Lord Caitanyas party in Cupertino California

On Saturday Dec 11, the weather was mild and people were in good mood. It was a large sankirtan party that went distributing books in the 'Villages Apartments' in Cupertino, the city well known for its excellent schools and brilliant students. Well, there is one more thing to add. It is a city of intelligent donors! There was hardly a door where our philosophy was not received well.

At one home a mataji applauded Manjulakshi Mtj and I for what we were doing, adding that if Christians can do it then we should too. At the same time, far away in another corner of the sprawling apartment complex, a Christian donated $20 to our cause. Jaya!

The team had success with Chinese donors as well. And, I had my first success with the Chinese community, a very sweet lady who has recently come from China took a book pack and parted with some Lakshmi - very difficult thing to do when you’re a fresh immigrant.

It was my good fortune to see Srinivas Dindu prabhu in action. I have only one thing to say: " All that I have heard about him is true." He stands there at the doors with his sincere charming smile, and people just open their hearts and of course their purse strings! There was a door where Sunny prabhu and I had gone knocking, but the owner asked us to come back later since they were having lunch. To be honest, I just told about it to Srinivas prabhu and completely forgot about it. But not him. Srinivas Pr returned to the household later, and came back with a check for $108! Lesson learned: even if someone shows the slightest interest it is worthwhile making the trip back.

Cannot emphasize the importance of dum-dum pops in endearing the kids and thus their parents ;). Sunny Prabhu was gracious enough to drive quickly to the store, and we got some more when we realized in the middle that we had none left in his van. He sure is driving his way back to Godhead.

It is amazing the many things one learns when out on book distribution. We met Kala Mtj and came to know that she has moved there recently. Needless to say, she offered us a place to rest our feet, and brought up our blood sugar level, to the tune of Sri Ramacandra Krpalu Bhaja Man rendered beautifully by little Vaidehi. I also saw Sukeshvari mataji's place from where the CHAD vibrations emanate every morning. I had not realized that she lived there. There were quite a few parents who liked the idea of Sunday School for the kids, and it helped us tell them that one of the teachers lives amongst them!

Krsna Dharma prabhu in addition to distributing books also carried out the very important task of bringing over our MSF lunch-prasadam, lovingly prepared by Hanspriya Mtj. Thank You! I had always seen him in the middle unit where all the book packing action goes on. It was great to see him out on the field, convincing the householders about the importance of Krsna consciousness.

If you have a short time, and you want to cover a lot of apartments then my experience of yesterday says: pair up with Manjulakshi Mtj. Full of energy, running up the stairs and talking fast, she will have the goods delivered in no time. When we paired up yesterday, we came to the last apartment where the name tag seemed to be like that of a Parsi - Narsi and we debated whether we should knock or not. Then we thought maybe it is short for Narasimhan. When we knocked, they opened the door and the couple began talking. They said they were not interested since they belonged to the Shakti cult. When we asked, "Oh Siva and Shakti?” we got a yes. We still asked them to donate for the cause and the man of the house said that he would not mind giving a donation but would not take the books since they were against his philosophy, like for example he told us that we use, "Hari Bol" as a greeting. When Manjulakshi Mtj asked him what did he say when he greeted people, to our surprise he answered, " Jai Sri Krsna". A Shiva/ Shakti follower using "Jai Sri Krsn" as a greeting? I am still trying to figure this one out. All I can say is Narsi's leader certainly has read the Srimad-Bhagavatam right.

I did not get a chance to spend time with all members of the team, I hope to some day, but I am sure they had a great time too, and have many better stories to tell.

We were very reluctant to stop in the evening fearing it would break the spell :). Overall it was an enjoyable day.

When we started in the morning Mohanvel Pr briefed us on Srila Prabhupada’s lectures that he had been listening to the day before. What else could have been a more auspicious way to start the book distribution?

On our way back to the temple, Monahavel Pr who had been tirelessly distributing books throughout the day, had a simple but very powerful thing to report: Krsna is all good and all merciful.......... Small wonder then that when I counted the lakshmi today, the collections totaled $1324.61. In any case, I should have known better. Nothing less than a thousand is to be expected when the team that I went out with had expert Krsna devotees like: Vaisesika Prabhu, Madhav-anand Pr, Srinivas Dindu Pr, Govinda-dutta Pr, HariGuru Pr, Krsna-Dharma Pr, Sunny Pr, Mohanavel Pr, Padarvinda Pr, Siri Babu Pr, Hansapriya Mtj, Malini Mtj and Manjulakshi Mtj! Here are the numbers:

Book Points

Small Book Pack: 130x3= 390

Bhagavad-gita : 91

Krsna Book : 25

Chinese Books : 8x10= 80

Total : 586

Lakshmi

$1324.61

MSF of 25000 ki Jaya!

Hari Bol! Or are we allowed to say Jai Sri Krsna :J)

Ys

Shraddha-devi Dasi

Kid Sankirtan trend setters

Due to the cause less mercy and help of our dear Mayapurbihari prabhu the Sunday school kids got an order of sending books to the Hindu students association of the US.

Mayapur Bihari Prabhu ki jay With out his help Our kids could not have been so far ahead in acheiving their goal .He is also the one who gave us the idea of having a stall at the Sunnyvale hindu Temple.Thanks so much Prabhuji.

We have had many other parents who have helped us stamp,arrange,pack and ship these orders I would like convey my heartfelt dandavats to all of the parents who made this possible.

Devotees who participated:All the Sunday school kids,Urmi mataji,Vanamali Krsna Prabhu,Sridhar Prabhu,Shilpa mataji,Anuradha mataji and Damodar vamsidhari prabhu.Please excuse if I missed any other names.

