By Rambhoru Devi Dasi ACBSP
Dear ISKCON Devotees.
Recently, I had the good fortune of staying in Mayapur Dham for a few weeks. It was the first time I had visited since I had served there as a Gurukula teacher at the Boys International Gurukula (1997-1999). Both of my sons, now adults with families of their own attended there between the 1980’s and 1990’s. It was wonderful to see the way Mayapur Dham has developed since that time into the incredible pilgrimage place it now is. I know Srila Prabhupada is pleased that so many thousands of pilgrims line up daily to take darshan of the beautiful Radha Madhava, Nrsinghadev and Pancha Tattva Deities, learn to chant the Holy Name, buy Srila Prabhupada’s books and share in Prabhupada’s dream of establishing Mayapur as an international headquarters of the Hare Krishna movement.
Naturally, as a grandmother of four, I was eager to see how the Boys International Gurukula had evolved since I was there in the late 1990’s. To my surprise and disappointment, I saw that where the Boys International Gurukula had been, there was now either only remnants of school buildings or a patch of ground where they stood. In my sadness, I wondered what Srila Prabhupada would make of this. My dismay quickly turned to hope while touring the Sri Mayapur International School (SMIS) located next to the Householders quarters where I took the opportunity of meeting the new SMIS Principal, Ajaya Devi Dasi and some of the Gurukula teachers who also served there. As I walked around looking into classrooms and grounds, I saw the SMIS’s potential as an international model for Krishna Conscious communities worldwide and felt inspired to help them in some way. Ajaya dasi had been invited to take the position of principal at SMIS a few months prior at a time when her career as a school administrator in the mundane world was at its height. Despite this, she accepted the service of being the principal at SMIS due to her faith in the Krishna conscious process and her sincere desire to serve guru and Krishna. Anyone who has managed a project as large and complex as SMIS knows that to be successful at this service a person must have endless physical, emotional and spiritual resources in order to inspire, direct and support the teachers and students in their care. By Krishna’s grace, Ajaya Dasi has those qualities. Feeling inspired to help in some way, I asked Ajaya Dasi and her teachers what they needed in order to make SMIS the best gurukula it could possibly be. Ajaya Dasi and some of the SMIS teachers made me a “wish list”, that began with Ajaya’s greatest wish; to have more first class gurukula teachers that would increase the quality of student’s education and care. I have included these wishes as attachments that include Ajaya Dasi’s advertisement for what SMIS teachers are currently needed along with the qualifications the successful applicant will have, information about the school and some pictures. Accompanying this article is also a “wish list” of pre-k level teachers who would greatly appreciate pilgrims traveling to Mayapur to bring any items on that list. The contact person for delivering such items is Vrajalalana Devi Dasi (vrajalalana@mail.ru) teacher for 5 and 6 year old Vaishnavas. WISH LIST FOR SRI MAYAPUR INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL (PRE-K GRADE 5-6 YEARS)*Please contact Vrajalalana to deliver any of the following items (and more) for the SMIS Gurukula. Vrajalalana@mail.ru
“Krishna Art Book” the very first addition with Krishna kidnaping Rukmini on the front cover
Pictures and posters of different sizes on Krishna Lila, Gaura Lila, Rama Lila, Nrisimha Lila Photos and posters of Prabhupada. Krishna Conscious books for children KC puzzles and table games for reception level (primary school) Nice puppets and soft toys that can be used for telling KC stories and learning process. Wooden puppets (they have series on Gaura, Krishna, Nrisimha and Rama Lila) Little dolls for domestic role playing (to play a house games) Toy kitchen utensils, dishes and pots Animal toys (zoo set) they are made if plastic or rubber, look real , around 3 (or more) inches big Multi-locking cubes different sizes and colors Wooden blocks Beautiful color paper (with glitter, etc) Stickers with : Krishna, ABCs, numbers, animals, bugs, flowers, veggies and fruit, stickers (plane) of different shapes and colors. Beads and buttons of different shapes, size and colors Beads with ABC’S on them Stationary pipe cleaners Any reception level resources: games, posters, tables and cards with numbers, letters, sounds, rhyming words, rules on manners, character-building and safety. Anything nice and beautiful.