Reports of these days.
Vrinda Family Sunday Chat ki jay. Srila Guru Maharaj is traveling between Switzerland and Austria. Yesterday he was in Switzerland and later will arrive at Austria. Our brothers from Germany Yatra had beautiful days of Mela with Gurudeva.
Srila Guru Maharaj has an intense schedule these days and in two weeks starts another tour in South America to 6 countries visiting almost 20 centers. For Guru Maharaj, every day, is more difficult to make his itinerary to cover all locations. There are many Vrinda centers that Guru Maharaj does not know personally, for example in Peru in Trujillo, a city in the north, there is a spiritual sister that maintains a yoga and dance academy, Mother Hera Pancami is the leader of the center and along with Svetadip mother, give lectures. Gurudeva receives invitations all the time, "Come, come please! You must come and give your blessings. “Signed: Your children of the Philippines.
Guru Maharaj said a few days ago:
"The mission sometimes seems small and sometimes very great"
There are great yatras yearning to have more days with Guru Maharaj, but somehow that is less days to another. But in general everywhere, the pace is intense; perhaps small places but many projects and individuals to address, for example, on the last tour in Colombia, Guru Maharaj visited three relatively small cities: Pasto, Ipiales and Tulcán (City to the North of Ecuador's border with Colombia). In all three places organized events with more than 100 people, one in the conference room of a bank, the other in a cultural center of a theater. Lately Guru Maharaj visit more sites than before, and in less time. A good group of devotees question, "How does Guru Maharaj keep so lively and strong with such an intense pace?"
This makes us meditate more on how to better serve Gurudeva, it is a matter of details ... Here I want to share a list of points with no order of priority or importance, spontaneously every leader and member of the community should meditate before receiving Gurudeva in your city or program.
Some may sound a bit strict or demanding but when in practice it looks like that. It is the enthusiasm that one day it can be like that and think, "It is best for Gurudeva." Nor do we want to assess the love of the devotees, because we are a family of spiritual love and we do not want to damage the spontaneous love of a disciple for his Guru. No, we do not want that, but there must also be a criterion or guide to stay current on what our Gurudeva also expects of us. Primarily for devotees or youth leaders who have no direct guidance of a senior devotee or sannyasi who teach them how to serve Guru Maharaj or keep up with the mission. Well, the truth is it can be a long list of many more points but I'll try to summarize what I think right now are priorities. I hope the list serves, and of course, also can accommodate all the time, place and circumstances. Well, with your blessings, here we go ...
1. Assign a devotee of Guru Maharaj as assistant. This devotee has the lead role of coordinating all matters relating to the personal attention of Gurudeva. For example, be attentive to the clothes, schedules, serve prasadam, etc.. It's like a constant companion. Preferably a senior Brahmacari of the community.
2. Assign a devotee or mataji head of the kitchen for Gurudeva as well as a team of assistants. This is one of the most complex and sensitive but very important because the mood of Guru Maharaj is not to expect great delicious food, rather Guru Maharaj always prefers simple meals but healthy and well prepared.
3. Organize the work area and rest area of Guru Maharaj. A place where Guru Maharaj can take time off. It should be a room ready for this, not painted the previous week nor combined with other uses. You must have natural ventilation, well equipped bathroom (with spoon products), do not use fresheners. The room can be decorated with photos of past acaryas or projects such as farms. There should be telephone facilities, have wireless internet (wifi) and all those little things must have a basic room as a key to security of things. Also there should be a normal and simple desk and chair. This is important.
4. Think hard about the logistics of the conferences of Guru Maharaj. Also a big subject is having a good board with new markers as well as a program for children at the time of the class. The latter is extremely important. Then Guru Maharaj, and nobody can give a lecture if you have kids running in front of you. This is complex because it is a sensitive issue with parents, who are usually senior devotees, and are not happy being told they cannot be there with their children. But this is organized from before having a good program for children in another area and children are happy and the parents and Guru Maharaj as well. Then all the logistics are important: a good microphone, projector, water, and all the details because it is the main activity of Guru Maharaj in his work as an educator: to give conferences and each conference is historic.
