Spirit-o-Gram (May-Jun Edition)

Spirit-O-Gram Spirit-O-Gram

His Divine Grace AC Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada Founder Acharya: ISKCON

President's Message

Hare Krishna!

Dear NUTSS Department, and the dedicated team, please accept the blessings of Lord Damodar and Srimati Radharani.

All Glories to Srila Prabhupada!

As the Temple President, I am writing to express my heartfelt appreciation for your exceptional efforts in publishing the bi-monthly Spirit-O-Gram magazine

for ISKCON Gurugram. Your devotion and dedication to creating this magazine is commendable.

Spirit-O-Gram has become a beacon of wisdom, providing our temple community with motivation, and direction. Spirit-O-Gram has become an integral part of the temple's spiritual journey, connecting and inspiring devotees. The magazine's impact reaches far beyond the temple walls.

I want to acknowledge Hardik Prabhu, for being instrumental in guiding the team. The excellent standard of the magazine is a result of his careful attention to detail. I extend my deepest gratitude to the entire team for their tireless efforts and creativity in bringing Spirit-O-Gram to life- each member playing a vital role in writing, designing, etc. I want to thank HG Padasevan Bhakta Prabhu, for coming up with the idea of launching our temple's own magazine and also giving a unique name for it. Additionally, I express my gratitude to Arindam Prabhu for helping us design many of the previous editions of this magazine.

I encourage the team to keep expanding their horizons by letting their creativity soar as they explore new themes, engage diverse perspectives, and share the teachings of Lord Krishna in innovative ways. Always remember that your hard work is always noticed by Hari, Guru, and Vaishnava, and I am always available to support you in your endeavours. Let's work together to make Spirit-O-Gram a thriving source of spiritual nourishment for our devotees and the wider community.

With best wishes,

Rambhadra Das Temple President, ISKCON Gurugram

Temple Preaching

Congregation - 3

Children - 6

Youth - 2

Temple Classes

SB Classes- 9

Evening Classes- 5

Outreach Programs

Chandan Yatra (Sec-31)

Pancha Pandava BACE Opening

Weekly Harinam Sankirtan

Shobha Yatra (Central Resorts)

Temple Fests

Narsimha Yagya

Narsimha Chaturdashi

Nirjala Ekadashi

Panihati Chidadahi

Festival

Snana Yatra & Boat

Festival

Jagannatha Ratha Yatra

Featured Write-ups

How I Came to Krishna

Consciousness (HG Vikran

Mishra Prabhuji)

Perfection is in the Process

(by Hardik Kathuria)

TEMPLE PREACHING

NUTSSCamp NUTSSCamp

7th May, 2023

@Bhalswa, Delhi's Biggest Landfill

The children of NUTSS went to Bhalswa (a huge mountain made entirely of garbage). Perhaps for the first time, they saw the living conditions in slum areas. They interacted with the people there, which helped them expand their horizons and imbibe empathy. The people there shared stories of rag-picking and struggles they faced regularly. This one-day camp provided the kids with a platform to develop gratitude for what they have.

BPS Summer Camp BPS Summer Camp

4th - 10th June, 2023

Bhakta Prahlada School organized Summer Camp from 4th-10th June where kids up to the number of 75, enjoyed different activities like Sloka Recitation, Rhymes, Games, Cooking, Dancing, Bhajan, Mantra meditation, along with a one day outing at East of Kailash ISKCON Temple. Kids enjoyed delicious prasadam after each class. This camp served its objective to involve children in serving the Divine Lord throughout their holidays.

Camp Camp

4th - 10th June, 2023

NUTSS organized a Summer-Camp with the aim of encouraging teenagers to partake in diverse, exciting activities and explore their interests. The camp featured a wide range of courses led by professionals from various fields, including photography, visual design, baking, coding, and design thinking, and about 50 children enthusiastically took part in the camp- utilizing their summer vacations in engaging themselves to learn new activities.

Rejuvenation-One Rejuvenation-One DayNUTSSCamp DayNUTSSCamp 10th June, 2023

To mark the end of NUTSS Summer camp, 32 kids accompanied us on a one-day journey which began from ISKCON Gurugram, stopped briefly at ISKCON Chattarpur and then proceeded to ISKCON Noida. The kids attended a special lecture by HG Gopal Hari Prabhuji (PhD, Oxford University), played games and had a pizza party at the end. The intent of this short excursion was to help the kids explore a few temples around the city and help them understand how spirituality is not boring; rather it is full of activities.

