Monday, February 25, 2013

Message from HH Sacinandana Swami



Only a Little Time is Left

Dear devotees and Friends,
Please accept our humble obeisances. All glories to Srila Prabhupada.

Only a little time is left till the Mayapur Kirtan Mela 2013, and therefore, we wish to make a few important last minute announcements to the world wide community of devotees about this event which could become a historic event.

A World-wide Event

The Kirtan Mela's prime purpose is to give devotees an opportunity to absorb their minds and hearts in the continuous chanting of the Holy Names in a momentous vaishnava assembly. Before the beautiful altar of Pancha-tattva we will chant for the pleasure of Sri Chaitanya and His associates and experience a stream of blessings empowering our spiritual life with fresh energy.

But there is also another wonderful dimension: When so many devotees chant then their sankirtana spreads a "tsunami" wave of blessings all around this planet. By the help of the Mayapur TV this event will be streamed all around the world thus enabling devotees from everywhere and anywhere to join us before their screens.

The Chaitanya Bhagavata describes such a historic maha kirtan in Navadvipa when Mahaprabhu visited from Puri. There were thousands of kirtan groups and millions of people chanted the names of Hari and floated in an ocean of happiness! The sound vibration was so strong that it reached the inhabitants of this planet and extended to planets like Brahma and Shivaloka as well, freed them from all distress and intoxicated even the best of yogis and sages!

Vrindava das Thakura relates: "When the Lord and His devotees thus saw everyone engaged in congregational chanting, they floated in an ocean of ecstasy and the tears of ecstatic love from the eyes of Sri Gauranga resembled the Ganges flowing in the four direction." (CB Antya 3.424-425).

For this year, Mayapur TV has totally upgraded their equipment and increased the numbers in their film-team. In this way, the quality of the transmission will be so good that all viewers will have the feeling that they are "there." So if internet still exists at that time - please inform your friends and even different contacts to join us in big numbers. Last year there was a good size group of people chanting everywhere, even in a tent in the desert of Arabia!

Kirtan Mela and the Temple of Understanding

In 2016, let's have 10,000 devotee kirtan in the temple hall
Those who have followed the ISKCON News have marvelled at the super fast growth of the Temple of Understanding. Mainly by the power of the respected Ambarish Prabhu's donation, the prayers of the devotees and the blessings of Lord Nityananda, work on the temple goes on day and night. The goal is to have the inauguration ceremony at the 50th anniversary of our movement in 2016. But now the laxmi supply has come to a halt! Ambarish Prabhu finances are completely exhausted. Fortunately there is another important program in place, called the "square foot program". Radha-jivan prabhu who is heading up this program told me: "The Temple will be finished not by a few rich men but by the poor. Every devotee, friend and sympathizer can build with a donation of 150 dollars a square foot in the Adbhuta mandir (wonderful temple)."

This means that we will have to inspire many many devotees and people all over the world to enthusiastically take up this opportunity.
The Kirtan Mela is dedicated to help in this important project by helping to reach out to many people on this planet with the yuga dharma of chanting the Holy Name. There will be announcements of the program for building the temple of Understanding during this kirtan mela and information booths, so that the devotees can inform themselves.

This temple is so grand that it has to be built by the power of the Holy name which can inspire enough persons to engage in empowered devotional service. By building, as Bhaktivinoda Thakur prophesized "the Universal Church of the Holy Name" (sajjana toshani), this temple will be certainly erected through the enthusiasm of the devotees. Would it not be nice by the time of the inauguration ceremony there will be 10.000 devotees and kirtan lovers (that's how many fit in the darshan hall) chanting the Holy Name?

What Kind of Kirtan?

In the Bhagavatam, Sri Shukadeva Goswami instructs Maharaja Parikshit right at the beginning about the main subject of the Bhagavatam:

"Oh king, constant chanting of the Holy Name of the Lord after the ways of the great authorities (harer nämänukértanam) is the doubtless and fearless way of success for all..." (SB 2.1.11)

Srila Vishvanatha Cakravarti Thakur clarifies in his purport: In chanting, however, there is chanting of the Lord's name (nama kirtan), his qualities (guna kirtan) and his pastimes (lila kirtan). Amongst these, anukirtan, that means chanting the name according to (anu) one's bhakti is best."
Later towards the end of the Bhagavatam, Shukadeva specifies which Holy Name should be sung in order to avert the evils of Kali and bestow love of God:

kértanäd eva kåñëasya
mukta-saìgaù paraà vrajet

Simply by chanting the Holy Name of Krishna one can become free from material bondage and be promoted to the transcendental kingdom. (SB 12.3.51)
Thus, like in the past years, we will again focus on chanting the Hare Krishna Maha mantra.

However, there will be something new.
Several senior devotees have requested that we sometimes relish the songs and prayers of the previous acharyas before some of the kirtans start, so that it will be easier to chant with devotional feelings of connectedness. These songs also count as kirtan and in this way the nama yajna is not interrupted but enhanced.

Please Participate

In conclusion we cordially invite all of you to participate in whatever way is possible in this wonderful Kirtan Mela which promises to become a historic event and a very important station on our way to complete the Temple of Understanding.

Wishing you all the best and lots of spiritual strength and keep on chanting
You servant from the Mayapur Kirtan Mela Team

No comments:

Post a Comment