5. The istagosti community. One of the principal meditations of Guru Maharaj to visit a center is to meet with leaders to plan and enhance the preaching and distributing the nectar of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu. Then Istagosti is like the heart of the visit. You have to assign a group to prepare this meeting. Summon all the leaders,have previous reunions on how to present reports, prepare a written report of each program of economic goal, prepare a report on the situation of the temple, the project list, the minutes of previous meeting, questions to the spiritual master, new projects, etc.. This meeting usually takes a day or many hours and it is the time where we all celebrate the expansion of mercy.
6. The leader. An important issue. The leader has to prepare for a visit of Guru Maharaj. This role has many tasks: the first is to list all the devotees of the community and their participation in the last six months. Who needs immediate attention or projects. You should also have somewhere in the temple a large in size list of all donors in the community. You should offer all honor to those who willingly collaborate with the temple. Also the leader should be the one who presents all new devotees who want to be initiated and introduces them to the Guru Maharaj. The leader also comes with Gurudeva. The leader has to reserve all his time with Gurudeva and coordinate all at once. There you can see the leader's ability to delegate tasks and to connect them all with the visit of Guru Maharaj.
7. The program. A month before the visit of Guru Maharaj, secretary of the temple or the leader should write a letter to Guru Maharaj or to Guru Maharaj’s secretary sending the program plan and design of the poster, name of the conference and the whole package advertising the plan of Gurudeva's visit for approval, revision or amendment if necessary. This is important because many times Guru Maharaj knows nothing about the program and everything is a surprise as well that Guru Maharaj may suggest the names of the conferences in cases that they are to be large compared to a university faculty. etc. Also there should be mentioned of the places that will be visited and where you plan to be taking Guru Mahraja. This is important because Guru Maharaj has also his own program for each site of visit and which supersedes. For example Guru Maharaj often prefers to spend more time with the leaders in an estate planning the mission to give a lecture at a university.
8. Initiations. A devotee or mother must be alert to prepare new candidates for initiation. They should receive an induction course and before being pre-initiated by the local leader or sannyasi. Also the applicant should be happy doing a service to the community because initiation is the entrance to the family and this is at heart, not only begins with the teacher but also initiated with his family. The applicant must have a service relationship with the local leader and be recommended. The spiritual master is not conditioned to this to give blessings but it is the appropriate way to ensure that such person establishes a strong bond with his spiritual master especially if it is the first time he/she sees him. It is not about limiting the mercy; however it is to provide better service to all those who want to connect with Guru Maharaj.
9. The health of Guru Maharaj. A sensitive issue. It has to do with nutritional development and the pace of work. We all want Gurudev to be well and Guru Maharaj is well usually. The duty of a disciple is to care for his spiritual master. That means respecting his time of rest, honoring prasadam, sharing, walking, to communicate, to meditate. etc. It is very important. Well, I said this many times but when it comes to Guru Maharaja there is a universe of topics, and much to attend to. Mercy for us. Then Guru Maharaj needs that devotees give him time for everything, so it is important to have a good set of interviews, where each person comes with a subject in a paper, where each one comes with a possible solution, where each devotee has spoken already with the local leader, where everyone is aware of all the effort made by Gurudeva to dedicate himself to us even if it be for 10 minutes. Then at other times it can be a day or a week but think that Guru Maharaja needs to take time.
10. Keeping up with the mission. Guru Maharaj wants to go to a temple and feel at home. How so? That the temple reveals that it understands the mission of Gurudeva. For example, have okis, passports, personalized sankirtan, HOW programs, istagostis, sending donations to Vrindavan dhama, having a program of impeccable deity worship, there are programs for children, there are retreats and promotion to the farm , there is lecture of the chat on Sunday, good prasadam for the devotees, there is good japa sadhana and program with an utmost standard class of Srimad Bhagavatam every day, at night two classes: one for guests, other for advanced devotees, that there is sweet kirtan, not strong kirtans, welcoming kirtans, there is a good table with all the materials of Seva, do not lack enthusiasm of Srila Prabhupada, there is a Vaishnava Academy curriculum, current on rent, taxes, etc.. it is a long list.
