OM SRI SURABHYAI NAMAH! OM SRI GURAVE NAMAH!
This is the seventeenth Quarterly Report summarizing the on-going developments of the OM Sri Surabhi Campaign – 2015 to 2027 – in our attempt to promote the Varnasrama mission both in India and in various countries. All the previous reports published can be read on our two main websites at www.iskconvarnasrama.com and www.srisurabhi.org.
JANUARY 2019
INDIA
Om Sri Surabhi Campaign
The OM Sri Surabhi Campaign conducted a four-day program in the surrounding villages of Rajsingpur in Maharashtra from January 1st to 4th having been invited by His Grace Syamananda Prabhu, one of the early founders of the OM Sri Surabhi Campaign and the devotee who nicely documented the feature video introducing the Surabhi Campaign in the year 2014 (this video can be viewed on the main page of www.srisurabhi.org). Syamananda Prabhu himself is cultivating some land and keeping a few cows. More recently he has been appointed as a Co-State Coordinator for the OM Sri Surabhi Campaign for the State of Maharashtra.
Dharma Gau Gram Yatra in Telangana
The Dharma Gau Gram Yatra continued its outreach to villages in the State of Telangana under the supervision of His Grace Rama Lakshmana Prabhu who helped to cover four villages, including his very own village, in the District of Nalgonda. Programs were conducted in the villages of Ibrahim Peta, Kotha Palli, Battu Gudem and Gurram Pad, from January 9th till 24th with overwhelming responses.
Parasara Krishna Yajna (January 14 to February 25)
This program was a follow-up to an earlier program conducted in the fall of last year with our Consultant for Vedic Farming, Sriman Kautilya orchestrating a 41 day yajna beginning January 14, 2019. The initiative was undertaken to demonstrate the importance of following specific directives given by Sage Parasara in the matter of timely planting of seeds according to tithi and the importance of performing Homa both at the beginning, during and at the end of the yajna.
IDVM-India Annual Meeting (January 24/25)
As usual, the ISKCON Daiva Varnasrama Ministry for India (IDVM-India) held its annual meeting at the beginning of the new year, this time at Kamyavan, a new project spearheaded by HG Sri Rama Prabhu nearby Hyderabad. National Directors from different parts of India participated in the two-day event. Highlights of the meeting can be read on the Home Page of the Ministry’s main websites.
Consultants for IDVM-India
IDVM-India introduced the concept of “Consultants” for the Ministry by appointing four members who have been active in developing some particular aspect of the Varnasrama mission. Anyone in India or even outside of India may avail of this facility by directly contacting these devotees to either consult with them or invite them to hold a seminar or conference in their area. If anyone would like to be a consultant or would like to refer someone to be a Consultant, please contact our Ministry Secretariat in Sri Mayapur.
The four nominated Consultants and their contact are as follows:
- Prananatha das, Yoga brs@gmail.com
- Srinivas, Ayurveda dattu.nursinghome@gmail.com
- Sriman Kautilya, Vedic Farming shiva01@gmail.com
- Sree Kumar, Holistic Management ulava92@yahoo.com
New Director of Communications
Sriman Raghava, son of our National Co-Director for the OM Sri Surabhi Campaign, His Grace Rajaram Prabhu, was unanimously appointed as National Director of Communications for the Ministry. In the month of December, Sriman Raghava has attended a seminar in Delhi organized by ISKCON Communications of India where the Global Minister for Communications, His Grace Anuttama Prabhu, was one of the keynote speakers.
New Director of Social Media
IDVM-India now has a new portfolio added, that of Social Media. His Grace Gour Gopal Prabhu was appointed as National Director for this important post.
Varnasrama College at SSKBK
As in previous years, His Grace Hari Kirtan Prabhu, National Director for Rural Development, organized a short-term Varnasrama College at our rural project in the District of Udupi, South Karnataka, Sahyadri Sri Krishna Balarama Ksetra (SSKBK). Some 14 students participated. In addition to resident Faculty such as His Grace Sri Jiva Prabhu (Head Pujari), His Grace Giriraja Prabhu (Head for Agriculture and Cow Protection) and His Grace Rama Lakshman Prabhu (Director for Youth Rural Outreach), two visiting Faculty also attended the Varnasrama College, His Grace Guru Gauranga, Yoga teacher from Bangalore and His Grace Brajanandana, Panchagavya Products teacher.
Farm Retreat at Narasimhapally Vedic Village
Devotees organized a one day retreat at Narasimhapally Vedic Village located some 60 Kilometers from Hyderabad. Go Puja was performed and both HH Bhakti Raghava Swami, Minister for IDVM-India and Sriman Jonson from Malaysia, addressed the assembled devotees.
