Newsletter May 2020

Once I had heard from devotees that when you want to visit some temple you need to pray to the Deities of that temple for Their mercy so that They may accept you in Their home. So I did just that when I decided to come to Goloka Dhama and saw Their beautiful arrangements regarding my arrival plans. I was supposed to go to the temple on a Friday but somehow I decided to change my ticket and go two days earlier. I did not know how and why but I just did it. I said to myself, Madanalasa you are going today. So when I arrived in Goloka Dhama, I heard from my friends that they had just closed all the borders on the day that I was initially supposed to come.

So what can one say to that? Sri Sri Radha Madana Mohan took care of everything! So They have put me under the best possible quarantine order. Beautiful temple, deities, devotees, nature and what to speak about prasadam! It is amazing how devotees care about each other and make all arrangements to please everyone, both materially and spiritually. I had a feeling that everything here was going to help me to go deeper in my relationship with Radha Madan Mohan. Sometimes these situations are easy and sometimes they are not so easy for the mind, but with the mercy of Guru and devotees I can really see how my conceptions are changing and how I am growing as a person and as a devotee.

That is, in my opinion, the best thing when you are living in a spiritual community. You are far away from your daily routines and your comfort zone and then you can view new things, learn new skills, meet different personalities and all of these help you to become a more mature person and see things from deeper perspective. It is not about me anymore, it is about Sri Sri Radha Madan Mohan and how can we cooperate and please Them with all our deficiencies/differences.

Shortly before the Corona virus pandemic started in Germany, three male volunteers came to our community with the desire to stay for a month. Two young girls also join us at that time to follow the bhakta course. For more than two months now, these young devotees have enjoyed learning all the arts of devotional service; from philosophy to cooking and music. As most of our European countries have been closed and a strong wave of fear has struck people’s hearts. These young people were truly glad to have been locked-down in a spiritual community where the presence of the Supreme Lord eclipses all the anxieties that have come forth from the present situation.

Together with two other young devotees from our community, they have all started to regularly sing the Maha Mantra together in the evening. They also prepared two dramas. Their presence has also brought some fresh enthusiasm and freshness to the residents of Goloka Dhama. On Sunday 10th May the bhakta course concluded with a beautiful yajna to seal the impressions of their studies deep within their hearts. We would like to take this opportunity to thank all the teachers for the Bhakta course: Damodara Priya for the main organisation of the bhakta course and teaching philosophy, deity worship and Guru disciple course, Vaijayanti and Gaurahari for teaching spiritual practices and theology, Advitya Baladeva for teaching philosophy and musical instruments, Mahima for amazing cooking courses and bhaktin Anna for teaching instruments.