Total number of books sent:750

Kids also went on books distribution to a near by apartment for trick or treat .

Total number of Books distributed:164 books

Our Sunnyvale Hindu Temple Total scores were: 1002

Total till date: 1916 Books.

Saket and Srivatsa have taken a few books to distribute at texas and India respectively.

I will soon send in the updated scores.

Thanks so much

yAs

Sukhesvari dasi

=========================================

Dear Sukesvari dd,

Congratulations on organizing and inspiring this trend-setting program.

All glories to the kids! (And their intrepid teachers and parents.)

In amazement and with deep gratitude,

Vaisesika Dasa

An Adventure to the last minute.

Hare Krishna Dear Devotees,

The Bay Area Travelling Sankirtan party that usually comprises of Sri-Krsn Purushottam Prabhu, Sunny Prabhu, Mohanavel Prabhu and Shraddha Mtj, was augmented this Last Saturday, by the grace of Lord Krsna, with the likes of HH Devamrita Swami Maharaj, HG Vaisesika Prabhu, Hansapriya Mtj and her Dad, Malini Mtj, Bhakta George and Stacey Mataji, when we went distributing books in Cupertino.

Interesting Moments:

We met one Kantha Mtj and she agreed to join the CHAD morning sessions soon (she has been sent the invite) and plans to come to the temple. She is visiting her daughter in Cupertino and wants to volunteer for a couple of hrs every-now-and -then.

It is a joy to watch Mohanavel prabhu patienly explain in his soft voice, the benefits of putting kids into KC Classes at a young age. From Sunny Prabhu I learned this week, the art of putting some life when knocking at doors :). His enthusiam of explaining the importance of the literature we distribute is catching.

It was interesting to note how Lord Krsna takes care of His Devotees and how His devotees never forget Him. We usually travel in Sunny Prabhu's car but that day since Sri-Krsn Purushottam Prabhu was leaving for India, we took his car as well. Since my driving skills are by now known to all, you would all guess that I am always in the passenger seat. For no apparent reason, that day I decided to carry my purse with driver's license etc me. It was 3 pm and we were all enjoying book distribution in the company of exalted devotees, when it struck to us that Sri-Krsn Purushottam Prabhu had a flight to catch to India, and the plane left in 3 hrs! But, he was busy choosing the next spot, and packing books. In the end there was a rush to push him out, and in that hustle and bustle, he locked the keys in the trunk of his car! We had to call his sister to come fetch him so he could go pack. And luckily the purse that I had brought with me, just on that day, came in handy since it had my AAA card, which we used to get help to retrieve the keys, which of course were found inside a bag of books!! Jay Sri Krsna!! For those of you who did not hear Vaisesika Prabhu at last Sunday's program narrate the escapdes of Sri-Krsn Purushottam Prabhu, here is the rest of it: When Sri-Krsn Purushottam Prabhu finally reached the airport he was stopped by security because of the tilak he was wearing, and was made to wait in a designated area awaiting further scrutiny. There he met another mataji who was also waiting to be checked, and he sold her a Bhagavad-gita!! We are awaiting further reports on what happened on the plane. Jaya!

Later in the day, we also covered a few of the apartments in same the complex where Sri-Krsn Purushottam Prabhu lives, and we heard a lot of neighbors tell us about the good work his sister Laxmi Mtj is doing to spread Krsna consciousness! We also met a lady from Finland and had an interesting long conversation explaining the messages from Prabhupada to her. Some residents remembered Vaisesika Prabhu and Sunny Prabhu from their visits last year and needless to say, they gave good donations. Jaya!

Book count:

Small = 110*4=440

Krishna = 19

BG = 35

Total = 494

Laxmi collected: $626.06

Hari Bol

Ys

Shraddha-devi Dasi

The Marathon That Everybody Wins :-)

http://news.iskcon.com/node/3306/2010-12-04/the_marathon_that_everybody_wins

The Marathon That Everybody Wins

By Madhava Smullen for ISKCON News on 3 Dec 2010

December is the month of goodwill to all, of cosying up around the fire as the snow falls outside, of thinking of others and exchanging gifts with our loved ones.

ISKCON devotees around the world are also putting an extra focus on giving the most wonderful gift they know of to others, only they're doing it outside, on the streets, with their trusty book-bags slung over their shoulders.

December is the month of the Prabhupada Marathon, in which devotees make an increased effort to introduce others to the enlightening spiritual literature—introduced to the Western World by ISKCON's founder A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada—that changed their lives.

Of course, North American Book Distribution Strategist Vaisesika Dasa, a veteran of 35 years, prefers to think of the Marathon as a spontaneous event that is not restricted to a particular timeframe.

“The very first Marathon, in 1972, was completely unplanned,” he says. “Many devotees just happened to feel inspired at a certain time, and all went out to distribute books independently from each other. It was only later that they found out everyone had gone out at the same time, and the Marathon was born. Therefore many devotees continue to perform this service around the end of the year. But some prefer to start earlier, due to the bad weather in December, or the fact that many people are out of town.”

At ISKCON Silicon Valley (ISV), where Vaisesika is based, for instance, devotees began their Marathon in October, and have already reached their Marathon goal of 25,000 books.

“Now, we'll keep going throughout December, and smash our goal,” he says, with his trademark combination of enthusiasm and wry humor.

ISV, which, if you ask Vaisesika, also stands for Individual, Spontaneous, and Voluntary, is the proving ground for the innovative book distribution strategies that he and his team develop.

“We try them out here first, and then if they work, expand them to other ISKCON temples throughout North America,” he says. “The devotees in Toronto, Canada, for example, have greatly increased their book distribution using many of the techniques that we've tried and tested at ISV.”

