Bhaktivedanta Manor Home of Lord Krishna

All glories to Lord Ramacandra on His divine appearance day! 

We wish all of you well and pray you perceive the transcendental blessing of Lord Rama upon you. Please meditate on this wonderful passage from Srila Prabhupada:

“The soldiers Lord Ramacandra recruited in the jungle were all monkeys and did not have proper equipment with which to fight the soldiers of Ravana, for Ravana’s soldiers were equipped with weapons of modern warfare whereas the monkeys could only throw stones, mountain peaks and trees. It was only Lord Ramacandra and Laksmana who shot some arrows. But because the soldiers of Ravana were condemned by the curse of mother Sita, the monkeys were able to kill them simply by throwing stones and trees. There are two kinds of strength — daiva and purusakara. Daiva refers to the strength achieved from the Transcendence, and purusakara refers to the strength organized by one’s own intelligence and power. Transcendental power is always superior to the power of the materialist. Depending on the mercy of the Supreme Lord, one must fight one’s enemies even though one may not be equipped with modern weapons. Therefore Krsna instructed Arjuna, mam anusmara yudhya ca: [Bg. 8.7] “Think of Me and fight.” We should fight our enemy to the best of our ability, but for victory we must depend on the mercy of the Supreme Personality of Godhead.” (SB 9.10.20, purport by Srila Prabhupada)

Today our common enemy throughout the world is the coronavirus, which has crossed all boundaries, whether those of nations, religions, castes, creeds, races, or genders. Our government health officials have given us ways to fend this virus off: maintain social distancing, wash your hands often, avoid touching your face, disinfect common areas. In the statement above, Srila Prabhupada offers us spiritual guidance for this pandemic namely, to increase our faith in Rama’s mercy by thinking of Him and depending on His shelter. In the final analysis, He is our ultimate protector and He offers us the ultimate protection.

Please join us Online from 7am at Bhaktivedanta Manor for greeting the Deities, guru-puja, and a special class by Bhakti Rasayana Sagar Maharaja devoted to the glories of Lord Rama. We will then perform Abhishek For Lord Ram at 11:00.

And on this auspicious day please bring your family together (in your home and over the Internet) to hear about the pastimes of Lord Rama, chant His names, and discuss His glories. Temporarily we are separated physically, but through the transcendental potency of hearing and chanting about Lord Rama, we can join our minds and hearts in His service and find solace at His lotus feet.

Spiritual Inspiration

– Online Morning Programme & Aratis – www.manor.media – Special Facebook Live Discussions – www.facebook.com/SoBhakti/ – Books available for reading & inspiration – www.vedabase.io – Online Courses (Launching Soon) – www.schoolofbhakti.com – Live broadcast from ISKCON Centres around the world- www.mayapur.tv

Krishna’s Helpers

Bhaktivedanta Manor is also reaching out to provide practical and spiritual assistance. Please contact our “Krishna’s Helpers” service and we’ll endeavour to mobilise our volunteers to help in whatever way we can. Pass on the message to those in need. (Email: help@krishnatemple.com / Whatsapp: 07579 776 925)

The Bhagavad gita Maha Yajna will be taking place in the Sri Krishna Haveli.

Recite the entire Bhagavad gita… in 5 hours!

Refresh your soul in the company of His Grace Kripamoya das & His Grace Navadvipa Chandra das. The entire 700 verses of the Gita will be recited, and chapter summaries will be presented. A fire yajna will be conducted throughout the recitation.

Gita Jayanti offers the opportunity to celebrate the appearance of Bhagavad Gita and to distribute this gem to many others. You are invited to sponsor Bhagavad Gitas and distribute them to your friends, family and colleagues. Alternatively the Temple on your behalf will place them in schools, universities, hospitals or prisons through its various programmes.

To sponsor Bhagavad gitas please click here

gita.bhaktivedantamanor.co.uk

This will be the first major event to take place in the Sri Krishna Haveli before we get the full handover over the venue in late January. The recital of the Bhagavadgita and the Yajna will take place in the function hall and we will also be serving prasad in the new facility.

It will be a wonderful opportunity for you to see two main halls in use for the first time.

This year there will be no Live Broadcast of the event as the venue is large enough to hold everyone.

The formal opening of the Sri Krishna Haveli will be announced in the new year once the handover is completed.

