Founder-Archarya His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada

ISKCON Philadelphia Newsletter - 10/15/15

Message from the Temple President - Sikhi Mahiti das

Hare Krsna! Our bi-weekly newsletter has been launched. A million blessings on Wendy and Owa (visitingfrom South Africa) for making this possible. We have had a few successful issues. I hope theyhave been as informative and enlivening to you as they have been for me.

In our newsletter, we want to share with you the activities of our community and templeresidents. We would also like to expand the newsletter to include the activities of the variousBhakti Vriksha groups connected with ISKCON Philadelphia, so please keep us apprised of yourpreaching activities. Welcome New Residents!I am happy to welcome to our temple Her Grace Mangal-arti devi dasi and her husband Mohit.They have moved to our temple with the aim of increasing our preaching to students ofPhiladelphia area Universities. Mangal-arti dd is a product of the preaching strategy, BhaktiLounge. (Mangal-arti's story can be found here.) She came in contact with the devotees in New Zealand, and has grown in their association to beone of the foremost preachers in Western settings. In her eight years in Toronto, she establisheda center where new recruits live, hold evening programs of kirtan and lectures, prasada isprepared and sold at various venues, and weekly book distribution is performed by all involved inthe Bhakti Lounge experience. She will expand this experience in Philadelphia under theguidance of her Guru Maharaja, HH Devamrita Swami."

Assisting her for a short period of time are devotees she brought from Toronto, Sacidevi dd(accepted diksha from HH Devamrita Swami on Oct 3rd in our temple) and Bhaktin Andrea (PhDPsychology and new to ashram life). Another permanent member of the team, is Yasodev das.He is a disciple of HH Devamrita Swami and has vast experience in Bhakti Lounge preaching inAustralia and Los Angeles, CA. He also became a devotee via the Bhakti Lounge experience inNew Zealand." The goal of our temple is to fulfill the desire of Srila Prabhupada and expand KrsnaConsciousness in Philadelphia. He mentioned during his visit in 1975 that the devotees shouldput there efforts into preaching at the many Universities. His Divine Grace has kindly sent usdevotees to take up this challenge.

Please join me in welcoming them to our community. For more information on Bhakti Lounge, please see the videos at the following links: Bhakti Lounge Video 1Bhakti Lounge Video 2Bhakti Lounge Video 3Bhakti Lounge Video 4 your servant,

Sikhi Mahiti dasTemple President

In This IssueCalendarWeekly SastraHH Trivikrama Swami VisitBhakti Lounge UpdateGovardhana Puja CelebrationBus Trip to NYC RecapStrategic Planning Committee UpdateSeva OpportunitiesTemple FinancialsQuick Links

Calendar

Saturday 10/17 HH Trivikram Swami Visit

Sunday 10/18 at 4pmSunday Feast at Temple and Lecture by HH Trivikram Swami*Sunday Feast sponsored by Devamrita SwamiDisciples for his Vyasa Puja.

Wednesday 10/21 - 6pmWednesday Kirtan at Temple

Thursday 10/22 - 7pm (arati at 6:30pm)Miracle on 2nd Avenue Book Reading

Friday 10/23 - EkadasiFast from Beans and Grains

Sunday 10/24 (through 10/27)

HH Nityananda Swami Visit

Wednesday 10/28 - 6pmDamodara Masa - Beginning of KartikaDamodar lamp offerings morning and evening

Looking Ahead...

Friday 11/6 - Ekadasi Fast from Beans and Grains

Thursday 11/12 - 6pmGovardhana Puja Celebration at Temple

Friday 11/13 - Saturday 11/1424 Hour Kirtan at Temple

Sunday 11/15 - NoonPrabhupada's Disappearance Day

Weekly Sastra

"Even if one commits the most abominable action, if he is engagedin devotional service he is to be considered saintly because he isproperly situated in his determination". Bhagavad-gita 9.30

HH Trivikrama Swami - visits PhillyFriday, October 16th - 19thHis Holiness Trivikrama Swami, was born in 1941. he was initiated byHis Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada in 1969 andgiven sannyas initiation in 1971. During Srila Prabhupada's presence on this planet, he was regularlyassigned by his spiritual master to preach in various countriesthroughout the world, such as Japan, Taiwan, Philippines, and India.

