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Important
News Release
A Milestone for Srila Gurudevas Sanga
Sri-guru-carana-padma kevala-bhakati-sadma
bando mui savadhana mate
The lotus feet of the guru are
the sadma, the shelter, for that Sri, the prema-bhakti for Krsna,
which exists in the heart of that guru. This is its source. If one
does not have devotion for the guru, does not serve him, and is
not surrendered to him in all respects, then bhakti will never
come. Unless one attains his mercy, one will never experience
bhakti and will never receive the darsana of Krsna.
The guru is that person who is
especially dear to Krsna. All jivas are dear to Krsna, yet by
serving and receiving the mercy of that guru who can actually
overpower Krsna by prema, we can meet Krsna and develop Krsna
prema. Without such a guru we cannot attain this.
First of all, I offer my humble
dandavats pranams unto the lotus feet of my spiritual master Om
Visnupada Astottarasata Sri Srimad Bhaktivedanta Narayan Maharaja
and the same humble dandavat pranams unto the lotus feet of my
param gurumaharajas, nityalila pravista om Srila Bhakti Prajnana
Kesava Maharaja and nityalila pravista om Srila Bhaktivedanta
Swami Maharaja, known by all his followers as Srila Prabhupada.
The first wave
1966
Srila Prabhupada brings the Matchless Gift to us
all
One day while walking down
lifes road, we met a man in saffron robes, Prabhupada was his
name, and he was chanting the Holy Name. He said come with me, my
dear daughters and sons, your spiritual journey has just begun:
Chant the Holy Names of the Lord and all desirable things will be
yours!
Hare
Krsna Hare Krsna Krsna Krsna Hare Hare
Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare
The second wave
1996
Nourishment for our bhakti creeper, heartly
blessings for all
Thank you Prabhupada, for
sending Gurudeva to the West, we have heard that he is Radharanis
best
Hare Krsna Hare Krsna Krsna Krsna Hare Hare
Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare
June
1996
We arrived in
California, Sierra Nevada
Mountains, New Vraja Community
In the house of Nirguna prabhu,
surrounded by sixty wonderful devotees, Srila Gurudeva received an
overwhelming welcome, with a heartfelt and open invitation to come
back at any time. All who were present at this historical moment
were deeply impressed with the affectionate, warm-hearted
hospitality of the devotees in California.
New Vraja Festival
Every year since 1996
Attended by 500 devotees, each year
Since that visit, Srila
Gurudeva has come every year to Nirguna Prabhus home in New Vraja
and conducted eleven wonderful Harikatha festivals, comprised of
devotee association, astonishing drama performances of Krsnas
pastimes and the most nectarine Harikatha, kirtans and
Mahaprasadam. Those of us who have been so fortunate to attend
even once, can definitely attest that outside of India, we have
never heard and received such deep, spiritual impressions. Often
times Srila Gurudeva mentioned that in his tours,
coming to New Vraja is like arriving at the
topmost place in the Western World.
The hospitality and service
provided by the residents of new Vraja is extraordinary. Under the
guidance of Nirguna prabhu, Nanda Gopal prabhu and their good
wives Nilacala devi dasi and Manjuvasini devi dasi, year after
year, the local community of devotees has arranged for devotees
from all over the world, to receive the golden opportunity to
bathe in the most powerful Harikatha emanating from the lotus lips
of Srila Gurudeva. Srila Gurudeva has commented more than once
that
the property of Nirguna prabhu is a place of
pilgrimage, a holy place in the Western World.
New Vraja Village School
From the first day that Srila
Gurudeva arrived in New Vraja, he has been extremely concerned
that the school be ideal so that all the students will develop the
qualities of Prahlada Maharaja. Under the expert, affectionate
care and guidance of Vrajendranandana Prabhu and his extraordinary
wife Gopanandini devi dasi, a team of wonderful teachers nourishes
the tender bhakti creepers of the students, many of whom are now
responsible devotees. The students are developing good character
and are practicing their sadhana and bhajan, plus they are
learning how to be responsible for themselves in this world.
For most of these years the
school has struggled to manage its expenses from the sheer
personal sacrifice of the teachers and students. During the last
two years more financial assistance was needed. With the kind help
of many devotees in our Sanga and with monthly donations from
Srila Gurudevas personal funds, the school is continuing to
function. Many heartfelt thanks to all the teachers + students,
who are all extremely dedicated and always ready to sacrifice
their own comfort and accept very humble salaries in order to
serve in Srila Gurudevas New Vraja Village School.
Everyone will agree that
education is one of the most crucial and important periods in life
for development. How fortunate are those who have received the
great, good fortune to receive education in sadhu sanga, under the
guidance of sad guru. As Srila Gurudevas followers and disciples,
we desire to provide excellent education to all children,
especially for the children born in families of devotees. In order
to facilitate this, we are requesting your kind assistance and
voluntary input to help us this with important service to our
spiritual masters.
Please, consider the following presentation
carefully and give your valuable assistance, contributions and
feedback to this email link:
Proposed Master Plan for New Vraja Tirthasthan New
and Vraja Village School
First phase: The school
moves over to the property of Nirguna prabhu
Details:
1) Due to personal
circumstances, Nirguna prabhu is obliged to sell his property. He
has agreed to sell us the property under market value, as much as
he possibly could.
