Project Inauguration: Books Are The Basis

/ / Published in Announcements  /  

Dear GBCs’ and members of the leadership conference,
Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Srila Prabhupada.

With prayers from Sridham Mayapur that you are safe amidst the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Through the chaos and turmoil we are currently experiencing, one thing that we learn is that the teachings of our Founder-Acharya, His Divine Grace Srila Prabhupada, are our only true saving grace. So we at the Ministry of Education wanted to take the opportunity to share with you a very important project we are undertaking to help bring Srila Prabhupada’s teachings to more prominence.

At the Sanga of GBCs, Gurus and Sannyasis held in 2015, it was noted that a survey conducted by the GBC had revealed that less than 17% of ISKCON leaders actually read Srila Prabhupada’s books regularly.

It became apparent that although Srila Prabhupada had repeatedly emphasised the importance of his books and requested every member of ISKCON to read and train others in systematically studying them, many devotees were finding themselves falling short of the standard he expected of them.

Recognizing the critical nature of the situation at hand, the Ministry of Education, with the blessings of the GBC body introduced “Books Are The Basis” as a project designed to actualise Srila Prabhupada’s desire to see his books once again be placed at the centre of ISKCON’S devotees spiritual lives.

We presented the effort at the 2020 Annual GBC Meetings and it was resolved that 3rd September to 9th September 2020 would be celebrated around all ISKCON centres and communities as the Shravanam Week focused on enhancing the culture of reading Srila Prabhupada’s books every day.

On this auspicious occasion of Sri Ramanavami, we are formally inaugurating this project. We seek all of your support, blessings and participation in it.

During this week, ISKCON devotees worldwide come together to celebrate the joy of reading Śrīla Prabhupāda Books every day at their respective communities. To inspire everyone to read every day we could:

· Dedicate our classes and seminars to this topic

· We read together

· Share life changing experiences

· Establish new readings group

· Recognize those who are role models in this regard

To learn more about this project and to access the available resources, please visit: https://iskconeducation.org/books-are-the-basis/

Kindly note that both this project and our website is work in progress. Please forgive us for any shortcomings in this endeavour. And if there are devotees you know who could assist us then please let me know.

Thank you. Hare Krsna.

Your servant,

Tapana Mishra dasa

Executive Director

ISKCON, Ministry of Education

——

Dear Educators and Leaders,

Please accept our humble obeisances. All glories to Srila Prabhupada.
 

With prayers from Sridham Mayapur that you are safe amidst the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Through the chaos and turmoil we are currently experiencing, one thing that we learn
is that the teachings of our Founder-Acharya are our only true saving grace so we at the Ministry of Education wanted to take the opportunity to share with you
some of the projects we are undertaking to help bring Srila Prabhupada’s teachings to more prominence.
 

In this newsletter, on this auspicious occasion of Sri Ramanavami, we seek the blessings of the Vaishnavas and present to you three new initiatives:

  1. Books are the basis
  2. Request for Articles for Viplavah
  3. Release of Seminar from the International Education Symposium
Please scroll down for details on each.
 

Thank you.

Your servant,
Tapana Mishra dasa
Ministry of Education

 

NEW PROJECT: BOOKS ARE THE BASIS
At the Sanga of GBCs, Gurus and Sannyasis held in 2015, it was noted that a survey conducted
by the GBC had revealed that less than 17% of ISKCON leaders actually read Srila Prabhupada’s books regularly. 

It became apparent that although Srila Prabhupada had repeatedly emphasised the importance of his books and requested every member of ISKCON to read and train others
in systematically studying them, many devotees were finding themselves falling short of the standard he expected of them.
 

Recognising the critical nature of the situation at hand, the Ministry of Education, with the blessings of the GBC body introduced “Books Are The Basis” as
a project designed to actualise Srila Prabhupada’s desire to see his books once again be placed at the centre of ISKCON’S devotees spiritual lives.

