ISKCON Ukraine needs our help

Indeed our fellow devotees in Ukraine are going through a very tough patch at the moment and Ramai Swami has forwarded the following poster to be circulated around.

To view the poster in full-size please click on the thumbnail.

To donate to this urgent cause, please click here.
All donations made in the month of  September will be matched by a generous donor.

 

 

Are You Aspiring For Initiation Oct-Nov?

If you wish to qualify to receive initiation during October or November, please take the necessary steps to complete your candidature.

Your examiner takes service leave Friday October 3 till Friday November 14.

Please download your paperwork from www.harekrishnamelbourne/initiations



Contact Rasanandini dasi on 0424-776-188 or rasanandini@gmail.com before September 20.

 

Diwali FOLK News Online

Read Diwali season FOLK news online here. Your print edition should arrive in your mailbox next week.



In this issue we feature the major vaishnava festivals of October to January and stories that inspire their observance.

We discover how to worship Giri-Govardhana, how we can appreciate Srila Prabhupada’s position and how we can care for Mother cow. We also read about the 2nd. edition of Bhagavad-gita and bringing Krishna to schools. Finally, you can catch up on the State Premier’s visit to Hare Krishna Melbourne.

Please join us at the Temple to offer Lord Damodara lamps morning or evening during the month of Karttika. Srimati Radharani is the presiding deity of the month, so Karttika is particularly dear to Lord Krishna and full of bhakta-vatsalya. Any vrata, even the smallest, yields a thousand-fold result.

Go-puja returns to Hare Krishna Valley in October. Please do join us.

Later in October Diwali and Govardhana Puja arrive, followed by Srila Prabhupada’s Disappearance anniversary: a blissful trio of events. Then comes Snana-yatra and New Year's Day. Please mark all these events in your diary - we hope to see you then.

You can catch up on past issues here.

Vyasa-puja homage reminder

This is a reminder from our Temple President, Aniruddha Prabhu, to prepare our individual vyasa-puja offering to Srila Prabhupada.

As per the GBC amended resolution of 1999:

"ISKCON members shall celebrate Srila Prabhupada's Vyasa-puja ceremony as the preeminent Vyasa-puja ceremony in ISKCON. All ISKCON members are requested to write an annual Vyasa-puja offering to Srila Prabhupada."

Srila Prabhupada's vyasa puja is on Tuesday 19th; this year we will be focusing on hearing our local devotee's offerings.

Festival of Vedic India goes to Melbourne High School

By: Navadwipa Isvari dasi

On July 26, as part of their annual International night, we took our Festival of Vedic India program into Melbourne High School.

We had a henna and Gopi dots stall as well as a space for people to try on Indian traditional wear. The traditional wear included saris, lehengas, jewellery for the women, and kurta, pants, shawl, and turbans for the men.
In the photos you can see that even the principal, Mr Jeremy Ludowyke, was excited to participate by getting dressed up.

We also had Maha garlands which we distributed, and the guests accepted with great appreciation. We served prasadam from 7 pm to 8 pm, which so many people came and complimented us on.

Following this we had a kirtan on stage, where the audience participated in a call and response fashion. Some audience members were so inspired by the devotees dancing on stage that they began dancing in the aisles.

As we had hoped Melbourne High School has already invited us to come back next year.

Festival of Vedic India at the grand opening of Artea

Report by: Navadwipa Isvari dasi

On Saturday the 21^st June, we were invited back to the Artea studio for their grand opening.

It was a great opportunity for us to promote our temple and to show our Festival of vedic India program to our local community.

We did henna art, distributed prasadam and maha garlands, and temple brochures. We were also fortunate enough to have a book table where we distributed books such as Bhagavad Gita, Science of Self Realisation, and Higher taste.

At first all the children were really curious by our colourful table setup, and were so excited when they found out they too could get henna done on their hands. It was a great opportunity while the kids were getting their henna done to then talk to the parents about Krishna Consciousness, the temple and our program.

Prasadam has always been one of the most popular points of our program, and this day was no different as people eagerly came back for seconds. It became so obvious that people are so attached to Maha prasadam when one lady had forgotten to take her maha garland but came all the way back from home to collect it.

Memorial for HG Madhudvisa Prabhu

Madhudvisa Prabhu, one of the most prominent pioneers of our Melbourne Hare Krishna Yatra, is no more.

We will hold a memorial ceremony in his honour, this coming Sunday 10th August at the Temple.

Time: 07:45am, after Guru Puja.

The ceremony will include pushpanjali, a class dedicated to his glorification and a video of Madhudvisa Prabhu asking questions to Srila Prabhupada.

Let us all come together to honour such a great personality and show him our eternal gratitude for his hard work and determination is establishing ISKCON in Australia.