30 Years of Radhadesh History

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30 Radhadesh Château de petite somme, 1980 - 2010

Radhadesh Château de petite somme, 1980 - 2010

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1980-2010

30 years The flowering of a spiritual oasis

a t Ra d h a d e s h in the Belgian Ardennes

I n t r o d u c t i o n On the thirtieth anniversary of Radhadesh, we would like to share the highlights from the history of this wonderful project and to appreciate the service contributed by so many devotees and friends. We hope our readers will forgive any shortcomings, and we pray for your blessings to nicely present this history of the Hare Krishna community in Château de Petite Somme. We are very grateful to be part of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON) and to make whatever humble contribution we can to help fulfil the visionary mission of His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, our incomparable spiritual preceptor.

By Kancana-valli Devi Dasi

T

he Krishna consciousness movement is part of an important and distinctive devotional faith, the Gaudiya Vaishnava tradition, which began in the sixteenth century, but which participates in a much older movement of devotion dating back to at least the third millenium B.C.

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In 1965 Prabhupada went to America with the purpose of sharing India’s confidential treasure of Krishna consciousness with the people of the world. After one year he founded ISKCON (popularly known as the Hare Krishna movement) in New York. By the time Radhadesh was bought in 1979, ISKCON had thousands of members and 126 centres worldwide.

Prabhupada successfully performed the difficult task of transplanting the tree of Krishna consciousness from the spiritually rich soils of India. Through Prabhupada’s determination, the good wishes of great spiritual preceptors, and the congregational chanting of Lord Krishna’s holy names this tree has miraculously taken root in many places around the world.

This transcendental gardening has created a unique opportunity for those born outside India to benefit from the ancient wisdom once hidden within the hearts of great sages.

Thereby, a spiritual renaissance has been inaugurated for the spiritual upliftment of everyone.

Since Prabhupada’s initial work in spreading Krishna consciousness, devotees all over the world, including those in the Benelux, have protected and nurtured this transcendental tree of devotion. Communities like Radhadesh are the consummation of Prabhupada’s mission to offer people

spiritual sanctuary from unrelenting materialism. The task has not been easy, but we are confident that firm roots have developed and this tree of devotion to Lord Krishna will thus continue to prosper for a long time to come.

The significan ce of Radhadesh One of the largest ISKCON centres in Europe, Radhadesh is a dynamic and vibrant project. Radhadesh has several purposes. It is: 1) A spiritual oasis and place of inspiration for its inhabitants, guests, and pilgrims.

2) A centre of education.

3) An attractive destination for thousands of visitors, with around 750,000 guests having visited in the past thirty years.

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Radhadesh Château de petite somme, 1980 - 2010

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It is also a very interesting place — because its residents are of many different nationalities it has a real international flavour. One of the great strengths of the community is its core group of devotees who have stayed through thick and thin to provide the vision and guidance to develop Radhadesh.

Highlights of 30 years

1980-2010

devotees there. That year Jagannatha Deities were carved

by Haribolananda Dasa and Tirtha Sadhaka Dasa in Amsterdam, and Prabhupada installed Them on the 26th July the following year (3). This form of Krishna and His divine siblings is very popular in Orissa — Prabhupada himself had worshipped similar deities in early childhood.

Because the centre was new, and none of the devotees were experienced, on the morning of the installation, preparations were still not complete. Many things needed finishing, including the altar, the clothes for the Deities, and flower garlands. Nevertheless, in the presence of Dutch television, Prabhupada firmly guided his inexperienced disciples to successful completion of this important installation ceremony.

Radhadesh started life as an extension of ISKCON’s Amsterdam centre (1). Therefore, in order to understand the origins of Radhadesh we need first to pay a call in Amsterdam.

In 1976 Deities of Gaura-Nitai were installed in Amsterdam. Gaura-Nitai are the divine brothers, Caitanya and Nityananda, who spread Krishna consciousness all over India in the early part of the sixteenth century. These Deities had been bought by Shyamasundar Dasa and Malati Devi Dasi in India.

Amsterdam was one of the first places where a Hare Krishna centre was opened in continental Europe. In 1970 Dhananjaya Dasa (2), who had been the president of the temple at Bury Place in London, came by himself to Amsterdam and started the Amsterdam centre. At that time the city attracted many young people, and the colourful Hare Krishna devotees became very popular there.

That same year, Radha-Krishna Deities, along with two gopi companions, were bought, also by Malati, in the historic Indian city of Jaipur. In 1977 these gorgeous Deities were installed in Amsterdam with the blessings of Prabhupada who gave Them the names “Radha-Gopinatha.” The installation ceremony was performed by Bhagavan Dasa, Jaya Tirtha Dasa, and Narottamananda Dasa (4).

The ISKCON temple in Amsterdam quickly became a vibrant centre. By 1971 there were twenty-five full-time

The purchase and installation of these three sets of Deities was a historic achievement for ISKCON in the Benelux.

The Amsterdam connection

In the beginning, the worship was naturally simple since devotees were inexperienced. However, over the years the standards of temple worship have developed to a high level, bringing to the Benelux the best of the tradition and spirit of ancient India.

In Gaudiya Vaishnavism deities are forms of God (Krishna) authorised in scripture and venerated in temples. ISKCON temples often have a Deity of the movement’s founderacarya, A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada.

Discovering Radhadesh Before Radhadesh was bought, Amsterdam was ISKCON’s main centre in the Benelux. However, as more people became interested in Krishna consciousness, and the membership expanded, it was decided that a bigger property was needed to accommodate the community’s growing needs.

This was a way to fulfil Prabhupada’s vision of creating Krishna conscious farms.

In order to find a convenient and suitable property for a farm community in the Benelux, devotees from Amsterdam searched all over the Netherlands and Flanders, but found nothing in their price range. Searching further afield in southern Belgium they found the Château de Petite Somme (5) nestled in the rolling hills of the picturesque Ardennes.

Vimukta Sanga Dasa and Matanga Dasa were part of the transcendental search party. It is said that when they came over the hill and saw the château, they immediately felt they had found the right place. Although others were also interested in the property, the owner sold it to ISKCON because he really liked ISKCON’s project.

“The name ‘Radhadesh’, ‘the land of Radha’, was given by Bhagavan Dasa. The landscape around here resembles Her home in Varsana.” — Nikunjavasini Devi Dasi The château and its seventeen surrounding hectares were acquired by ISKCON by the end of 1979. At that point the castle had been empty for several years — going towards derelict — so it was a great challenge to make the place fit for a Vaishnava Hindu temple. Early occupants described the place as being “a spooky haunted castle, full of dust, cobwebs, and many black crows.” (6) Jaya Gopal Dasa speaks of his first visit to the château: “When I first saw Radhadesh, I remember thinking, ‘This is very impressive. If this is going to be our new place, it’s going to be a big step forward and a lot of work. It’s going to be interesting to see how this will develop.’”

When the devotees moved in, there were also positive comments from the neighbours — they were happy that there were lights on again in the castle after several years of it lying vacant. It is a great credit to the enthusiasm and dedication of the devotees that the château is now such a bright and attractive place.

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Radhadesh Château de petite somme, 1980 - 2010

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Early in 1980 the Deities from Amsterdam, and many devotees who had been serving there, came to reside in Radhadesh. On the journey from Amsterdam, the Deities were held up at the border for quite a long time. They were being brought by Vimukta Sanga Dasa and finally made it to Petite Somme.

From the very beginning Radhadesh was a hive of activity with devotees renovating, cleaning, scrubbing, polishing, and repainting the château (7). There were several devotees involved in this, including Raja Vidya Dasa and Bhakta Seva Dasa. After the initial cleanup and official opening, a number of others came to help with the renovation work including Krsna Svarupa Dasa (a Dutch devotee who trained as an architect), Darius from Poland, an English carpenter called Peter, and Hrdaya Caitanya Dasa — Radhadesh’s longest standing temple president.

