Searching for Devotional Youths by Rama Vigraha das (ACBSP) Srila Prabhupada Ashrama Director at Sri Dham Mayapur
Is your teenage son spiritually inclined? Is he one of those kids who like to be active in devotional service? He likes to go to the temple more than others but feels a little out of place without peer association. Is he naturally indifferent to the latest fads, senseless parties and night life? He wants a more meaningful life and he wants good, fun friends to share it with. To those youngsters, normal life in the west can assert much unnecessary pressure and anxiety. They may give into that way of life to be "normal", yet they feel unsatisfied within. Or they may become the odd boy in the community.
To those boys we are calling out! Come, here is a place where you don’t have to bend to the materialistic ways of the world. Here at "Srila Prabhupada Ashrama" we offer you a beautiful simple setting surrounded by fruit trees where you’ll have the opportunity to meet others like you. These friends would become more like brothers to you. Here chanting japa is normal for most teenagers, and many of them have inner goals like chanting a set amount of rounds and finding a spiritual master. Here, you’ll get to go to mangala aratic and darshana aratic with the other ashrama youths. The Deity festivals are our big events, and we have the largest amount of festivals in all of ISKCON world. Here, you’ll get a chance to taste the sweetness of spiritual life through acts of devotion like fire yagnas and the chanting of mantras. You’ll swim in the sacred Ganga and play soccer on the holy dust of Nadia along with tens of other boys.
As a devotee parent you might be thinking "It all sounds wonderful, but what about education? Even most of our own ISKCON leaders have a degree." The answer is that these boys attend SMIS, the Sri Mayapur International School. Through SMIS they’ll be able to graduate with a Cambridge degree accepted in most Universities throughout the world.
Now it gets even better! During breaks the boys get to go home to reconnect with you. They also get to go on pilgrimage, camping and hiking in Lord Nrisimha’s Ahobalam (see next article) or to the Himalayas, what a sacred adventure!
How about prasadam? Now we offer homemade food. Your child will educate his palate to the international tastes; phalaphel, burritos, puri-subji, pasta, iddlis and (if I ever get an oven, pizza, bread and naans). All these foods offered with love to Srila Prabhupada, the worshipable deity of our ashrama.
Parents, take advantage of what Srila Prabhupada has given your children and give them a chance to develop firm faith in the Lord and his holy name in a sacred abode meant just for that.
Young adults, without devotees like you the reality of an ashrama will be lost to the artificial pressures of the materialistic society here in Mayapur, just like it has been lost in the rest of the ISKCON world.
For more information please contact Rama Vigraha das (ACBSP) at rvigrahadas@yahoo.com or call 91 8768745853. Also visit us at Facebook as Srila Prabhupada Ashrama. Our web site is in construction www.srilaprabhupadaashrammayapur.com
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