Ayurveda Workshop in Sri Mayapur
Dr Srinivas, Yoga Consultant for IDVM-India, conducted another workshop in Sri Mayapur on the topic of Ayurveda and general health. Students from different countries attended his seminar.
New E-Mail Address for IDVM-India
IDVM-India now has an official email address making it easier for those interested to contact the Secretariat Office located in Mayapur. The new email address is secretariat@iskconvarnasrama.com
Visit from Malaysia
Sriman Jonson Chong who had hosted a Cow Conference in Penang last year visited India to actively participate in some of the village outreach programs of the Dharma Gau Gram Yatra as well as to attend the Annual Meeting of the Ministry. He shared his realizations about his experiences in Malaysia.
FEBRUARY 2019
INDIA
OM Sri Surabhi Campaign National Office
The National Office for the OM Sri Surabhi Campaign was officially inaugurated on February 2, 2019, with several guests and delegates from different organizations who are involved in cow related programs and activities. The office space was offered by one of the National Co-Directors who lives in Secunderabad, His Grace Rajaram Prabhu. The office is especially meant to help coordinate the efforts of the Surabhi Campaign as it prepares itself to appoint State Directors in different parts of India.
Dharma Gau Gram Yatra in Pune, Maharastra
Under the leadership of His Grace Srinath Prabhu, full-time Brahmacari with ISKCON Pune, the team heading up the Dharma Gau Gram Yatra was able to systematically cover four villages introducing the outreach village programs covering both the Nama Hatta Sanga (spiritual sva-dharma) and the Krishi Go Raksha Sanga (material sva-dharma). The response of the people in Maharashtra was very positive.
Vedic Sociology Seminar at ISKCON Pune
During the three-week outreach programs in the local villages of Pune, His Grace Srinath Prabhu organized a two-day seminar at ISKCON Pune where HH Bhakti Raghava Swami presented a series of five lectures on the topic of Vaisnava Vedic Sociology. The program was well attended by devotees and a number of books on varnasrama were also distributed.
Holistic Farming Seminar at Kamyavan
His Grace Sri Rama Prabhu organized a one-day Holistic Farming Seminar at Kamyavan. Present at the meet was His Grace Damodar Dulal Prabhu, National Minister for Cow Protection in India. Details of the event can be read on our Ministry websites.
Holistic Management Workshop by Dr SreeKumar
Dr Sree Kumar, the Ministry Consultant on Holistic Management, gave a one-day seminar on the topic of Holistic Management at Kamyavan. Many of the concepts and ideas are taken from the Holistic Management theories presented by the well-known biologist Alan Savory who heads the Savory Institute.
CAMBODIA
His Grace Guna Avatara who oversees the activities at the Yashodapur Eco Village in Cambodia shared his monthly report informing about two new additional calves born at the village. The full report may be read at www.srisurabhi.org
MARCH 2019
INDIA
Varnasrama & Krishna Consciousness Seminar in Mayapur
From March 12 to 14 His Grace Hari Kirtan Prabhu gave a seminar entitled Varnasrama & Krishna Consciousness. The seminar was facilitated by the Mayapur Institute (MI) and organized by Vishnurata Prabhu who heads up the Ministry’s Secretariat in Mayapur.
Health Consultation at Sri Mayapur
Dr Srinivas did a follow-up to his previous conference on Ayurveda by providing free consultations to interested devotees.
GERMANY (March 15 to 22)
As part of the Dharma Gau Gram Yatra and the research on Vedic Sociology connected with Osmania University, HH Bhakti Raghava Swami began his two-month tour of Europe by first visiting the Simhachalam Farm Community in Germany, from February 15 to 22. The field work involved collecting data from 6 local leaders and 40 members of the community. Just before leaving Simhachalam, Maharaja conducted a Go Puja which coincided with Gaura Purnima and attended by various members of the community.
CZECH REPUBLIC (March 22/23)
On the way to Hungary, Maharaja stopped in the Czech Republic to meet devotees at the Brnor centre. The next day, all the devotees visited the fledgeling farm community some 40 Kilometers from Brnor. The location covers some 16 hectares which used to be a community factory during the communist regime. The amazing thing about this new location is that the devotee found some of Srila Prabhupada’s books that had been confiscated by the KGB and disposed of in one of their godowns (store rooms).
HUNGARY (March 23 to 30)
The last visit of the month took HH Bhakti Raghava Swami who as accompanied by His Grace Jaya Rama Prabhu from Switzerland to New Vraja Dham at Krishna Valley, some 2 hours from Budapest. The same survey was conducted with 6 local leaders and 40 local family members.
Prepared by: HH Bhakti Raghava Swami
PDF Version can be read & downloaded as bellow.
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