KidsKirtan KidsKirtan

Mela Mela

3rdJune,2023

NUTSS organized a mesmerizing kirtan mela, led by our very own kids, astounding everyone with the sweet chanting of the pure Holy Name. These kirtan melas are organized regularly to help instill confidence in kids and allow them to utilize their musical talents for the service of the Lord.

3rdAnniversary 3rdAnniversary ofNUTSS ofNUTSS

18th June, 2023

NUTSS-The teenage wing of ISKCON Gurugram, celebrated its 3rd birthday anniversary, wherein allthechildrengatheredtogetheras a family and enjoyed a melodious kirtan and cake cutting ceremony. They also watched a short film which had pictures of the things NUTSShasparticipatedin,overthe years, which helped to rekindle all the happy memories. The reunion helped them appreciate how fortunate they are to have this program, through which they can seek guidance and support to advancespiritually.

UMANGYouthFestival UMANGYouthFestival

17th June, 2023

The UMANG Youth Festival was an absolute blast! The energy, enthusiasm, and devotion of the young participants was truly inspiring. Devotees danced joyfully as HG Rambhadra prabhuji led blissful kirtan immersing everyone in the sea of devotion. Shadow act by a team of devotees, a short talk on Digital Detox and fun games were a part of the grand festival. The festival's aim to inspire as many youths to adopt lifestyle management ideas from timeless wisdom literature was a success.

PositiveThinkersCourse PositiveThinkersCourse

May- July, 2023

The "Positive Thinkers Course" was held during the month of May till July. There were about 25 young participants who took part enthusiastically. The course highlighted the importance of being an optimistic individual, and how that would help us in our daily life and gain success in our attempts.

ForestCamp ForestCamp

4th June, 2023

A group of devotees enjoyed a full day in the lap of nature amidst wonderful devotee assocation. They played various games together, took delicious prasad, and attended kirtan and talk by HG Rambhadra prabhuji.

DYPHVrajaCamp DYPHVrajaCamp

6th-7th May, 2023

@Vrindavan, Vrinda Kund, Gokul

The participants of DYPH recently went on a two-day Vrindavan camp, where they visited several sacred places including Vrinda Kunda, Madan Mohan Temple and Raskhan ki Samadhi. The devotees had the opportunity to offer their respects and have the darshan of the deities there. They also had the privilege of hearing enlightening katha and participating in uplifting kirtans in the association of our temple President, Hg Rambhadra prabhuji. This yatra helped the devotees to enrich their spiritual lives and deepen their connection with Lord Krishna.

BhaktiYogaMahotsav BhaktiYogaMahotsav

18th June, 2023

@Vrindavan, Vrinda Kund, Gokul

This festival was a resounding success, wherein over 200 devotees gathered. We were honored to have esteemed guests Mr. Gajendra Kumar Tyagi, (MD of Classic Civil Engineers Pvt Ltd) and Mr. M. S Mittal, (Chairman of Ramada Hotel and ROF Group) in the festival. Mr. Tyagi and Mr. Vikram Mishra (Director Sourcing and Operations North Asia, South East Asia and India - MARS) shared their insightful words of wisdom. This was followed by an enlightening talk by HG Rambhadra Prabhuji who motivated everyone to be sincere about practicingBhaktiyoga.Thefestivalconcludedwithdancingkirtananddeliciousfeastprasadam.

OUTREACH PROGRAMS

ChandanYatra&BoatFestival ChandanYatra&BoatFestival

7th May

@Sec-31 Centre

the day of the Snana yatra in Sec 31, Sri Sri Jagannath Baladev Subhadra Maharani ji, were decorated beautifully with Sandalwood Paste and were seated on a splendid boat floating in a small pond crafted in the Temple Hall itself. HG Rambhadra Prabhuji graced the occasion with his presence and joined in the joyful kirtan. The devotees relished the scrumptious prasadam and savored the festival's significance.The aim of gathering devotees and having a fully energetic festival celebration was fulfilled.

On

Sec-31 Centre

NewBACEopened NewBACEopened

30th May, 2023

@Maruti Kunj

ISKCON Gurugram opened its 3rd BACE in Maruti Kunj, just 3km away from the Temple. BACEBhaktivedanta Academy for Culture & Education is a place where youth connected to temple can get a facility to practice and get trained in the principles of Krishna Consciousness while studying or working in the outside world.

