ISKCON 50 celebrations at Gita Nagari Dham

By Parama Rupa das

His Holiness Romapada Maharaj conducts retreats twice a year at the Gita Nagari Dham (http://www.theyogafarm.com/) on Memorial Day and Labor Day weekends.

Petals of ISKCON’s Lotus was the theme of this year’s Memorial Day weekend retreat. The celebrations commemorated 50 years of ISKCON’s formation, recognizing and honoring some of ISKCON’s contributions to the world today and gearing up for the next 50 years of service, devotion, and joy. Several of Srila Prabhupada’s disciples and senior devotees—including HH Romapada Swami, HG Ravindra Svarupa Prabhu, HG Tamohara Prabhu, HG Krsnanandini Mataji, HG Vraja Lila Mataji, HG Lokadhyaksa Prabhu and HG Vidarbha-suta Mataji (on behalf of HG Vaisesika Prabhu)—shared their profound realizations on various topics, complemented by ecstatic kirtans by kirtan teams from New York and Chicago.

Some snippets from the presentations made by the speakers:

  • HG Tamohara Prabhu deliberated on the formation and seven purposes of ISKCON, which are the foundational principles given to all of us by Srila Prabhupada. He emphasized the vital role of and need for proper education and training, underscoring the fact that ISKCON is an educational movement.

  • HG Ravindra Svarupa Prabhu spoke about Srila Prabhupada’s position as ISKCON’s Founder-Acarya and his role as the preeminent siksa-guru for all devotees today and those of all generations to come. His reflections indicated that Srila Prabhupada’s life is a lesson for all devotees, not just on how to be a spiritual master but how to be a real disciple. He drew a connection between personal and social dimensions of anartha and anartha-nivrtti, and how it plays a role in not only for one’s personal spiritual advancement but also for the continuation of ISKCON as an organization.

  • HH Romapada Maharaj addressed the theme of spiritual leadership, stressing leadership that honors unity in diversity and bases decisions on the foundational principle of keeping Krishna in the center. These principles help to bring unity within ISKCON and bring agreement in an ever-expanding variety of ISKCON devotees. As we move into the next 50 years, he reminded attendees that the key to ISKCON’s future success lies in properly understanding and sincerely following the instructions of our Founder-Acarya.

  • HG Krsnanandini Mataji and her husband Tariq Prabhu spoke about how cultivating strong Krsna conscious families is critical for a stronger ISKCON – aptly summarized by ‘healthy marriages, happy families, strong ISKCON’.

  • HG Vraja Lila Mataji emphasized the importance of cultivating devotee care communities.

  • HG Vaisesika Prabhu’s team (HG Lokadhyaksa Prabhu and his wife HG Vidarbha-Suta Mataji) inspired the audience by presenting philosophical reasons for why and practical aspects of how all devotees should distribute books—it is our family business!

To strengthen these petals in one’s local community, there were smaller breakout sessions with the speakers, where devotees could discuss and understand more deeply the implications of these petals for their personal and community advancement. The devotees also immersed themselves for hours in the nectarean ocean of Sri Hari Nama Sankirtan in the presence of Sri Sri Radha Damodara, Sri Sri Lalita Visakha Sakhi and Sri Sri Gaura Nitai (the presiding deities of the Gita Nagari Dham), grateful to the devotional voices of HG Ananta Govinda Prabhu, HG Acyuta Gopi Mataji and their kirtan teams. The retreat concluded with a wonderful question and answer session.

All in all, the retreat proved to be a very enlivening and invigorating experience for all participants, filling them with renewed inspiration and instilling a sense of belonging individually and collectively to ISKCON. Importantly, the participants felt inspired to deeply imbibe the mood and mission of Srila Prabhupada by following his instructions and actively participating in this glorious movement. It was a very blissful weekend of Krsna katha, inspiration, sadhu sanga, kirtan, and wonderful prasadam for all attending devotees.

Recorded videos playlist of all presentations, including kirtans, are available at :  http://romapadaswamimedia.com/the-sermons/gita-nagari-retreat-may-2016/

Source : http://www.dandavats.com/?p=29431

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