Hrdaya Caitanya says of his first few years in Radhadesh: “As pioneers we learned how to do many things we had not done before. As a result some things turned out better than others. We didn’t really have the tools we needed either, but had to do the best we could with what we had. They were very challenging times.” (8)

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In the past few years a useful move has been to give considerable autonomy to each of the temple’s departments, whilst they continue working together interdependently.

Construction and renovations Construction and renovation have been defining features of the project, particularly since Hrdaya Caitanya has a passion for improving the château’s facilities. His dedicated and tireless work has had a huge impact on the comfort and accessibility of the temple for visitors and residents alike, and has made the views around the property what they are today. Over the years many devotees have been involved in construction at Radhadesh, including Radha Ramana Dasa (as the head of the department) and Bhakta Marek with his outstanding team from Poland.

With funds from the Bhaktivedanta Book Trust (BBT), the publishing arm of ISKCON, the whole gatehouse building (10) was renovated in 1985. It was converted from a dilapidated storage into accommodation facilities. Originally the BBT was going to use the building. In the end, although they did have an office there for a short time with a “compositing” machine to make new books, the BBT staff ended up having their accommodation facilities elsewhere.

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Subsequently, the rest of the building was used as accommodation for married couples who were serving in the temple. To create more accommodation for families in the community, from 1985 to 1988 the temple bought and renovated several houses in the village of Petite Somme. These were sold to the occupants in 2001 to help raise funds to finance the building of the guesthouse.

Accommodation

Projects

Since no one had lived at the château for a number of years, the buildings needed extensive renovation work to make them habitable. This included providing bathrooms and converting the attic from one large room into several smaller ones.

A large complex venture like Radhadesh takes a great deal of organisation and cooperation, including the arranging of non-profit status (asbl / vzw) in 1980. The development of a management system for the smooth running of the community has evolved over the years, in large part directed by the vision of Hrdaya Caitanya Dasa and Mahaprabhu Dasa.

The renovation work of this large old building has often been quite challenging. One outstanding piece of work was the reconstruction of the château’s round tower in 1989, which featured some spectacular sights of workers high in the sky (9). Ekaya Dasa, a devotee from Antwerp, helped with this project.

Temple room, Deity rooms, and kitchens The first temple room was a temporary arrangement on the first floor of the château (11), in what is now room 1A. Between 1982 and 1983 a permanent temple room was created on the ground floor where the château’s old restaurant had been. At this time rooms for the Deities’ paraphernalia were created beneath the altar. This made it more convenient to organise the temple worship.

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Radhadesh Château de petite somme, 1980 - 2010

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Construction of the new temple room was a substantial undertaking. During the process, a structural wall was removed and large steel girders put in place. Happily, it worked well, with only a very slight shift in the château’s tower wall.

During this time the present main kitchen (which was the castle’s original kitchen) was also renovated (12).

When the temple room and adjoining rooms were finished the present marble altar was ordered, and was installed in 1984 (13). The new marble altar replaced a wooden one made in Radhadesh (14). The main donation for the new marble altar came from Rati-manjari Devi Dasi from Holland. Krsna Svarupa Dasa together with Matsya Avatar Dasa from Italy (15, right) designed the altar and the temple’s décor. During the construction of the marble altar the Deities stayed in the room directly below 1A.

Access road and new car par k

Deity department

Since Radhadesh is quite a popular local attraction, receiving thousands of visitors yearly, there have sometimes been some difficulties with neighbours, especially regarding the management of traffic. This reached a peak in 2004, when it became obvious that a solution was needed to protect the peaceful environment of Petite Somme, especially during the busy summer months. After some negotiations and various suggestions, it was decided to build an access road and large car park at the back of the property. Work on the road began in 2007, which was opened in 2008 (19).

The Deities (20), and Their care, is central to the life of the Radhadesh community. Initially the Deities from Amsterdam were worshiped on the first floor of the château. The marble altars from Amsterdam were brought and installed there.

(For more information about the other building projects please see below.)

Prema Siddhi Ananda Dasa describes what that first temple room was like: “For a new temple the room in the tower was

Although there is now a team of around fifteen altar priests (pujaris) helping in the Deity department, in the early 1980s there were only three or four people available for this service.

Nikunjavasini Devi Dasi commented on that time, “We never stopped!”

With a view to improving the facilities, it was decided in 2000 to build a new kitchen for the Deities (16) in what had previously been a storage room in the basement.

Before that the Deities’ kitchen had been in a room now used for accommodation just inside the entrance door to the basement level.

T ulasi Worshipping Tulasi is a very important part of Deity worship in the Vaishnava tradition. The first Tulasi plants were brought to Radhadesh in 1980 from Amsterdam. Tulasi was at first kept in one of the rooms on the first floor of the main building and later on in a small greenhouse next to the school’s playground (17). This was replaced in the mid 1990s by the present structure (18).

a bit small, with the greatest defect being devotees had to be careful not to dance too enthusiastically because the well sprung wooden floor made the altar bounce when the kirtans [congregational musical performances] became too lively!”

From 1982 to 1983 the community’s standards for Deity worship were amongst the highest in Europe due to the introduction by Sadya Sresta Dasa (21) of the standards given in the book The Process of Deity Worship. However, this was difficult to maintain with so few pujaris. It was also hard to find new people who could follow the same high standards.

In 1983 this problem was resolved when Bhagavan Dasa, ISKCON’s main manager for the Benelux at that time, decided to standardise the temple worship in his area so that all the centres were doing more or less the same thing. This standardisation meant pujaris could easily adjust if they moved from place to place, and much reduced the time needed to train new people. Whilst this standardisation meant that in Radhadesh things were simplified, it improved the standards in many smaller temples. With the publication of ISKCON’s book on Deity worship, Pancaratra Pradipa, in 1994 the standards at Radhadesh went up again to the high level they are today.

Amongst other things, a high standard of Deity worship for a public temple like Radhadesh means that food and arati ceremonies are offered to the Deities six times a day; all Deities are dressed twice a day, with fresh flower garlands for the daytime set; and a new set of outfits for all the Deities is made for six to ten festivals each year.

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Radhadesh Château de petite somme, 1980 - 2010

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Consequently, the Deities now have a substantial wardrobe consisting of over one hundred day outfits and sixty night outfits. With such a lot to do, Radhadesh has had the good fortune always to have very dedicated pujaris.

In 1987 a new small Krishna Deity was installed (22). This was because the previous black marble Deity (23) had been badly damaged whilst in Amsterdam. For the dedication of the altar, and installation of the Deity, a beautiful ceremony was arranged by Prema Rasa Dasa (a French devotee expert in the intricacies of Deity worship).

Over the years the appearance of the Deities (24) has changed considerably. With time the original paint gradually chipped and faded, creating a need to retouch it regularly.

Because the paintwork of deities fashioned from brass and wood is more susceptible to damage than marble is, the Jagannatha and Gaura Nitai Deities have been repainted

more regularly than Radha-Gopinatha have. Usually this involves retouching damage from daily wear and tear, but occasionally complete repainting as well. The last time the Jagannatha Deities were fully repainted was in 1992 — Lalita Devi Dasi from Poland did this service at that time.

The last time Gaura-Nitai were fully repainted was in 2007 by an experienced artist from Hungary, Nikunja Vasini Devi Dasi (not to be confused with Nikunjavasini from Holland who is married to Prema Siddhi Ananda Dasa).

There have been many devotees helping in the Deity department over the years. In 1984 Nikunjavasini (27), who had been serving the Deities since 1974, took over as head of the department. Then, from 1986 to 2007, Prema Siddhi Ananda Dasa took up the responsibility of head pujari, assisted by Nikunjavasini. Krsna Sakti Devi Dasi, originally from Poland, has been helping with Deity worship since 1999 and took up the role of head of the department in 2007.