He is well known for his full obedience to Srila Prabhupada'steachings, mood, and instructions. As Srila Prabhupada personallysaid about him: "He will always go wherever I send him". He is currently heading up a temple in Orlando, Florida, USA. He is also actively preaching inPoland, and he has been accepting disciples on behalf of his spiritual master and ISKCON since

1987.

Join us in getting the association of one of the most senior preachers in our ISKCON movement. Schedule

Friday, Oct 16thHome Program - Bhagyashri Pargaonkar home Lansdale, PA - 610-680-7684 (space is limited--please call to RSVP) 5:30pm - 8:00pm Saturday, Oct 17thTemple - Srimad Bhagavatam class 7:30am

Home Program - Surya Kolluru home Berwyn, PA - 610-296-3998 (space is limited-please call to RSVP) 5:00pm - 8:00pm Sunday, Oct 18thISKCON Delaware Sunday Feast Krsna Kirtan das - 302-453-964211:00am - 1:00pm

ISKCON Philly Sunday Feast 4:00pm - 8:00pm

Bhakti Lounge - We Make it Easy

By: Mangal-arti dd

This September, 651 books were distributed,connections were established with over 400guests and steady weekly events and prasadamdistribution commenced. The word is out,whispers are in the air - have you heard aboutit? A wave of enthusiasm is hitting the hearts ofdevotees as Philly is creeping up in the world

sankirtan charts. Almost everyday, rain or shine, devotees pack up the temple van andbrave the elements to visit various universities and city festivals with the message ofLord Caitanya. We are a small team with a clear mission. Wemake it easy for people to : 1) come to Krsna consciousness2) practice Krsna consciousness3) distribute Krsna consciousness There is a deep desire and distinct vision that

there will be a student club in every majorUniversity in Philadelphia, lunch prasadamdistribution on campuses, steady weeklyevening programs to engage and cultivateguests we meet on sankirtan and together wewill top the world sankirtan charts for SrilaPrabhupada's pleasure. Beaming ear to ear, smiles overtake the facesof devotees when guests turn up at our weekly events having bought copies of Bhagavad-gita from us on the street. There is nothing more enlivening than hearing a guest at one ofour evening events explain how he or she started to read Srila Prabhupada's books andthought they should come visit us. For testimonies from guests, watch a series of BhaktiLounge Interviews. Lord Balaram is pulling together an international team of experts and it seems like he hasa plan! Gauraraya das and Sundarangi devi dasi are taking over the hearts of Universitystudents with their delightful burgers, samosas, muffins and cookies - people come backlooking for more. Pratik, assisted by Billy, is bringing over students to the Bhakti Yogaclub at Temple University. Swapnil makes arrangements at UPenn for Ivy leaguestudents to come and explore the universe of Krishna science. Shyam-kisore andNarsimham are boldly paving the way for weekly programs and prasadam distribution atthe Drexel campus. Yasodev das stirs hearts with his kirtans while Mulakarana devi dasi,Andrea and Sachidevi take over the streets with books. Last but not the least, every endeavor requires a great leader and clear vision. SikhiMahiti prabhu lays it out very succinctly, 'Get Jagannath some new pujaris, fill up thetemple ashrams'. Let's smash the heck out of Maya's camp with cookies, cakes andbooks, let's take over hearts. Watch this space for more inside news on the Bhakti camp.

Strategic Planning CommiteeIn preparation of the 50th Anniversary of ISKCON, our Board of Directors, including our GBCAnuttama das and our Temple President Sikhi Mahiti das, recently passed a resolution toestablish a Strategic Plan for ISKCON of Philadelphia.

What is a Strategic Plan?In short, our Strategic Plan will be our guide for maintainingand expanding ISKCON of Philadelphia as an influential,forward thinking organization, focused on establishing Krsnaconsciousness in the Philadelphia region. As a road map itwill describe where the organization is going over the nextseveral years and how it is going to get there. This process isa tool that will help us do a better service by focusing theenergy, resources, and time of our devotional community in aunified direction.

Key Components

The key components of the Strategic Plan will be to reaffirm our mission, articulate our vision,define our core values, assess the key priority areas, develop time-based goals, as well asstrategies and action plans to meet those goals.

UpdatesThroughout the planning process we will keep the community updated on the progress. There willalso be times when we will be seeking your participation and feedback so, we humbly ask foryour cooperation and blessings as we proceed forward. If you have any inquiries please contactDronacarya das at dronacaryadas@gmail.com.

