20130311 Talk at the CDM Awards Ceremony.

nama oṁ viṣṇu-pādāya kṛṣṇa-preṣṭāya bhū-tale 

 śrīmate bhaktivedānta-svāmin iti nāmine 

namas te sārasvate deve gaura-vāṇī-pracārine 

nirviśeṣa-śūnyavādi-pāścātya-deśa-tāriṇe 

mūkaṁ karoti vācālaṁ paṅguṁ laṅghayate girim 

 yat-kṛpā tam ahaṁ vande śrī-guruṁ dīna-tāraṇam 

 paramānanda-mādhavam śrī caitanya īśvaram

Hari Om Tat Sat!!

Since many may not be able to understand what I am speaking I will ask Kaunteya Das to repeat. Oh because left side of my face is paralysed. So I would like to thank all of you for being present at this ceremony. The Congregational Development Ministry is trying to facilitate engaging members of our congregation in devotional service.

Most people are in the world  are Gṛhasthas, a very small percentage live in the temple. So, Prabhupāda had requested the that in the future to facilitate those who don’t live in the temple. In 1970, even I visited Prabhupāda in Los Angeles and he predicted that in the future our temples will have few residents and many devotees who practice in their homes, who would come to the temple on weekends and for festivals. So, in those days this was kind of revolutionary ideas but, we see today that it has a come to pass and the devotees who practice in their homes are some are very very serious devotees and they also are very much inspired to preach. 

Even some of our prisoners they also very serious devotees. In Taiping, Malaysia there is one prisoner, he got the death penalty. They still have death penalty. In many countries, maximum is a life imprisonment. So he wanted to take initiation but I said, “You have to agree to apply for a case to be  transmitted to life imprisonment.” But he was refusing to apply because his preaching was so empowered that even the guards were chanting. [Guru Mahārāja laughs!! All devotees chant Haribol!!]

This is a very amazing!! There was another devotee in South America, who also wanted to get initiated while imprisoned. So, still most prisoners I guess, they are really in the mode of ignorance but these devotee prisoners are very SPECIAL [Guru Mahārāja repeats] very SPECIAL!! and they are chanting, they are practicing, they are very inspiring for many people. So when I was there, they allowed me to go inside the prison in one court room that they have and they brought the prisoner and he took his vows and the initiated beads and name. Haribol… [All devotees chant Haribol!!]

So congregational preaching takes us to some amazing places. So, but it’s very inspiring to see like a Moscow, in Russia, the devotees are so enthusiastic to preach. There BV preaching has reached new heights. Now they have all over Russia and the CIS countries 355 Bhakti Vrksa groups. And there are no Indians. Some people say that this program is only for Indians. But Indians, they can also  ...do not a …but even when is not Indians, they should not switch on. So, we are always thinking about how to expand the communities in the congregation,but we would like your ideas because you are on the front line of preaching. So if you have any ideas, please share those.

We want to get the and I have taken the note of the point of His Holiness Chandra Mauli Swami that the prison preaching is not giving the report. So, we need reports for congregation preaching, for prison preaching , all types of preaching of congregation type so that we can see how we are expanding in ISKCON, how many people are practicing in ISKCON.

It’s very inspiring when some congregational devotee comes and thanks. Thank you for the Bhakti Vrksa or thank you for the Nama hatta, our house is far from the temple now I can attend every week. So, you see Prabhupada said people are waiting when this Lord Caitanya’s sankirtan devotees when they come and deliver me.

So one thing is to give Prabhupāda books but when they are convinced “Yes I believe in these books”, I Believeeeee in our practices “, we have to have some way to engage them.

So that’s where….Bhakti Vrksa, Nama Hatta, prayers, programs they come into play.

We have many devotees to oversee the spiritual practices .  We have many congregational devotees to oversee the spiritual practices [Guru Maharaja repeats second time] in the Nama Hatta, Bhakti Vrksa or counsellor groups. 

So, you have seen how the Damodara program is now being practiced all over the world and they are getting new people to join the congregation. We started last year, a new program, that’s the first month of the Bengali year “Vaishakh”

The Damodara is offering lamps to the deity, offering lamps. But Vaishakh month, its devotional service. Dancing before the deities, inviting a devotee to the house, giving donation on Akshaya Tritiya, practicing  bathing Narasimha Deva, worshipping Him on Narasimha Caturdashi. Being a vegetarian for one month for those who are not and so on.

Now that two months of the year plus every three years, Purushottam month. So, like this you can get people to experience higher levels of devotional service by practicing these months.

So , I hope that you all read our books, visit the website and try some of these programs and it’s so blissful to see how people , they become happy by rendering devotional service.

So, I just want to thank all you are here for you are coming here. If you would like to offer more service, be it one of our ministry’s representative, if you are a veteran preacher and that’s also something we are looking for.

So Bhaktivinod Thakura, he restarted this Nama Hatta that Lord Nityananda had established and Bhakti Siddhanta Saraswati Thakur talked about it. But when I came, I didn’t see any. So, I asked some of Prabhupāda’s God brothers and they said “We are not doing  it but if you can do its nice”. So, by Krishna’s mercy now this has spread and we are able by the mercy of our previous Acharyas and Srila Prabhupāda, we are expanding the congregation more and more, HariBol!!

Guru Mahārāja ends his talk.

Devotee:  So in the name of ISKCON Congregational Development Ministry, I would like to thank all of you to come. Especially Chandramouli Mahārāja, well wisher Bhakti Caitanya Mahārāja, always supporting us Ekalavya prabhu, Pra--- Prabhu and some devoteeṣ

I was here four days ago, and I saw a drama, and the drama was ‘CHAND KAZI’. Lord Caitanya, sent his devotees to preach. Lord Caitanya asks the devotees when they come back, “Give me the report”. So I ask all of you to follow the instruction of Lord Caitanya, to send the report to Congregational Development Ministry. So we are going to work with these reports and develop further. 

So I would also like to thank the team of the Congregational Development Ministry, so we have Madhavi Kirti the co-ordinator, we have Dinadayal prabhu on computer, Partha prabhu, Manjulali and Govinda prabhu.

Thanks to everyone to attend.

So now we are going to have the prasadam. Go to your right, if you have a coupon, if you don’t, I will exchange your invitation for  coupon.

Thank you very much. Hare Kṛṣṇa!!

Tags: