reading Sacred Scripture
Narrated by Srila Sacinandana Swami Maharaja

"An old farmer lived on his farm in the mountains with his young grandson. Each morning he got up early, sat at the kitchen table, and read His Bhagavad-gita. His grandson wanted to be just like his grandfather, so tried to emulate him in every way he could.

One day the grandson asked, "Grandpa, I try to read the Bhagavad-gita just like you do, but I don't understand most of it, and whatever I do understand I forget as soon as I close the book. So what good is it doing me to read the Bhagavad-gita?"

The grandfather, who was putting coal on the fire, quietly turned and said, "Take this coal basket down to the river and bring me back a basket of water."

The boy did as he was told, but the water leaked out before he could get the basket home.

The grandfather laughed and said, "You'll have to move a little faster next time," and he sent the boy back to the river to try again. This time the boy ran faster, but again the basket emptied before he was able to return home. Out of breath, he told his grandfather that it was impossible to carry water in a basket, and he went to get the bucket. But the old man said, "I don't want a bucket of water; I want a basket of water. You're just not trying hard enough." He stepped out the door to watch the boy try for the third time.

At this point the boy knew what he was trying to accomplish was impossible, so he decided to show his grandfather that even if he ran as fast as he could, the water would leak out before he got back to the house.

The boy dipped the basket into river and ran as hard as he could. When he reached his grandfather the basket was empty. He gasped, "See grandpa? It's useless!"

"So you think it is useless?" the old man asked. "Then look at the basket." The boy looked and saw for the first time that the basket was different. It had been washed clean of the dirty coal stains and was now clean inside and out.

"Grandson, that's what happens when you read the Bhagavad-gita. You might not understand or remember everything you read, but the words will change you inside and out. That is the work of Krishna in our lives.'"