OM SRI SURABHYAI NAMAH! OM SRI GURAVE NAMAH!
This is the fourteenth Quarterly Report summarizing the on-going developments of the OM Sri Surabhi Campaign – 2015 to 2027 in our attempt to promote the varnasrama mission. All the previous reports published can be read on our two main websites at www.iskconvarnasrama.com and www.srisurabhi.org.
APRIL 2018
VILLAGE OUTREACH IN JANGAON, TELANGANA – INDIA
The DHARMA GO GRAM YATRA to reach 108 villages started in April in the area of Jangaon (some 80 Kilometers from Hyderabad) where devotees from IDVM-India have been coordinating a preaching center. The village outreach program is part of a doctoral research connected with Osmania University and will take three years to complete covering not only 108 village in India but also an additional 10 Vedic EcoVillages in various countries around the world. The theme of the doctoral research is Vaisnava Vedic Perspective of Sociology – Its Practical Application in the Twenty-First Century.
The aim of the village outreach program is to sensitize people to the three pillars of the Vedic culture, namely 1) the need to practice the basic principles of dharma regardless of which religious denomination one follows, 2) the need to understand the special place of cows in any community or nation as they represent the backbone of the most sustainable economic growth one should promote and finally 3) the need to understand the importance of village life, becoming aware how the ancient cultures of the world were primarily agrarian in nature living in harmony with mother nature, cows, land, and other living entities all molded around a deep sense of God consciousness.
The theme of the village initiative is Save Our Cows – Save Our Villages – Save Our Culture, the essence of what the OM Sri Surabhi Campaign is promoting all over the world.
SWAMI AT PANCHAVATI FARM
In the spirit of promoting and supporting, the Vedic motto of “simple living and high thinking”, some of the leaders within ISKCON regularly visit or even spend considerable time in villages or with farm communities. One of the residents at the Panchavati Farm community located in Tamil Nadu, South India, reported the following: “His Holiness Bhakti Vikasa Swami arrived at Panchavati Farm community on April 2 for a two-month book writing retreat. He was happy to see our devotee grown Rice, Ragi, Tuvar Dal, Urad Dal, Horse gram, Millets, sesame, cowpea and other grains and vegetables.”
SEMINAR ON MILLETS
Devotees from IDVM-India organized a one-day seminar on Millets on April 6, 2018, at the ISKCON Sri Sri Radha Parthasarathy temple in New Delhi. The speaker was Jananivas das who comes from an agrarian background and who is also the Director for Media Production at IDVM-India. Accompanying him was Rama Lakshman das who spoke on the OM Sri Surabhi Campaign. “The seminar was very well received with close to 100 enthusiastic participants. The devotees loved the seminar and invited the speakers to visit the temple again with more such interesting topics.” [Reported by Subhananda Hari das] Full Report at www.srisurabhi.org
ECOLOGICAL DISASTERS
Through one of our WhatsApp groups called Global Varnasrama Mission, we receive various reports about serious ecological mishaps of a very destructive and fatal nature. I share two such reports received and one can read more at the designated links provided below. As we continue to abuse and exploit Mother Nature by polluting her with chemical fertilizers and plastics, we are reaping the dire consequences.
The first article shared by Dr. SriKumar reports the death of 56 cows in the State of Andhra Pradesh, South India, after grazing on post-harvest maize cuttings, probably contaminated by aflatoxins according to the article. The owner, in a state of shock, collapsed in the field. For the full report, see https://mumbaimirror.indiatimes.com/news/india/andhra-pradesh-56-cows-die-after-grazing-on-maize-fields-owner-collapses-in-shock/amp_articleshow/63685880.cms
Another major global catastrophe concerning salt was also reported by Dr. SriKumar. According to the article below, sea salt around the world is now contaminated by plastic as a result of which particles of plastic is finding its way in the food that human consume.
Researchers believe the majority of the contamination comes from microfibres and single-use plastics such as water bottles, items that comprise the majority of plastic waste. Up to 12.7m tons of plastic enters the world’s oceans every year, equivalent to dumping one garbage truck of plastic per minute into the world’s oceans, according to the United Nations.
“Not only are plastics pervasive in our society in terms of daily use, but they are pervasive in the environment,” said Sherri Mason, a professor at the State University of New York at Fredonia, who led the latest research into plastic contamination in salt. Plastics are “ubiquitous, in the air, water, the seafood we eat, the beer we drink, the salt we use – plastics are just everywhere”.