One way of distributing books that devotees will be using this Christmas will be to include them amongst other gifts to family, friends and co-workers during office parties and family get-togethers over the holiday season. “It's a very personable and genuine way to distribute books, and of course it's a very acceptable thing to do at this time of year, because people are giving and receiving gifts in the dadhati pratigrinati spirit of loving exchanges, as decribed in the Nectar of Instruction,” says Vaisesika.

Door-to-door book distribution is also very popular. “Going door-to-door for political campaigns, to spread a religious message, or to sell things is an age-worn tradition here in America,” Vaisesika says. “So you don't even have to travel anywhere—just go door-to-door in your own neighborhood with some books, some prasadam (sanctified food), and some good cheer. Especially over the holidays, people appreciate that very much.”

Another method of book distribution cooked up in the ISV labs and taking off in Toronto, Boston, Houston, and other cities is the Smart Box. Installed in local shops, restaurants and other businesses, it's an ingenious honor system that allows devotees to distribute books even while they're sleeping—people simply take a book from the display and put their donation in a box.

“Here at ISV, three people became devotees in the last year and a half directly through the Smart Box,” Vaisesika says. “It's an easy, yet extremely effective program.”

Then there's the Motel Gita, a program which sees devotees placing copies of Srila Prabhupada's Bhagavad-gita As It Is in hotel and motel rooms, along with the Gideons' Bible.

“Devotees across the country are getting involved on a local and national level, and are placing tens of thousands of books,” Vaisesika says. “We've had television coverage, attended major hotel conventions, and are establishing relationships with the biggest motel owners in North America. Our ultimate goal is to place 1 million Bhagavad-gitas in motel rooms within the next five years.”

Following a meeting in Vrindavana, India earlier this year with trustees of ISKCON's publishing arm the Bhaktivedanta Book Trust, Vaisesika says that plans are afoot for creating a unique edition of the Bhagavad-gita for motel rooms.

“The special edition will have a sturdy cover, so that it will withstand wear and tear through the many many people who will read it over and over again,” he explains. “It will also have an index at the front that people can refer to for answers to specific questions such as how to find peace in this life, how to overcome stress, and why we have to die. In this way, people will be able to see at a glance what's in the book for them.”

Despite all these innovations, Vaisesika is far more concerned with people than with tactics or numbers of books sold. And at the top of the list is giving plenty of attention to the book distributors' personal spirituality.

“Our first and foremost concern is that the devotees are conducting their service in such a way that they become attached to the subject matter of the books,” he says. “Our motto is 'save one person at a time, beginning with myself.' We want to create a sustainable environment for book distribution, which means one wherein devotees are safe from material motivation.”

Another very important thing is to, as Vaisesika puts it, 'encourage the heck out of everybody.'

“One of the secrets to a successful Marathon is to encourage everyone to do a little bit,” he says. “To encourage even the tiniest, most humble effort, and fan the spark, just as Lord Rama did when the small spider tried to help him build his bridge to Lanka by throwing grains of sand into the Indian Ocean.”

With this approach, even though there are very few full-time students at the ISV temple, the Marathon sees up to 400 devotees going out to distribute books—almost all professionals with full-time outside jobs and families, who spread Krishna consciousness in their spare time.

Vaisesika adds, however, that the 1970s model of celibate monks known as brahmacharis piling into a van, traversing the country, and distributing books full-time is still alive and well too.

“Teams such as the Rupanuga Vedic College traveling party, headed by Paramesvara Prabhu, are still doing the lion's share of book distribution in America,” he says. “They're visiting colleges, following concert tours, and distributing tens of thousands of books every year.”

Once the Marathon has been completed, Vaisesika suggests that the mood of encouragement and support of one another continues.

“At ISV, we end the Marathon with something we recommend that other temples across North America also introduce—Devotee Appreciation Day,” he says. “All the devotees get together for a big party, singing bhajans and enjoying delicious prasadam. Then we pass around a microphone, and everyone gets to glorify the service of their fellow devotees. It's so enlivening, and has become a regular event throughout the year.”

Devotees at ISV also meet on January 1st of the following year, after Devotee Appreciation Day, to discuss how they did in book distribution in the past year, and how to improve in the coming year. They set goals, and pre-plan group book distribution days in their calendar, so that their book distribution efforts won't clash with other temple events.

After the intense focus of the Marathon, of course, it's possible that devotees and temple management may put less effort into distributing books and focus elsewhere. Vaisesika offers some tips to keep the energy going:

“We've established some primary book distribution programs, and can help devotees around the country to institute them,” he says. “Monthly Sankirtana Festivals, which we've held here at ISV for years, are an excellent way to organize the community so that everyone can go out at least once a month. A lot of people each doing a little bit makes a big difference. There's also the Motel Gita and the Smart Box, both of which have been successfully established in cities around North America, and which we encourage devotees everywhere to get involved in.”

Vaisesika, for one, is convinced of the power of Srila Prabhupada's books, and their potential to help the lives of all—and it is this which drives him and his team to keep looking for new ways to get them into people's hands.

“These books help us develop gratitude, and inner happiness—remember, we don't see the world the way it is, we see the world the way we are,” he says. “ And, of course, they help us become free from stress, something that most people nowadays are suffering a lot from.”

He quotes the Sri Isopanishad, which says, 'One who sees everything in relation to the Supreme Lord, who sees all living entities as His parts and parcels, and who sees the Supreme Lord within everything never hates anything or any being. One who sees all living entities as spiritual sparks, in quality one with the Lord, becomes a true knower of things. What, then, can be illusion or anxiety for him?'

Vaisesika spreads his hands, insinuating that the quote makes his point for him.