Every year, from the end of November till the end of December, devotees make a special effort to distribute Srila Prabhupada’s books to interested public. 

As part of the launch of this year’s Winter Marathon, Mahatma prabhu will be giving classes in the Manor’s temple room on Sunday 17th November, at 7.45am and 5.30pm. 

If you would like to take part in this important service, in whatever capacity, please contact Divyanama prabhu:

divyanama@krishnatemple.com

Monday 28th October 2019

Govardhana Puja, Go-Puja and Annakuta are all connected with the story of Lord Krishna lifting Govardhana Hill to protect the inhabitants of Vrindavan. On this day, a hill of sweets is made from food prepared by the devotees, which is then offered to the Deities, and subsequently distributed to everyone. This is known as the “annakuta” ceremony. Cows are honoured as part of the festivities as well.

Celebrations at Bhaktivedanta Manor

12:00pm Go-Puja in the Goshalla
1:00pm Govardhan Puja

Note: Annakuta Darshan from 7:30am-6:00pm  (darshan will be closed between 5:00am-7:30am)

The story behind Govardhan Puja
The day after Diwali is referred to as Annakuta, or Govardhan Puja. On this day the inhabitants of Vrindavan (Lord Krishna’s abode on Earth) would hold a harvest festival in honor of King Indra, the demigod who provided the rains essential for the harvest.

One day, however, Lord Krishna wanted to teach Indra a lesson. He convinced the inhabitants of Vrindavan to honor Govardhan Hill instead, whose fertile soil provided the grass upon which the cows and bulls grazed, and to honor the cows and bulls who provided milk and ploughed the lands. Outraged, Indra retaliated with terrifying thunderstorms. The Supreme Personality of Godhead, Krishna, calmly lifted Govardhan Hill with the little finger of his left hand. For seven days and seven nights the Lord held up Govardhan Hill, providing a giant umbrella to shelter the inhabitants of Vrindavan from the torrential rain. Realizing the futility of his actions, King Indra bowed down before the Lord with folded hands and offered prayers of supplication. In this way, Lord Krishna demonstrated that He is Deva Deva, the lord of the demigods, and that any purpose for which demigods might be worshiped could easily be served by worshiping Him, the cause of all causes.

Several thousand years later, on this same day, Srila Madhavendra Puri established a temple for the self-manifest Gopala Deity on top of Govardhan Hill.

To celebrate this festival, devotees build a replica of Govardhan Hill made of various opulent foods, worship Lord Krishna as the lifter of Govardhan Hill, worship the hill as His incarnation, and worship the cows and bulls who are dear to the Lord.

At the end of the festival, the hill of prasada (sanctified food) is distributed to the public. All Vaishnava temples in India observe this ceremony, and hundreds of people are given prasada according to the capacity of each temple.

Hare Krishna,

On behalf of the Festival Committee (FC) we are taking this opportunity to inform you that we have taken the decision to cancel the Diwali festival that was due to take place on Sunday at Bhaktivedanta Manor.

Due to the wet weather in recent weeks and after much deliberation we came to this unfortunate decision as the car parking fields are not in a good state to park vehicles over the weekend. Diwali at Bhaktivedanta Manor is a very popular event and very well attended therefore the requirement of good parking facilities is important, furthermore we have a commitment to the local area of ensuring our public events creates minimal disruption to their everyday lives – this means we make sure all visitors are parking within Bhaktivedanta Manor estate.

One of our priorities is to deliver festivals that provide exceptional visitor experience in a safe environment and ensure that the estate has minimum disruption or damage. On this occasion our assessment has identified the risk to visitor experience and further damage to the fields.

We thank you for your patience and understanding on this matter and let us assure you that we are looking for longer term solutions.

As Diwali is this weekend we are sure many of you will still want to visit the temple on Sunday & Monday. Just to clarify there will be no kirtan and drama tent on Sunday and the fireworks have also been cancelled.

Darshan will be available over the two days however if you are planning to visit – please allow extra time to get to the temple and may we request that all visitors follow the advice and directions of the Car Parking team once you have entered Bhaktivedanta Manor. The volunteers in the parking team as always will try and ensure that everyone is parked as easily and quickly as possible – your patience in this matter is appreciated.