“To the extent we can take care of Radha-Gopinatha and serve Them in all circumstances… the community will always be prosperous and we’ll always have what we require to maintain the project and expand.” — Jaya Gopal Dasa

The first time Radha-Gopinatha were completely repainted was in 1991. The repainting work was done by Yadurani Devi Dasi and Nikunjavasini Devi Dasi from Holland, and significantly changed Radha-Gopinatha’s appearance. In 1992 this work was beautifully retouched by Harsarani Devi Dasi (25), completing the job (26). Harsarani made the painting extremely delicate and used a very durable type of paint. Radha-Gopinatha have not changed significantly in appearance since that time.

The temple grounds Simple living (producing basic necessities like food) and high thinking (studying spiritual truths) are part of Prabhupada’s vision for helping society become more peaceful and happy.

For devotees brought up in modern cities these principles have not always been easy to realise practically. However, the principle remains, so devotees are still endeavouring to create some kind of simple agricultural base at Radhadesh.

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Stables In Vaishnava culture the protection of cows is considered a religious duty. Cows and bulls are traditional and environmentally sustainable sources of wealth since cows produce a valuable food in the form of milk, and bulls plough the

land for growing grains. Bulls are also used for other jobs requiring motive power including transportation and the grinding of grains into flour.

In 1980 Vimukta Sanga Dasa (Radhadesh’s then temple president) and Bhakta Seva Dasa (28, right) from Holland arranged for six Jersey cows to come to Radhadesh. These beautiful toffee-coloured cows, renowned for their creamy milk, were housed in the château’s stables. Then, in order to facilitate the growing numbers of visitors to Radhadesh, the stables (and grain/hay store) were converted into a boutique and cafeteria in 1988.

A new stable (29) was built for the cows away from the château on the route of the forest walk. At the same time a well was bored which still provides fresh drinking water for the whole community. Both of these projects were sponsored by Maitreya Rishi Dasa, a devotee from Holland.

In 2003 Radhadesh welcomed another small herd — this time of Swiss mountain cows, four cows and four bullocks — from a devotee-run farm in Dole, France. These cows were already quite advanced in age when they arrived, and sadly only two of them are still with us in 2010. Since July 2010 a cow and calf have come to Radhadesh (30) to create some in-house milk production. They are being taken care of by Surya Kunda Dasa, who also hopes to get bullocks and train them to till the land and take guests around the property.

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Radhadesh Château de petite somme, 1980 - 2010

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Gardens Between 1980 and 1981 Dharmavira Dasa (31), an enthusiastic gardener, laid out the present vegetable gardens in the château’s old walled garden. Up until 1984 when he left this service, the temple kitchens were overflowing with homegrown produce. In 1980 Krsna Svarupa Dasa organised the rose gardens and the front garden where, during the summer months, devotees grow flowers for the temple’s Deity program. There have been several different devotees working in the garden, including Pandu Vijaya Dasa since 1995, and Mukunda Datta Dasa, who was involved for several years from the early 1990s.

F orest walk In 1983 thirty-two hectares of land were bought, consisting mostly of woods where the forest walk is now. When Yamuna Devi Dasi, a very sweet devotee, left this world after being involved in a serious car accident, the land was named ‘Yamunadesh’ in her memory. The building of the path through the woods (32) was overseen by Bhakta Francois from Antwerp in 1995. The woods provide a very pleasant place for the castle’s residents and visitors to take a quiet stroll.

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sidered nectar from the lips of Lord Krishna and effectively immunizes one against the temptations of material life.

Prabhupada once popped a juicy gulab sweet into his mouth and exclaimed, “We are eating our way back to Godhead!”

Devotees love to hold festivals and serve feasts on all the holy-days in the Vaishnava calendar. That’s why the Hare Krishna movement has earned the delightful nickname “the kitchen religion.”

In this respect Radhadesh is a typical Hare Krishna temple with frequent and sumptuous feasts

(33).

For all this

activity a large and well-equipped kitchen, with plenty of

S h a r i n g Kr i s h n a consciousness Prabhupada described the writing and distribution of spiritual books as a “family tradition” for the Gaudiya Vaishnava lineage coming from Caitanya Mahaprabhu. Initially Prabhpada was writing, printing, and distributing Krishna conscious literature on his own. Then, with the inauguration of ISKCON, book production and distribution took off all over the world. This spirit of sharing Krishna consciousness has been a defining part of ISKCON for many years, and this spirit continued after Prabhupada’s departure from this world in 1977.

enthusiastic cooks, is needed. In 1982, when the castle’s kitchen, the present main kitchen, was renovated, devotees had better facilities for catering for large groups of people. ­­­ Literally hundreds of people, both cooks and assistants, have helped in the kitchen service over the years. One of the first main cooks in the early 1980s was Dharmavira Dasa. Other notable chefs were Aharadha Devi Dasi (34) from Holland, Jaya Bhadra Devi Dasi from Canada, and Subhadra Devi Dasi from Poland. All these ladies were famous for their

Kitchen

hearty healthy cooking and world-class feasts. Subhadra

Prabhupada described the wonders of prasadam — food prepared with devotion and offered to Krishna — is con-

(35, left),

from 1995 to 2000, was the first person to hold the

Bhaktivedanta Book Trust (BBT) Since Prabhupada’s books were originally in English, there has been a pressing need to have them translated into local languages. This is an ongoing project that started with the publication of the first Dutch books in 1973 and 1974.

The first French translations of Prabhupada’s books were done in France in the early 1970s, with copies sold in the French part of Belgium.

Over a million copies of Dutch books and thousands of French books have been distributed in the Benelux.

In-house Since Radhadesh is such a big project regular publicity is needed for its various festivals and programs. Yadurani Devi Das, has been the mainstay of publishing since 1992, with her speciality being layout and design. As well as many small publications like flyers, brochures, and advertisements, Radhadesh has produced: a regular newsletter since 1996, a website created in 2003, the Janmastami Magazine since 2005, BBT books (37), and an art catalogue in 2010.

Devotees from Radhadesh have also helped organise and produce the Benelux’s bi-monthly magazine, Krishna Bhakti (started in 1983 by Jaya Gopal Dasa, though originally called Krishna Bulletin).

Through the years, many devotees helped with translating, editing, and the production of Prabhupada’s books in Dutch, including: Hayesvara Dasa (the main translator), Gangadhara Dasa (one of the main editors), Aharada Devi Dasi, Guru Bhakta Devi Dasi, and Rupa Sanatana Dasa (36) (who lives in Radhadesh and has headed up the Dutch BBT department since 1998).

position of “head cook.”

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Radhadesh Château de petite somme, 1980 - 2010

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Book distribution Since devotees had been doing sankirtan (organised book distribution) in the Benelux for several years, it was natural to continue with this when Radhadesh was bought.

Since the château is situated in a quiet part of Belgium, devotees would usually travel to distribute books, and visit Radhadesh for breaks or festivals.

During this time there were many young enthusiastic devotees in the Benelux who were masters at sankirtan, and who were fun, creative, and extremely committed. The sankirtan leaders then were Jaya Gopal Dasa (38, left) (Radhadesh’s third temple president), Mahavidya Dasa (from Italy), and Mrgapati Dasa (from the UK).

“Sometimes the temples and travelling vans were so full that devotees even slept on the books, only getting more space as the books were distributed!” — Ramananda Raya Dasa In the early 1990s, to help the local devotees distribute large books, Suhotra Swami arranged for Navina Nirada Dasa and Harinamananda Dasa from Switzerland to come to Radhadesh. These two devotees were famous in ISKCON for selling huge numbers of books. Their training and encouragement were a great boost to those who were performing this service in the Benelux at that time. Devotees who benefited from their input included Ekacakragrama Dasa (39) from Holland, who took up the service of sankirtan leader, a role he continued for several years. He was a very enthusiastic and charismatic devotee who was skilled at helping others learn the art of distributing Prabhupada’s books.