“With gems like this on every page, who wouldn't want to read these books?” he says.

Read more: http://news.iskcon.com/node/3306/2010-12-04/the_marathon_that_everybody_wins#ixzz17C6BnpF1

The Twin Solution

Couple of weeks back when we were distributing books at Fremont Hindu temple, we met an Indian lady (from Stockton) who
expressed interest in Bhagavad Gita(for her son), but did not take the take book because she did not have cash with her.
After following up with her, we were able to go to her house today. We kept a few other books - just in case.
We found that she had twin sons - one of them was spiritually inclined and other was not. So we gave the 'Bhagavad Gita' to one,
'Beyond Illusion and Doubt' to the other and 'The higher taste of India' to the mom. All were very happy. The kids were very
inclined and they curiously asked about each picture in the BG- including significance of each avatars- I had forgotten about the Vaman avatar story and Khyati came to my rescue :). We spent almost an hour discussing. This has been a nice experience.

One of Khyati's college(Bengali) friend saw Bhagavad Gita in car and took both soft bound and hard bound BG. After a week, she said she is
happy for getting the book, esp. that the book has a 'bengali' touch to it and would like to visit the temple soon.


ys,
niral and khyati

Happy 90 minutes

Bharani Mataji met an American lady who mentioned that she practices Ayurveda and is very interested in knowing more about the activities of the soul. Bharani Mataji encouraged her to read the book and visit the temple.

I showed Bhagavad Gita to an Arabic lady she was so respectful to Gita and her face brightened as soon as she touched it. She eagerly heard about the glories of Gita and she wanted to buy the book. Then her daughter came and told that she doesn't know how to read English, but the mom was very determined to just have the Gita with her. She secured the book in her bag and asked if it is okay if she drops the money in my car on her way back from the shopping. I said "yes". She said she is very happy that I trusted her. How can I not trust someone who has so much enthusiasm to have Gita in a language that she doesn't even know how to read! Sure enough, when I came back, money was there in my car. I wish I had the same respect towards Gita.

I met an American lady from Washington DC, As soon as she saw the Gita she asked "Who is your Guru?" I showed Prabhupad's picture and explained about his mission. She mentioned that her parents taught her about transcendental meditation when she was very young & she is now teaching the deaf and dumb students in a non-profit organization. She was very appreciative of Prabhupad's mission and happily gave donation.

Though people were in the morning rush, many stopped to hear about the book. One Indian lady was very happy to get the book packet and eagerly inquired about our programs. In the end, I met a Chinese Lady; she took the book packet in hand and very eagerly listened to the explanations about the books. Then I mentioned that we accept some donations to cover the printing cost and also use it in other services that we do to the community. As soon as she heard the word donation she gave them back and said she will try some other time. I spoke a little more and she again rejected. The more she rejected the more I felt like encouraging her to take the book. I was praying to Nityananda to inspire her from within because she was very eager in the beginning. Finally, this concept of appreciation came into my mind, I told her, let me tell you the truth, if it were someone else I will not encourage them this much but I see that inquisitiveness in you. Your look so bright:-) I am sure this book will help you. As soon as she heard this she gave 3 quarters.:-) The happiness that I feel when I receive my bonus checks seemed worthless when I received those 3 quarters from her!

All glories to Nityananda! Srila Vrindavan Das Thakur prays, "I worship Lord Nityananda, the unlimited root of the tree of devotional service. He traveled on every path singing and dancing and repeating, "Hari! Hari!" Without considering His own interests, He was merciful to the people and he gave them His merciful side long glance."

I had already missed many meetings @ work (because of an emergency appointment @ Cupertino (Sankirtana) school:-). Happy 90 minutes felt like very few seconds & we realized that this is how devotional service is "joyfully performed"!.

Param Vijayate Sri Krishna Sankirtanam!

-Sanatana Gandharvika Mataji

Harinam performance held on 10/22/10 in Palo Alto was fantastic far surpassing my expectations. Though the weather was mostly cloudy with some rain at times in the neighbouring areas, there was no rain at the Harinam place. Many devotees participated with great enthusiasm despite being a cloudy weather day.

---Ramananda Sakha das

A Few Good Moments

GNAB:

It was an ok outing, with most houses being unaswered, but still there were a few good moments.

We met a nice person Bruce Kerans. He was watching a movie, but he paused it and listened to Sri Krishna P Pr explaining him the BG. He knew about George Harrison and his involvement with Hare Krishnas. He is going through some tough phase in life and was very excited to know more and has shown desire to attend the lectures next week. Although unemployed currently, he gave a nice donation of 40$.

Sri Krishna P Pr explains the BG nicely to American devotees and a few people took the BG and gave good donations. It was nice learning experience accompanying him.

Nilesh Pr / Neelam M met an Indian lady and she was happy to get the BG. She gave a nice donation. She gave a 50$ donation, but had second thoughts and asked to take only 25, but, still ended up given 30$. We can approach her later for New temple fund.

Nilesh Pr also met a person who started arguing about why the BG should not be given free, when Bibles are available for free in motels. He was more a Hindu activist and didnt agree to the concept of BG being distributed to all. Finally, they gave him a small pack and got some donation although he intially refused.

OkNAB

Nilesh Pr met one guy, who was trying to create problems. So they thought it wise to retreat from that area, so missed 2-3 apt blocks.

