Spiritual Retreat.

We've just had a festive few days with our guest Jiva-doya das from Bhaktivedanta Manor, in England. Jiva-doya is a teacher at the Manor, teaching courses in Bhagavad-Gita and taking charge of the new bhaktas in the temple there - a sort of novice master. We have really enjoyed his classes and kirtans.

I can't remember where J-D is originally from - Croatia, I think, or maybe Czech. Shame on me for forgetting!

On Sunday, Jiva-doya led a spiritual retreat at the temple, for our extended community. That was an especially nice day.

We gathered at 7.15 a.m. in the temple-room for kirtan, after which Jiva-doya began with a class on the theme of the retreat "Living Vaishnava Culture". Beginning with his definition of 'culture' as; 'an appropriate and supportive environment for transformation', he led us to discuss how to create such an environment for the transformation of our selves in love of Krishna.

In the following classes, we discussed the importance of shravanam - hearing and reading about topics connected with Krishna and examined the obstacles we experience in attempting this. Kirtanam - chanting the sacred names of Krishna, naturally followed on, as the most important ingredient for cultivating the heart.

As well as being a boost for the spiritual "batteries", it was good just being together all day, with the other retreat members. It brought us closer together; deepened our friendship and helped us appreciate each other more as devotees. In a community, it's easy to get annoyed with each other and notice the glaring faults of our fellows, but here in the retreat, it was clear to see the sincerity of each devotee and their true motivation of wanting to please Krishna.

By the time the Sunday Feast guests had all assembled, the temple was overflowing; it was a tight squeeze for the final tumultuous kirtan, but we danced anyway!

Jiva-doya was an excellent retreat-leader; well-prepared and personable, he brought out many interesting and thoughtful points from our workshops and was concerned to help each of is in our spiritual development. Many thanks JD!

Sweet!

Baby Yatin celebrated his first birthday at the Temple on Sunday. His parents sponsored a sumptuous prasadam-feast in his honour, including birthday cake (below).

A few months ago, Yatin had his "first-grain" ceremony here. This ancient Indian custom is one of the 'samskaras' or significant events in a person's life. His parents wanted that the first grains he ate would be prasadam; so his first proper meal was sweet-rice, which he ate with great enthusiasm! We noticed him enjoying sweet-rice again on his birthday.

This cultured and charming family is from Chenai in S. India, we're pleased to have them as members of our congregation, and to know that our temple helps them feel more at home here.

Eulogy for Krishna premavati.

His Grace Ravindra-svarupa das, Krishna premavati's spiritual master, sent this eulogy to be read at her funeral, which took place in Dublin earlier this afternoon. It very nicely sums up KPV's personality, which we are all going to miss.

I am much saddened by the passing away of Krishna Premavati. I did not expect it to come so soon; I had hoped that somehow I would get a chance to see her at least one more time. My wife Saudamani had been planning to fly to Ireland this week.

I always looked forward with pleasure to being with Krishna Premavati: I found her to be an exceptional interesting and remarkable devotee. She had come to Krishna consciousness late in her life, and I was impressed by how completely she committed herself to the process. She was already a person of notable achievements. She knew how to pursue a project with great resolve,and she applied a sharp and inquisitive mind to the task. As she studied Krishna consciousness, she would write down her doubts and her questions, and then bring them to me for discussions and resolution- sometimes long discussions.

She had a deep attachment to the Deities at the Belfast temple and to the temple itself. She had strong convictions and a strong sense of right and wrong. I understood that she on occasion stepped on toes in her desire to see that things were done correctly as she saw it, but in any case her motive was always a determination to see that Krishna was served nicely. Those who knew her heart saw that she did everything out of love for Krishna and Prabhupada.

She was generous and a loyal friend to devotees. And she always dressed with care and a simple elegance that was a testimony to her concern to always represent Krishna nicely.

Even though she had been separated from her husband Monty, out of gratitude for his introducing her to Krishna consciousness, she gave him dedicated care during his long illness with Alzheimer's disease, often expressing her concern to keep him in contact, someway or another, with Krishna. Somehow she persistently accomplished this with prasadam and the Holy Name.

Krishna Premavati had wanted to go to Vrindaban to leave her body, but circumstance did not permit it. No matter: she left this world with the care, comfort, and association of devotees, and her future is very bright indeed.

I want to express my gratitude to the devotees in Ireland who have shown so much concern for her and who have cared for her. I am everlasting indebted to you. You manifest the mercy of Krishna.

