International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON)
Founder/Acharya: His Divine Grace A.C BHAKTIVEDANTA SWAMI PRABHUPADA
HARE KRISHNA HARE KRISHNA KRISHNA KRISHNA HARE HARE HARE RAMA HARE RAMA RAMA RAMA HARE HARE
Taken at the
Jhulana Yatra Ceremony, Saturday 25th
August, 2007
The
New Govardhana Hare Krishna Community
525
Tyalgum Road, Eungella, NSW 2484. Phone 02 66723047
E-mail: ad@in.com.au or newgovardhana@aapt.net.au Website: www.newgovardhana.net
SEPTEMBER 2007
Past issues:
August
2007
HARE KRISHNA HARE KRISHNA KRISHNA KRISHNA HARE HARE HARE RAMA HARE RAMA RAMA RAMA HARE HARE
Farm
Animals
The 25-30 bullocks
or so, which live at the Farm community, are really magnificent
looking animals, but they are being a little bit mischievous at the
moment, getting into the gardens and just pushing through fences to
do so.
Lagudi
and Gopinath
have been repairing the fences around the new cattle grid and Lagudi
has been painting them.
PJ
pointed out the old bulls with different shapes that are due to old
age. It is a sight one does not
see normally, due to the fact that in the society they are being
slaughtered before their time. They do not get the chance to live
their life out naturally. God states that all living creatures are
very dear to Him, both small and large.
Cow protection is
essential. There is miracle in milk, for it contains all necessary
vitamins to sustain human physiological conditions for higher
achievements.
Brahminical
culture can advance only when man is educated to develop the quality
of goodness, and for this there is a prime necessity of food prepared
with milk, fruits and grains. (Extracted, in
part, from “The Art of Transcendence.”)
New
Arrivals
The little calf shown on the left, receiving loving parental care from its mother, is one of three born recently on the Farm. Gopinath takes care of the cows, calves and bullocks with help from Karen, the local Vet, who lives on the Farm and Gita Govinda Dasi.
Lord Krishna instructs us to adopt the principles of spiritual vegetarianism when he states: “Offer Me with love and devotion a fruit, a flower, a leaf, or water, and I will accept it.”
(Information has since been received from Gopinath stating that one of the new calves had died after a few days.)
Eating
beef 'is less
green than driving'
Producing 2.2 lb
of beef generates as much greenhouse gas as driving a car non-stop
for three hours, it was claimed yesterday. Japanese
scientists used a range of data to calculate the environmental impact
of a single purchase of beef. Taking into
account all the processes involved, they said, four average sized
steaks generated greenhouse gases with a warming potential equivalent
to 80.25 lb of carbon dioxide. This also consumed
169 mega joules of energy.
That means that
2.2lb of beef is responsible for greenhouse gas emissions which have
the same effect as the carbon dioxide released by an ordinary car
travelling at 50 miles per hour for 155 miles, a journey lasting
three hours.
The amount of
energy consumed would light a 100-watt bulb for 20 days. Most of the
greenhouse gas emissions are in the form of methane released from the
animals' digestive systems, New Scientist magazine reported. But more than two
thirds of the energy used goes towards producing and transporting
cattle feed, said the study, which was led by Akifumi Ogino from the
National Institute of Livestock and Grassland Science in Tsukuba,
Japan. Su Taylor, the
press officer for the Vegetarian Society, told New Scientist:
"Everybody is trying to come up with different ways to reduce
carbon footprints, but one of the easiest things you can do is to
stop eating meat. [2]
Visitors
from Ireland
On the right of the picture is Vaisnavi, who, together with her mother, her brother and her sister, are visiting Australia to attend her sister Latita’s wedding in Brisbane. Unfortunately, her sister, Gopi Esvari, who lives in the Washington D.C.,Temple caught a virus during the visit and has had to spend time at the Murwillumbah Hospital. The family are visiting Australia from the Emerald Isle and during their visit set aside a week to spend at the New Govardhana Farm. Vaisnavi is shown here with resident of the Farm Community, Rohini.
Sri Sri Radha Govardhanadhari installed 28 years ago
The 28th anniversary installation of Sri Sri Radha Govardhanadhari was celebrated on the 5th August. The ceremony included the bathing of Radha and Krishna, kirtans, and a very interesting talk given by Sabhapati, a devotee, who took us on a monumental journey regarding the very beginning of the New Govardhana community.
A few devotees got together years ago to establish the Community for Srila Prabhupada and Lord Krishna, and some of these same devotees were also there in the temple with us that night sharing their story, adventure, hardships, and mysteries. They were Maha Mantra who is a bricklayer; Stoka Krishna, in charge of the candle factory and who sold the candles to raise revenue; Janmejaya, who built the gates at the front of the Deities and built the bridge. Dhara, a little girl 5 years old at the time, is now 33 years old and studying for her PhD.
In brief - In
the beginning, 800 acres of land was purchased, consisting of some
paddocks, on which cattle used to be raised, but mainly tree and bush
covered hills. There were no facilities apart from a house where they
were all able to stay. There was no bridge across the river and they
had to wade across. There were no roads, or other buildings.
They all had to
find employment in order to raise the money for paying off the land
and developing it, including building the Temple, which was the
primary objective.
It would be lovely to hear it all again at next years 29th anniversary installation. Hari Bol.
Questions
Janurani and Govinda dasi
gathered flowers, the two girls talked together. Both had heard the
men say that women were less intelligent, and they felt discouraged.
Question:
Srila Prabhupada, is it true that because we are women we won’t
make advancement as quickly as the brahmacharis (a celibate monk; the
first of the four ashramas, or spiritual orders of life.)
Srila Prabhupada;
“Yes”, Prabhupada answered, “If you think of
yourselves as women, how will you make any advancement? You must see
yourself as spirit soul, eternal servant of Krishna.
Srila
Prabhupada Lilamrta – part one page 69
Servants
of Krishna
When one becomes familiar with the Farm community it becomes obvious that there are many very interesting people who are dedicating their lives to the service of Krishna, all with differing stories of how they found their own particular path to Krishna. Gita Govinda is one such person and this is her story.
Gita Govinda Dasi was born in New-Zealand, when only three months old her family moved to Australia. At a young age Gita was always seeking to be in spiritual groups, churches, monasteries, festivities of any kind that involved God.
This very strong attraction and with some family resistance to her longing, Gita Govinda left home when she was only fifteen years old. Gita was desperate, but heard that there was a spiritual festival happening only thirty miles away, so Gita headed that way, and told herself she will join the group who will be able to answer her questions.
After talking to many different groups who were unable to give her answers to her questions, she came across the Hare Krishnas. To her questions; ‘Who am I” “Why am I here” “Why do people get sick and die” she received answers that made sense to her, so she went home with them, which meant going back to New Zealand.
After
many months in New Zealand, Gita Govinda went back to Australia to
let her family know that she was alright, but found that they had
thrown all her belongings away, and did not want to have anything to
do with her. (Time has softened that a little). After visiting a few
temples in Australia, she went back to the ISKCON Farm in New
Zealand.
Gita took Initiation, became a Brahmacarini, qualified as a Pujari (priest), studied, and later on went out to help with the distribution of Srila Prabhupada’s books.
In
1990 Gita came to live on the Farm at New Govardhana, Murwillumbah,
with strong aspirations to worship Krishna Balarama, and to achieve
what Srila Prabhupada wanted.
Simple living; high thinking;, spend your time in Krishna
consciousness; build your own house; grow your own food; make your
own clothing; make your own medicines.
Build your own home: Pictured in this article is the home that Gita has built out of mud bricks, re-cycled timbers, beautiful leadlight windows that she has made, a re-cycled spiral staircase and many other features which have still to be completed.
Make your own clothes: Gita spins and weaves to make her own clothes.
Grow your own vegetables: Gita attempts to grow her own vegetables, but says that she is not very successful.
Make your own medicines: Gita grows – Aloe Vera for burns - Comfrey for poultices and sprains - Bhrami for the memory - and other different herbs for general health.
Gita’s home
is in the bush, surrounded by the wild life, with whom she has a
great affinity.
Devotees start their day at 4-00 a.m. and complete sixteen rounds of the Maha mantra each day. Some of Gita’s duties include making the garlands for the Deities, together with many other devotees; attending to her Pujari commitments of worshipping the Deities. Gita works for three days a week, and sells the items she makes at the markets. Her duties at the Farm Community include attending to the cows which she works riding her horse, Mohini. There are also general cleaning duties.
Gita, PJ, Ian, and other devotees are planting a large amount of frangipani trees, and flowers, so that there will always be an abundance of flowers on the farm for making garlands.
The Vaisnava Calendar for the rest of September will appear here soon.