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The most recent travelling sankirtan party from Radhadesh (40) was led by Hamsa Avatara Dasa, who later became temple president at the Amsterdam temple. The party split up in 2006 after several years of distinguished service while travelling around the Benelux.

source of income. A core group of devotees from Antwerp, Brussels, and Radhadesh helped bridge the gap between 1986 and 1989. They were very dedicated to their service and helped the community survive during a difficult period in its history.

Paying fo r Radhadesh

B haktivedanta Libra r y Servi ces

An activity closely associated with sankirtan, and often done alongside it, was the sale of records, paintings, statues, and carpets (41) to help raise funds for the acquisition and maintenance of Benelux projects, including Radhadesh. At the peak there were twenty-five devotees going out regularly, travelling all over the Benelux (42).

In 1995 Visnu Murti Dasa (44, middle) came to Radhadesh and started the Bhaktivedanta Library Services (BLS) across the road from the château. Although not directly part of Radhadesh, BLS provides an important facility for community residents and guests to purchase a wide range of Vaishnava literature, especially the works of Prabhupada.

BLS provided vital support to the development and management of Bhaktivedanta College from 2000 to 2006. (See page 22 for more information about the College.) In 2008 BLS launched Vanipedia — envisioned as an online encyclopaedia of Prabhupada’s teachings. The following year BLS built an extension to create more space for offices and living facilities.

Purna Tattva Dasa (43, right), a devotee from Holland, describes what it was like during this period: “It was a very adventurous time — real pioneering days. There was a great sense of freedom — travelling all over the country, meeting so many new people. It was both an empowering and satisfying experience — we felt we were contributing to establishing Krishna consciousness in the Benelux.”

Since devotees were travelling so much, even though there were not that many of them, this gave the impression that there were thousands of “Hare Krishnas” all over the country. Sometimes a person would meet the devotees in Hasselt, then the same person would meet the devotees the next day in Antwerp and would think, “You guys are everywhere!”

After 1986 there was a dip both in sankirtan and paraphernalia sales. As a result, for several years the financial situation became quite strained until tourism became a stable

the project by writing to them and asking if they would be interested in getting Prabhupada’s books for their libraries.

Thirty-four prisons took up her offer, and she was able to arrange for a good selection of books in different languages.

In 2005 she did the same in Belgium, where fourteen prisons in the Flemish part also received sets of books. Over the years she has also been corresponding with various prisoners, trying to help them develop a spiritual perspective on their lives and visiting them whenever possible.

Wanting to increase the sharing of Prabhupada’s wonderful books, Rupa Manjari then started Sastra Dana in Radhadesh in 2008 (46). This is a program for giving out Prabhupada’s books in an easier way because the books are paid for in advance. This is going very well, and so far, more than 26,000 books have been distributed.

Pr ison ministr y and Sastr a Dana In 2004 Rupa Manjari Devi Dasi (45) was inspired to do something for the prisoners in the Benelux’s prisons. She started an outreach program in Holland with the hope that she might later be able to extend it to Belgium. She received a substantial donation to start the work, seeing this as a sign from Krishna that she was going in the right direction. After collecting all the addresses of the prisons in Holland, she began the first part of

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Radhadesh Château de petite somme, 1980 - 2010

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Tour program Radhadesh is very close to Durbuy, a popular tourist destination in a beautiful corner of the Belgian Ardennes.

Therefore, people have always been visiting the château (47), but in the beginning it was an informal affair. Local tourists from the nearby bungalow park would arrive at the castle as part of a walk in the local area and, being curious, would ask to be shown around. Being naturally hospitable, devotees would invite them in, show them round, explain Krishna consciousness and give them something to eat. News of this pleasant excursion got about at the park and it soon became a common occurrence to have visitors from Holland showing up at the castle.

It was Jaya Gopal Dasa who had the idea to turn this into an official program, just like in Durbuy where visitors pay to enter a castle and learn about the place. He felt here in Radhadesh they could have the best of two worlds with both a historic and spiritual experience. Thus the tour program was born.

Devotees made a schedule for visiting hours (morning and afternoon), decided on an entry fee, and arranged for devotees such as Vasuttama Dasa (48) to receive the guests.

Devotees were surprised how quickly news of the program spread with numbers of visitors steadily increasing. Thus a significant source of income developed that became crucial to Radhadesh’s survival from 1986 onwards.

In 1984 Ramananda Raya Dasa (49) took over the tour program’s management. He had a talent for arranging for

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tour companies to bring bus loads of people to Radhadesh.

The first breakthrough came when Ramananda Raya and Hrdaya Caitanya began meeting with bus companies in the Flemish part of Belgium. During that time they met a Flemish businesswoman, Mrs. Coenen, who owned a sales company called Pinocchio. After a morning sales meeting, she would take her customers and colleagues on a trip.

After some negotiations, Mrs. Coenen agreed to bring her clients to visit Radhadesh — this was a significant development as it meant she would bring buses every week. In total the numbers of visitors just from her company was over 17,000. On one memorable occasion, Pinocchio visited with seventeen buses — that’s nearly 850 people who were shown around the château on one very busy summer afternoon!

One condition was that Hrdaya Caitanya Dasa would build a museum for the visitors. This Krishna Vision Museum (50), with beautiful dioramas was made in the gatehouse building, with Raktambara Dasa from Belgium making the electrical systems.

Since many Dutch and Flemish people spend their holidays in the beautiful Ourthe-valley near Radhadesh, especially Durbuy, bus companies were always looking for new places to go. Attracted by a free tour for group leaders many buses came to Radhadesh (51) from several different companies.

In the peak years from 1988 the château could receive up to forty thousand visitors during the year.

In order to highlight the beauty of the château’s rooms, especially the ornate ceilings, many of them were repainted by Lalita Devi Dasi and Nandi Rupika Devi Dasi from Poland in the early 1990s. At that time gold leaf was applied to the

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decorative plasterwork in the ground floor rooms (52). In 1996 two rooms on the first floor, which had previously been used as offices, were converted into the Prabhupada museum and the book room respectively. This created more facilities for visitors.

The success of the tour program (53) was one of the pioneer projects at Radhadesh, and has been replicated by other ISKCON temples, including New Vraja Dhama in Hungary.

“The most positive aspect [of Radhadesh] is tourism. If you can get people to come to you, it’s a great achievement.” — Bhagavan Dasa

Facilities The substantial numbers of visitors inspired the management to upgrade the castle’s amenities to make visits more interesting for guests. The three main facilities for the visitors that have continued through the years are the cafeteria, bakery, and boutique (54).

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an eight page shopping list that Mahaprabhu went to India to buy, and which he then arranged to ship back.” Although previously it had only a small selection of items, from 1991 the boutique has had the range of items still available today, including crafts, devotional items, clothes, and cosmetics.

When Ashoka moved over to help run the community’s school in 1990 Mahaprabhu took up running the boutique.

He has been instrumental in building it up as a solid wellrun concern and only passed on the boutique’s organisation in 2008.

Since 1983 Radhadesh has had some kind of café. Tables and chairs were set up outside, especially on sunny days in the summer (55). However, the first substantial café (from 1988) was a glass and steel-framed structure in front of the boutique. The café operated out of one of the boutique’s small rooms. There was also a restaurant above the boutique (56) started by Bhadranga Dasa, a devotee from Italy, that opened in 1989. In 2001 the present restaurant (57) was built.

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Festivals

Nadia Bihari Dasa and his wife Syamalika Devi Dasi started the bakery as a family business in June 1989 (58). When the boutique building was extended between 2000 and 2002 the bakery’s ovens were moved into the entrance of the château. Nadia Bihari is very keen on prasadam distribution saying, “Our main hope when we started the bakery was to make sure that every visitor to Radhadesh had the opportunity to have some Krishna prasadam [food offered to Krishna].”

Temple festivals The Hindu tradition has many festivals in its calendar, and the festive year for ISKCON is no exception to this rule.