With one team having gone to San Ramon, some of us decided to stay local and join Chandra Pr. who normally services this spot. We had a couple of new devotees who enthusiastically joined us. Initially, we started as a small group that quickly grew in number as Sukheswari dd & family, DVD Pr and Hariguru Pr also joined us. In no time devotees were all over the place enthusiastically distributing book packs and Bhagavad Gitas. DVD prabhu worked the adjoining shops and distributed many packs. All this enthusiasm drew shoppers to our book table, causing Ravi Puranam Pr to start showing books to them (his first debut in book distribution, we were told). Everyone participated and much energy and enthusiasm was generated before rain interrupted a 2-hour spell in which many books were distributed. Not encumbered, some devotees stayed on and continued to distribute more books after a brief interruption.

Contributors

Hariharan Pr & Raxit Pr

The story of the Blue & White boy

1) Balaram used to go for a creative essay competion with his homeschooling group and almost 20 kids come to attend the seminar, I was about to a give a book pack to the teacher, she is an author and teacher...she accepted. 2 parents in the club got the book pack also. very nice, one of kid's father started reading the Isopanishad during his wait time and I was observing him during his course of reading and he seems to be disturbed in the beginning then moved to the pictures in Iso & looks happy then again he came back to the page where he left earlier... as a whole IMHO, he got an spiritual impact. it was so good that I got the experience of a new reader , instant value.

2) As per the creative story writing , the theme was fantassy and Balaram wrote about Lord Bramha stole the cows and cowherd boys and how the "Blue Boy" by his magic power re-created and bewilder Lord Brahma.. Many of the kids are non Indians so they could not understand the story character but they listened intently with great surprise. At least they heard about the Blue Boy and herad the holy name of Krsna

All glories to Sankirtana movement.....

Yas,

Bali Mardan das

The rain of mercy

: It was like Krishna had come to Sankirtana Central. With the morning having started with rain, my hopes of going to the Farmer's Market for book distribution were dashed. No sooner had I recovered from that thought than we received a call from a couple of traveling devotees from Seattle who had come to the ISV temple and needed books. Hanspriya dd showed them the way to Sankirtana Central. In the morning, they acquired a couple of cases of Krsna books, a case of BGs and CDs. Then, on the same afternoon I received another call that they needed more books, having given away what they took in the morning at an Indian cultural festival. I met them at the temple where they bought more cases of Krsna books, BGs and CDs. All the BG paperbacks were sold out. In all they acquired about 200 books & CDs. Krishna had reciprocated when weather conditions did not seem right to go out on Sankirtana.

Ys
Raxit

Everything must go

* We just thought of trying out sunnyvale hindu temple as our book distribution spot and we were a little skeptical before the weekend because some one said that they disallowed us selling our books there. We still went ahead anyway and over the weekend, we did around 900 books and collected close to $1400 'just near parking lot'.

* I met one guy today and was about to hand him Bhagavad-Gita. He said that he tried every thing in his life (Art of living, Ramana maharshi, Krishnamurti - not the Giddu, etc etc..) and felt a little frustrated and disgusted about all the spiritualism and was trying to figure out things on his own and leading a life free from attachment, anger etc.. I remembered some parallels between what he was explaining and what I read about similar kind of people mentioned in BG 4.10 by Srila Prabhupada. I immediately flipped pages and read a few lines of that purport which read : "Furthermore there are many persons who cannot understand spiritual existence at all. Being embarrassed by so many theories and by contradictions of various types of philosophical speculation, they become disgusted or angry and foolishly conclude that there is no supreme cause and that everything is ultimately void...." He got impressed that people like him are being mentioned in the Bhagavad-Gita. We had a long conversation and in the end he took a book pack and Gita and gave $20.

* Praveena met one young Indian man whose name was 'Krishna Chaitanya Kapila' :-) He hails from a pious family and his grand father gave him that name and apparently their ancestors are devotees of Chaitanya maha prabhu. He did not have any cash to buy the Gita. He sent his friends to a nearby store to buy some thing with credit card and get 'cash back' from the counter and with that they purchased the Gita :-)

* 'Everything must go' suited quite aptly to our campaign today as we were left with not a single book at the end of the day :-) Hold on!! Just as we were thinking like this, Praveena discovered a Bhagavad-Gita lying in her handbag. She felt bad that we could not distribute 'every thing' that we took and one book was still remaining. She was lamenting and thinking that how nice it will be if she can distribute that Gita some how. And when we came and parked at the temple, some one ran up to Praveena and asked her (what are the odds?) if she had a 'Hardbound Bhagavad-Gita'. What a magic from Krishna!! Praveena gleefully responded to her request by distributing the only remaining Gita and got a $20 bill.

Ys

Kishore

HG Vaisesika Prabhujis Vyasa Puja Celebration

Video Archive

http://www.justin.tv/iskconsv/b/271144430

http://www.justin.tv/iskconsv/b/271156019

http://www.justin.tv/iskconsv/b/271166573

MSF of Loving Exchanges 2010

The Monthly Sankirtana Festival (MSF) of Loving Exchanges was held last weekend at ISV. Based on Srila Rupa Goswami’s ‘dadati’ principle of giving (Nectar of Instruction, Text 4),

dadati pratigrhnati

guhyam akhyati prcchati

bhunkte bhojayate caiva

sad-vidham priti-laksanam

Offering gifts in charity, accepting charitable gifts, revealing one's mind in confidence, inquiring confidentially, accepting prasada and offering prasada are the six symptoms of love shared by one devotee and another.

The results of MSF are as follows:

• 28 devotees participated in book distribution
• 3870 books were totally distributed and
• $2502 in Laxmi points were collected (including donations*)

On behalf of Team ISV, we thank all participants and contributors.

MSF of Loving Exchanges ki Jaya!

Yours in service,

Raxit

GNABS

I had brought a little sign that said, "Bhakti Yoga, Free Meditation Lesson" and some little japa malas.