See article published at:
THAILAND ORGANIC FARMER VISITS INDIA
On April 15, 2018, renowned organic farmer Jon Jandai gave a seminar entitled “Life is easy. Why do we make it so hard?” in Bangalore. Abhiram das from nearby Tumkur attended the presentation and gifted him with a copy of Srila Prabhupada’s Bhagavad-gita As It Is which he was happy to receive and promised he would read. Jon Jandai made his appearance at a TED Talk some years back sharing his deep realizations and convictions about sustainability and self-sufficiency. His inspiring talk has been seen by over 7 million people. The following can be viewed: https://youtu.be/21i_OCNLuYg.
Jon Jandai gave another talk in Bangkok entitled “To be different is good” which also expands on the same theme. This can be viewed at https://youtu.be/y_E0KwE7zL0. Many of the ideas expressed by Jon Jandai are very much in harmony with the many instructions given by Srila Prabhupada in the context of varnasrama dharma.
PANCHAGAVYA AYURVEDA FOR LEADING HEALTHY LIFE
On April 18, a one-day seminar on Panchagavya Ayurveda was organized in Hyderabad by IDVM-India in cooperation with the SAVE organization, Bharateeyam and Venugopala Swamy Goshala with main speaker Acharya Mehul Bhai. Details of the seminar can be read
MAY 2018
SRI SURABHI APP REACHES 1000 DOWNLOADS
From Subhananda Hari das: “By the mercy of Sri Guru and Sri Gauranga and good wishes of all devotees, we have reached 1000 downloads of the OM Sri Surabhi Campaign App. Thank you very much for your good wishes and support. We request you to kindly continue to support and promote the Sri Surabhi App.”
HOLISTIC COW CARE SEMINAR
On May 6, 2018, IDVM-India in collaboration with organizations SAVE, Bharateeyam and others held a one day seminar entitled HOLISTIC COW CARE with Dr. Sree Kumar as one of the speakers. Representatives of various organizations also addressed the assembly including Jananivas das from IDVM-India. Many of the members attending the seminar requested that more such seminars be conducted. Some of the attendees were themselves having goshalas and requested Dr. Sree Kumar to visit their goshala in a future visit.
GAURI’S OFFICIAL WEBSITE LAUNCHED
Devotees in Indonesia have been very active in the past few years promoting in many islands all over Indonesia the OM Sri Surabhi Campaign. Every month some 30 Go Pujas are performed by devotees on Purnima day. A number of books on the topics related to the varnasrama mission have already been translated in the local language of Bahasa Indonesia. To further facilitate the expansion and participation of devotees as well as the general public, the organizers of the Gau Raksha Indonesia (GAURI) launched their own website on May 7th, 2018.
COW CULTURE CONFERENCE IN CALIFORNIA – MAY 20TH
The first Cow Culture Conference of its kind was organized in San Jose on May 20th by the Sustainable Eco Alliance promoting the aims and objectives of the OM Sri Surabhi Campaign. Dr. Subramanian Swamy flew all the way from India just to attend the conference as he was invited to be the Key Note speaker. Also in attendance were His Holiness Bhakti Charu Swami, GBC members, His Holiness Bhakti Raghava Swami, ISKCON India Minister for Daiva Varnasrama, His Grace Vaisesika das, Temple President of ISKCON San Jose, His Grace Basu Ghosh das, Temple President of ISKCON Baroda and His Grace Damodar Dulal das, ISKCON India Minister for Cow Protection and Agriculture.
The program was organized by His Grace Sri Krishna Purusottama das and His Grace Sri Rama das. Some 400-people attended the function. For the full live coverage of the event, one can visit the following link: http://youtu.be/um5Cj5B7LoQ and a summary of the event may be read at the following link: http://www.srisurabhi.org/conference/cow-culture-conference-2018-california/
During the event, the organizers launched the IOS version of the Sri Surabhi App. Dr. Subramanian Swamy also launched the book MODERNITY is KILLING CIVILIZATION written by His Holiness Bhakti Raghava Swami
AYURVEDA (DINACHARYA AND RITUCHARYA) COURSE IN MAYAPUR
Concerned with many health issues that occur in day to day life caused by unregulated and unhealthy diet and lifestyle issues, ISKCON Daiva Varnasrama Ministry – India organized a short course on Ayurveda (Dinacharya and Ritucharya) from May 29th to June 1st in Sri Dham Mayapur. This course was organized in collaboration with the Mayapur Institute. Dinacharya is a daily schedule of meals and lifestyle whereas Ritucharya is a reasonable schedule as the body’s needs may change according to the changing seasons.
