Newsletter August 2022
Dear devotees and friends of Goloka Dhama,
Please accept our best wishes, all glories to our founder Acarya Srila Prabhupada!
This month we would like to share with you a report about H.H. Kadamba Kanana Swami’s recent visit to Goloka Dhama, a sharing by Godruma d. and Kamala Sita dd. about a party they organized and an inspiring article to prepare ourselves for the Janmastami festival.
If we asked most spiritual people about how they started their journey and how their journey got nourished, the main answer would be: “by the kind and generous association of other spiritual people”. The Sanskrit word often used in this context is “Sanga”. Ga means to go and san means together. In simple words, we are going together on a spiritual path. There is a saying in Africa: “If you want to go fast, go alone but if you want to go far, go with other people”. We want to go together with other spiritually minded people on our spiritual journey and we surely want to go all the way to the end of the journey, where an eternal life of transcendental loving experiences awaits all of us.
All the articles in this newsletter underline this important principle of association. Association with H.H.Kadama Kanana Swami has been extremely precious. Association with friendly devotees of the community is also very nourishing. Indeed in the 11th canto of Srimad Bhagavatam there is a similar mention: “As devotees develop their loving friendship, they feel mutual happiness and satisfaction. And by thus encouraging one another they are able to give up material sense gratification, which is the cause of all suffering”.
Finally this month´s newsletter invites you for a grand possibility of association with brilliant devotees and the Lord Himself with an appetizer for Sri Krsna Janmastami festival.
The Kirtan Will Go On (by Jaya Sacinandana Prabhu)
His Holiness Kadamba Kanana Swami sat casually surrounded by his disciples. He smiled, shared anecdotes from his early days, bits of philosophy, interacted with the crowd, spoke about Srila Prabhupada and quoted from the Caitanya Caritamrita. In other words he was the same Kadamba Kanana Swami we all know and love. However, this time his visit to Goloka Dham was special. It was his farewell to us. Cancer has overtaken his body. Doctors have told him he will not have long to live. He was on his way to Sri Vrindavan Dham.
For the advanced, there is almost no difference from the physical Vrindavan to Goloka Vrindavan in the spiritual world. In the same way the transition of a devotee´s earthly (sadhaka) body to the spiritual form is effortless, becoming spiritualized by devotional service. Srimad Bhagavatam describes Druva Maharaja´s death as such a smooth transformation. Dhruva even stepped on the personified death´s head to climb the airplane which came to carry him to Vaikuntha. Kadamba Kanana Swami is one of those exalted souls who will follow in the footsteps of Dhruva Maharaja. His whole life has been steeped in his service to Guru and Gauranga, chanting the holy names in countless festivals and Ratha Yatras, Maharaja has been a shining example to all of us.
His kirtan will go on.
His Holliness Kadamba Kanana Maharaja, ki Jay! Thank you Maharaja for your association.
Pizza and Shrikand house-warming (by Kamala Sita dd)
It was almost a year ago that Godruma and I moved to Goloka Dhama. This decision came about through a confluence of many factors. The lockdown had paralysed the catering business which Godruma was doing and the unnatural stillness in our lives had amplified the existential questions we had. Many conversations later and with much needed advice from His Holiness Kadamba Kanana Swami, Godruma had chosen to qualify as a Master Carpenter. The only school that had a space for him on such short notice was in Kaiserslautern. And thanks to Vrajendra Kumar Prabhu and Sacinandana Swami’s mercy, we had a place to stay in Goloka Dhama.
Initially we kept our options open, we were only going to stay for one year. We were, however, so inspired by the wonderful devotee association, breath-taking nature and above all the mercy of Sri Sri Radha Madan Mohan that we decided to stay.
So, on 22nd and 23rd of July, Godruma and I, with the help of super bhakta Louis made and served around 200 pizzas and 12 kg of shrikand for all the Goloka Dhamies and guests as a belated house-warming party. Many thanks to everyone who helped us clean up afterwards. It was pure joy making all those pizzas, but your help saved us from death by exhaustion.
To serve Vaisnavas and make them happy with pizza and shrikand was so much fun that we will have to repeat the event again, soon. In conclusion I can only say that Sri Sri Radha Madan Mohan have blessed us with wonderful association and the best neighbours that ever existed. And the joy we feel being here can only grow.
Sri Krishna Janmashtami (by Jaya Sacinandana Prabhu)
A prophetic voice in the sky announced that the eighth child born to Vasudeva and Devaki would kill Kamsa, the cruel king of Mathura. After hearing this, the king locked up Vasudeva and Devaki waiting for the ominous child to be born to kill him. Krishna appeared at midnight while everyone was asleep. In fear of Kamsa, Vasudeva carried Him across the river Yamuna to the village of Gokula and left Him in the care of Yashoda and Nanda. that same night Yashoda gave birth to a girl. Vasudeva took her with him back to Mathura. By Krishna´s own mystic potency nobody noticed this exchange.
Thus Krishna grew up in a village setting. He played in the dirt with his friends, took the cows to the pasturing grounds and in the night performed pastimes with the cowherd girls in the forest. The environment was simple, yet all the residents of Vrindavan loved Krishna and knew nothing else but Him. They were absorbed in Prema. Srila Prabhupada points out that this is perfection. He further advises us not be attracted to modern city life. Instead, we ought to live simply and save time to practise Kṛṣṇa consciousness: “Just like Vṛndāvana. Vṛndāvana life means agriculturist, cowherd boys, uneducated girls, cows and calves; trees and fruit. This is Vṛndāvana. Krsna being in the centre.”
Amongst the numerous devotees, the most famous are the young gopis. They showed that the main qualification of a pure devotee is total surrender: “They loved Kṛṣṇa with all their heart and soul...so much so that they did not care for family nor reputation. “Aside from the festivity and splendour in glorification of our Lord, Sri Krishna Janmastami, Lord Krishna’s birthday, also serves as a reminder that we ought to simplify our lives and immerse ourselves in hearing, chanting and serving Krishna. That would make our lives perfect.
We would also like to inform you of 3 preachers visiting us after the Janamstami festival:
- 24th to 26th August Valmiki Prabhu (Sanyas candidate) and Mondakini mataji (disciple of Srila Prabhupada from France)
- 30th August to 3th September – Ratna Bhusana Bhusana who will give a seminar called “cure of souls in Bhakti”
- 4th September – Radhastami with Ratna Bhusana Bhusana
Hoping that you will be able to join us for Janmastami (online or onsite), we would like to express our sincere gratitude for your continuous support in our efforts to serve Srila Prabhupada and their Lordships.
On behalf of the Goloka Dhama community,
Your servant, Gaurahari dasa