Newsletter September 2022
Dear devotees and dear Friends of Goloka Dhama,
Please accept our best wishes, all glories to Srila Prabhupada.
This last month has been very exciting, filled with festivals, services and devotee association. We have celebrated the Julan Yatra (swing festival), the appearance of Lord Balarama, Janmastami and the appearance of Srila Prabhupada. Bhakti Vinod Thakur called those festivals: “mothers of devotion” because they give the living entity a great boost, a great nourishment in devotional service. In this newsletter, we would like to offer you a summary of the high lights of Janmastami festival, an article about Srimati Radharani who appears this month (on 4th September) and Vaisnava Mahima for Advitya Baladeva prabhu.
Janmastami celebrated with great emotions
This year’s Janmastami festival was incredibly wonderful. First of all, after 3 years of heavy covid restrictions, we were once more allowed to celebrate with a great number of devotees. Inspired by H.H. Sacinandana Swami some devotees from the organisational team decided to prepare small dramas linking the traditional program of the festival with spiritual emotions and captivating fresh inspirations. Special care was given to the parade of Sri Sri Radha Madana Mohan by renovating and using the grand paraphernalia used for the Lord. Beautiful and pure girls were graciously dancing in front of the Divine couple while talented Mridanga players and horn blowers gave their best to make this event unparalleled. The deity department of the temple did an amazing service in dressing, serving and keeping Radha Madana Mohan in the central fore-front of the festival. By their careful service, the Divine couple attracted so many hearts.
Moreover, H.H.Sacinandana Swami and Madhavananda Prabhu’s speeches helped the devotees to transform their vision. There was also an explosion of devotion with many empowered Kirtanias like Amala Harinama, Nadiya Mani, Gaura Krsna, Ramanaji, Madhvacarya etc… We would alsolike to remember the specially moving offerings for Srila Prabhupada´s appearance day.
Finally, we like to glorify the servants of Goloka Dhama who, whilst keeping themselves in the back ground, worked harmoniously together. The mood was very sweet and gave us a glimpse of the attitude in the spiritual world.
The topmost cherished aspiration of the greatest devotee (written by Jaya Sacinandana Prabhu)
Srimad Bhagavatam is a transcendental literature describing the lilas of Lord´s various incarnations. It also mentions important devotees who served their Lord in unparalleled ways. One great personality is omitted from its pages, yet all those who read and worship Srimad Bhagavatam hope to one day become Her dedicated servants. May She who is very dear to Krishna help destroy our anarthas and grant us the shelter at Her lotus feet. Today is Srimati Radharani´s appearance day.
People picture God as a person who sustains the earth. They also call him Jagannatha or the Lord of the universe. The scriptures proclaim that He is the one worthy of worship. Although the Lord´s devotees keep Him in their hearts as the most precious stone, Srimati Radharani is that treasure that makes Krishna wealthy. How can anyone become a treasure of a person who is the treasure of everyone? We can understand this only by Her mercy. In the scriptures it is revealed how Krishna´s devotees render service unto Him in varieties of ways – rasas. Srimati Radharani, on the other hand, pleases Him so dearly that He ardently offers service onto her.
Her intimate associates sing of Her glories, and by doing so we can understand that serving Her is the highest purpose of existence. The topmost cherished aspiration of the greatest devotee is to serve Sri Radha. In his heartfelt prayer, Ragunatha Das Gosvami desires to lay prostrate on the ground like a stick desperately imploring Srimati Radharani to be merciful on him and to accept him as one of Her confidantes.
Even while chanting the Hare Krishna mantra, the word Hare denotes Radha in the vocative case, and Rama means Radhika Ramana. The poet Jayadeva sings that even though Krishna is the Supreme hero who killed Kamsa, His own heart is bound by the shackles of Srimati Radhika´s love. His heart is always absorbed in Radhika´s prema, which the poet concludes, is the essence of Madhurya Rasa.
(Inspired by the writings of Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura)
Vaisnava Mahima – Advitya Baladeva
This month we would like to give our appreciation to Advitya Baladeva Prabhu who has served in Goloka Dhama for more than 10 years. Many devotees come to and go from spiritual communities, getting training and inspiration for their lives. Rare are the devotees who become committed to serving a particular temple, particular deities and stay actively engage in their service despite the obstacles. Those devotees are very precious and are the pillars of our community. (Many of those pillars are also living amongst our larger community)
It has been a few years already that Advitya Baladeva has been serving by supervising the whole kitchen department for festivals (finding cooks, doing the shopping lists, shopping and storing all the goods, assisting the cooks etc…) It is a very demanding service and we are very grateful that we can count on him. Outside the festivals, Advitya Baladeva leads of the sankirtan department, travelling in his van with the assistance of Govinda Kunda and Bhakta Louis and mercifully distributing the nectar of Krsna consciousness to souls looking for spiritual solutions. During the Janmastami festival, Advitya Baladeva also organised a sankirtan meeting with many young and senior book distributors who shared and recounted their blissful experiences.
Advitya Baladeva and his team also support Goloka Dhama by staying back and sustaining the temple service in times of need. We are extremely grateful for his long term and dedicated service to the community. Hoping this newsletter will inspire your spiritual journey, we would like to express our gratitude for your support and your best wishes.
On behalf of the community,
Your servant, Gaurahari dasa