It was 15 years ago that I last visited the Bhakti Lounge in Wellington/New Zealand. It is an upbeat and unique outreach program run by around 14 enthusiastic brahmacarinis from all corners of the world, sharing a spacious flat as their ashram. Every morning they have a morning program, and in the afternoons and evenings they run different outreach programs in the nearby Bhakti Lounge: Yoga classes, presentations on various contemporary topics, kirtan evenings and a Soul Feast on Sundays. All programs conclude with nice prasadam at the end while personally connecting with the visitors. Participants pay a reasonable fee to attend the program and take prasadam - as much as they can eat. In this way, they manage to pay the rent and other expenses of the Bhakti Lounge Centre and the ashram.
They also distribute prasadam at a rented venue in town and at a local university, reaching out to young people. In this way, over the years, they have brought quite a few lost souls to Krishna consciousness who joined the ladies' and also men's ashram or situated themselves within the congregation. From time to time they also go on traveling Sankirtan and call a marathon for book distribution.
I stayed with these ladies for 10 days and had a wonderful time, giving class every morning and on the weekends offering various programs in the nearby temple and Indian congregation.
I was truly impressed by the solid training these brahmacarinis receive by running their own show in such a disciplined way. They get practical experience in almost all spheres of devotional life: cooking, cleanliness, sankirtan, leading kirtans, offering classes and presentations, coordinating and managing things, planning and budgeting, all the while cultivating a good standard of chastity and dress code, and above all: regulated and strict sadhana.
I stayed with these ladies for 10 days and had a wonderful time, giving class every morning and on the weekends offering various programs in the nearby temple and Indian congregation.
I was truly impressed by the solid training these brahmacarinis receive by running their own show in such a disciplined way. They get practical experience in almost all spheres of devotional life: cooking, cleanliness, sankirtan, leading kirtans, offering classes and presentations, coordinating and managing things, planning and budgeting, all the while cultivating a good standard of chastity and dress code, and above all: regulated and strict sadhana.
I could detect their inherent sense of ownership to the project which inspired them to work hard and immerse themselves in their activities. They felt a strong sense of responsibility to make ends meet and at the same time reach out to the conditioned souls and bring them to Krishna consciousness. These ladies were certainly on a mission for their spiritual master, His Holiness Devamrita Swami, who supervises and guides their activities in a very personal way.
I also came to know that Maharaja has established a good mentorship program and a matchmaking committee with a rather strict courting system - something which not every community has! The rules during the period of association are solid: The candidates never meet alone but always in the presence of a third person, and there is no question of staying overnight together at another devotees' or parents' home, or living already together before marriage. It was refreshing for me to witness such good care and training while setting clear boundaries to maintain our Vaishnava culture and principles - in a Western country such as New Zealand...!
When the time came to bid farewell, the girls offered me a huge farewell card with cartoon-like drawings depicting each and every ashram-girl, with sweet words of gratitude and appreciation. Our hearts had been moved...!
On the 28th of July I flew on to Sydney...
Your servant, Devaki dd
I also came to know that Maharaja has established a good mentorship program and a matchmaking committee with a rather strict courting system - something which not every community has! The rules during the period of association are solid: The candidates never meet alone but always in the presence of a third person, and there is no question of staying overnight together at another devotees' or parents' home, or living already together before marriage. It was refreshing for me to witness such good care and training while setting clear boundaries to maintain our Vaishnava culture and principles - in a Western country such as New Zealand...!
When the time came to bid farewell, the girls offered me a huge farewell card with cartoon-like drawings depicting each and every ashram-girl, with sweet words of gratitude and appreciation. Our hearts had been moved...!
On the 28th of July I flew on to Sydney...
Your servant, Devaki dd
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