The first lady I talked to, before other distributors arrived, took a Krishna book. Her name was Michelle. She had done TM and Namyeho Ringekyo chanting. She considered herself a Buddhist but actually believes there is a soul and a Supreme God (these statements were coming from her, not from me). It was clear that Krishna had sent her to me at this difficult time in her life, and she wanted a relationship with a personal God and was tired of impersonalism and voidism. She seemed smart and simple and good hearted.

She had recently lost her job in Napa County and had moved to Santa Cruz because she always wanted to live here, but she was in anxiety about economics. She is in her early 60s and is afraid about finding decent employment at her age. She said she wanted to become "fearless" and she was thrilled when I told her the "A.C." in Srila Prabhupada's name referred to Krishna (abhaya caranaravinda), whose lotus feet deliver one from all fears.

She sat and chanted a round with me, said it made her feel "lighter", and was very happy with the experience. I forgot to get her contact information, but maybe she gave it to Vaisesika, who arrived before we finished chanting. She asked us about contacting us, and Vaish was talking about how we were setting up a "meet group" on the internet. (I want to talk to her again. I wish I had at least given her my card. I noticed she was chanting with her left hand and was holding the beads between thumb and index finger. I hope she learns to do it right. I think she will love her Krishna book. I also gave her a paperback Gita and a little mala.)

Anyway, for me the whole day was like that. I had a brief to write and I could only stay out a few hours. During that whole time I was giving one japa lesson after another to people who were eager to experience bhakti. I ran out of malas and some people had to chant without malas. One person donated $5 for a little mala. I did not have time to distribute books (but our group distributed 15 Gitas and about 30 books altogether).

At least three of the chanters, including Michelle, might easily have moved into a temple asram (if we had a well-organized local temple asram for them to move into) for further training. This "free bhakti yoga lesson" idea is a keeper.

Ys

Akruranath Das

HH Hanumat Prakesa Swamis Srimad Bhagavatam Classes at ISV

Wednesday Bhagavad class

http://www.justin.tv/iskconsv/b/270725290

Saturday Srimad Bhagavatam Class

http://www.justin.tv/iskconsv/b/270732350

Sunday Feast Class

http://www.justin.tv/iskconsv/b/270825734

HH Hridayananda dasa Goswami Srimad Bhagavatam Class on 18th Sep

http://www.justin.tv/iskconsv/b/270298683

Not a bad deal after all !

* Had an interesting conversation on phone with a mormon, whose wife received our books. Apparently he was not at all happy after he saw the books after going home. He called me and left a nasty voice message showing his dissatisfaction. He also spoke to me later and vented his anger at us using the name of George Harrison by selling our 'yoga' books. After some time I cut the conversation and said "Have a nice day". And he replied 'You have a nice day too.. HARE KRISHNA!!" It was so funny that he said Hare Krishna in the end. I said to myself 'that's not a bad deal after all' :))

* I met an Indian person who took the Bhagavad-Gita and when I asked for a donation. He gave $5 and he replied : "That is why we can not spread our Hindu culture through out the world. Just look at the christian missionaries. They distribute Bible like any thing without asking money like this. That is why they are able to spread so well. Because of your tactics, we can not spread like that. People will unwillingly give the donation and they won't feel good about you". I told him that we have to do this activity based on the money we receive from good souls like him. And we some one like him can donate good amount, we can afford to give freely to others. Then some thing happened to him and he immediately took his wallet and gave $20 bill and told me : "Use this and give 4 free Bhagavad-Gita's to others.. especially westerners.." :)) 'Not a bad deal after all', I said to myself :))

* Sri Krishna Purushottam and I met one old American man and he was quite familiar with Hare Krishnas. He knew about Srila Prabhupada and it seems he also worked with some devotees for procuring some things (it seems he set up a computer for them and a software which constantly scrolls the maha mantra in various fonts) for Berkeley temple. He accepted our book pack and gave some donation. He also chanted the maha mantra.

Ys

Kishore

Janamastami 2010 MSF results

“Our business is to glorify Krishna and to popularize Lord

Caintanya’s Hare Krishna Movement”

In keeping with that spirit, to lift conditioned souls from

the darkness and every-day struggles of material life, and

to realize Sankirtana goals, ISV devotees did massive

book distribution during the months of July and August.

They distributed books at the San Francisco Ratha Yatra

and during two Harinama performances in Palo Alto. In

addition, ISV devotees went door-to-door to distribute

books and MotelGita team members placed a little more

than 3000 Bhagavad Gitas in various motels across the US.

Books were also distributed via the Smart Box placed at

several establishments several establishments. Devotees also

made donations to support and sponsor book distribution.

All the scores were tallied up and here are the Final Results:

In all:

• More than 50 devotees participated in book distribution

• They distributed 5850 books and

• They collected $8473 dollars in Laxmi points (including

donations).

Sri Sri Radha Madan Mohan Ji ki Jaya!

Sri Sri Laxmi Nrsimhadeva ki Jaya!

Sriman Mahaprabhu ki Jaya!

Srila Prabhupada ki Jaya!

Gaura Prema Nande, Hari Bol!

Hare Krishna!

On behalf of team ISV,

Ys

Raxit

Join us to celebrate Janamastami

Sri Krishna Janmashtami

Sri Krishna Janmashtami is the celebration of the appearance day of Lord Krishna on the eighth day of the dark half of the month of Bhadra as the eighth son of Devaki and Vasudeva about 5000 years back.

The Significance of Janmashtami

5000 years ago on Janamashtmi, The Lord appeared at midnight in a dark prison cell. This is indeed a historical fact, but it also has a deeper significance. Presently, our hearts have become darkened due to the debilitating passions - lust, anger, greed, pride, envy and illusion, which deprive us of the illumination of divine wisdom and joy. Moreover these misgivings compel us to dissipate our precious mental and physical energies in hankering for the undesirable and lamenting over the inevitable. Thus they imprison our desires and destiny within the world of matter, where we are constantly tormented by anxiety and misery.