HarinamSankirtan HarinamSankirtan

Every Thursday

This Weekly harinam sankirtan program takes place every Thursday and will help you begin a transformative journey as you spread the divine melodies. On a joyful bus ride and through the streets of Gurugram, devotees dance and sing together in order to let the vibrations of the Holy name resonate within, washing away all negativity and filling all hearts of the people witnessing with pure love for the Lord.

ShobhaYatra ShobhaYatra

16th June, 2023

@Central Park Resorts, Sec-48

At Central Park Resorts, Sec 48, a magical evening unfolded as Lord Jagannath and Gaur Nitai graced the streets- a blissful Sankirtan experience that will be cherished forever- wherein the devotees were joyfully dancing and singing the names of the Lord, with many new joining in to spread the energy of the blasting kirtan across the entire area- distributing the love of God amongst all.

TEMPLE CLASSES

SBClassbyHHGopal SBClassbyHHGopal

KrishnaGoswamiMaharaj KrishnaGoswamiMaharaj

27th May, 2023

His Holiness Gopal Krishna Goswami Maharaj blessed us with his presence, spiritually purifying the entire area.

Through the Bhagavatam class, devotees received spiritual learnings and were left with a number of realizations that strive to keep us motivated to serve more and experience plentiful benefits on this pure path of devotional service.

SwamiMaharaj SwamiMaharaj

5th- 7th May, 2023

Bhakti Karunamai Vanmali Swami Maharaj (previously known as Vanmali das) is a happiness coach, spiritual leader, community mentor, dynamic teacher and worldwide traveler. For over twenty six years, Vanmali swami was a resident monk at ISKCON Mumbai, Sri Sri Radha Giridhari. On 4th September 2022, He accepted vows of lifetime renunciation. We were fortunate enough to get his association and hear from him consecutively 3 days in a row from May 5-May 7. The topic discussed on Day 1 was the Pastimes of Shri Madhavendra Puri, Community development on Day 2, and the glories of the holy name on Day 3.

HGNaruGopalPrabhuji HGNaruGopalPrabhuji

13th & 14th June, 2023

HG Naru Gopal Prabhuji is the GBC Regional Secretary for WB, Assam, Bihar, Jharkhand & Sikkim. He's also a renowned Kirtaniya and Speaker. A nectarean katha was held on 13th June from 7 PM onwards. Prabhuji also delivered a wonderful SB Class on 14th June from 8 AM onwards on the Topic- Wonderful qualities of Srila Prabhupada. A special kirtan program was held for the devotees from 7:30-8:30 PM on 14th June. It helped the devotees enter a transcendental realm and left them awed.

HG Vrajendra Nandan Prabhuji

is a senior preacher who has been practicing Krishna consciousness for 35 years. He gave a special class on 7th May from 6:30-8 pm.

HG Dhananjay Krishna Prabhuji, the Vice chairman of ISKCON FOOD RELIEF

foundation took an evening class on 21st May from 6-8 pm.

HG Jitamitra Prabhuji is the author of the 'Sri Bhagavan Ne Kaha' series, and has been practicing and preaching Krishna consciousness for 40 years. He took morning bhagavatam class on 12th May on SB 4.7.22

HG Hayagriva Prabhuji is a profound Shastric scholar and teacher, who has been teaching and preaching Krishna consciousness for the last 30 years. On May 24 and June 19, he gave classes for two days at our temple on the topics of S.B. 4.7.30 and Gundicha Marajana Katha, respectively.

HG Krishna Priya Prabhujiwho is a doctor, and a preacher who has been in this process for 40+ years- gave an interesting class on 28th May on the topic "Escaping Miseries of the Material World."

HG Mohan Rupa Prabhuji- who is the current Temple President of ISKCON Delhi, delivered a class on 10th June from 8 AM onwards on the pastime of Sati and Prajapati Daksh.

HG Rishi Kumar Prabhuji delivered a class from 8 AM onwards on 18th June. Prabhuji is a Bhakti Yogi Practitioner & teacher for 20 years.

HG Sundar Gopal Prabhuji gave a 'Rath Yatra Special' class on 23rd and 24th June. He is the chairman of IIYC and the GBC Zonal Supervisor of West UP & Bihar.

