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By Sarvabhauma Dasa<\/strong><\/p>\n ISKCON Houston<\/p>\n I live in hot and humid Houston, Texas, a world away from Iceland, the unique North Atlantic island nation born entirely from thousands of volcanic eruptions. Despite attempts by devotees to preach there over the years, Iceland is one of the last Krishna conscious frontiers in the Western world, with no established temple or preaching center. Earlier this year, however, I discovered that Iceland has not at all been forgotten by Srila Prabhupada and Lord Caitanya.<\/p>\n In January, 2014, after a delay in placing the ashes of His Holiness Tamal Krishna Goswami\u2019s mother in the Ganges in Mayapura, I had an unexpected layover in Mumbai for about 24 hours between trains, arriving unannounced at the Chowpatty temple. I was ready to sleep on the floor in the brahmacari<\/i> quarters, but a gracious devotee arranged for me to share a guest room with Gaura Bhagavan Prabhu, who was born and raised in Iceland, but is currently completing university studies in the U.S.<\/p>\n According to Gaura Bhagavan dasa, devotees from Germany, Denmark, Ireland and the U.K. began to occasionally visit Iceland as early as 1973\u2014mainly during summers\u2014but no permanent temple was established. Significantly, however, between approximately 1978-80, when devotees from the UK were doing book distribution there, one native Iceland bhakta<\/i>, \u00c1sgeir Bjarnason, became active in Krishna consciousness for a few months to a year, during which he translated an introductory booklet based on Srila Prabhupada\u2019s teachings into Icelandic, and it was eventually published by the BBT. Gaura Bhagavan recalls:<\/p>\n In 1988 I saw the visiting devotees for the first time chanting in downtown Reykjavik and I saw them later at an esoteric weekend festival outside the city. The next year I met them at the same festival, took part in a kirtan and got a copy of that book as well as an invitation to a downtown Sunday program the following weekend. Reading the book convinced me about our process. I had decided that this is my path, but I felt I was too young to join (I was only 16). The devotees at that time rented a storefront with an attached basement in Ing\u00f3lfsstr\u00e6ti <\/i>(street name) in downtown Reykjavik. There they ran an ashram and a preaching center for a few weeks. That is where I attended my first Hare Krishna Sunday feast program. I remember the devotees had a sign made, a cube resting on four metal bars, with \u201cISKCON Iceland\u201d and \u201cHare Krishna Center\u201d written on its different sides. That cube remained there for at least another year after the devotees left, and I used to sometimes go there for kind of a pilgrimage, looking for solace in my separation from the Vaishnavas, hoping that they might return one day.<\/p>\n After attending my first Sunday program, the devotees soon left back to the mainland and so I never met them again that year. After a whole year of being alone, I got to the point that I just could not bear being by all myself, simply waiting for someone to open a center. So I decided to drop everything I was doing (I was attending junior college at the time) to join ISKCON-Heidelberg in Germany. I was only 17 at that time, but in Iceland you gained legal independence from your parents at 16, meaning you could leave home if you liked. At the time I did see it as my duty in joining to come back some day to share Krishna consciousness with my fellow countrymen, to create a place where anyone who became interested would find devotees to talk and associate with. After joining I would very frequently discuss with my Guru Maharaja, Suhotra Swami, about saving my country by giving Krishna consciousness. (Gaura Bhagavan dasa later received re-initiation from His Holiness Radhanath Swami)<\/p>\n So the preaching in Iceland from 1985-1991 produced one devotee, namely myself. I joined with little or no cultivation; somehow I just became convinced by the effect of the Holy Name on my being, and by reading the book. I believe I was a bit of a special mercy case, because normally for someone to get that convinced about our process, a more sustained, long-term effort is needed.<\/p>\n In our cozy Chowpati guest room, Gaura Bhagavan dasa told me of his dream to fulfill Lord Caitanya\u2019s mission in Iceland\u2014an intelligent, well-conceived plan actually\u2014to return to the land of his birth and to start a temple and self-maintaining vegetarian restaurant in a very good location. Unknown to him, I had met an Icelandic boy in America, Oli Olafsson, who joined ISKCON in Houston, Texas at the age of 18. He received initiation in 1982 from His Holiness Tamal Krishna Goswami and the spiritual name Prema Bhakti dasa. Gaura Bhagavan had heard about this same young man from Iceland who had become a devotee in America, but the two had never met. Prema Bhakti Prabhu, my godbrother, now lives in Michigan and still speaks Icelandic and occasionally visits his original homeland. It dawned on me that Prema Bhakti, a lawyer and entrepreneur, might be able to help and encourage Gaura Bhagavan\u2019s dream to come true. But after so many years they had never met; would their paths ever cross?