IDVM-India invited a devotee-Ayurvedic doctor from Hyderabad, Dr. Gummadavelli Srinivas MD (AY) to facilitate the course. Dr. Srinivas is a fifth-generation Ayurvedic doctor from his family lineage. He has 36 years of experience as a professional Ayurvedic doctor. “We have forgotten the ancient science and tradition of Ayurveda; in the olden days, everybody lived on the basis of Ayurveda. Every woman cooked food using the Ayurvedic prescriptions. In the early days, the kitchen was used for therapeutic purposes. So, this Dinacharya Ritucharya is meant to regulate our diet and lifestyle according to the structure of each body…” said Dr. Srinivas. For more information, one may read the following article at:
http://www.srisurabhi.org/latestnews/ayurveda-dinacharya-and-rtucharya-course/
SARANAGATI VILLAGE
Devotees at Saranagati Village in Western Canada have been discussing with local government officials how to introduce safety measures to protect the forest that surrounds the Venables Valley in which the community is located. The Province of British Columbia experienced severe forest fires last year that destroyed millions of acres of natural forest. Yearly, every summer brings hundreds of forest fires out of control, some life-threatening to local inhabitants. The measures being considered will provide employment opportunities for local devotees and will help introduce various cottage industries related to forest preservation and improved soil fertility. The effort will also facilitate introducing some of the principles of permaculture where both existing agriculture fields and forest can be improved to allow for more production. The well documented 50 pages report is being prepared with the help of various experts in the field of forestry, agriculture, wildlife, and water irrigation experts in consultation with some of the local resident devotees at Saranagati.
JUNE 2018
GLOBAL COW CULTURE SEMINAR IN PHILADELPHIA
ISKCON Philadelphia and some of the surrounding temples in New Jersey and Delaware hosted a series of seminars entitled GLOBAL COW CULTURE between the periods of June 15th to 18th. Devotees came from Pittsburgh and Detroit to participate in the programs. Presentations on the topic of Cow Culture were well received with over 100 books sold.
On June 15th, Maharaja arrived at the Philadelphia airport around 3:40 PM. Immediately after freshening up, in the same evening Maharaja attended a program in Bensalem addressing a group of Bhakti Vriksha members where he spoke about Lord Krishna’s three natural gifts of nature: 1) Cows, 2) Land and 3) Knowledge, all of whom are sacred and considered in the Vedic culture as our mothers. As parents want quality food and education for their children, the explanations given by Maharaja touched the hearts of many in the audience. After the session, many devotees purchased various varnasrama books on display. By the time we reached the temple after the program, it was late night around 11:30 PM” For the full report please read: http://www.srisurabhi.org/latestnews/global-cow-culture/
SOUTH KOREA OUTREACH
On June 20th, two devotees from Indonesia, Kisora prabhu, and Yadhava Hari prabhu, introduced the OM Sri Surabhi Campaign in South Korea. They decided to visit South Korea after discussing with some of the local authorities of ISKCON Korea who were interested to know more about the preaching activities carried out by the devotees. Visits included the cities of Seoul, Busan, and Pocheon. For more information, please read the full article at http://www.srisurabhi.org/latestnews/om-sri-surabhi-campaign-in-south-korea/
GAU AYURVEDA AND TRADITIONAL GURUKULA
IDVM-India organized a seminar on “Gau Ayurveda” and “Ancient Traditional Education System” on June 23 at Kumool, Andhra Pradesh, on June 24th at Hyderabad and on June 25th at Nizamabad, both in the State of Telangana. The speaker at the events was Sri Acharya Mehul Bhaijji.
To read the full report please visit the following link:
http://www.iskconvarnasrama.com/home/gau-ayurveda-traditional-gurukula/
NORTH AMERICA FARM CONFERENCE IN FLORIDA – JUNE 28
For full article please visit the following link: