Upon my arrival in Dhaka on the 31st of March I immediately focussed on preparing things for our Holy Name Retreat at Rup Sanatan Tirtha near Jessore.
I had invited Tribanga Prabhu to join us for the event - as a disciple of HH Radhanath Swami and originally coming from Czech Republic, he is now living in Mayapur. I had met him there during the last couple of years, and I had discovered him to be leading melodious and prayerful kirtans.
I had booked a domestic flight to Jessore for the 3rd of April for myself and him, and I was receiving him at the Dhaka Airport on the same morning, upon his arrival from Calcutta.
It is always nice to receive foreign devotees in Bangladesh - it is so beneficial for them to experience the culture and sweet mood of the local devotees here, and it is also wonderful for our Bangla devotees to meet the dedicated devotees from the Western world, who have decided against a life in oppulence and sense enjoyment.
Thus both sides are truly benefitted....
Wednesday the 3rd of April marked the day of arrival for our Holy Name Retreat at the birth place of Rupa and Sanatan Goswami. Our local ISKCON temple serves as a most suitable place for such an event, since it is situated in a peaceful and secluded rural area - away from all the usual distractions!
It is always nice to receive foreign devotees in Bangladesh - it is so beneficial for them to experience the culture and sweet mood of the local devotees here, and it is also wonderful for our Bangla devotees to meet the dedicated devotees from the Western world, who have decided against a life in oppulence and sense enjoyment.
Thus both sides are truly benefitted....
Wednesday the 3rd of April marked the day of arrival for our Holy Name Retreat at the birth place of Rupa and Sanatan Goswami. Our local ISKCON temple serves as a most suitable place for such an event, since it is situated in a peaceful and secluded rural area - away from all the usual distractions!
We welcomed around two hundred devotees, most of the participants being students from the nearby districts of Rajsahi, Khulna, Jessore, Bagerhat, Barishal, Pirojpur, Bhola, Potuakhali, Bagura and Tangail. Some temple devotees and matajis from the congregation also joined the event.
The political situation in Bangladesh had recently been very disturbed, with constant strikes disrupting daily affairs all around the country. It is the last year before elections, and during this entire year the opposing parties are frequently demonstrating their power by calling strikes, which means that no traffic is allowed to operate. Any vehicle which is disregarding these strike rules are set on fire. Train tracks are often damaged in order to cause trains to go off the rails. And sometimes the trains are also set on fire....
This year these strikes had become more violent and aggressive than ever before, with many people losing their lives. It had made our plans for preaching difficult and unpredictable, with the strikes being announced only a few days ahead.
The political situation in Bangladesh had recently been very disturbed, with constant strikes disrupting daily affairs all around the country. It is the last year before elections, and during this entire year the opposing parties are frequently demonstrating their power by calling strikes, which means that no traffic is allowed to operate. Any vehicle which is disregarding these strike rules are set on fire. Train tracks are often damaged in order to cause trains to go off the rails. And sometimes the trains are also set on fire....
This year these strikes had become more violent and aggressive than ever before, with many people losing their lives. It had made our plans for preaching difficult and unpredictable, with the strikes being announced only a few days ahead.
But nevertheless we had planned for this retreat and were simply hoping for the best.....!
In the last minute we had to make some slight adjustments to the proposed dates and had to shorten the event for one day. The last sceduled day of the retreat marked once again the beginning of a three-day strike, which would have made it impossible for the participating devotees to travel back to their home districts. So we had to come to terms of shortening the retreat for one day and be satisfied with a three-day event.
During these turbulent times people were not so eager to travel unless absolutely necessary. Thus only the most sincere devotees had assembled for the retreat - Krsna had tested our sincerity and eagerness, and the political turmoil had served as a natural process of sifting out the sincere candidates.....
Everyone happily tuned into the mood and fully applied themselves to the topic of chanting the holy name. And once again our famous Kirtan ARROW provided the most genius formula to prepare the consciousness and open the heart to receive Hari Nama Prabhu on deeper levels.
The humerous skits played by groups of devotees at the beginning of each day demonstrating the topics of the previous day's discussions were very thoughtfully composed and acted out in funny ways, and everybody gained deeper insights into the secrets of chanting in japa and kirtan.
In the last minute we had to make some slight adjustments to the proposed dates and had to shorten the event for one day. The last sceduled day of the retreat marked once again the beginning of a three-day strike, which would have made it impossible for the participating devotees to travel back to their home districts. So we had to come to terms of shortening the retreat for one day and be satisfied with a three-day event.