The manifestation of such devotional association in this world gives full assurance of Srila Prabhuapda's statement that we are eternal associates. In that case, for now we shall feel the absence of Krishna Premavati, but we may look forward in confidence to our eventual reunion at the lotus feet of Srila Prabhupada and Krishna.

May Lord Krishna give all blessing to Krishna Premavati-devi dasi. All glories to Krishna Premavati! All glories to the Vaishnava devotees of the Lord!

Ravindra Svarupa dasa

Krishna-prema-vati devi dasi Passes Away.

Just to let our congregation know that our dear god-sister, Krishna-prema-vati left her body early this morning at about 1.30 a.m. She was being well cared for by devotee friends in Carrick and they were with her as she passed away.

KPV was in her early eighties and found out that she had lung cancer several months ago. This picture of her was taken not long after she had been told she would not have much longer to live. KPV's friends have all been impressed at her calm and Krishna-conscious preparing for death; she loved to have devotees come and chant with her or read to her and even when it was a struggle for her, she would still try to chant Krishna's holy Names.

I'm sure she would appreciate your prayers on her behalf.

Hare Krishna!

Radha-Madhava's Birthday.

(photo courtesy of Yamuna dasi of Austria - click to enlarge)

I had planned to post about this on Tuesday the 10th April, which was the twenty-fourth anniversary of Sri Sri Radha-Madhava's installation. But Krishna had other plans! But as we are celebrating Their birthday on Sunday, there is still time.

A very nice devotee from Riga, Latvia wrote through the blog, asking if we could tell something of how Radha-Madhava come to be in Belfast, so we'll tell the story here and in the post below.

Sri Sri Radha-Madhava were installed in Dublin in 1983 in what then became the first Radha-Krishna temple in the whole of Ireland - ever! Radha-Madhava are brass deities, about thirty-six inches tall, wrought in Vrindavana - the original birth-place of Krishna. Deities are made according to special rituals and scriptural descriptions, by expert murti-makers. Often this is a family concern passed down through many generations and those who made Radha-Madhava are a renowned family in Vrindavana. They liked the design of these deities so much that they made themselves a pair from the same mould, for their own worship.

Establishing a temple with worshipable deities is not a light undertaking. There must be a responsible team of brahmana pujaris to perform the worship, which includes many services and several cooked offerings of dainty dishes for the Lord throughout the day. The Lord is bathed and dressed early every morning, and in the evening changes into night clothes and there are high standards of purity for the pujaris who perform these activities. There must also be dress-makers to make new outfits and a large congregation to come and see Him, and provide for His worship.

But when a community is fortunate enough to centre around Radha-Krishna deities, They provide a powerful focus for worship, service and meditation on God. Everyone can perform some service to please Them, by just bringing a flower, or singing for Their pleasure and in this way develop a strong relationship with Krishna through that particular form.

Radha-Madhava's Installation.

Shaunaka Rishi Das, the (21 year old) temple-president of Dublin at this time, remembers how Radha-Madhava's installation came about.

SRD: "The Deities had been brought from India over a month before and had been standing in my office covered in cloth. One day, I suddenly got a phone-call from our leader Prithu das in India, he said that His Holiness Satsvarupa Maharaja would be visiting Ireland at the end of the week, and we would install the Deities then. This was completely unexpected! We had less than a week to prepare for this momentous event and were immediately plunged into intense activity, to get everything together in time. There was so much to do: There were no clothes for the deities to wear, so we brought expert seamstress Bhakti-lata dasi over from England and a team of sewers worked day and night. There were also curtains and backdrops to be made. The deities were unpainted and Saksi-Gopala carefully and painstakingly painted Their features, hands and feet. He and Aniruddha also did carpentry work, preparing the altar where the Deities would reside. We had quickly to send out invitations to guests and the media, order a marquis, scrub the temple from top to bottom, prepare a menu and shop for a huge feast and many other things."

The installation ceremoney took place in a big marquis in the grounds of the temple. Installing a deity means that Radha and Krishna are personally invited to enter the deity form, so that They are actually present before the worshipper. It's not a statue that we are seeing and serving, but God Himself, who has kindly come there to enable us to develop our intimate relationship with Him.

