Hare Krishna! In this week’s newsletter, Akuti Devi Dasi writes about progress at the Eco Teaching Farm. We share documents listing the Pfizer vaccine ingredients,
how it works, the latest guidelines to keep our families safe, and remind devotees not to linger on temple property outside of arati times, unless they are
doing specific service. We thank those who helped paint the temple room ceiling last Saturday, as well as the many devotees who have contributed towards new ceiling
fans and light fixtures. For details, read on…
Announcements
Thank you to the painting crew who spent last Saturday painting the temple room ceiling. As you can imagine, this is no easy task and requires skill and patience.
Manusresta Dasa, Saranga Thakura Dasa, Phanibhusana Dasa, Krishna Balaram Dasa, Rasa Prakash Dasa and Dikpal Dasa, we are so grateful to you for your help!
Reminder: the temple is open only during arati times. We are closed to everyone unless you are doing specific service, from 1:00 pm until 4:15 pm, and after
that, only open for darshan. Anyone coming over to hang out or just walk around will be asked to leave the property.
During the cold winter mornings, the temple room doors will close after Tulasi Puja (so the pujaris can do their services without freezing), and re-open
for Greeting of the Deities. There will not be any indoor japa chanting until the weather warms up.
Returning From Travel, Pandemic Protocols: 4-day quarantine with two negative COVID tests (one before commencing travel, the second on the 4th day after returning),
or minimum 10 days quarantine without a test (and no symptoms), required for devotees returning from out-of-state holiday or business travel, or for out-of-town visitors, before coming
to the temple. Read our detailed guidelines for testing and quarantining here. Please call the temple office if you need more information to understand these protocols. We require social distancing and mask-wearing here at all times, especially in the temple
room while chanting.
Thank you to everyone for serving, and for contributing to keep ISKCON Alachua Hare Krishna temple thriving even in the midst of a pandemic.
We have been busy at the Eco Teaching Farm the last few years putting the foundational components in place. The cobb entrance, goshala/barn, solar water pump, biogas digester, Vrinda Devi “temple shrine” built using cob and natural techniques, planned
gardens and the log cabin are complete. Now comes the daily maintenance and, of course, periodic improvements. We still have a ways to go to reach the goal of facilitating field trips,
seminars, festivals, retreats and a variety of craft classes.
The pandemic time has been mostly spent transforming the garden area, which had previously been a dumping and burning arena, into a nice garden park. Please come by and see the progress. We are waiting for permission to complete a pond and decorative
pillars for the patio.
Winter means turmeric time for us; digging up, cleaning, cutting, drying and grinding the turmeric. We go home with yellow hands. This year we will have hundreds of pounds for the temple and for sale. It is totally organic, a gorgeous color and of course
great for your health.
Pushpavan Prabhu has been generously giving his time and green thumb to make a bulb garden with thousands of tuberoses. He has added some other surprise fragrant flower bulbs for next year. The deities and their pujaris are in bliss getting to offer them daily, during the long flowering season.
We should be seeing the construction underway this year for a couple of retreat cabins for our outside community followers to stay in. We will advertise it for those wanting to get out of the city and get their hands “dirty” helping and learning along
with us, and just being an opportunity to embrace nature and get closer to Krishna.
Here are two documents prepared by devotee doctors who work with COVID patients. One document explains how the Pfizer vaccine works and lists its ingredients, showing it doesn’t contain mercury and is suitable for vegetarians. The other summarizes, with helpful infographics, best practices to keep our families and temples safe during this pandemic.Take a look at both documents here.
Book Distribution Marathon Report
by Sri Vrindavana Devi Dasi
The 2020 Prabhupada Book marathon has been unique. The collective goal for ISKCON worldwide was to distribute 2 million Bhagavad-gitas. Team ISKCON Alachua (TIA) set a more modest local goal of distributing 1,080 Gitas during the month of December.
Despite COVID restrictions, over 100 devotees and their families (see list) participated in this year’s marathon and we smashed that goal–with 2,128 Bhagavad-gitas sponsored and distributed!