Both the main fast and festival days, as well as the commemorative days, number in the dozens. Mostly festivals are on traditional holy-days like Janmastami (60), Lord Krishna’s appearance day. However, for many years Radhadesh has also held festivals on other special occasions. These “extras” include the summer festival (61), which was started in 1983

by Jaya Gopal Dasa, and which attracts up to 2300 people.

Originally a one-day spiritual summer fete, the Summer festival is now a two day event. There are also the festivities held at the completion of the Prabhupada book distribution marathon in December.

Boutique The boutique was started in 1989 by a married couple, Jagannatha Tirtha Dasa and Lokamangalam Devi Dasi.

Originally it was envisioned that the boutique would be run by couples as a way of supporting their families. However, when Jagannatha Tirtha left, it became a department of the temple. The boutique really took off as a substantial concern (59) in 1990 when Ashoka Devi Dasi, originally from Holland and later married to Mahaprabhu Dasa, made the first large order to be bought in India. She said, “I made

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including Indradyumna Swami and B.B. Govinda Swami (then Ayodhyapati Dasa). With so much youthful devotional enthusiasm in one place, the congregational kirtans (63) would often flood out of the temple room, with the lead singers taking the devotees all over the castle and gardens.

(62)

B.B. Govinda Swami, as a king amongst cooks, would organise incredible feasts that left the devotees extremely satisfied. These feasts developed something of a reputation for excellence and fun. There were even gulab catching contests where devotees saw how many of these sweet juicy confections they could catch — part of the rules included the contestants having to eat all the ones they caught. At this time devotees from Radhadesh would attend festivals in other parts of Europe, and many devotees would also come from Italy, Spain, France, and the UK to attend festivals at Radhadesh.

In the 1980s Radhadesh organised Christmas dinners for devotee’s parents. For many years, almost a hundred parents and close friends came for this dinner. There were sumptuous prasadam feasts, a quiz with prizes, and lively melodious kirtans. The parents stayed overnight in the château and nearby hotels. It was a very stylish event in a pleasant spiritual atmosphere (64).

In the mid 1980s there were numerous large festivals held at Radhadesh. Many well-known devotees visited then,

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Devotees also like to celebrate jubilee years, two big ones being the 100th anniversary of Prabhupada’s appearance in 1996 and Radha-Gopinatha’s 25th Jubilee in 2003. As part of the celebrations in 1996, a new vyasasana seat was built for the Deity of Prabhupada (65), a new cart was built for the Ratha Yatra festivals, and the Prabhupada museum (66) was opened on the first floor of the castle. In 2003 for the 25th jubilee there was a big reunion festival organised (67) on Janmastami, with many senior devotees coming and sharing their stories of the early days.

S treet festivals Street festivals are very popular in India. Upholding this grand old tradition, devotees regularly go to local towns and cities and hold small festivals known as harinams. These musical street processions are lively colourful occasions (68).

Especially in the early 1980s Westerners were unfamiliar with Indian traditions such as harinam. As a result Radhadesh’s first large harinam in Liege caused a bit of a stir. In 1981 Mahavidya Swami (from Italy) and Kadamba Kanana Swami (69, second left) (from Holland) were leading a colourful harinam through the centre of Liege with dozens of devotees when they were stopped by the local police and taken to the police station. After examining their papers and asking questions for over two hours, the police realised the devotees were simply holding a traditional Indian street festival. The officers happily let them go and since that time the harinams have gone on more or less unimpeded.

Another street festival very dear to Prabhupada was Ratha Yatra, a festival originally started in Orissa, where Deities of

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curriculum, which Tamal Vriksa was able to implement because of his previous experience as a teacher. During this period the school started teaching a correspondence course from America supplied by an organisation called Oak Meadows.

Jagannatha, Baladeva, and Subhadra are taken through the streets in big carts, followed by crowds of devotees singing and dancing. Devotees from Radhadesh have been helping to organise Ratha Yatra festivals in the Benelux since 1983, with the first one in Brussels. At that festival the Deities were carried on a palanquin (70) — the traditional cart was to come later. This has expanded over the years and now the Jagannatha Deities from Radhadesh take part every year in up to four Ratha Yatras in main cities in the Benelux.

One of the great strengths of the school was the united mood of everyone involved. Both parents and teachers had a clear idea of how they wanted the school to be, and this created a strong base to make it a secure, loving, Krishna conscious learning environment. Their established purpose was to give the children a good general education, whilst also teaching them the basics of ISKCON’s Vaishnava tradition.

Education Education is an important part of the ethos of the Radhadesh community, with many different courses and conventions held here over the years.

Community s chool (gu rukula)

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“In 1992 we acquired a new member of the school — Bhima the bunny. He was a great favourite with the kids, especially because of his incredibly friendly and trusting nature. He was a very social animal. The parents were also happy with Bhima, because with a pet at the school the children stopped asking for pets at home.”

— Ashoka Devi Dasi

Around 1988 Jyotir mayi Devi Dasi started a primary and nursery school for Radhadesh’s children (71). One of the château’s out-buildings was renovated to house the community’s nursery and school, with a playground constructed next to it. Later Nadia Bihari Dasa, Radhadesh’s resident baker, helped organise the completion of the construction work. In 2005 another playground was created next to the restaurant and guesthouse.

In 1989 Ashoka Devi Dasi (72) took over the school, which she ran almost single-handedly until 1995. Many devotees helped over the years, including Tamal Vriksa Dasa (73) who came to Radhadesh in 1995. Since the children were older by this time, they needed to follow a certified school

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In 2000 the primary school closed when it was decided to send the children to local government schools to improve their French. The nursery continued for another year, but subsequently closed in 2001 when Ashoka became pregnant.

Nandimukhi (74), former student at Radhadesh’s school writes: “I’m really glad I was able to attend the Radhadesh gurukula until my eleventh year. To be honest, I wish it had lasted longer! I have great memories of the classes, the trips out, and the teachers. We did so many things together. Even now memories from the gurukula are still very fresh and bring a smile to my face whenever I think of them. I don’t think I realised at the time how special our school was. I loved our classrooms with our own desks and swivelling chairs. I loved the crafts we did, the times we would help Ashoka mataji cook lunch if we finished on time. We were able to integrate devotional activities into our academic studies, and it gave us a good foundation for the rest of our lives. The friendships started then are the best I have today, it created a close bond between us.”

The creation of the ISKCON Convention The ISKCON Communications Seminars started in 1989 under the leadership of Shaunaka Rishi Dasa. This threeday gathering brought new and challenging ideas to the hundreds of devotees who attended, including presentations contributed by non-ISKCON members featuring in a devotee-organised program for the first time.

The same year, Braja Bihari Dasa started VIHE (Vrindavan Institute of Higher Education) seminars in Radhadesh.

tor and administrator in 2004, and since then has been a key member of the team.

These were courses on Vaishnava scriptures and practical skills such as public speaking, management, and cooking.

This week-long program was on similar lines to the VIHE seminars held in Vrindavan, India.

The college offers a Bachelor’s Degree in Theology accredited by the University of Wales, Lampeter. Since summer 2010 seventy students, from thirty countries, have followed some part of the three-year program. Twenty-two students have completed the full course and received their degrees. In addition more than a thousand visiting devotees have participated in various courses. Graduates from the college have taken up services within ISKCON as temple presidents, preachers, and educators. Several graduates have continued their studies to master’s level and serve as teachers in ISKCON and other academic institutions.

In 1992, Shaunaka Rishi and Braja Bihari (75) decided to team up, combine programs, and call it the ISKCON Radhadesh Convention (76). The convention continued until 2003, bringing together some of ISKCON’s greatest thinkers and presenters. Its considerable success has been copied both in North America (at the Festival of Inspiration) and in Europe (at numerous summer camps). As well as being an educational experience in itself, the convention also created a nurturing environment for the start of new ISKCON educational projects. For example, the idea for the Vaishnava Training and Education (VTE) started at the convention, as did Bhaktivedanta College.

Outreach Part of Radhadesh’s importance in the Benelux is as a base and support for other projects. These have been various throughout the years and have included preaching centres, nama hattas (home programs), and restaurants. Most have been in Belgian cities, with some in the Netherlands and Luxembourg as well. There were restaurants in Antwerp, Brussels, and Liege (81), preaching centres in Antwerp (82) and Brussels (83), and home programmes in Luxembourg city (84), Gent, and Brugge. There has been an interdependent relationship between Radhadesh and these various ventures, with support going both ways depending on circumstances.

In 2009 the college opened its own first building, which serves as offices and library. Its first accommodation building was finished in 2010 (80). There is a plan for a full campus at Radhadesh with two additional buildings and recreational facilities.

Bhaktivedanta College In 1995, devotees from VTE and the European Commu­ nications Leadership Team began to discuss the creation of a ministerial program to train devotees in teaching, preaching, and leadership. As a result a team was formed to create the structure, curriculum, and facilities of Bhaktivedanta College, which opened at Radhadesh in September 2002 (77).

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The college also plans to offer other degrees, including a degree in education and theology from 2011, and a degree in business administration from 2012. There are also plans to open a branch in Mayapur, India.

Kumari Dasi Sherreitt, a first year student from Hawaii writes: “Coming to the college has made this year the best of my life! At the college I have finally found a proactive learning environment that allows me to give a place to my connection to Lord Krishna. I couldn’t be happier with my decision to come!”

Key people in developing this important project included Shaunaka Rishi Dasa (inspiration and vision), Anuradha Devi Dasi and Sitarama Dasa (syllabus), Yadunandana Swami (principal) (78, left), and Visnu Murti Dasa (administrator). Jaya Krsna Dasa (79) took over the service of direc-

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Food for Life ISKCON started Food for Life (FFL) in 1974 when Prabhupada instructed his followers that no one within a tenmile radius of any Hare Krishna temple should go hungry.

Since then the Food for Life program has served more than 650 million vegetarian meals to disadvantaged people worldwide. Starting in 1998, Radhadesh has organised a weekly food distribution program in Liege (85), providing hot meals for senior citizens, the homeless, students, and street artists.

Since then more than 100,000 hot meals have been served.

Bhakta Rick, a mainstay in Radhadesh since 1995, has run the FFL program as one of his many services.

Guesthouse With its growing popularity there has been an increasing need for more accommodation at Radhadesh. Previously when many people came to visit during festival time, especially in the summer, resident devotees would move out of the rooms in the castle and camp outside so guests would have somewhere comfortable to stay.

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rooms, laundry rooms, a large dormitory and bathroom, a workshop, heating room, and several large storage rooms.

As well as providing accommodation for resident devotees, the guesthouse can accommodate up to ninety guests during popular seminars. This, combined with the other accommodation available, means the community can comfortably host up to a hundred and fifty overnight guests.

As well as offering pleasant accommodation at affordable prices the guesthouse is an excellent base for courses, retreats, or a quiet weekend away.

Since the guesthouse also includes a large conference room, Radhadesh has been able to host a variety of large gatherings, including the youth festival (Kulimela) in 2008, and meditation retreats with well-known speakers such as Sacinandana Swami in 2009 and 2010. The guesthouse has also hosted Tai chi and hatha yoga groups.

The first full-time manager of the guesthouse was Rasa Parayana Dasa (87) who took care of this service from 2002 to 2008.

To help solve this problem, it was decided to create more facilities by building a guesthouse. The work on the guesthouse included extending the boutique, and building a new restaurant and conference room.

Bhagavati Devi Dasi, the guesthouse’s present manager, says: “The thing I enjoy most about running the guesthouse is the large variety of guests we get: from ISKCON gurus to backpackers, from Nepalese ambassadors to American rock musicians.”

Opened in 2002 after three years of construction (86), the guesthouse is the biggest development in Radhadesh in the last ten years. The guesthouse itself is a very substantial building with seven floors, eleven apartments, sixteen guest-

Communications As has already been mentioned, Radhadesh belongs to

ISKCON, the lineage of which goes back hundreds, if not thousands, of years. However, because Westerners are not familiar with the tradition, it is still often seen as a new religious movement and treated as such.

The roles of devotees assigned to communications include developing relationships and liaising with prominent members of the wider community (e.g. educators, religious leaders, and politicians). Such interactions act as a barometer by which devotees can tell if they are going in the right direction, or whether some adjustments are needed. Since communications work is about building relationships it involves regular meetings (88) with individuals and organisations.

have attended. The most regular of these has been the yearly reception at the Janmastami celebrations (90). Radhadesh has been especially honoured to host many ambassadors including those from India, Mauritius, Nepal, and South Africa.

Recent visitors include Philippe Courard (91) (a minister in the federal government), Cecile Thibaut (a senator from the Ecolo party), His Excellency Dr J. Bhagavati (the Indian Ambassador to Belgium), and His Excellency Anil Sooklal (92) (the South African ambassador to Belgium).

However, because of some misunderstandings and mistakes, certain goals have been more difficult to achieve, such as getting Hinduism recognised as an official religion in Belgium. Some progress has been made in cultivating relationships, including with neighbours and local politicians. Still there is a lot of work to be done in order to help facilitate mutual understanding and appreciation.

Up until the late 1980s Hrdaya Caitanya Dasa played an important role in dealing with the main communications issues. Since then Mahaprabhu Dasa has been the main person doing communications, with the assistance of Tarunyamrita Devi Dasi (89) from Antwerp.

As well as going out to meet people, devotees at Radhadesh have hosted many events that academics, politicians, and religious leaders

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Well-known academics who have visited are Professor Callewaert (an expert in Hinduism at the Katholieke Universiteit Leuven), Dr. Koenraad Elst (scholar of Indian history, politics, and Hindu Nationalism), and Professor Jacques Scheuen (expert in Hinduism at Université catholique de Louvain). Radhadesh has also hosted to Muslim, Christian, and Buddhist leaders from around the Benelux.

Since the Hare Krishna lifestyle is both colourful and unusual, it has attracted the attention of the media over the years.

There have been many articles in newspapers and magazines about Radhadesh, especially in Flanders. More recently, positive articles have appeared in Belgium’s two main French newspapers. There have also been several TV programs about Radhadesh, the most well-known being the program In Godsnaam shown at the beginning of 2010, in which Annemie Struyf (93) came to stay at Radhadesh for a week.

In the mid 1990s Mahaprabhu helped organise discussions between the leaders of Belgium’s Hindu community about their forming a collective body that could represent the interests of all Hindus in Belgium. Radhadesh helped host many of their meetings. The result came in 2007 with the launching of the Hindu Forum of Belgium (94). The members of the Hindu Forum of Belgium are working towards getting official recognition for Hinduism as a religion.

When the Belgian Council of Religious Leaders (BCRL) was launched in 2009, Hrdaya Caitanya and Mahaprabhu were asked by the Hindu Forum of Belgium to act as its representatives. The ceremony for the BCRL’s launch was held at the Belgian Parliament, and devotees from Radhadesh catered for the event (95) because they could deal with all the di-

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etary needs of the various members (Buddhists, Christians, Hindus, Jains, Jews, and Muslims).

Over the years there has been more contact between the managers at Radhadesh and several well-established monasteries and religious communities in the area. Devotees have been on visits and retreats to these religious centres, and members of these religious communities have also visited Radhadesh.

Another important interfaith activity has been the yearly day-trip organised by Mahaprabhu for students from Bhaktivedanta College to visit monasteries, synagogues, temples, mosques, and churches all over Belgium (96).

Amongst other places, they have visited the Buddhist monastery at Huy and the Benedictine monastery at Maredsous.

In 2009 the executive board of the United Religions Initiative (URI)(97) for Europe held a two day meeting at Radhadesh.

The purpose of URI is “to promote enduring, daily interfaith cooperation, to end religiously motivated violence and to create cultures of peace, justice and healing for the Earth and all living beings.”

devotees spending some time as fulltime temple residents and then getting married and moving out to start their own families continues to the present day (98).