HG Gopal Hari Prabhuji-

a PhD in Religious Studies (Oxford University), and a Professor of Ethics in Aurora University (Chicago, USA)delivered a special evening class in our temple on 27th May from 7-8 pm.

HG Aruddha Mataji raised her two sons by homeschooling & teaching them Srimad Bhagavatam. They were one of the youngest PhDs from Oxford University at age of 21. She believes that Srimad Bhagavatam gives to the children everything that is needed to become successful in life. On 10th of June, She gave a special class on the Art of Krishna Conscious parenting from 7-8.30 Pm.

TEMPLE FESTS

Narasimha Yagya Narasimha Yagya

3rd May, 2023

NarasimhaChaturdashi NarasimhaChaturdashi

4th May, 2023

ISKCON Gurugram celebrated the Divine Appearance of Sri Narasimha Deva- the Half man, half lion incarnation of the Supreme Lord. For the purification and protection of all devotees, Narasimha yajna was performed one day prior to the festival. On the day of the celebrations, abhishek of the Utsava deities was performed, accompanied by ecstatic kirtan and dancing.

NirjalaEkadashi NirjalaEkadashi

31st May, 2023

Nirjala Ekadashi, which was observed on 30th of May, was an opportunity for the devotees to perform austerity in order to try and please the Supreme Lord. Several devotees joined from Mangla Aarti and remained in the temple throughout the day, chanting the Lord's name in association with other devotees. Everyone maintained the same enthusiasm and devotion, including kids as well, who made an effort to adhere to the rules and spend the entire day chanting the Mahamantra. Everyone broke their fast the following day with a variety of items, including glucon d, buttermilk, and lemonade.

PanihatiChida PanihatiChida

DahiFestival DahiFestival

2nd June, 2023

On the occasion of Panihati Chida Dahi festival, HG Rambhadra Prabhuji gave a talk on the great pastime of Raghunath Das Goswami, which gave everyone a better understanding of the Lord's compassion and kindness for His dear devotees. They were then presented with four different and delicious types of Dahi ChidaPrasad,whichtheyallenjoyed.

Snana-Yatra&BoatFestival Snana-Yatra&BoatFestival

4th June, 2023

The Captivating Boat Yatra festival, celebrated along with Snana Yatra in the temple left everyone in awe and ecstasy. Sri Sri Jagannatha, Baldeva and Subhadra Maharani were bathed with many different types of cold liquids. Later on, the Lordships gave Their special darshan in Hathi-vesa, where Subhadra Maharani wore a beautiful lotus flower. Subsequently, Radha Krishna's presence filled the gathering of thousands of devotees with enthusiasm.

RATH YATRA

Whatwasso specialabout thisRath Yatra?

The 3 Raths!

The 2000+ Bhogas!

The Crowd of 1 lakh!

JJagannathRathYatra agannathRathYatra

24th June, 2023

From Sector- 10A Market to Rajput Vatika, Sector-12

SpecialKatha SpecialKatha

Date: 21st-23rd June, 2023

Speaker: HG Sundar Gopal Prabhuji

Topic: Jagannath Katha

From: 6:30-8 PM

@Community Center Sec- 10A

SpecialGuests SpecialGuests

Shri Maninder Singh Bitta Chairman, AIATF

HG Jitamitra Prabhuji

Shyamsundar President, State Training & Education

HH Gopal Krishna Goswami Maharaj

Rahul Seth MD, Sudhir Power Limited

Bibhu Nayak Director, Finance - Rites Limited

TEMPLE PROMOTIONS

Govinda'sExpandsitsServices Govinda'sExpandsitsServices

PurushottamAdhikMasa PurushottamAdhikMasa

18th July - 16th August

Purusottam Masa appears once every 3 years and is a very Holy month awarding immense Spiritual Benefits. Any Spiritual activity performed in this month gives 1000 times the benefit. Devotees sing Vaishnav Songs, offer Ghee lamps every evening, chant, read & hear extra about the Supreme Lord to please Him.

SriKrishnaJanmashtami SriKrishnaJanmashtami

The Biggest Festival of the Year, is here!

Preparations have already begun for the biggest Festival of the year. It is your chance to start preparing. Less than 2 months are left, we can't afford to miss that chance. So we are informing you well in advance!

DEVOTEE'S CORNER

HowIcametoKrishna HowIcametoKrishna Consciousness Consciousness

Vichitra Achyuta Prabhu - Asia Sourcing Head, Mars Inc.

