On the 29th of May, after having spent two blissful weeks in Mauritius, I flew on to Mombasa in Kenya. It was my first visit to this country - it always feels great to "conquer new territory" and plant a few seeds by placing some copies of my books into people's eager hands and into temple's libraries. Many devotees around the world feel inspired to use them in their service of preaching and training devotees. I was glad I had chosen the "cool season" for my visit - for my German body it was still rather warm and very humid, and I was glad to have an AC in my room...
In Mombasa, ISKCON has a main temple established around 12 years ago, and the former temple which is now mainly used for student preaching. Since the universities had their holidays, I did not do any programs at the old temple.
In Mombasa, ISKCON has a main temple established around 12 years ago, and the former temple which is now mainly used for student preaching. Since the universities had their holidays, I did not do any programs at the old temple.
The temple complex has nice gardens, a restaurant and a big block of 10 flats behind the temple, where grihasthas are living. In this way, the temple receives some income, and devotees can live very near to the temple to attend the programs and offer service. A great arrangement!
They worship beautiful Sri Sri Rukmini Dwarkadish, Sita Ram Laxman Hanuman and Sri Sri Gaur Nitai. They also do Food for Life and distribute lots of prasadam at schools and outside their temple gate. I had some fun distributing prasadam to the needy from the nearby slums and poor street people.
The congregation is not too big but has a nice mood and atmosphere, and the devotees were eager to associate in programs as they don't get many preachers visiting their temple. Here, practically all devotees are from Indian background, having been here already for several generations.
Funny enough, on my domestic flight from Nairobi to Mombasa I sat next to a gentleman who is from Indian background, born in Kenya but lives now in the UK, and he came to visit his mother in Mombasa. We started talking - he had visited the Manor in London, and I showed him my schedule with the topics I would be offering at the Mombasa temple. And surely enough, he came one evening to the program - together with his mother - took two of my books and even met a few well-known faces to him amongst the congregation! His mother had been the teacher of quite a few devotees and their grown-up children. How small the world is! And Krishna had arranged that we sat next to each other on the plane, and I was open enough to reach out to him....
They worship beautiful Sri Sri Rukmini Dwarkadish, Sita Ram Laxman Hanuman and Sri Sri Gaur Nitai. They also do Food for Life and distribute lots of prasadam at schools and outside their temple gate. I had some fun distributing prasadam to the needy from the nearby slums and poor street people.
The congregation is not too big but has a nice mood and atmosphere, and the devotees were eager to associate in programs as they don't get many preachers visiting their temple. Here, practically all devotees are from Indian background, having been here already for several generations.
Funny enough, on my domestic flight from Nairobi to Mombasa I sat next to a gentleman who is from Indian background, born in Kenya but lives now in the UK, and he came to visit his mother in Mombasa. We started talking - he had visited the Manor in London, and I showed him my schedule with the topics I would be offering at the Mombasa temple. And surely enough, he came one evening to the program - together with his mother - took two of my books and even met a few well-known faces to him amongst the congregation! His mother had been the teacher of quite a few devotees and their grown-up children. How small the world is! And Krishna had arranged that we sat next to each other on the plane, and I was open enough to reach out to him....
In my last post we discussed the power of the feminine energy, and how most men need this energy in their lives in order to be empowered and motivated. Sometimes we come across the situation where a brahmachari does not want to change ashrama and marry, simply because he tries to avoid the tapasya of married life, which is having to earn a livelihood, having to deal with a woman’s mind and noisy children, and so on. Living in the temple seems so much more comfortable and easier. So he tries to work his way through life without marriage. But very often such a person will be stuck. He cannot actually progress because he is not properly situated. He is not inspired to give his very best in whatever he does, because he does not have this feminine energy in his life, which motivates him. As a result, he will try to steal a few drops of this feminine energy by giving special attention to ladies — preaching, cultivating and guiding them, and trying to be their hero in a subtle way — all in the name of so-called preaching. Actually, however, he is stealing their energy.
Of course, we women are rather perceptive, and we can feel this. And a woman might think, “He must like me. Maybe he wants to marry me. He is giving me so much attention and is taking care of me so nicely.”
As a result ladies get attached, and when approaching the temple president with the request to marry him, the brahmachari might respond emphatically, “What? Me getting married? Forget it! I’m just preaching to her, that’s all. I have no plans to get married. How can she think like this?”
But on a subtle platform he is trying to steal her energy without taking responsibility to protect her. Such dealings only bring about disturbances within our communities. It is neither helpful for him nor for her. Thus we have to understand this topic deeply, so we can help devotees to be properly situated and make progress in life without cheating and stealing energies here and there.
On the 4th of June I flew on to Kisumu....
Your servant, Devaki dd
Please visit www.theholynameretreat.net
www.therootsofspiritualculture.net
https://www.facebook.com/instituteforspiritualculture/
Of course, we women are rather perceptive, and we can feel this. And a woman might think, “He must like me. Maybe he wants to marry me. He is giving me so much attention and is taking care of me so nicely.”
As a result ladies get attached, and when approaching the temple president with the request to marry him, the brahmachari might respond emphatically, “What? Me getting married? Forget it! I’m just preaching to her, that’s all. I have no plans to get married. How can she think like this?”
But on a subtle platform he is trying to steal her energy without taking responsibility to protect her. Such dealings only bring about disturbances within our communities. It is neither helpful for him nor for her. Thus we have to understand this topic deeply, so we can help devotees to be properly situated and make progress in life without cheating and stealing energies here and there.
On the 4th of June I flew on to Kisumu....
Your servant, Devaki dd
Please visit www.theholynameretreat.net
www.therootsofspiritualculture.net
https://www.facebook.com/instituteforspiritualculture/
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