Bhakti Raghava Swami travels to Africa, Europe, North America and Far East Asia before returning to Bharat.
TOUR UPDATES
MAY 3 VEDIC ECO VILLAGE and SARANAGATI, CANADA: I attended the weekly DHARMA DISCOVERY - Hands on Learning course given by Ramanath and Laura. Today a group of students prepared special laddhus for the cows by mixing oats and jaggery that was first melted on a chulha.
APRIL 25 GIR FARMS, CALEDON, ONTARIO, CANADA: Discussion on the sad conditions of cows within general society and the unfortunate lack of interest, and lack of commitment in general on the part of devotees. We are simply not understanding what is the meaning of kṛṣi-go-rakṣya-vāṇijyaṁ.
APRIL 23 Sri Sri Radha Muskoka Iswara Temple, CANADA: Without understanding Daiva Varnasrama Dharma, we cannot fulfil Srila Prabhupada’s mission.
APRIL 12 Lila des Neiges, CANADA: Priya Radhe Devi Dasi, a practitioner of horticulture and natural gardening, transforms home grown medicinal plants and herbs into wholesale natural health products within the Province of Québec and also offers seminars and workshops. liladesneiges.ca
APRIL 7 POLAND to CANADA: Early this morning I left the ISKCON LYEV temple in Ukraine 🇺🇦 and travelled by car to Krakow in Poland 🇵🇱 to get my flight to Montreal, Canada. 🇨🇦 . It was -2 degrees Celsius this morning with snow covering the land. I thought to myself, I’m already in Canada.
APRIL 3 ZHITHOMIR, UKRAINE: The Nama Hatta Sanga in the city meet 3 or 4 times a week, engage in book distribution as well as Prasadam. Because of the ongoing war in the country they are not doing public Harinam Sankirtan.
APRIL 1 Mother Farm, UKRAINE: Devotees honored Pancha Tattva Deities and distributed Bhakti Milk from the farm. “Progressive human civilization is based on brahminical culture, God consciousness and protection of cows.”
MARCH 31 Taras Shevchenko National University, UKRAINE: Presentation of The Three Gifts of Nature. The university authorities specifically warned not to have any Hare Krishna preacher so Maharaj purposely did not put on tilaka and wore a sweater.
MARCH 30 KYIV, UKRAINE: Sunday Feast class highlighting the need to follow the social system of Varna and Ashrama to accelerate the development of spiritual qualities. A new Vedic Center for learning facility is being inaugurated in Ukraine, named as Bhaktivedanta Vidyalaya Ashram.
MARCH 25 CZECH REPUBLIC: Connected with Krishna’s Farmyard called SURABHI FARM. They produce three times more hay than they need and they maintain 11 cows and 2 oxen. With the milk from the cows they produce ghee, yogurt and paneer that they sell to the 4 devotee restaurants they have in Prague. Land acquisition to establish self-sufficient communities should be high on the priority list for all ISKCON devotees and in particular farm projects.
MARCH 20 ISKCON ZÜRICH , SWITZERLAND: Class on Lord Krishna prescription that we live closer to cows and closer to nature if we are not engaged in front line preaching activities which means reviving village life.
MARCH 17 RADHADESH, BELGIUM: Tour of the Goshala and PREMA CULTURE GARDENS (a name given by late His Holiness Kadamba Kanana Maharaja a few years back, a play of words on the popular name PERMA CULTURE). Maharaj was interviewed by Stoka Krishna prabhu, a disciple of late His Holiness Bhakti Charu.
MARCH 13 LA NOUVELLE MAYAPUR, FRANCE: Devotees celebrated Gaura Purnima with a procession on bullock cart. Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu's feelings of separation were like the residents of Vrindavan who are constantly remembering Lord Krishna which is facilitated by their lifestyle of living close to cows, close to nature, and close to Krishna.
MARCH 11 SPAIN: ISKCON NUEVA VRAJAMANDALA have three cows who have never given birth to a calf but yet have been giving milk daily spontaneously for years, the longest on its 7th year. And they also have cows who have given birth to a calf but continue giving milk years after without again giving birth to another calf.
MARCH 5 CAMEROON: Devotees in Kamyavan continue to lead the way in producing devotee grown food. All temples and all devotees should make a determined effort to grow some amount of food.
MARCH 2 TOGO: Participated in Food for Life Prasadam distribution. A few devotees involved with the Gita Nagari project received Harinam initiation at a homa ceremony. Since my last visit devotees have made some important renovations, including setting up a brand new temple altar in the middle of the courtyard.
MARCH 1 DAMODARDESH: This morning I attended a home program where some 40 devotees were present. Although it was a regular Srimad-Bhagavatam class, I took the opportunity to introduce the subject matter of Varnasrama.
FEBRUARY 26: KANHAIYADESH: Program at the New Vrindavan Hall where the topic was The Three Gifts of Nature as explained in the Mahabharata by Grandfather Bhismadeva, namely 1) Cows, 2) Land, and 3) Knowledge. Many devotees appreciated the relevancy of cows and some shared that they were brought back to the days of their childhood life when they lived in villages.
FEBRUARY 24: Vijaya Ekadasi, a great day to start a three month tour that is meant to bring us closer to triumph and success, vijaya! From Burkina Faso, West Africa: Today's prasadam distribution (Food For Life) in a village called BISSIRI (52km from Ouagadougou Burkina Faso). More than 400 boxes and many items distributed.