During these turbulent times people were not so eager to travel unless absolutely necessary. Thus only the most sincere devotees had assembled for the retreat - Krsna had tested our sincerity and eagerness, and the political turmoil had served as a natural process of sifting out the sincere candidates.....
Everyone happily tuned into the mood and fully applied themselves to the topic of chanting the holy name. And once again our famous Kirtan ARROW provided the most genius formula to prepare the consciousness and open the heart to receive Hari Nama Prabhu on deeper levels.
The humerous skits played by groups of devotees at the beginning of each day demonstrating the topics of the previous day's discussions were very thoughtfully composed and acted out in funny ways, and everybody gained deeper insights into the secrets of chanting in japa and kirtan.
Our theme song of Sri Kevalastakam entered everyone's heart and became dear to one and all, capturing and preserving the sweet and deep atmosphere of the retreat within our minds and hearts.
During the closing ceremony devotees expressed their heartfelt gratitude for the transformational experience and requested that such retreats should be offered again and again.
Retreats are a powerful tool in order to fulfill Srila Prabhupada's request of 'boiling the milk' to become sweeter and deeper devotees - solid burfi-like devotees....!
And our devotee students are the future of ISKCON in Bangladesh....! They will be the leaders of tomorrow, and they will be the ones who will move the preaching forward and introduce a higher level of organisation within our temples in order to make us more systematic and well structured in our battle against Kali Yuga's advance.....
As Srila Prabhupada instructed before leaving this world: intelligence and organisation will be required to win the battle against maya, empowered by purity through attentive chanting - not only on the level of the body and mind, but also on the level of the heart.....!
As Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakur had instructed us: make your chanting heart-deep, not just lip-deep......
After the retreat we spent two more days in Jessore conducting programs with the students. I also visited our first BACE flat for student girls and gave an introductory talk on the important topic of the position of women within spiritual culture.
Even here in Bangladesh the ladies are affected by the illusion of immitating the Western worldviews and life style, thinking this to be progress in life....
During the closing ceremony devotees expressed their heartfelt gratitude for the transformational experience and requested that such retreats should be offered again and again.
Retreats are a powerful tool in order to fulfill Srila Prabhupada's request of 'boiling the milk' to become sweeter and deeper devotees - solid burfi-like devotees....!
And our devotee students are the future of ISKCON in Bangladesh....! They will be the leaders of tomorrow, and they will be the ones who will move the preaching forward and introduce a higher level of organisation within our temples in order to make us more systematic and well structured in our battle against Kali Yuga's advance.....
As Srila Prabhupada instructed before leaving this world: intelligence and organisation will be required to win the battle against maya, empowered by purity through attentive chanting - not only on the level of the body and mind, but also on the level of the heart.....!
As Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakur had instructed us: make your chanting heart-deep, not just lip-deep......
After the retreat we spent two more days in Jessore conducting programs with the students. I also visited our first BACE flat for student girls and gave an introductory talk on the important topic of the position of women within spiritual culture.
Even here in Bangladesh the ladies are affected by the illusion of immitating the Western worldviews and life style, thinking this to be progress in life....
The word hierarchy means 'divine order' - it is given by Krsna and will always be a divine order. On the top of this order is nobody else but Krsna.
However, if Krsna is removed from the top of this hierarchy, then the same becomes exploitation and suppression and loses its divine nature. The solution to this inauspicious situation is not equality, but to place Krsna back on the top of the divine order.
My explanations struck the young ladies' hearts and minds.....
Even in this part of the world so-called progressive people think the solution to the exploitation and mistreatment of women is equality, not understanding that Krsna has established a divine hierarchy within this material world - a perfect system to support our endeavors of going back to Godhead.......
Tribanga Prabhu shared his realizations and appreciation of his visit to Bangladesh. It had been a unique and unforgettable experience for him.....
On the 12th of April I flew off to Kathmandu/Nepal for yet another transcendental adventure - our second Youth Festival....
Your servant, Devaki dd
However, if Krsna is removed from the top of this hierarchy, then the same becomes exploitation and suppression and loses its divine nature. The solution to this inauspicious situation is not equality, but to place Krsna back on the top of the divine order.
My explanations struck the young ladies' hearts and minds.....
Even in this part of the world so-called progressive people think the solution to the exploitation and mistreatment of women is equality, not understanding that Krsna has established a divine hierarchy within this material world - a perfect system to support our endeavors of going back to Godhead.......
Tribanga Prabhu shared his realizations and appreciation of his visit to Bangladesh. It had been a unique and unforgettable experience for him.....
On the 12th of April I flew off to Kathmandu/Nepal for yet another transcendental adventure - our second Youth Festival....
Your servant, Devaki dd
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