World Vaishnava Association Portrait

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EDITORIAL W

VA’s magazine committee is pleased to announce the release of the long awaited publication of the WVA portrait. This issue features an overview of what has been happening over the past years in different fields of global Vaishnavism. WVA portrait’s goal is to spread with joy the message of the worldwide Vaishnava endeavors to all of you dear readers. Many times in the history of mankind, Vaishnavas have organized meetings in order to increase their association and to serve the world. We read daily in the Srimad Bhagavatam of the great meeting in Naimisaranya to counteract the age of Kali. It is a fact that our Sampradaya has thousands of years of history, simply by Guru - to - disciple transmission. Thus organized religion, as we know it in the western world, has not been an important aspect of Vaishnavism. Here and there great temple institutions have tried to maintain their inspiration along with an organized transmission of Acharya-ship. More recently we have also observed how great Vaishnava institutions such as the Gaudiya Math and ISKCON have tried to combine the natural flow of divine transmission with certain institutional structures. World Vaishnava Association Vishva Vaishnava Raj-Sabha President Srila Bhakti Ballabha Tirtha Maharaja Vice president Srila Bhakti Vichar Vishnu Maharaj Portrait Edition & Direction Swami Bhakti Aloka Paramadvaiti Edition Assistant Pancatattwa Das Text Correction Damodhar Lila Devi Dasi Gour Nitay Das Radhe Syam Devi Dasi Sandy Brassard Sundari Devi Dasi Articles Bhajanamrta Das Dasavatara Das Kirtanananda Das Layout Goura Mandal Das Karin Escudero Radhe Syam Devi Dasi Vidagda Madhava Das Research Brahma Samhita Das Vamsi Vadana Das

The whole Vaishnava world can help to produce a change. The combined effort of the Vaishnavas can, without a doubt, intensify their contributions to the world. Thus we can try to follow the advice of Srila Rupa Goswami, to use everything in Krishna’s service, including a worldwide Vaishnava cooperation net. Increased unity and cooperation for the common causes amongst the Vaishnavas could also help resolve many problems of this world. Also, if we use the communication facilities of this age to share our preaching, then the results of our preaching efforts will definitely increase. Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu revealed the practice of congregational chanting, sankirtana, so that the whole world could serve the one Supreme Lord Sri Krishna and His devotees with loving unity in diversity. In an effort to portray this diversity, this issue of WVA Portrait contains many photos from the past and present, as well as plans for the future, fresh translations, known artwork and a lot more. Most of the information presented in this Portrait was compiled from previous WVA publications, VINA reports and by researching the internet. It is our heartfelt attempt to show to the readers of this Portrait, that the light of bhakti is being spread in different forms and by different missions and individual devotees. Rarely do you find information about so many contributions in one place. This is one of the particular features of the VVRS; we take pride in presenting it all together and showing that is it all inspired by the same roots. The pluralistic opulence of many teachers and many different missions without any institutional ties amongst them proves that the Vaishnava teachings have become a world religion which can survive anywhere when taken up by sincere souls, because the Supreme Teacher is the Super soul who is always present in the hearts of all. We want to conclude by requesting different missions to actively send articles or news, which we can include for publication in issues to come. May the chanting of the Holy Names dissolve all differences and unite us in our common goal as messengers of Divine Love.

The publishers.

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