TIA would like to thank all the devotees who participated via sponsoring Gitas, packing them in lovely gift bags, making cookies (Mahabhagavata Dasi) and ultimately distributing them–mostly in parking lots of the various shopping centers, in their own
neighborhoods, and in hospitals. Brihad-mridanga book distribution ki jaya! Srila Prabhupada ki jaya!
Seminar: The Art of Caring for Vaishnavas
Sangita Devi Dasi, Course Instructor
The End-of-Life Care Team, under the auspices of Vaishnavas CARE Alachua, will be hosting a weekend seminar on “The Art of Caring for Vaishnavas” by Sangita Devi Dasi, RN, CHPN, Hospice educator, author of “The Final Journey – Complete Hospice Care for
the Departing Vaishnavas”. This course is especially designed to assist you in helping someone who is facing his or her final months, weeks, or days. It provides you with a basic understanding of end-of-life care for a terminally ill person, as well as how you can assist acutely ill and chronically ill Vaishnavas and their families.
Some of the topics covered include examining emotional and spiritual pains a dying person may experience; how to communicate with a dying person and family; how to assist the grieving family and close friends after the departure of a loved one; the stages
of loss and grief; children and grief; personal stories about Srila Prabhupada providing holistic care; the concept of hospice and how they relate to our Krishna conscious philosophy;
and much more. A Certificate of Completion will be mailed to you upon completion. The course is a requirement for those interested in assisting devotees through the End-of-Life Care Team. Anyone
interested in furthering their knowledge in this important area is welcome to participate.
Saturday and Sunday, February 20-21, 2021, 10am-3pm via Zoom, with built-in break and Q&A session. Deadline to register and receive course materials prior to the seminar is February 5,
2021. Registration includes an 85-page workbook for a suggested donation of $51. The Final Journey, 2nd updated edition, is available for a discounted price of $10. Shipping
is via USPS Priority Mail $8. There is a limit of 100 registrants. Click here to register. If you have questions, contact Madhuryalila dd at madhuryaliladd108@gmail.com.
Hare Krishna Community Radio presents:
A Podcast About Time
by Sudharma Devi Dasi
Given we have just celebrated the New Year, 2021, we decided its a good time to reflect on time, the passage of time and how to best utilize the precious time we
have. You’ll hear from Gargs Allard, Syamala Kishore, Nitaipriya (our head pujari), Ananga Manjari, and of course, Srila Prabhupada, with music from Mangalananda, Bada Haridasa,
and Yamuna Prasada.
Nectar Talks 3 – This week our team of Namamrita and Amrita Keli interviewed Visvambhara and Vrinda. Listen to the recording here.
Can you be a Hare Krishna and a Christian too?
Sraddhanjali Devi Dasi, who is both an initiated disciple of Giriraja Swami and a practicing Christian, talks about the essence and shared understandings of both. Listen here.
Krishna conscious music, talks and more. Broadcasting to you from the New Raman Reti community, bringing you devotional sound vibration all day, anytime.
We are looking for anyone who likes to write, to submit articles for our newsletter about topics of interest such as What’s Happening on the Eco Farm, The Temple Gardens, Who’s Who at New Raman Reti (devotee profiles), Who’s New at New Raman Reti, etc.
Contact mukhyadd@alachuatemple.com if you are interested.
Trouble Receiving This Newsletter?
You probably have a friend or family member who’s been wondering why they haven’t been receiving these newsletter emails, even though they remember getting them years ago. Chances are it’s been filed into the Promotions tab of their Gmail account, or,
worse, found its way into the Spam folder. Help us help your loved ones recover their newsletter subscriptions. Ask them to:
Check the Promotions or Spam folder for weekly newsletter emails from ISKCON Alachua.
Mark them as “not spam” and move them back to the Inbox.
Add the sender, contact@alachuatemple.com, to the email account’s Contacts, Address Book or safe list.
Signed up with an old email address that’s no longer being used?