Well, this list is incomplete, you can say much more ... And surely I forget important things sometimes you want to offer more things, but usually you can always do more to motivate the devotees of the communities, for example the issue of donations, support the collection of the devotees who see the passages of Gurudeva, also support participants in seva so they can have appropriate facilitation, a good transport for Gurudeva and his companions, even a good photographer or someone to film and document. They are the only records that we have in the future with unforgettable moments where every minute is priced invaluable.
Thanks for letting me share these points and forgive the small errors in this attempt. Now, a report of the visit of Guru Maharaja in Germany .Srila Guru Maharaja Ki Jay!
Report of Guru Maharaja’s visit to Germany
Now we share with you a report of Gurudeva's visit in Germany, which was sent by Mother Sanketvan Devi Dasi
Haribol, dear devotees. Hare Krsna, we will share with you a short report of the last days of Gurudeva's visit in Germany.
In Europe, Vrinda family is much smaller than in South America but is increasingly growing. Devotees of Berlin are very fortunate, because they have the presence of Gurudeva two or three times a year. On this visit, Gurudeva came from India. First we had the celebration of the Mela held every year in spring time. This festival was attended mainly by devotees from Germany, but also with devotees from other places such as Bulgaria, Sweden, Austria, Poland, Italy, and this time Tenerife also attended.
It's a beautiful place in the forest, near a town called Neu Sammit. Devotees rent a house near the lake. For five days we made our festival there with programs in the mornings and afternoons. Several workshops and seminars devotees issued in relation to different topics. Grhastas as well organized children's programs. There were performances, a concert by Gita Manjari of Colombia, a concert of Sri Ram Prabhu, a bit of electronic music with mantras and more. We also welcomed the initiation of new spiritual brothers and a marriage. Afterwards returning to Berlin, the program continued with Gurudeva in Kurukshetra Mandir with their Lordships Sri Sri Gauranga Gandharvika Govinda Sundaram.
Gurudeva taught in the morning and afternoon. In Berlin there are two ashrams; Kurukshetra is the main temple, a Vishnu priya ashram. The Vishnu priya is growing with many new mothers, and they plan many new activities. We have the temple and Vaisnava Academy, Indian store, yoga classes, and vegetarian club. There is also a small ashram of brahmacaris for the attention of their Lordships. We also have the Vrinda Kunja Ashram, the Brahmacari Ashram. There is a project to build another temple in Vrinda Kunja for their Lordships. Also the idea is that in Vrinda Kunja there can be a center for yoga, therapies and study. The Om club is also there and devotees are able to create new alternatives for the preaching project. There is also Atelie Art of Srauti Maharaj.
All projects are in the pioneer state and need considerable support. There is also the project of Govinda Bauernof with devotees who live nearby. Temple also has a space for brahmacaris and matajis where support is needed in the work they perform. Gurudeva's effort was primarily to remind us that no matter where devotees live, or are grhastas or not, yet we are all a part of the same family, and we try to connect, to appreciate and help others to work together with Krsna. Unity in diversity.
Now, Guru Maharaj is on tour with some devotees. He visited Munchen in southern Germany, home of Patita Pavana D. and Mohini d.d. They had a nice program, and then Gurudeva visited Switzerland, where today is his last day there. Today Gurudeva travels to Austria, where he will visit Giridhari Ashram where Gopal Nrsimha and Yashoda Shakti dd have a small center with the help of Prabhupada Kripa Prabhu and his family. They also organized a program in the small town of Kapfenberg.
The preaching of the devotees is mostly with yoga classes, massage and natural medicine.Then Guru Maharaj will visit UNNUECO, Harijan Maharaj center in Budapest, Hungary. It's a new preaching center with many activities and people who visit it. Finally we receive the mercy of Guru Maharaj again for the festival on Sunday 22nd of April. After that the 23 He will be on travel to Miami and will continue with his travels in South America with many projects and devotees.
Haribol!, Guru Maharaja ki jay, Radha Berlin Isvara ki jay, Obeisances to All Jay, Srila Guru Maharaj ki Jay.
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