By Bhaktin Sue
A new year always comes with new and exciting things. As devotees we are always patiently waiting to see what new things Krishna has in store for us. It is said that “change provides us with clues that the universe is holding a vision much grander than we could ever imagine.” So with this in mind ISKCON Mayapur is launching its brand new exciting project “Mayapur Worldwide”, a project that at one point none of us could ever have imagined how it was going to emerge or whether it was ever going to happen at all but it has and we hope that you will be as exited by it as we are.
Srila Prabhupada had many dreams and one of his dreams for Mayapur was:
”Mayapur, I would like to attract people from the whole world to Mayapur.”
On a recent pilgrimage to Sridham Mayapur I was requested by the Mayapur Management to assist in making this dream a reality. Being an insignificant soul and never having met Srila Prabhupada, it was quite a challenge to understand exactly what he might have wanted me to do. However as a book distributor I knew the key was to feel the presence of HDG at every moment and have faith that he would assist me like he has always assisted me when doing book distribution. Within no time at all Srila Prabhupada sent some of his very dear disciples and devotees to help guide me with this project.
Through the mercy of the UK authorities and HG Praghosa Prabhu in particular, Mayapur Worldwide has been given the opportunity to make Srila Prabhupada’s dream a reality. Mayapur Worldwide has its virtual headquarters in the UK (the first service to operate from the sky!). Our website address is www.mayapurworldwide.org . Our UK free phone number is 0844 8848 748.
Mayapur Worldwide has many branches and it is a free outreach and pilgrimage service. It is run by congregational devotees who act as travel counsellors around the world. Their service is rendered free to both international devotees and guests. Mayapur Worldwide also assists the Mayapur Management to supervise and promote Mayapur related projects and events in each country, thereby helping people understand the true mood of Sridham Mayapur. In keeping with Srila Prabhupada’s mood we also work closely with the Mayapur Management to look into ways of showing appreciation to international devotees who are assisting to push forward Srila Prabhupada’s mission, while retaining our main focus of promoting Sri Mayapur dham.
We are currently recruiting leaders from each country to assist us with this project. If you are interested in leading this project and making Srila Prabhupada’s dream a reality in your country, then please email us a short CV to mayapurworldwide@pamho.net.
(Ideally each leader should have visited Sridham Mayapur, should have some management experience, be enthusiastic and be following the four regulative principles. Training and Supervision will be provided)
Although we are only launching now, Mayapur Worldwide has had a very successful 2008. We attended all the UK and Irish rathayatras, as well as other events and were given a very warm welcome from both the public and the ISKCON devotees. We also attended one of the most prestigious and biggest events in the Travel World, the 2008 World Travel Market which was held at the Excel Centre in the UK. With the blessings of Srila Prabhupada, I met with some very influential people and managed to secure discounted travel packages for devotees. So please keep an eye on the website for many, many new exciting offers to be launched during the course of 2009. Our website is only in its first stage of development, so please expect lots more to come!
My deep thanks go to Bhakti Purusottama Swami and the management team for opening the door for new congregation members to serve Sri Mayapur dham. I pray that this will inspire many others in the future. The support and encouragement I have received from the Management and HG Praghosa Prabhu was very beneficial to the growth of this service as well as personally to me as a devotee.
My heartfelt thanks also go to the Mayapur Worldwide team, honoured sponsors and well wishers in assisting us in this project.
We humbly ask if you would all give us your kind blessings, support and encouragement so we can endeavour to make Srila Prabhupada’s dream become a reality.
If you have any exciting memories, pictures or miracles or something about Sridham Mayapur to share, then please do not hesitate to email it to us at mayapurworldwide@pamho.net .We would love to hear from you and place your contribution on our website to inspire others about the transcendental glories of Sridham Mayapur. We also invite you to visit our stands and personally come and share your Mayapur experience with us wherever we may be promoting Sri Mayapur Dham in 2009 and beyond.
“Sri Mayapur Dham ki Jai!”