If you are visiting this weekend – we look forward to seeing you. If you have decide that this year you are not planning to come to the temple – then we look forward to seeing you very soon at Bhaktivedanta Manor

Hare Krishna

Happy Diwali…

The wonderful period of Diwali & Govardhan Puja is fast approaching, giving all of us an opportunity to experience the festive spirit – sharing, giving and serving others. Simple & genuine acts of service help us to appreciate God’s kindness upon us and our good fortune.
Preparations for the festivals are well underway & we humbly request your help. So many devotees are are happy to have an opportunity to offer sweets and savouries for Lord Krishna’s Annakuta. Thalis are also offered to commemorate the passing away of our loved ones and to celebrate special occasions like anniversaries and birthdays.
Please take this opportunity for ‘Seva’ – whether you can sponsor 1 or 2 thalis or more, be sure to indicate in whose name they are to be offered. Some Annakuta maha prasad will be sent to your home and the rest will be distributed to all the pilgrims.
We remain grateful to you for your continued support.

Donate Securely online at:

https://crm.bhaktivedantamanor.co.uk/civicrm/contribute/transact?reset=1&id=7

Dusshera festival cancelled 

This year’s Dusshera Festival for Sunday 13th October has been cancelled, due to too much rain, making our car park and festival fields unusable. The safety of our visitors, and volunteers always comes first.

We sincerely apologise for any inconvenience this may cause and look forward to welcoming you for Diwali on Sunday 27th October.

The Kartik month starts on the 14th of October 2019 and runs for four weeks till 12th of November 2019.

During this time pilgrims come from far and wide to offer a lamp to Mother Yasoda and Lord Krishna. The importance of this month is described extensively in the scriptures, especially in Srila Rupa Goswami’s Mathura Mahatmya.

Every day, devotees come to the Temple and offer a candle or ghee lamp to Lord Damodara. The Damodarastakam, a series of eight beautiful verses by the great sage Satyavrata Muni is sung daily in the morning and evening.

Do join us for this most wonderful celebration Daily.

Morning: 7 AM
Evening: 7 PM (Sunday at 9 PM)

The Puranas (Vedic histories) extol the month of Kartik as the topmost in the calendar. Lord Krishna’s mercy is very easily accessible in this month and to demonstrate their sincerity devotees accept different austerities such as fasting, cutting down on non-essential activities and offering charity. Worship of Tulsi and serving Lord Krishna’s cows is especially glorified.

The month of Kartik begins on 14th October. Those who make a Kartik-vrata (vow) should start on the 13th of October. The vrata is concluded on the full moon (Purnima) on 12th November. In ISKCON temples around the world it is customary to sing Damodara-Astakam and to offer candles to Lord Krishna during this period.

13th September until the 28th September

Shraddha period is a very important time for those with deceased parents and grandparents, as during this period offerings are made to help the soul of the ancestor on its journey. Ancestors are important because we owe them our very existence, so the least we can do is to help them, even though they have disappeared from our sight.

The Shraddha season falls every year at the same time in the lunar calendar. Its date will, however, move around the normal calendar that everyone else uses, the solar calendar. Shraddh lasts for one fortnight from the beginning of the lunar month of Ashwin, which this years falls from the 13th September until the 28th September inclusive.

The Shraddha ceremony is something that everyone is meant to do for anyone in the family that has passed away. When ceremonies are performed for the benefit of our ancestors they are generally known as pitri yajna, and they are one of the major yajnas to be performed each day. While daily yajnas can take the form of simply offering food and water, the Shraddh ceremony is a special observance each year. Since everyone does it, it is easy to remember. In India it is a collective Day of Remembrance in which everyone offers their heartfelt gratitude to the departed loved ones.

Typical activities for Shraddah will vary but in the circles of the devotee community – those who worship Krishna – we offer foods, water and lamps to Krishna and then offer them to photographs of the ancestors. If there is no photo then their names are announced in the sankalpa or declaration of intent at the beginning of the ceremony. A visit to the temple is also advised during this period, to offer our prayers and seek Lord Krishnas blessings. Feeding of the cows at the goshalla is also recommended. When visiting the temple offerings are made of foodstuffs or donations. (please do not donate any more chapati flour as our stocks are overflowing and we have enough to last us a long time.)

Darshan Times

What donations can I make during Shraddha

(please do not donate any more chapati flour and rice as our stocks are overflowing and we have enough to last us a long time.)