As soon as the Lord appeared, the darkness in the prison cell immediately disappeared. Similarly, the holy occasion of Janmashtami offers us the best opportunity to invoke the Lord's presence in our heart through sincere devotion. Thus we can break free from the darkness and shackles of self-destructive desires and attain inner peace and fulfillment.

Sri Krishna Janmashtami Schedule

(At ISKCON SAN JOSE TEMPLE - 951 South Bascom Avenue, San Jose, CA 95128-3503 - Phone: (408) 293-4959)

Wednesday, September 1, 2010

7:00pm Aarti & Kirtan

8:00pm Lecture by H.G. Satyadev Prabhu

9:30pm Abhishek

10:30pm Lecture by H.G. Vaisesika Prabhu

11:30pm Announcements & Acknowledgement

12:00am Maha Aarti

(At Extension Unit - 970 South Bascom Avenue, San Jose CA 95128)

Wednesday, September 1, 2010

7:00pm Praramabham with prayers

7:15pm Plays

8:00pm Bhajans

8:15pm Lecture by H.G Vaisesika Prabhu

9:30pm Projection of Abhishek

10:30 pm Projection of Lectures

11:30pm Announcements & Acknowledgement

12:00am Projection of Aarti and Aarti to Ustava Deity

12:05am Ekadasi Prasadam

Address: 951 S Bascom Ave, San Jose, CA 95128

Phone:(408) 293 4959

http://blog.iskconsv.org/p/janamastami-2010.html

http://www.iskconsv.org/

Attractions: Jumper, face painting, gift shop, heena, Julan, book stall, meditation, free feast, snack stall and much more.

Parking: On Janmashtami night, devotees are requested to park away from the temple and its adjoining building and street (Maywood). Parking is recommended at designated and available parking spots across the street and near the intersection of S. Bascom and Stokes Ave.

Please join us in celebrating the Janmashtami festival to invite the lord to appears in our hearts. Though we do not know it, all of us are actually pining for this Janmashtami to occur. All of us want love, care, protection and happiness and this is what the actual Janmashtami - the appearance of the lord in our heart - brings.

Kind Regards,

On behalf of ISV

Publicity Team

Janmastami 2010 celebration

Sri Krishna Janmastami will be celebrated on Wed 1st September starting from 7 pm -- 12 midnight

Sri Janamastmi Sponsorship Program

Deity Out fit/Dress $1600
Chappan Bhoga & 501
Feast $1008 (Includes prasadam & paper product)
Flowers $751
Temple Decorations $501
Julan Yatra & Decoration $251
Maha Arati $251
Rajbhoga $151
Rajbhoga Aarti $151
Sringar Bhoga $151
Sringar Aarti $151
Abhishek $501
Festive Site $550
Mandir Marajan $501

For donations please contact

Hansapriya Rawson 408-655-8279

hansapriya8@gmail.com

Raxit jariwala 408-723-3913

Mayapur Vihari das 510-962-2203

Deepak Chandani 949 981 4976

HH Radhanath swami visit to ISV

HH Radhanath Swami visited ISV on 9th Aug

A wonderful initiation ceremony was held & Milan doshi accepted Maharaj as his Diksha Guru

& recieved the name Mayapur bihari das.

Maharaj said "one needs to be sincere , serious & free from ulterior motives on the path of Bhakti"

It made my Day

One Chinese lady scrutinizingly looked at all the Chinese books and really admired them. As she was going through all the books, I thought to myself, usually it is so difficult to even stop someone to have a look at Chinese books. And this great soul is looking at all the books with great interest. I felt very satisfied at this sight. It made my day. She ended up taking 3 books and discussed with me about the philosophy and the practice of Krsna Consciousness. - Soon later, while I was talking to a lady who was familiar with the Hare Krishna from the 60's and 70's, an elderly Farsi speaking person stopped at the table and took the Farsi book and started reading it aloud. Occasionally he looked at me and said "Hmmm, interesting". He donated a dollar for the book and seeing that I was not having a pen on that day, he also gave me one of his pens. …….. Venkatesh

->A small girl (may be 7 or 8 yrs old) came by to our book stall when her parents were busy buying food. She was taking all the small books to her hand and flipping pages and watching them with her intellect. She took 'Intro to BG' to their parents and her smart dad said : 'Your mommie already has that book. Keep it back". She came and kept it back. Then I gave her 'Chant & Be happy' and told her 'This is a recent book and no one will have it'. She is impressed by that book but felt that it is a bit larger than what her tiny brain could take. She found 'Bhakti' to be favorable for her reading and got hold of it and never asked for her parents approval :-))

->Another small boy was interested in taking the books but their parents just kept on going without stopping at the stall. He was hesistant to stop but seeing his interest I called him close and asked him to atleast 'hold' the book in his hand and he did cheerfully. I thought to myself 'a bhakti plant has been sown in a little heart'! Jai!!!

Hari Haribol,

ys,

-Bhakta Kishore

Don't wish it. Work it

Vedavit Pr approached an African American gentleman who was so enamoured with reading the Sanskirt from Srila Prabhupada's books that he would repeat flawlessly all the mantras that Vedavit Pr would recite. He took a few books. Little Poojha with her presence was able to stop even the most busiest people running away after shopping. ……… Narahari Dev das

We met this person named David. Although a catholic by birth, he was very open minded towards other religious/spiritual faiths. He got extremely interested in BG after Prashant Pr and I showed him the pictures in BG……………

Vedavit Prabhu taught Hare Krsna Maha Mantra to many people. If a person takes a book without giving laxmi, Vedavit Pr would run to him and teach the Maha Mantra. One must either give the laxmi or chant the Maha Mantra in order to get a book. That was Vedavit Pr's mantra for the day. Haribol. Ys, Ramaswamy.