A large crowd gathered to witness the event. His Holiness Satsvarupa Maharaja performed the ceremony gravely and with devotion, to the accompaniment of enthusiastic kirtan. Nitai-sachinandana remembers:

"I had spent several hours shining up the brass paraphernalia for the occasion - brass pots to hold milk, honey, water and other ingredients, lamps, bells and trays. It had been glorious weather for the previous few days, but on the day of the installation it poured with rain. My strongest memory is of seeing Radha-Madhava being carried into the marquis with umbrellas held above Them. They looked very beautiful; Saksi-gopal had painted Them exquisitely and it was hard to take your eyes off Them!

After the ceremony, Radha-Madhava were brought from the marquis to Their altar in the temple, where they were dressed in a rich-looking red velvet outfit and adorned with flower garlands. When the curtains opened, Satsvarupa Maharaja offered Them Their first arti and there was a really ecstatic kirtan. Everyone was swept up by the chanting and the atmosphere was spiritually charged. Everyone remarked on it, even people who had only come to a temple for the first time. It was tremendous." The occasion wound up with a sumptuous prasadam feast - the first cooked offering to Their Lordships.

Sri Sri Radha-Madhava presided over the Dublin Temple for over a year, until circumstances became difficult for the devotees in Ireland and arrangements were made for Them to move to Belfast. Here They stayed temporarily in Wellington Park, until we found a suitable place for Them. In 1985, They came here to Their temple, "Brooklands" in Dunmurry on the outskirts of Belfast, where They are the joy of the Vaishnava community in Belfast. All glories to Their Lordships, Sri Sri Radha-Madhava!

The pictures here are sketches by Padma-malini from photos of the actual event. They show Satsvarupa Maharaja installing Radha-Madhava.

Happy Easter!

A very Happy Easter to all our Christian friends and readers.

"Rise, heart, thy lord is risen. Sing his praise
Without delays,
Who takes thee by the hand,
that thou likewise
With him may’st rise: "

(From Easter Poem by George Herbert.)

Gardening Update.

We had a successful gardening day on Wednesday and renovated the rose-garden, lugging a ton of topsoil from the gate to the rose-beds to replenish them. All the new roses have now been planted, so come and visit in June, when their first blooms will be out!

Many thanks once again to all the good souls who paid for them... and thanks to the equally good souls who came and planted them!

P.S. Don't wait 'til June - come anytime...

Letter from Gopal.

Gopal-hari who visited us at Gaura-Purnima sent us this very nice letter. We are embarrassed, as it is we who so much appreciated his visit!

Respected Devotees,

Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Srila Prabhupada.

Thank you very much for your wonderful association and kind hospitality. I felt like I was at home. Your temple has a very personal and devotional atmosphere. I think this is because beautiful Sri Sri Radha-Madhava are the centre of everyone’s attention. Their beautiful golden forms seem to enchant everyone who lives there, and everyone who visits. They pleasantly and patiently smile, giving blessings with their hands raised high, waiting for the whole of Belfast to come and visit them. Somehow, standing before them feels like standing in a historic temple in Vrindavana.

I was so happy to come to Belfast and I think what made it very special was the friendship I was able to have with the devotees there.

Your humble servant,

Gopal-hari das

Don't Be a Fool!

On this April Fool's Day - we reveal our simple three-step programme "How Not to be a Fool".

Foolishness is a matter for growing concern in our world today, as a quick glance at any newspaper will show; everyday there are new reports of outbreaks of foolishness, often quite close to home. Most worrying of all, many of our government-leaders, scientists and other prominent figures have become severely infected.

Doctors have no cure for this embarassing condition; as soon as it is brought under control in one area, it breaks out into a more virulent form somewhere else. Researchers suspect that many more people have the disease than previously thought, but being afraid even to admit it to themselves, they don't seek help.

If you worry about picking up this infection, or suspect you may already show symptoms - fear not! Help is at hand in our simple three-step programme. The best way to deal with any disease is to strike at the root rather than the symptoms and our programme is designed to completely eradicate the causes of foolishness and to provide immunity to re-infection.

Step One: Know thyself! The greatest folly is thinking you are something you aren't, so: Understand that you are not the body, but spirit-soul. Extend this knowledge also to all other living creatures and respect them accordingly.

Step Two: Read Bhagavad-Gita As It Is. This will give you a clear understanding of the nature of the illness and will strengthen the immune-system.

Step Three: Chant the maha-mantra daily. There is no more effective way of removing every trace of foolishness than this very simple remedy. It works rapidly and protects one from re-infection.

If followed carefully, this programme will restore us all to a healthy and natural state of wisdom. We recommend combining this programme with Humility and Compassion, for extra good results. Satisfaction guaranteed!