Over the years, with many people becoming interested in Krishna consciousness who would never live fulltime in a temple, the need developed for a broader approach to take care of a growing congregation. This included a greater awareness of the needs of the wider Hindu community.

Although the resident population of Radhadesh has never been more than around a hundred and twenty individuals, Radhadesh’s congregation has grown into the thousands.

For many years the care of the congregation was looked after on an informal basis by various devotees including Jnanaraja Dasa, Jaya Gopal Dasa, Hrdaya Caitanya Dasa, and Bhakta Rick. In 2004 the Radhadesh Congregational Preaching Department was formed when Stoka Krsna Dasa (99) formally took up the service of congregational development.

In 2007 Mahaprabhu began research into which pieces and genres were needed to create a representative collection of living Indian artistic traditions. By the summer of 2009, after several trips to India, he had amassed a substantial collection, and a gallery was opened above the bakery and boutique.

Mahaprabhu describes the experience of creating the museum: “Meeting artists and finding good representative pieces has been both challenging and rewarding… Visiting their simple studios and witnessing their humility has served as a great inspiration to me in creating this project of presenting Indian devotional art to the West.”

Although the museum opened for visitors in 2009, the official opening was in June 2010 (101). In the introduction for the museum’s catalogue His Excellency Dr. J. Bhagwati (102, right) said, “I am very happy to see that Radhadesh has established a collection at the Museum of Sacred Art to facilitate a glimpse into this sacred art influenced by Hinduism.”

M u s e u m o f S a cr e d Ar t Congregational development In the beginning, the Radhadesh community was mainly made up of young single people living a simple monastic lifestyle. Then, from 1985, the focus started shifting to a congregational-based model, with many of those who had lived in the temple getting married, starting their own families, and living outside the temple environment. In this sense, the development of Radhadesh has followed a pattern similar to the majority of ISKCON’s centres. This trend of

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The creation by Mahaprabhu Dasa (100, center) of the Museum of Sacred Art was inspired by the many original art pieces already on display in the château. The idea of the museum was to create a dedicated space where visitors could learn about the cultural roots of Vaishnava art and its connection with the broader world of Hinduism. Through the museum Radhadesh hopes to offer visitors a glimpse of spirituality and culture, and an introduction to the rich spiritual art traditions of India.

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Heating system In 2009 a new heating system that runs on wood was installed at Radhadesh (103). The new arrangement is both cheaper and more environmentally friendly than the previous oil-fired one, with the potential of becoming carbon neutral. Radhadesh’s woods have the capacity to provide almost thirty percent of the fuel needs for this new heating system. The boiler is located in the basement of the guesthouse, heating water for several buildings on the property, including the château itself. The final phase of the work is the construction of a holding chamber for wood chips that will automatically feed the boiler.

Defining figures at Radhadesh None of the previously mentioned projects could have been successful without the enthusiastic work of many many devotees and friends. In this section we would like to mention some of the main people who were important in the development of Radhadesh, especially in the early years. We are painfully aware that we will not be able to include everyone we would like to here. Hundreds of people have volunteered their time, love, and hard work to this project. Their acts of loving sacrifice are so numerous they are impossible to catalogue in this brief article.

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GBC, he was instrumental in the purchase of several temples in Europe. After he bought New Mayapura, a château near Paris, Prabhupada asked him to purchase other similar properties for ISKCON in Europe. As a result properties were bought in Belgium, Italy, Paris, and Spain. During his time as GBC, Bhagavan did not visit Radhadesh very frequently. Generally he came only a couple of times a year because the project was always very well managed and did not require much of his personal attention.

“Devotees here are a good combination of German pragmatism, Dutch compassion, and French flair. I think you see today at Radhadesh that [this combination] has been so effective.” — Bhagavan Dasa Devotees describe Bhagavan as having a grand vision for ISKCON in the Benelux. It was considered a great loss when he left the community in 1986 due to personal difficulties.

Vimukta Sanga Dasa When Radhadesh was bought, Vimukta Sanga Dasa (105), who had previously been the temple president of the Amsterdam centre, became the temple president at Radhadesh. He was very good at financial management — raising money for the development of the project with various ventures — selling jewellery and opening a restaurant during his year at Radhadesh.

Bhagavan Dasa From 1975 to 1986, Bhagavan Dasa (104) acted as the Governing Body Commissioner (GBC) (the main manager in ISKCON) for the Benelux. As a member of ISKCON’s

Jaya G opal Dasa and Aharadha Devi Dasi From 1981 to 1986 Jaya Gopal Dasa (106) was the temple president at Radhadesh. Devotees remember him as be-

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ing very organised, fair, and responsible with money. He was always encouraging devotees to go on sankirtan (book distribution), including those helping in the Deity department. He also involved sankirtan devotees in Deity worship.

He was an alert manager, loved kirtan, and created a good spirit for sharing Krishna consciousness. He would also care very personally for the devotees — a real fatherly type. Jaya Gopal was a great visionary and began many projects in Radhadesh, the only difficulty being that after starting something he would then have to find and train someone to take responsibility for running it. His wife, Aharadha Devi Dasi (107), supported him very well during this period. She was a great organiser, and very good at sankirtan. She also edited Prabhupada’s books in Dutch. She was a good preacher and a fabulous cook, making wonderful feasts every Sunday.

wanting to be in an authoritarian position, rather preferring to work by consensus and other democratic processes.

Vinode Manjari Devi Dasi (109), his wife, is a very faithful companion and has always supported him in managing and running the temple. As well as Deity worship, she was very much involved in collecting funds for Radhadesh.

“Hrdaya Caitanya used to say that in managing Radhadesh he felt like the little boy who had to plug a hole in a dyke with his finger. The problem was more holes kept appearing, and so after a while he’d run out of fingers, toes, and knees until finally there was only his head left.” — Prema Siddhi Ananda Dasa

Hr daya Caitanya Dasa and V inode Manjar i Devi Dasi One of the great strengths of Radhadesh is the staunch presence of its longest standing temple president, Hrdaya Caitanya Dasa (108). He has been at Radhadesh since it was officially opened in 1980 and has been the temple president since 1986. In the beginning he worked in the maintenance and construction department in the temple. Later he became the temple commander and vice-president. He is known for being quiet, steady, kind, determined, hard working, and very responsible. Since, when he joined, he was a little older than some of the other devotees, he had more experience in the world and naturally took on positions of management and responsibility. He is a good organiser and attentive to details. He has always been cautious in management, not

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Nikunjavasini D evi Dasi and

Suhot ra Swami and M adhu Sevita Dasa

Prema Siddhi A nanda Dasa

Suhotra Swami (113) and Madhu Sevita Dasa (114) were joint GBCs for Radhadesh from 1992 to 2001 (with Madhu Sevita continuing in the role till the present day). Their roles were somewhat different, but also complementary. Suhotra Swami was a very enthusiastic and energetic preacher, but did not get so much involved in management issues. He was a wonderful kirtaneer and a great inspiration in his classes.

Under his guidance book distribution was organised on a more professional basis.

Nikunjavasini Devi Dasi (110), who was the head pujari for the Deities in Amsterdam, came with Them when They moved to Radhadesh and has served Them ever since. She preceded her husband, Prema Siddhi Ananda Dasa (111), at Radhadesh as the head of the department. Together they were the mainstays of the Deity department for many years. Nikunjavasini has been involved in all levels of the Deity department including organising and making the outfits. Prema Siddhi Ananda came to Radhadesh in 1980 at which time he went out on book distribution. In 1986, at the request of Nikunjavasini he took up the service of head of the Deity department and remained in the position until 2007. With his boundless energy he was also able to perform other challenging services and so took up responsibilities such as vice-president, sankirtan and bhakta leader, and temple cook.