Another common reason for not receiving this newsletter is if someone signed up years ago with an old email address they no longer use. In this case, please let us know the old address so we can remove it from our system, and use the link below to re-subscribe
with a current email address.
The temple newsletter is emailed weekly, on Tuesday mornings around 6:00 a.m. Keep an eye out for it, and, if need be, rescue it from the Promotions or Spam folder. Remember to add contact@alachuatemple.com as a contact to your email account’s address
book.
New Ceiling Fans and Light Fixtures Needed – We’re 9/10 of the Way There
It’s time to replace the fans and light fixtures in our temple room. They are over 20 years old and, at this point, many of them aren’t working anymore. You could say they have done their duty. It will cost about $3000 to replace and install ten new ceiling
fans, and you can take part in helping us get this done. To date (January 12, 2021), with many of you stepping forward to help, we’ve raised $2,697.11, 9/10 of the laksmi,
are on the home stretch, and need only another $303. Click below to give a donation towards this much needed improvement and help us cross the finish line to get these news fans and
light fixtures purchased and installed.
A big thank you to those who have contributed towards the new ceiling fans and light fixtures so far, including Iwona Esser, Vijay Police, Carmen Caruso, Bhaktivedanta
Memorial Society, Vanishree Hegde, Radhaa Budhu, Shalini Anand, Maksim Minin, Richard Richman, Suzanne Bludeau, Danielle Kaufman, Ksheeroda LLC, Venkata Achanta, Nancy Schreier, Devananda
Sadkin, Jayanti Watson, Dhira Crunkilton, Rama Rao, Stritama Sherreitt, Helen Simpson, Luciana Streb, Blanche Marsden, Hoofprint Media, Jahnavi Harris, Liliya Martsynyuk, Robert Covington,
Ausra Didomenico, and Chandrika Coyle.
Online Sanga Events
Broadcast on ISKCON Alachua’sFacebook pageandYouTube channel . Zoom login information, when applicable, will be shared on ourISKCON Alachua DevoteesFacebook group. All times are in ET (Eastern Time).
Daily Srimad-Bhagavatam Classby various speakers from the temple room, 8:00 – 8:45 AM. SeeClass Scheduleposted below.
Every Thursday, 5:00-6:00 pm, Bhagavad-Gitareading and discussion with H.H. Bhaktimarga Swami.
Weekly Resilience Drop-In Group: Feeling overwhelmed by challenges, problems, or adversities in your life? The Resilience group is a place that enables you to work
through challenges and get back to life stronger and wiser. Sundays 11:00 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. via Zoom, facilitated by Rambhoru Dasi ACBSP, a certified Professional Chaplain and Crisis Counselor. Participation is confidential. For Zoom login info, message Rambhoru via WhatsApp: 703-727-5659.
Summary of Pandemic Protocols
In recent months we have been seeing escalating numbers of COVID virus spread. It is the responsibility of every devotee to know the risks, to wear a mask and social distance even within your home if you are getting together with other families. Here
are our guidelines for testing and quarantining,
if you have come into contact with someone who has tested positive, or if you yourself or someone in your household tests positive.
The different types of testing are explained here with a simple chart. “Rapid antigen tests are more likely to miss an active coronavirus infection compared to molecular (NAAT or RT-PCR) also known as “lab” tests. Your health care
provider may order a molecular test if your antigen test shows a negative result but you have symptoms of COVID-19.”
Dr. Nila Madhava Dasa of Baltimore yatra recommends everyone keep in their home Zinc and Vitamin D and a pulse oximeter. If you become symptomatic with the COVID virus, take 24 mg Zinc and 10000 IU of Vitamin
D right away. If your oxygen saturation is less than 95, you should go to the hospital.
It is really important that all positive cases or symptomatic persons notify anyone they have been in contact with so that they can also get their tests done. Even if you are young and your symptoms are not severe, someone in your family or someone you
contact may not be so lucky, and no one wants to be responsible for making others sick.