We presented the effort at the 2020 Annual GBC Meetings and it was resolved that 2nd September to 9th September 2020 would be celebrated around all ISKCON
centres and communities as the Shravanam Week focussed on enhancing the culture of reading Srila Prabhupada’s books every day.

On this auspicious occasion of Sri Ramanavami, we are formally inaugurating this project. We seek all of your support, blessings and participation in it.

To learn more about this project and to access the available resources, please visit: https://iskconeducation.org/books-are-the-basis/

REQUEST FOR ARTICLES FOR VIPLAVAH
Viplavah, the ISKCON Ministry of Education’s quarterly journal, seeks to publish articles that inspire educators in their service and brings them closer
to fulfilling Srila Prabhupada’s vision as well as to one another. The journal gives regular updates about the activities of the Ministry and the various educational initiatives around the world of ISKCON. Showcasing success stories, it serves as a platform where devotees involved in education can share their realisations and experiences. The past releases can be accessed here: https://iskconeducation.org/journal/
 

By the grace of the Lord and devotees, we intend to release a special issue dedicated to children’s education on the all-auspicious Nrisimha Chaturdasi. And we would
love to have you contribute to this particular issue.
 

Please submit the article via the given submission list only. Should you desire to contribute, a word of confirmation in acceptance will be appreciated by
08-April-2020.
 

Contribution Type: Articles, new items, event coverages, announcements, key developments, poems, literary contributions, art-work (restricted to children below 16 years of age)
 

Topics could include (but not limited to): children’s schools, education models for children, home-schooling, role of parents and teachers in educating children, reading of books, imbibing Vedic culture, it takes a village to raise a child (community), role of temples in bringing up devotee children, challenges and solutions
 

Proposed Theme of the issue: RAISING PRAHLADA-LIKE CHILDREN
Proposed title of your article: You may choose appropriately 
Submission date: On or before 21-Apr-2020
Submission link: https://forms.gle/fo3o8GLXRDiEGaJ5A
Guidelines: https://iskconeducation.org/journal/#GUIDELINES_TAG
 

It is our earnest desire that the realisations and experiences of devotees like your good selves be published in the form of thoughtful and informative articles. Your realisations,
if shared will benefit Prabhupada’s mission. Hence, we look forward to a positive response from you.
 

Should you need any clarifications or support, please feel free to contact Indira-Sakhi Devi Dasi (Editor and Member, Executive Committee) at viplavah.iskcon@gmail.com.
 

RELEASE OF SEMINARS FROM INTERNATIONAL EDUCATION SYMPOSIUM
In 2019, the Ministry of Education embarked upon an annual
symposium called “Viplavah”. Our aim was to provide ISKCON educators from around the globe the opportunity to gather in Sridham
Mayapur and share some of the invaluable insights they have acquired through their many years of practice.
 

During the symposium, many established educators presented invaluable seminars on a variety of topics. Please subscribe to our mailing list to keep updated on new releases.

We plan to conduct our next Annual International Education Symposium between the 4th to 6th of March, 2021 at Sridham Mayapur during the Gaura-purnima festival. Please
write to us at viplavah.iskcon@gmail.com if
you would like to attend as a guest or present as a speaker.

The first talk we would like to share with you is by His Holiness Krishna Kshetra Swami’s “Education not Indoctrination”. Within this nectar-filled seminar, Maharaja discusses the issue of indoctrination and the detrimental effects it can have on the process of learning/realising the teachings of
the absolute truth, while also sharing scripturally-sound tips on how to promote the culture of free thinking required to prevent indoctrination from becoming an issue today. You
can view Maharaja’s seminar at https://iskconeducation.org/fortnight-symposium-seminars/

Please share this newsletter with devotees who may be interested in learning more about our ministry. 

Copyright © 2019 ISKCON Ministry of Education,
All rights reserved.

www.iskconeducation.org
Contact us on viplavah.iskcon@gmail.com

 

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