Diary

Is our family life an ashrama?

3/28/2021

For the month of March I returned to the community of Simhachalam in the Bavarian Forest. It was wonderful to be back at Lord Nrsimhadeva's lotus feet, and in the association of His dedicated devotees.

I kept myself busy with temple programs, mataji sangas, private discussions and online programs over zoom. And I continued working on my next book entitled "Entering the Grihastha Ashrama"....

At what age to get married?

3/1/2021

For the entire month of February I visited Cologne temple and had a wonderful time. I was invited to offer the False Ego seminar over four Sundays which was indeed a great idea - during the Corona times certainly the best way to get the highest number of participants. Additionally, I kept myself busy with programs over zoom, morning classes and lots of personal meetings and exchanges with the local devotees. It was well spent time with a good variety of engagements.

Are we doing something wrong with our children?

1/28/2021

For the entire month of January I stayed in Simhachalam, keeping myself busy with programs and seminars over zoom - one after another. It was almost a bit of a marathon! I started to develop a taste for them and managed to create a somewhat personal atmosphere, by connecting privately with some of the participants at the end of each session. It was nice to be able to reach people from all corners of the world - just by sitting in my room in Simhachalam!

My fond memories of Xmas

12/28/2020

It was the first time for many years that I had an opportunity to spend Xmas with my mother. Since I have been in Germany for the last months, I didn't have a good reason not to. In Germany, Xmas is traditionally a family festival, and I didn't have the heart to leave her to herself - in her advanced age....

Srila Prabhupada visits white hell

12/22/2020

On my return to Simhachalam/Germany on the 19th of November I decided to stay for one month, associate with the wonderful devotees of this dynamic community, give online programs and continue working on my book.

Living in an extended family

11/19/2020

After having spent three and half weeks at my mother's home in a village outside of Tuebingen I could hardly wait to return to the association of devotees. In Simhachalam everyone had recovered from the Corona virus, and it was safe for me to return. I decided to make a little detour and visit the devotees in the small community of Leipzig for the main Kartik festivals of Govardhana Puja and Srila Prabhupada's disappearance. It had been four years ago that I visited the devotees here last, and meanwhile the preaching center had moved to a bigger place.

Offering prayers with my mother

11/13/2020

In the second half of October I went to see my mother - she had fallen over in the bathroom at night and had hit her forehead against a radiator, which created a wound that had to be stitched up. So I felt I should give her some association and care.

Overcoming the swamp of indifference

11/1/2020

On the 15th of October - a few days after returning to Simhachalam - I took a 7-hour train ride to the temple in Bad Oeynhausen to offer another Holy Name Retreat over three days. Even though the Corona restrictions had become tighter, a crowd of around 50 devotees assembled, most of them being of Russian descent. Some devotees had come a long distance and had accepted the austerity of a 9-hour car drive to participate. What a sign of determination and sincerity in deepening their relationship with the holy name...!

The holy name reveals everything

10/10/2020

Shortly after returning from Vienna/Austria to Simhachalam/Germany at the end of September, I went on another trip to Czech Republic. We had scheduled a Holy Name Retreat over a long weekend on the farm outside of Prague. Despite the Corona infection rate increasing from day to day, it was rather well attended by around 35 devotees who are part of the farm community. Devotees from other parts of the country did not have the courage to come and attend.

Becoming people-focused rather than project-focused

9/22/2020

The first two weeks of September I stayed in Simhachalam/Germany and continued working on my next book. Since I anticipated another Corona wave coming up in autumn, I decided to go once again traveling while the weather was nice - to use the time before life could become more restricted again.