Newsletter July 2020
Dear Friends, Hare Krsna!
We hope that this letter finds you in good health and enlivened consciousness. For this newsletter, we would like to share with you a construction report, a glance at the managerial mood and an inspiring article from Hari Vyasadeva.
Making Goloka Dhama beautiful
During June, the scaffolding that covered the temple building was finally removed, giving us the chance to see the amazingly beautiful new roof. The extension of the “dining area” is now being finalised between an architect and the construction team on how to optimise its size, practicality and aesthetic. In Bach House, the transformation of the Nandagram Room into a meeting room is almost finished. Our pizzeria is also getting a new “fresh look” in order to provide a cosy and intimate atmosphere. The refurbishment of the guest house is getting on nicely, expanding the small entrance flat, and rooms one, two and three on the first floor.
A glance at Goloka Dhama´s managerial mood
As the Corona crisis slowly fades away, the community has had the chance of hosting a travelling preacher once more. Akrura Prabhu, a transcendental coach, stayed with us for 3 weeks. He shared his spiritual insights every other day during the morning lectures and he wonderfully supported the different teams of Goloka Dhama by giving them more structure. His expertise in coaching and devotee care was a great help. He taught devotees how to coach and help each other in becoming successful in their attempts to serve the Lord and His devotees.
Finally, he gave some lessons on how to be future mentors for the community. The devotees of Goloka Dhama were, as usual, in the mood for learning and becoming experts in their services for Sri Sri Radha Madana Mohan. The leaders of the executive team also received a rare opportunity to follow an online seminar on leadership and management with Bhakti Vidya Purna Swami. It was also a great occasion to learn about connecting all our endeavours to Lord Krsna and not lose sight of what we want to achieve.
Taking Shelter in the Holy Names (by Harivyāsadeva das)
We live in a time when everything happens extremely fast as the previous months have clearly shown, how much can happen and change in just a couple of days. Of course one can watch the news, try to stay updated and not stop to worry about what is going to happen next, BUT what could be better instead?
Taking shelter in the Holy Names.
In this article I would like to share some ideas on taking complete shelter in the Hare Krishna Maha-Mantra and building the perfect mind-set for doing so in our Age. Taking shelter in Krishna´s names does not require much effort. It primarily requires your decision to take the initial steps to do so and by following the concept in your practice, your appreciation of the Holy Names could change to a whole new perspective. The idea is that you can create an inner space for chanting where you know that there is just Krishna and yourself and no one/nothing else. In this space you may spend time with Krishna as a person, with the Holy Name being the doorway to this meeting.
And as Srila Prabhupada said: ”To associate with the Holy Name and chant the Holy Name is to associate with the Personality of Godhead directly.“
What is helpful as well, is to set a regular time for entering this inner space, which helps your mind to build up a habit of associating with Krishna through the chanting process. Ideally, this can be applied to your morning-time meditation but the best is for you to decide for yourself when this space is approachable.
This action of taking shelter in the Hare Krishna Maha Mantra is essential for our spiritual progress and for this reason we have to consciously decide how to improve the way we chant, even if at the moment many issues may be trying to impair our focus. We should choose what is really important and try to refresh our relationship with the Holy Name by deciding to take full shelter in it.