{"id":24970,"date":"2016-03-02T19:24:20","date_gmt":"2016-03-02T18:24:20","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.dandavats.com\/?p=24970"},"modified":"2016-03-03T04:54:26","modified_gmt":"2016-03-03T03:54:26","slug":"day-8-of-ils-unity-in-diversity","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.dandavats.com\/?p=24970","title":{"rendered":"Day 8 of ILS: Unity in Diversity"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Photos by Sridama dasa\u200b<\/p>\n

2nd<\/i><\/sup> March 2016, Mayapur, India<\/i><\/p>\n

By Romapada Das<\/i><\/p>\n

The concluding day of the ILS started with a presentation on the position of Srila Prabhupada by Akrura Das.<\/p>\n

\u201cSrila Prabhupada is our Founder Acharya, and the pre-eminent siksha guru for all disciples of ISKCON for all times to come,\u201d he said. \u201cPre-eminent<\/i> means one who is very distinguished and surpasses all others. All gurus in ISKCON derive their teachings from Prabhupada. The Foundational document released by the Srila Prabhupada Position Committee broadens our collective understanding and appreciation of Prabhupada\u2019s unique position and role in ISKCON.\u201d<\/p>\n

Bhaktivaibhava Swami encouraged temples to ensure that Srila Prabhupada\u2019s Vyasa puja celebrations were celebrated with the importance they deserved. \u201cI believe that we can significantly improve the way by which we celebrate Srila Prabhupada\u2019s Vyasa puja,\u201d he explained. \u201cYou can visit our website www.founderacharya.com<\/a> to download a Vyasa Puja pack that has resources and best practices for celebrating Prabhupada\u2019s appearance day. It contains high resolution pictures, Vyasa Puja books, quotations and posters.\u201d<\/p>\n

While introducing an initiative called \u2018Sabda\u2019, Gauranga Das from ISKCON Chowpathy and Govardhan Eco Village described several training courses designed to \u2018lead ISKCON with tradition and intelligence<\/i>\u2019. The courses covered various areas such as temple development and administration, knowledge management, devotee care and database management under the aegis of the GBC College of Management.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur dream is that through the GBC College we can create courses for leaders at every level,\u201d he said. \u201cWe would like to inculcate best practices by making devotees aware, acquire knowledge and attain expertise.\u201d<\/p>\n

Rasamandala Das, Director of ISKCON Educational Services, made a presentation on devotee care at the plenary session. Earlier, he had delivered several seminars on devotee care, many of which had proved highly popular with the international audience. He felt that the ILS offered a chance to air new ideas, become innovative and deal with things as they were happening.<\/p>\n

“We need to be able to relate shastra<\/i> to real life experiences of devotees,” he said. “In a sense it is about getting real.”<\/p>\n

Several devotees walked up to Rasamandala after his sessions on devotee care and told him they felt grateful someone was actually talking about such an important topic.<\/p>\n

“This is very relevant to ourselves,” he concluded. “And we do need to talk about it more. The vision for our devotee care initiative is to ensure that every devotee is spiritually happy, materially well-situated, and positively identifies ISKCON as a caring society.\u201d<\/p>\n

Jagat Udharana Nitai Das who leads several youth outreach programmes in Coimbatore feels excited about the broader view he has gained after attending the ILS.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was fantastic to see so many leaders under one tent,\u201d he commented. \u201cI learnt so much in the last eight days that I don\u2019t know where to begin. We learnt how to engage volunteers, about the importance of Srila Prabhupada\u2019s position, marketing, engaging with communities and so much more. I was grateful to learn about the three attributes of a good leader: that they have impeccable and visible sadhana; they always associate with happier devotees; and they actively empower other devotees.\u201d<\/p>\n

Jagat Udharana wants to bring many more emerging leaders from his city to the next ILS. <\/p>\n

\u201cOur new leaders need to learn about the \u2018real\u2019 ISKCON and have the same upbeat experience I had,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

The President of the Kanpur temple, Prema Harinama Das appreciated the association of devotees and the feeling of \u2018togetherness\u2019 he had experienced at the ILS.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis was a powerful event and an excellent opportunity for learning and sharing,\u201d he explained. \u201cMany devotees informed me that this was the first time they had been able to observe a single area of service from different angles and perceptions.\u201d<\/p>\n

The ILS had a special youth meeting every day, attended by 25 young people from around the world.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe had a few of us delivering a seminar called \u2018Youth in Action\u2019, and met every day afterwards at 5.00 pm for a special youth meeting with senior devotees,\u201d explained Kishan Paun, Vice President of the Pandava Sena, ISKCON UK\u2019s youth group. \u201cOne of the most memorable moments for us was a special boat ride on the river Ganges for the 25 members of the Youth ILS in the company of Mother Shruti Rupa Devi Dasi. She told us different stories about Prabhupada on our 2-hour ride, which was highly appreciated by all of us.\u201d<\/p>\n

Krishna Kirtan Das, President of the Warsaw temple in Poland found that the ILS offered him an opportunity to rethink his approach and gain new skills. <\/p>\n