Alachua temple is one of a handful of temples in North America that remain open with scheduled programs, and devotees from other areas want to come here now. We have restrictions in place for out-of-town visitors, so we request that you refer your friends
to call the temple office to understand the protocol for visiting our temple. Please remind people you see at the temple that we require mask-wearing here at all times, especially
in the temple room while chanting. People who will not wear a mask are asked to watch our programs through our Youtube live channel.
Procedures to Visit the Temple
Click here to read the details about the various darshan times, restrictions and protocols we are currently observing at the temple, including a video demonstrating the modified Sunday darshan.
Here’s a brief summary:
Throughout the week, the temple is open only during scheduled aratitimes, with a maximum capacity of 35 persons standing or sitting on physically distanced X marks. First
come, first served. Everyone must wear a face mask in the temple room at all times and maintain physical distancing of 6 feet between non-family members. Wash your hands with soap
or use hand sanitizer before entering the temple room. Don’t touch surfaces. Pay your respects (obeisances) while standing, and avoid bowing down on the floor at this time. Click here to read the Basic Rules for visiting the temple.
On Sundays we have a walk-through darshan from 4:30 PM – 6:30 PM, where you can come and pay your respects to Their Lordships, receive darshan,
and pick up a prasad to-go box on your way out at the exit gate. Please don’t socialize and linger on the property. Govinda’s Gifts is open from 4:15 PM
– 6:30 PM on Sundays, and at other times by appointment. Click here to read the detailed Sunday Darshan Protocol.
On festival days, additional restrictions apply to avoid overcrowding. Usually, the temple remains locked during the day, while aratis and other worship
ceremonies are performed only by the pujaris (priests) and a handful of designated kirtan singers, broadcast live on our YouTube and Facebook Live channels. On such
days, to safely manage the crowds, we generally only open the temple for walk-through darshan in the late afternoon, 4:30 PM – 6:30 PM, similar to Sunday darshan times. Check the temple newsletter for details about upcoming festivals.
The temple closes at 7:00 PM each evening.
If you’re feeling sick, stay home and get tested for COVID-19. (Click here for resources on getting tested in Englishandin Spanish .) If you’re feeling sick, or if you’ve recently returned from international travel, airports, large metropolitan areas or any place with a high concentration of virus spread,
please stay away from the temple for 14 days as a precaution. Our guards will ask you questions to this effect at the entrance gate. Thank you for your cooperation.
Temple Lunch: If you would like to get temple lunch prasad, come to the front entrance at 12:30 pm and our guard will place the prasad to-go meal
box into your car. Donations accepted.
Class Schedule & Vaishnava Calendar
Week of January 12, 2021
TUE 12 – Ghanashyam Dasa, SB 1.11.1
WED 13 – Chaturatma Dasa, SB 1.11.2
App. Locana Dasa Thakura
THU 14 – Adikarta Dasa, SB 1.11.3
FRI 15 – Narayani Devi Dasi, SB 1.11.4-5
Disap. Jiva Gosvami and Jagadisa Pandita
SAT 16 – Krsna Swarup Dasa, CC Mad. 18.158-171
SUN 17 – Akuti Devi Dasi, Sunday Feast Lecture
MON 18 – Narayani Devi Dasi, 1.11.6
TUE 19 – Chaturatma Dasa, 1.11.7
Morning class times are 8:00 a.m. EST unless otherwise noted. The Sunday Feast lecture begins at 5:15 p.m. Tune in live to our ISKCON Alachua Facebook page or YouTube channel,
where you will also find video recordings of previous classes; listen to audio recordings in our lecture archive.
For information or needs inquiries, emailhkssalachua@gmail.com or call Radha Selvester 9 am – 9 pm 352 727 8211. Night time calls for serious emergencies only.
Newsletter Staff
Editor-in-Chief: Mukhya Devi Dasi
Production Assistance: Manorama Dasa
Article submission deadline: 1:00 p.m. Fridays
Send articles and photos to contact@alachuatemple.com. The editors reserve the right to exclude or edit submissions.
Dedicated to our ISKCON Founder-Acharya His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
