Holy Name Retreat
  • Retreat at Ekachakra
  • Registration
  • Ekachakra
  • Devaki dd
  • Diary
  • Recordings
  • Photos
  • Testimonials

Sweden, May 2012

5/16/2012

 
Picture

I arrived in Stockholm on the 3rd of May - two days before Nrsimha  Caturdasi.....

 There was a noticable difference in seasons between Stockholm and the South of Germany: while everything was already very green in Germany with the flowers and bushes blossoming, the temperatures in Sweden were still very cold, and the trees had no green leaves yet. Some nights the thermometer was going down to zero degrees.

I met with the devotees in morning and evening programs, and gave an evening lecture on Nrsimha Caturdasi which fell on a Saturday. The lila around Nrsimhadeva's appearance has so many wonderful instructions and Ialways enjoy discussing them......

On Sunday we had the main celebrations for Nrsimha Caturdasi: an abhisheka of Lord Nrsimhadeva, with offerings of flowers and fruits and chanting the 108 names of Lord Nrsimhadeva, accompanied with nice slides of His Deity forms, and followed by my lecture.
Before the program I had gone for a little walk in a nearby park to pick some twigs of flowering bushes as a humble
offering.....
Flowers are a most wonderful packaging of our love and devotion towards the Lord, and they present a very suitable way to offer and express it.....

I was a little surprised to see that not many devotees came in devotional clothes to attend the festival program. Most
devotees and guests were bathing the Lord in street clothes....
Wearing devotional clothes always uplifts the entire atmosphere and makes it festive.....
We need to bring more spiritual culture in our life.....
Srila Prabhupada said: "The dhoti makes a devotee..."
I used the opportunity to announce our upcoming Holy Name Retreat in Almvik, which would be held after two weeks. The devotees expressed interest to attend it. However, the mind easily finds some reasons why other matters are more important in our life.....
This is our disease: the Holy Name is not our main priority.....!

I was living in the temple president's flat while he was absent to attend a European management meeting in Croatia. On Sunday morning the phone rang, and a young girl inquired whether she could speak to somebody to get
some information on our philosophy and life style. She had to write an essay for the school on a religion of her own choice, and she had decided for the Hare Krishna's....
I met with her on the same afternoon during the program for Nrsimhadeva's appearance. She was such a nice
girl -ready for Krsna consciousness.....!
She asked me many intelligent questions, and I shared my personal story of how I met the devotees in Sydney/Australia.Needless to say - she was rather impressed about my life style.....
I took her to the temple room, and she spontaneously payed obeisances, which is a rare thing in the Western world....
This nice little encounter brought to my mind that we have to make more effort to reach out to young and intelligent people in order to bring a new generation of nice devotees to our yatra here.

Mukunda Prabhu in Almvik has been doing school programs for the past twenty years. Infact, the schools in Sweden even pay him some money when he visits and gives a program. This is how he maintains his family of three little children - by traveling around Sweden and doing school programs....!
So many seeds have been planted, but there has not been any further cultivation, and therefore we have not been able to harvest any tangible fruits....

In Bangladesh we are bringing up a whole new generation of intelligent and educated devotees, by systematically cultivating them. For a long time I have been contemplating this issue, that somehow we should apply the same principles here in the Western world. We need to bring in a new generation of energetic and intelligent devotees, who can take our yatra's further.....

After the program for Nrsimhadeva's appearance Laxmirupa mataji took me to our Almvik community to visit the devotees for the following three days. I spent my time in meeting the devotees and discussing exciting plans for
preaching.
First of all we finalised all details around the upcoming Holy Name Retreat. It would be the first humble attempt to introduce such kind of program, and Almvik is a very suitable place for this, since it is away from all other distractions and offers such a peaceful environment and atmosphere.....
We are also planning for another retreat for newcomers at the end of September, with a yoga class, a vegetarian cooking session, and some introductory classes to our philosophy: how to find peace of mind.....

And then there will be the second Bhakti Sangam Festival at the end of July...

I met with Malia Harikunda mataji. Even though she is a mother of four little children, she nevertheless finds the time to cultivate young people through internet, who are interested in organic gardening and simply living.
And she has a burning desire to somehow bring new people to Almvik...!
She is connected with the WWOOF organisation, which stands for Willing Workers On Organic Farms". Infact, this is how I finally met the devotees in Australia, after a long search: I came as a WWOOF-er to our ISKCON farm outside Sydney, without knowing anything about Krsna consciousness....! And after arriving there I never left the association of the devotees....!
Maila Harikunda mataji had already welcomed a couple of nice young WWOOF-ers here in Almvik, and she had engaged them with various activities and had taken care of them in a very personal way. We had inspiring discussions how we can expand the program and bring more people to Almvik. She shared the news that Radhadesh is also welcoming WWOOF-ers, and a couple of them have already joined the temple! These ideas were indeed inspiring and opened a new preaching perspective to our Almvik community!
There ARE indeed so many young people out there, who are searching for a different way of life, and ultimately Krsna Himself....
We simply have to endeavor in order to reach out to them...

Ultimately we become devotees by the mercy of other devotees, who are willing to extend themselves and shed so many drops of their own blood in order to bring us to Krsna consciousness.....

On the 9th of May I flew of to Tallinn/Estonia....

Your servant, Devaki dd

Comments are closed.

    Devaki Devi Dasi's Travel Diary

    Devaki Devi Dasi is sharing her realizations and adventures in her Traveling Diary.Welcome to relish this nectar!

    Archives

    August 2022
    July 2022
    June 2022
    May 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    March 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013
    June 2013
    May 2013
    April 2013
    March 2013
    February 2013
    January 2013
    December 2012
    November 2012
    October 2012
    September 2012
    August 2012
    July 2012
    June 2012
    May 2012

    RSS Feed

Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.