There is nothing in life than can make anyone happy other than performing the Sankirtana Yajna. Sankirtana is life. "Don't wish it. Work it." ………….. Vaisesika Dasa

I want this Krishna book .... Please......

(From Praveena) :

GNAB1: A chinese mother and a son(probably 7 yrs) approached the table, I was showing her the books and she showed some interest and took one chinese book but she said she didn't have any money and asked her son if he had some money he said he have a quarter and gave it to me. They both took the book and left the table, in few seconds the kid came back and pointing out English KRSNA book he asked me what is this?, I showed the pictures and explained him Krsna's past times from the pictures. He asked me if he can have that book, i asked him to get some donation, he said he had saved few quarters which his mom gave and he gave me 3 quarters. I asked him can you get little more donation from his MOM as that book is little expensive, he went and came back with disappointment but started pleading me with pleasing face holding KRSNA book " Please.. Can I please give you money next sunday when I come, I want this book .. Please.. ". He was not ready to leave that book at any cost, I was so happy to see a CHINESE kid showing so much interest in KRSNA book, finally had to give it for 3 quarters and he was so happy to take it.

GNAB2: I just stopped a person passing by. I asked him where he was from? He said he is from Japan. I gave him a flier and was explaing him about the Bhakti Yoga Classes. He smiled at me and said "Hare Krsna". I was so surprised he then said " Haribol". His pronounciation was nice though he is a Japanese. I asked how he knew about Hare Krsna, he said that he is a vounteer of some organization and does fund raising for their organization and many times he met Iskcon LA devotees while fund raisng. He said Hare Krsna's are very nice. We gave him a Isopanisad book and informed about Satyadeva Prabhu's preaching at Japan. We invited him to come to the temple to meet Satyadeva Prabhu.

One for my sister & One for me

3) One Indian family was passing by our book table and the kid saw the Bhagavad-Gita and he insisted his dad that he just wants that book. Unfortunately they already had the copy of BG hardbound in their house. But the kid was so adamant that his father had to relent to his request and had to purchase the copy of BG hardbound for $10. The kid convinced his dad that the one at home was for his sister and the one now they purchased will be for his personal use :-)………… Bhakta K

Yesterday my realtor held an "open house" to try to sell our home. A couple came by who were vegetarians. They were American musicians, but the husband was a computer genius who had come up from Redondo Beach to work in Silicon Valley. The lady said she was interested in Buddhism, and that she was proud of being an atheist (ouch). They liked our temple room and I showed her the Gaura-Nitai Deities on the altar. When I mentioned Bhagavad Gita she said she has been meaning to read it. I gave her a hardcover Gita and she spontaneously offered a $5 donation akruranathadasa

Srimad Bhagavatam set distribution stories

1) I have met one person, i have requested him to have Bhagavatam, he replied that "i have already had Bhagavad Gita. I am happy with that ". I just asked him to tell some thing about KRISHNA, he didnt say much. I told him that Bhagavatam was spoken about KRISHNA, if you read the glories of the LORD everyday, your faith becomes stronger and then you would follow the instructions given in Bhagavad Gita with pure LOVE... As prabhupada said, you should know about the person whom you should worship very well. i,e Bhagavatam. He was happy and took a small Set.

2) I have met another person, he said that he knows the importance of Bhagavatam, BUT he wanted later. As prabhupada said, LATER never comes since there is no guarantee for next second. I have told him that this is the one time investment for your LIFE, this transcendental knowledge would save your future generations as well...BUT he was reluctant at that moment. But he came to me after 3 days, requested a BIG set. That was the power of Paramatma feature !

3) I have met one mataji, i knew her very well. I have asked her "How do you feel if KRISHNA comes to your home ?" Immediately she replied that would be BEST & LAST moment in my LIFE. I have told her that "I thought the same and taken your name for Bhagavatam SET" :-) And Krishna comes to your home in text form. she could not say NO and took a small set.

4) I have met another mataji, she is not regular, but spoken to her few times ..i have requested her to have bhagavatam, she said NO, I cant keep it at my home since there was no space. This was bit funny, i told her that "Since you are not providing room for KRISHNA at your home. That indicates you are not providing space for KRISHNA in your heart too....." . She was confused for a while.... As prabhupada said, You take KC first, then Rules and Regulations comes automatically...If you think that you have to follow Rules and Regulations before you accept KC, that never happens.. she also took one small set.

5) I have met one more person, he had some budget issues..i have told him that budget is a common problem for everyone and even for US gov too... But we still satisfy our body needs with out bothering about mind, so we should have medicine for mind regularly, i.e Bhagavatam. Once your mind is engaged in the service of Supreme Lord, all budget problems disappear at once .... he was laughed for some time....:-) And took one small set...

6) I have approached one devotee, as soon as he saw me, he said that i have already got all books of prabhupada.. i just kept silent for few sec...and then replied: Very nice to hear that you have got everything ..But others NOT. I would request to donate some Lakshmi for this great cause... he took some time and donated $151. His brother was looked at me, before i ask him, he replied that we both are from same family. Again i was silent for few secs..Then i replied to him that You both are from same family but each of you have different spiritual accounts.. Your brother's donation never get credited into your spiritual account .... you have to increase your spiritual account too...this surely help you from great danger .... I have requested him to "HELP US BY HELPING YOUR SELF " he smiled at me and pledged $108.

Bhakta Bharath