Bhakti Charu Swami From 1987 to 1990 Bhakti Charu Swami (112) was the GBC for the Benelux. He was a very gentle presence, but also very serious about Vaishnava etiquette — nice dealings between devotees. He would inspire all the devotees to fast on Ekadasi days and follow other details. He spoke a lot about Prabhupada — that devotees should take shelter of Prabhupada as their spiritual grandfather. He emphasised the need for humble dealings amongst devotees, that we are all members of Prabhupada’s family and as such we should take care of one another.

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ing the boutique from 1990 to 2009. He is also the founder and director of the Museum of Sacred Art, a great initiative for the cultural presentation of the Hindu tradition.

Mahaprabhu has been a great benefactor over the years and has helped support many projects.

Pr ahladananda Swami Although never really involved in the day-to-day management of Radhadesh, Prahladananda Swami (116) has been an important influence in its development, having visited the community every year since 1986, often for several months at a time. Prahladananda Swami joined ISKCON in 1969 and is very experienced in the arts of devotional practice. His spiritual strength and great experience in Krishna consciousness have been a great spiritual influence on the devotees of Radhadesh and have helped the community remain stable through all the ups and downs. Since 1995, he has had his vyasa-puja birthday celebrations in Radhadesh.

“Suhotra Swami used to say that Radha-Gopinatha are the best managers in ISKCON.” — Ramananda Raya Dasa Madhu Sevita, as a very experienced family man and temple president, was able to give pertinent advice on the management of a large community like Radhadesh. However, he did not get deeply involved in the details of management because things were being so nicely organised by Hrdaya Caitanya.

Madhu Sevita was also always encouraging the devotees to arrange to go out on book distribution.

Managers

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past and present

Temple presidents 1980–1981 Vimukta Sanga Dasa (UK) 1981 (6 months) Jnanaraja Dasa (Holland) 1981–1986 Jaya Gopal Dasa (Holland) 1986 – Hrdaya Caitanya Dasa (Belgium)

Mahaprabhu Dasa Mahaprabhu Dasa (115) came to Radhadesh in 1988.

Amongst his many services the main ones have been preaching, management, and communications. Mahaprabhu is a very dynamic and hard-working devotee and has created many opportunities for Radhadesh’s development including the structuring of the management system. He is a member of the executive board of Radhadesh. He helped coordinate Radhadesh’s festivals from 1994 to 2006 and was manag-

GBCs 1979–1986 Bhagavan Dasa (USA) 1987–1991 Bhakti Charu Swami (India) (co-GBC with Danavir Dasa 1987) 1992–2001 Suhotra Swami (USA) and Madhu Sevita Dasa

(Italy) (co-GBCs) 2002–2006 Madhu Sevita Dasa 2007– Madhu Sevita Dasa and Hrdaya Caitanya Dasa (Belgium) (co-GBCs) Department heads 2010 Accounts — Gopi Ramana Dasa Administration — Hrdaya Caitanya Dasa Boutique — Amritavani Devi Dasi and Kamala manjari Devi Dasi Cafeteria-restaurant — Sunanda Dasa Communications — Mahaprabhu Dasa Congregation — Malati Devi Dasi Cow protection — Surya Kunda Dasa Deities — Krsna Sakti Devi Dasi Festivals — Rick Haverbus Flower gardens — Rick Haverbus Food for Life — Rick Haverbus Forest — Manohara Dasa Festivals — Rick Haverbus Guesthouse — Bhagavati Devi Dasi Harinam — Mahaprabhu Dasa Kitchen — Gaura-vani Devi Dasi Maintenance and construction — Radha Ramana Dasa Museum of Sacred Art — Mahaprabhu Dasa President — Hrdaya Caitanya Dasa Publishing — Kancana-valli Devi Dasi Temple commander — Rick Haverbus Vegetable garden — Isvari Devi Dasi Vice-president — Manohara Dasa Visitors program — Gokula Vrindavan Devi Dasi Website — Kancana-valli Devi Dasi

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113

111

110

115

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30 Radhadesh Château de petite somme, 1980 - 2010

Radhadesh Château de petite somme, 1980 - 2010

1980-2010

1980-2010

History of Château de Petite Somme The earliest record we have found about the castle dates back to the 11th century. It is said in 1065 the owner of the castle, Gozelon de Montaiqude, plundered the property of the Abbey of Saint Hubert. When he died his widow, feeling guilty about her husband’s misbehaviour, offered the castle, the church, and her subjects to the Abbey of Saint-Hubert. As a result the area then belonged to the bishop of Liege. Unfortunately there are no parts of this original building still in existence.

the neo-egothic style — it was finished in 1888. At that time most of the estate’s trees were cleared.

From 1461 to 1774 the castle became the property of the Hamal family, after which it was connected with several aristocratic families from the Benelux and beyond, including the Favereau’s.

In 1946 the owner, Earl Charles de Jourda, died at which time the castle with its 400 acres of forest was sold. From 1948 to 1949, a group of philanthropists worked to establish the château as a holiday centre and rest camp for students and scholars. It contained a school, youth hostel, campsite, hotel, and restaurant.

Lord Charles de Favereau demolished what had served as the Hamal family residence and rebuilt a country home of bricks on its foundations.

In 1877 Louise Marie Eulalie inherited the castle grounds and demolished the brick mansion built by Charles de Favereau. At that time the present castle was constructed in

During WWI the castle was used as a hospital for wounded soldiers. During the war several houses in the village of Petite Somme were destroyed and villagers found shelter in the castle. Some of the castle’s outbuildings were also burnt down.

The château was sold in 1975 to Serge Fransevitch, a broker from Brussels. Thereafter it remained unoccupied for nearly 5 years. Then, in 1979, it was bought by ISKCON who initiated renovation work laying the foundation for the development of Radhadesh as it is today.

W

e would like to thank all those devotees who helped in the creation of this article. We would particularly like to thank Nikunjavasini Devi Dasi and Ramananda Raya Dasa who provided the bulk of the information and inspiration for us to be able to begin the process of writing. We would also like to thank the following devotees for providing information, for helping correct factual errors and errors in understanding, and for patiently answering an endless stream of questions: Ashoka Devi Dasi, Bhagavati Devi Dasi, Braja Bihari Dasa, Gokula Vrindavan Devi Dasi, Guru Padma Dasa, Hrdaya Caitanya Dasa, Jaya Gopal Dasa, Jaya Krsna Dasa, Mahaprabhu Dasa, Manohara Dasa, Prema Siddhi Ananda Dasa, Purna Tattva Dasa, Rupa Sanatana Dasa, Tarunyamrta Devi Dasi, and Visnu Murti Dasa.

The writing of the history of Radhadesh is a work in progress, and we would welcome any feedback to help improve and refine it. If anyone does have more information, or a refinement of what is presented here, please contact Kancana-valli Devi Dasi at Radhadesh’s main address, or send an email to her at kancana-valli.srs@pamho.net.

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De Bhaktivedanta Book Trust DE BHAKTIVEDANTA BOOK TRUST (BBT) is de grootste uitgeverij ter wereld wat betreft boeken over Krishnabewustzijn en de filosofie, religie en cultuur van de Vedische traditie van India. Ze werd in 1972 opgericht door Sri Srimad A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, stichter-acarya van de Internationale Gemeenschap voor Krishna-bewustzijn, voor het publiceren van zijn boeken en die van andere auteurs.

De BBT legt vooral de nadruk op werken uit een bepaalde tak binnen die traditie, namelijk het Gaudiya-Vaishnavisme. Haar publicaties omvatten oorspronkelijke heilige teksten (vertaald in 51 talen) en boeken die deze traditionele teksten bespreken en uitleggen.

Voor meer informatie: www.bbt.info • www.krishna.com

Nederlandse boeken van Sri Srimad A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada

Boeken van de Bhaktivedanta Book Trust zijn o.a. verkrijgbaar bij:

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Radhadesh boetiek • Château de Petite Somme • B 6940 Septon (Durbuy) • T/F +32 (0)86 38 73 76 Radhadesh.Boutique@pamho.net