My Krishna Consciousness journey started in 2009. I had been living in the US for 12 years after my double master's. I had a high paying job, a fancy car, played golf thrice a weektypical American lifestyle. Yet, all this did not give me satisfaction; there was something missing. I was searching for something more meaningful. One day, while walking back home, I was attracted to sounds of mrdangam and kartal. The kirtan was very soothing. As I stood there, I closed my eyes and just hymned along the Hare Krishna Mahamantra. An instant smile appeared across my face. A good friend Vrishni

Devi Dasi enrolled my wife Navodita and myself in Bhagavad Gita classes at the New Vrindavan temple in West Virginia. We attended a Janmashtami festival at the temple with 24hour kirtan. It was the most blissful experience of our lives. For the first time, I tasted the nectar of Krishna Consciousness. The experience left me humbled. I realized that the life I had been living was shallow. I decided I want to live a life of purity. The US did not attract us anymore. We decided we want to come back to India. In September 2010, after living in US for 13 years, we donated everything we owned and came back to India.

In 2012 while we were living in Mumbai, we were blessed with a daughter. She was beautiful with a red colored Vaishnav tilak on her forehead by birth. We named her Krishnanshi. She left her body when she was 10 days old. She passed away at 4:30am while sleeping - reason unknown. As we dealt with her passing away, my faith in Krishna kept on increasing. I got the answer in Bhagavad Gita 2.20, “for the soul there is neither birth nor death at any time.” When I understood that she did not belong to us, she belonged to Krishna and she has gone back to Krishna, the pain disappeared. She had left me pure.

In 2022, I got second birth when HH Gopal Krishna Goswami Maharaj accepted me as his disciple. As I walk the path of Bhakti, I am so grateful to our temple President HG Rambhadra Prabhuji. His smile and Kirtan are the remedy for all my material anxieties. I seek blessings from all Vaishnavas so I can serve our temple nicely for the divine pleasure of our Guru Maharaj.

Perfectionisinthe Perfectionisinthe Process Process

By Hardik Kathuria

In our struggle to achieve something, we often do a lot of austerities and sacrifices. Relentless efforts and enduring the pain help us pave the way on our path to perfection. But is success is always guaranteed? Obviously no.

When Frustration enters

When results of our efforts don't meet our expectations, it leads to frustration. We get morose that we started a particular project, initiative with so much hope and it yielded nothing. We had seen such amazing dreams and it got halted in between, never to be even mentioned again, what to speak of being resumed and completed. Sometimes there are services we are/were engaged in which haven't produced noticeable or significant results. All this makes us wonder, my time was wasted. It would have been better if I had done something else. An accumulation of such thoughts might deter us from taking up a service next time.

It is a trick of our mind

We don't map/measure the time we waste unnecessarily and sometimes unintentionally at other places. We even lose count of our free time (which our mind enjoys). But when it comes to service, our mind makes us result oriented. And makes us demand answers for every farthing and second spent there. Do you think it is a fair comparison?

What we understand is not enough

What we don't understand is that starting that particular project at that time was the perfection of that time period, that we were Krishna Conscious then. Krishna consciousness is not result oriented. It is effort oriented. We are rewarded based on our efforts. And with all of our efforts, mind and whatever brain we had, we tried to do something for the pleasure of Guru and Gauranga. Krishna is pleased with that.

What does Krishna want from us

Ultimately the goal (which we forget) is to please Krishna. Krishna says in the Bhagavad Gita. Satatam kirtayanto mam - always do my kirtan. Tasmay sarvesu kalesu mam anusmara - therefore at all times, remember me. He is not expecting or instructing us to achieve big big things and give wondering results. But He is surely suggesting that whatever we do, we think of Him. Owing to the visual and mental noise in and around us and our conditionings, it becomes really really difficult to think of Krishna, to remember Him. What to speak of other times, even while chanting, we aren't able to remember Krishna.

What is our hope then?

Krishna knows that and He, being the merciful God He is, isn't angry at us. He has already provided a solution. In the Bhagavad Gita, 12.9-10, He speaks - If you can't remember Me, try to work for me. By doing this, you'll become perfect. So, by serving Krishna and working for Him, we are Krishna-conscious in that moments. And that is called perfection.

Art For Krishna

Hardik Kathuria Editor

Vrinda Dhasmana Co-Editor Astha Kashyap Co-Editor