<\/p>\n Krishna literally provided an \u201copening.\u201d Our new Houston temple\u2019s Grand Opening was scheduled for May, 2014 and new Deities, Sri Sri Radha-Giridhari, would be installed at that time. Besides his other many talents, Gaura Bhagavan Prabhu has studied Deity worship in Mayapur and is experienced in the procedures of Deity installations. From India in March I emailed our Houston temple president Syamasundara Prabhu with Gaura Bhagavan\u2019s phone number and email, suggesting that he be brought in to assist with the installation, but knowing that it was not likely he would be sponsored to help in Houston. Later, however, I was pleasantly surprised that the Houston devotee board of directors did decide to bring Gaura Bhagavan Prabhu in. <\/p>\n Prema Bhakti Prabhu had joined in Houston and the Grand Opening was a huge event, the culmination of more than ten years of construction. He may have come anyway, but as an extra incentive I joked with him (he was still in Michigan) that our goal was to get \u201c100% of the initiated devotees in the world from Iceland\u201d to Houston to attend the opening. We were aware of only two such devotees in the world, so if they each attended, it would make 100%! I was very happy when Prema Bhakti did come to Houston and finally met Gaura Bhagavan\u2014so far from their original North Atlantic homeland\u2014and as a result of their meeting they are now doubly inspired to establish ISKCON in Iceland.<\/p>\n Gaura Bhagavan describes how he is also receiving important support from Praghosa Prabhu, the GBC for Iceland:<\/p>\n \n<\/p>\n I had just visited ISKCON in the UK and I was reminded then that it was the effort of the UK devotees that got the first book translated into Icelandic, and receiving that book convinced me to take up Krishna consciousness. Somehow I had not made that connection before in my mind, but when I did so I felt strongly within my heart that it was time for those devotees to do something again. UK is is also the closest European country to Iceland, and our movement there is stronger and better established than most other western European countries. I shared this inspiration by email with Jai Nitai Prabhu, the downtown London temple president and Jai Nitai forwarded my letter to his GBC, Praghosa Prabhu. At the time I was not aware that Praghosa Prabhu was the GBC for both the UK and Iceland. Praghosa Prabhu then shared with me that he had recently been contacted by the Indian Ambassador to Iceland through an Indian-Icelandic businessman who currently lives in London with hopes to have an ISKCON center in Iceland.<\/p>\n The Indian Ambassador is very much familiar with ISKCON. Currently, there is no place of worship for the Hindus in Iceland, and he and his wife were feeling that they have a higher mission in Iceland than just being there as a result of their political job. Originally they tried to meet with Praghosa while both were visiting the Bhaktivedanta Manor, but their schedules somehow did not match. But with the Ambassador showing such interest, it was decided that we would both go to Iceland to meet the Ambassador and the businessman in Iceland. Actually, this is the first time a GBC to Iceland has ever visited there. So, in last January my wife and I went to Iceland again. We hosted Praghosa Prabhu and we met with the Ambassador twice, once at the embassy and once at his residence. During our meetings with the Ambassador and other supporters we proposed the idea that the only way ISKCON can survive in a small place like Iceland with the population of a mere 300,000 was to have a restaurant and a meditation center.<\/p>\n Gaura Bhagavan Prabhu is practical, dedicated and appears to have the right plan to establish Krishna consciousness on a solid footing in Iceland. Having joined ISKCON at an early age and having received good training, he is expert at kirtan and mrdanaga, well versed in Srila Prabhupada\u2019s teachings and ready to fully commit himself to this project. I\u2019m equally impressed with his good wife Dayarupa devi dasi, a disciple of HH Niranjana Swami. She is an excellent cook, talented and a kind-hearted devotee. Although she is Indian-bodied, she is ready to follow her husband to the harsh and cold northern land of Iceland, and assist him any way she can in his Krishna conscious mission there.<\/p>\n Time is critical, however, for at this moment Gaura Bhagavan Prabhu is in Iceland where he has found an ideal property for the temple, the very same house where he attended his first Sunday Program in \u201889. He is attempting to raise the capital for a down payment before the deadline in the beginning of August. <\/p>\n
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By Sarvabhauma Dasa<\/strong><\/p>\n