2) The school is in much need
of good facilities. Up till now, for most of the time, the
boarding and classrooms for the students have been in the homes of
their teachers, spread out over the village.
3) Considering these two
factors and after many serious discussions, we have decided to
obtain the property of Nirguna prabhu for the use of the school.
At the same time we want to preserve Srila Gurudevas quarters +
the festival site as a place of pilgrimage, as well for future
seminars and visits of preachers and teachers.
4) In order to accomplish this
first phase, the school needs to purchase the property.
How this will be accomplished is a great challenge and mystery,
since the school does not have any resources of its own. Although
significant steps have been taken over the last 12 months to
qualify for international accreditation, for receiving
scholarships and grants and forming international educational
board, at this point in time we are not able to come up with the
necessary funds to obtain Nirguna prabhus property.
We are left completely
depending on the mercy of Guru and Krsna. How it will happen, only
They know. Still, we have decided to go forward, desiring to
please Srila Gurudeva with our efforts to serve his mission.
So far, we have been able to
secure a bank loan for 375.000 USD - 75 % of the official sales
price. Srila Gurudeva has kindly agreed to assist with mortgage
payments for the first 2 years. We will endeavor to raise enough
money over the next two years to pay back this loan and go forward
to the next phase of the Master Plan.
Right now we are faced with a
required down payment of 125.000 USD 25 % of the official sales
price. We sincerely request your assistance in order to obtain
this amount before the 1st of March 2007. So far,
Radhakanta prabhu and Gopinath prabhu have come forward and
pledged 25,000 USD each. They have thus been honored as the first
patron members of New Vraja Village School.
Each patron member receives
special favors, such as a yearly 14 day free stay in either the
house where Srila Gurudevas quarters are, or in our guest house.
Otherwise, their contribution will sponsor one student who is
unable to participate due to insufficient funds for his or her
studies.
We have reserved another 10,000
USD, donated in 2005 by Chandrika devi dasi from Maui, Hawaii. If
3 more pledges/donations are given of 25,000 USD each, then we
will have reached our first target. Same will be achieved by one
donation/pledge of 75,000 USD; 75 donations of 1,000 USD, or 150
donations of 500 USD. For those among you who do not have
financial difficulties and are able to contribute financially, we
invite you to also become a patron member of Srila Gurudevas
school in New Vraja. To contribute visit
or
www.bhaktiprojects.org or read
How to Make
Contributions which appears at the end of this news
release.
A concern may be why to have a
school in Badger, in the Sierra Nevada Mountains? Why not support
a school in Alachua, in England, in Bangalore, in Vrndavan or in
Hawaii? Please be assured that we understand and agree with your
concerns. As a matter of fact we will definitely do our level best
to support any good plans which you present to us. To accomplish
this, we have formed an Educational Board. The members of this
board are very experienced and dedicated devotees. They are ready
to give their energy to develop first class, Vaisnava educational
standards. At present Vaisnava education is already implemented
through Internet and in schools with the help of sincere devotees
in New Vraja, New Jersey, Harrisburg, Vrndavan and Bangalore.
For more information and advice
regarding Vaisnava education in our Sanga, please contact our
Education Board, consisting of the following devotees:
Your suggestions, contributions
and any other form of help is most welcome. If you are a
professional grant writer, if you have experience with education,
administration, fund raising, obtaining scholarships, legal
matters, project development,gardening, or if you desire to move
to New Vraja, Badger to assist with this project, please contact
us.
Srila Gurudeva expresses that
he himself will never ask anything from those who come and want to
be his disciples. He will help all without any self-interest. He
is completely happy with his selfless service to all and does not
need anything from this world no money, no projects, nothing.
However, for the welfare of his followers and to engage their
energy, Srila Gurudeva has started many wonderful projects, which
will immeasurably benefit all who participate. For example the
Govardhan project in Sri Vrndavan Dhama, the New Vraja Village
School in California, all the book publications, and of course the
Navadvip project in Sri Navadvip Dhama. There are many more to
come. Srila Gurudeva has said that those followers who desire to
assist with these auspicious projects are very fortunate, and they
have every right to encourage others to do the same. On this basis
we are requesting your assistance with this unique opportunity to
help establish our New Vraja Village school, the center for
international education, and the foremost place of pilgrimage in
America. All this is situated in the beautiful surroundings of New
Vraja, Badger, Sierra Nevada Mountains, California.
aspiring for the service of Sri
Guru and Vaisnavas
On behalf of
BHAKTI
International Society
for Bhakti-yoga
Brajanath Das
How to Make
Contributions
MAILING
INFORMATION
MAIL DIRECTLY your tax-deductible donations:
Bhakti Projects, Inc. 4589 Pacheco Blvd Martinez, CA 94553 USA Make checks payable to: Bhakti Projects. Please write in the memo: Bhakti Education PAYPAL TRANSFER - SEND TO-PAYPAL ACCOUNT NAME: In the message body (memo) please write = Bhakti Education (Donations can also be made at www.bhaktiprojects.org) WIRE TRANSFER If you would like to execute a wire transfer to Bhakti Projects, Inc. please email for wire transfer information into Bhakti Projects "Srila Gurudeva's accounts" ; or call 925-335-2300 ext.108 to receive transfer information and confirmation. (Bhakti Projects will confirm all contributions with receipt within three weeks.)
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