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
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