\u201cAfter listening to many senior vaishnavas, I\u2019ll go back with a firm resolve to study Srila Prabhupada\u2019s books more deeply,\u201d he explained. \u201cThe seminars have helped us develop a holistic vision for preaching that can be relevant to modern times.\u201d<\/p>\n

At the concluding plenary session in the evening, Gopal Bhatta Das thanked several devotees who had contributed to the success of the ILS. He thanked Devakindandan Das, Regional Secretary for Western India for a donation of $18,000, and the TOVP team for their donation of $50,000. He also thanked several other devotees including Bhaktibhushan Swami, Rasakrida Das, Shruti Rupa Devi Dasi and the Education Committee for their donations ranging between $500 and $2000.<\/p>\n

Gopal Bhatta Das presented the results of a survey on reading habits of devotees. Around 259 people had responded, and they had been in the movement for an average span of 19 years. The average normalised times they had read the Bhagava-gita was 4 times, while the average normalised times they had studied the first canto of the Bhagavatam was 1.96 times. They had studied the Chaitanya Charitamrita around 0.92 times.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is worrying. Srila Prabhupada has clearly instructed us to study his books very scrutinizingly,\u201d said Gopal Bhatta Das. \u201cThe gift we have been given is the most fantastic one in the history of humankind. Let us not lose it one after another so that our generations are secure in the service of Gauranga.\u201d<\/p>\n

In the concluding plenary session, Badarinarayana Swami recollected his first meeting with Prabhupada in 1969. After narrating several stories about Prabhupada, he said, \u201cWe have the most important message in the world. But we should also have the best delivery system. Part of the idea of the ILS is to give all of you the tools to use in the most important mission of the world.\u201d <\/p>\n

While delivering the closing address of the ILS, Radhanatha Swami reminded everyone that Srila Prabhupada had wanted devotees and leaders of ISKCON to come together in Mayapur to truly establish the principles of unity in diversity.<\/p>\n

\u201cMaya is trying to kill us spiritually,\u201d declared Radhanatha Swami. \u201cNone of us can survive on our own. Srila Prabhupada has given us the Vaishnava community of ISKCON for us to associate, and cultivate an attitude for gratitude. At the ILS, we have come together with all our diversity to focus on the unity all of us share.\u201d<\/p>\n

Radhanatha Swami stressed the importance of Mayapur as the holy place established by Prabhupada for all his disciples to come together.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have to chant together and dance together in a spirit of unity in diversity to overcome all the quarrels and challenges that Kali-yuga is certain to put on our plates,\u201d he said. \u201cWe should not take differences seriously, but we should certainly take our unity seriously. Srila Prabhupada has spoken to us in many ways about the emergency and urgency of spreading Krishna consciousness. Let us take with us the blessings and grace of Prabhupada, let us share with each other, and let us empower each other to expand this movement.\u201d<\/p>\n

ISKCON Communications screened a special 50th Anniversary film at the end of the closing plenary session called ‘The Hare Krishna’s: 50 years of devotion and service’. The film which was produced and directed by Krishna Lila Devi Dasi showcases the history and achievements of ISKCON in an informative manner. It was received enthusiastically by ISKCON leaders, many of whom clamoured to the stage to get a copy they could screen in their local temples. Devotees who want a copy of the film should contact the International Coordinator of the 50th Anniversary by sending an email to editor@news.iskcon.org<\/p>\n

The ILS 2016 concluded with a four-hour kirtan festival in the evening led by many senior disciples of Srila Prabhupada.<\/p>\n

While some delegates were getting ready to go back to their respective countries, many others were preparing for the Kirtan Mela and the Gaura Purnima festival that will follow.<\/p>\n

\u201cBeing in Mayapur with so many wonderful vaishnavas and learning so many new skills at the ILS was like looking through a window into the spiritual world,\u201d smiled Sachi-suta Das from Guyana. \u201cTruly, every step was a dance, and every word was a song.\u201d<\/p>\n

THINK 50! Act 50!<\/b><\/p>\n

Source: http:\/\/iskconnews.org\/day-8- of-ils-unity-in-diversity, 5435\/<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\"HareBy Romapada Das<\/strong><\/p>\n

Rasamandala Das, Director of ISKCON Educational Services, made a presentation on devotee care at the plenary session. Earlier, he had delivered several seminars on devotee care, many of which had proved highly popular with the international audience. He felt that the ILS offered a chance to air new ideas, become innovative and deal with things as they were happening. \u00a0“We need to be able to relate\u00a0shastra\u00a0to real life experiences of devotees,” he said. “In a sense it is about getting real.” Several devotees walked up to Rasamandala after his sessions on devotee care and told him they felt grateful someone was actually talking about such an important topic. “This is very relevant to ourselves,” he concluded. “And we do need to talk about it more. The vision for our devotee care initiative is to ensure that every devotee is spiritually happy, materially well-situated, and positively identifies ISKCON as a caring society.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[115,90],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-24970","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-iskcon-50","category-reports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.dandavats.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24970","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.dandavats.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.dandavats.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.dandavats.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.dandavats.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=24970"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.dandavats.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24970\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":24975,"href":"https:\/\/www.dandavats.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24970\/revisions\/24975"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.dandavats.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=24970"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.dandavats.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=24970"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.dandavats.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=24970"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}