You're Invited: Food For Life Kitchen Project Celebration Dinner

Here's an invitation from our Temple President, Aniruddha Dasa:

"I invite you and your family to enjoy a celebration dinner, to share the success of our Food For Life Kitchen project, and to plan for the future.

Date: Saturday 9th November
Venue: St Kilda Town Hall - 99A Carlisle St, St Kilda VIC 3182
Time: 5.30pm till 10.00pm
RSVP: Guruvandana on 0415 478 361 or guruvandana@iskcon.net.au.

Our Temple is the hub of so many of our community activities, and our Food For Life Kitchen is our Temple hub.

I'm happy to let you know that recently the new electricity supply was connected to the rear of the Temple. We now have full power to use all equipment in the Kitchen. The steam kettle, for cooking sweet rice and dahl, the roti-making machine that rolls and cooks 900 rotis in an hour, and the industrial dishwasher for washing pots will be commissioned in coming weeks. If the test-runs on the roti machine are successful, our plan is to serve lunchtime rotis at the Temple and Crossways.

As usual, we are serving hundreds at Crossways daily, but we are looking for a new permanent home for the restaurant - more on that when we meet at dinner.

With the connection of the completed electricity supply to the kitchen, what's next?

With so much going on, I can't help but think of the next steps needed to complete the project. We're most of the way! The commercial kitchen is in place. It's operational: the cooling storage, the cut-up area, the pot-shed! Then, what's missing?
• Deity Kitchen
• Guest Kitchen
• Plate Wash Room and Store (which may save us over $40,000 per year in the cost of
            disposables and waste removal)
• Courtyard and Carpark paving
• Restoration of the garden beds
• Back gate, and the infrastructure that supports the Kitchen.

That we have come so far with the kitchen is a major achievement we should all really celebrate!

Now it's time to get together again to begin the next phase of the Kitchen Project, which is the most significant project yet to be undertaken by our Hare Krishna Temple. We need to build these facilities for our current and future generations. Please help us to provide them by completing this project, and join us for our celebration dinner.

Our Founder-Acharya Srila Prabhupada assures us we'll be rewarded unlimitedly:
'If the devotee offers something to the Lord, it acts for his own interest because whatever a devotee offers the Lord comes back in a quantity a million times greater than what was offered. One does not become a loser by giving to the Lord; one becomes a gainer by millions of times.' (Krsna Book Ch. 81, The Brahmana Sudama Blessed by Lord Krishna.) 

You can also help to complete the New Kitchen Project by clicking Donate.

I look forward to seeing you and your family and friends at our fundraising dinner.

Yours In Service of Lord Krishna.

Kadamba Kanana Maharaja Returns to Melbourne

Kadamba Kanana Maharaja will visit Melbourne Mahaprabhu Mandir from Wednesday, November 20 till Tuesday, November 26.

Maharaja is currently in Sri Vrindavana Dhama on parikrama. You can follow some posts from his parikrama party on Facebook by searching under 'Kadamba Kanana Swami.

You can also visit his website.

Kadamba Kanana Swami joined ISKCON in 1978 shortly after Srila Prabhupada’s departure from this world.  He became a disciple of HH Jayadvaita Swami and served in Vrndavana from ’78 to ’84 in various types of management.

After a one year break in Australia (including New Gaudadesa farm) he returned to India, this time to take charge of the construction of Srila Prabhupada’s Samadhi in Mayapura. He remained there from ’85 to ’90.

Maharaja liked the pioneering spirit of working in India and above all he liked to stay in the Holy Dhama. In 1990 he became the Temple President of the Krsna Balarama Mandir in Vrndavana and remained in that position until ’95.

Then he began to travel and preach around the world and in 1997 he received sannyasa.

These days - besides preaching in Europe, South Africa, India and Australia - he still has some involvement in the supervision of the Vrndavana temple.

Kadamba Kanana Maharaja is renowned for his dramatic and often humorous classes, his skills as a kirtaneer, and his love of sharing the joys of Krishna consciousness with everyone he meets.