Mark Your Calendar for Govardhana PujaCelebrationIn just one month, we will be celebrating GovardhanaPuja on Thursday November 12th from 6-9pm.

Sponsorship OpportunitiesNew Outfits for the Deities: $3,001Govardhana Hill: $1,501Flower Garlands: $501Prasadam: $501-Visit temple office for details on sponsorships

Schedule6:00pm Gaura Arati6:30pm Lecture7:00pm Dance/Drama7:15pm Govardhana Hill Aarti and Bhoga Offering7:45pm Prasadam

About Govardhana PujaGovardhan-puja, the worship of Govardhan Hill, is a festival begun by Krishna Himself to honor aprominent feature of the rural land of Vrindavan, Krishna's hometown. His father and the rest ofthe village elders had prepared a sacrifice for the demigod Indra, but Krishna suggested thatthey worship Govardhan Hill instead, since the hill was so integral to the livelihood andrecreation of His cowherd community.

Indra himself was not pleased by this, and sent torrential rain intended to devastate the entirearea of Vrindavan. In response, Krishna lifted Govardhan Hill and held it above His head forseven days, sheltering all the residents of Vrindavan from the deluge. After Indra apologized forcausing such an inconvenience to Krishna and His townsfolk, they resumed worship of the hill,offering immense quantities of food in a festival, which is commemorated up to the present dayby Krishna's devotees. For more information visit Krishna.com.

Sunday School Visits New York City

On Saturday October 3rd, the Sunday school class, andseveral congregation members, braved the windy, rainyweather and made pilgrimage via a yellow school bus toNew York City to honor the 50th anniversary of SrilaPrabhupada's arrival in USA. Despite the cool, damp day,enthusiasm and spirits were high among everyone.

Our first stop was the ISKCON Brooklyn temple where wetook darshan, enjoyed an enlivening kirtan and shared indelicious prasadam made by the temple devotees. After a relaxing lunch, we traveled toMatchless Gifts at 26 2nd Avenue, where Srila Prabhupada set up his very first temple to attractyoung seekers into Krsna consciousness. Here we were engaged in a wonderful reading ofMiracle on 2nd Avenue by Jagannatha Priya dd and Jahnava dd after a kirtan led by Ramana.Dronacarya das then read Prabhupada's mission for spreading Krishna Consciousness.

Next on our tour was a visit to Tompkins Square parkwhere, on October 9, 1966, Prabhupada first chantedthe maha-mantra Hare Kṛṣṇa, Hare Kṛṣṇa, KṛṣṇaKṛṣṇa, Hare Hare/ Hare Rāma, Hare Rāma, RāmaRāma, Hare Hare under an elm tree. In recognition ofthis historic event, we circumambulated the elm whilechanting and basking in its presence.

To indulge our sweet tooth, we ended our trip with a stop at the Donut Plant where we wereenthusiastically greeted with free samples and a small arati with the store deities.

Filled with donuts, prasadam and lots of bhakti bliss, we returned to Philadelphia withPrabhupada's tremendous accomplishments and sacrifices close to our hearts.

Many thanks to Mother Surya and Ramana for organizing thiswonderful day!

(photos courtesy of Mitravinda dd)

Seva Opportunities for Upcoming EventsIf you are like many, you may have a strong desire to serve Krsna and the temple but work,have a family and/or aren't sure how you can get involved. As you know, we celebrate manyauspicious occasions throughout the year and for most, we have special programs and festivals.Much work goes into planning and implementing these events and we often need a lot of

additional help.

We'd like to invite you to sign up for a seva opportunity for your favorite upcoming event andhelp us in planning these wonderful celebrations in service to Krsna and Srila Prabhupada.

Opportunities include decorations, prasadam coordination, kirtan, garlands and more. Manyservices can even be done from your home.

Please click on the Seva Opportunities link below to find out what is available for each event.Once you have selected your service and event, please email Wendy atwendyromig@gmail.com.

Seva Opportunities

Temple Financial ReportEach month, we post the temple's financial status on the bulletin board outside of the templeoffice. For September Operations and Construction financials, please click below:September Financials

Quick LinksConstruction DonationsISKCON Desire Tree - For Downloadable LecturesKrishna.com

ISKCON of Philadelphia | 41 W. Allens Lane, Philadelphia, PA 19119 | Website