Radhanath Swami's Contribution to the Youth

As we stand on the threshold of a new era, man has conquered space, reduced time barriers, vanquished centuries old drudgery and made rapid strides in the fields of Science and technology. However the modern youth plagued by disillusionment and mental stress are helplessly dragged by unhealthy and vicious competition, in all spheres of life.  This makes one wonder what more the uncontrolled human mind can do to further debilitate its already fragile state of existence. The much needed succor is provided by the unlimitedly rich Vedic culture which inspires each person to discover and plunder the boundless nectar of real happiness. Thus when a ‘hungry’ man is satisfied he can ‘feed’ others and prove to be an invaluable asset to the society.

With inspiration and complete spiritual support from Radhanath Swami, Prerana and Chetana are festivals of chanting, dancing and feasting, through the medium of which the original, blissful, Vedic culture of India is introduced to the youth. ‘Prerana’ is a Festival for teenage boys and ‘Chetana’ a Festival for teenage girls.  They focus on the contemporary social issues/problems bothering  the youth and inspire the younger generation of India to accept a God centered life and make their lives more regulated, purposeful and joyful. These festivals attract thousands of youngsters from all over Mumbai.

These programs begin with a devotional chant followed by a drama. Then a lecture on some socially or ethically relevant topic, by a senior spiritual leader is held. After the question answer session, an intense kirtan inspires the young to shed off their inhibitions and experience spiritual ecstasy. This singing and dancing session contains a wonderful mix of traditional musical instruments like mrdangas and cymbals, blended with modern electronic synthesizers, guitars and Zambie.

Some of the topics discussed in the festivals so far are:

• Personality Development
• Stress management
• The Power of Habits
• Failures as stepping stones to success
• Conflict Resolutions
• Saints and Swindlers
• Art of Self-confidence
• Overcome Greed
• Principles of satisfaction
• The Art Of Living
• The Art of Forgiveness
• Overcoming Boredom
• Health beyond Fitness
• Mera Bharat Mahan
• Curing the Cancer of the Mind
• Believing in God: A Big Deal
• The Art of Re-Living
• Tapping the power of faith
• Power of Positive Association
• Power Of Free Will
• Ritual to Spiritual
• Discovering the Glory of India
• Power of Now
• Vedic Solution to Climate Change

Prerana for the Month of July 2010:

Scores of enthusiastic youth participated in Prerana, held on 18 July 2010, Radha Gopinath Temple, Chowpatty, Mumbai. The main highlight of the festival was the enlightening presentation by Sanat Kumar, a graduate in law and a student of Radhanath Swami, on the topic “PERFECT…YET REJECTED!” He elucidated on the Vedic solutions for the post-industrial crises. The modern man is not content with just the basic needs and amenities, but is on an insatiable quest to fulfill his greed by ruthlessly exploiting mother earth. And in due course he has adopted many techno-cultural lifestyles that are only proving detrimental to his existence.

Sanat Kumar very clearly delineated the fallacies of modern day agricultural practices like use of chemical pesticides, fertilizers, tractors, and genetically modified seeds, which are all heavily dependent on the diminishing fossil fuels, and are causing devastating effects to the environment. He then explained with technical details, how organic farming, employing native seeds, is more eco-friendly and farmer-friendly. He also gave statistics of how bull driven systems are more sustainable than tractors, considering the impending oil crisis.

He then shifted his focus on the concepts of localized economies as highlighted in Vedic economics. He illuminated on the dangers of monopolized globalization and explained how capitalistic economy devoid of strong moral footing will only lead to exploitation of naïve consumers. He described how some MNCs, motivated by profits, are selling potentially life threatening consumables to innocent customers. He substantiated this by explaining the ill-effects of consuming soft drinks, dangers of using non-stick pans, potential risks of microwave ovens and health hazards caused by low level radiation from many modern day electronic gadgets.

He finally explained how Srila Prabhupada foresaw these imminent ecological disasters and propounded the principle of simple living and high thinking, when establishing ISKCON. The only solution to these crises, Sanat Kumar Prabhu explained, was going back to a natural lifestyle. He cited examples of successful communities like Amish, Working village international, and our own Krishna Valley Project in Hungary. The entire talk was very well received by the attentive youth, who at the end were convinced about the importance of adopting a natural lifestyle.

Chetana for the Month of July 2010:

Hundreds of enthusiastic young girls attended the Chetana festival that was held on 11 July 2010, at Radha Gopinath Temple, Chowpatty, Mumbai. The program began at 5:00 pm with a wonderful dance performance by Aradhita Maheshwari. She performed an Odissi dance based on the song ‘Adharam Madhuram.’ The Odissi dance, a classical dance form from the Orissa state of India, is considered the oldest surviving dance form of India.

The performance was followed by an inspiring lecture by Dr. Komal Dalal, a senior doctor in Bhaktivedanta Hospital. Dr. Dalal has been a practitioner of Bhakti Yoga for over twenty five years under the auspices of Radhanath Swami. She discoursed on the topic, ‘Heart to Heart Relationships.’ She began by saying, "The nature of a living entity is to love and to be loved. If that need is not fulfilled the heart remains empty, and people turn towards intoxication and other bad habits. But ultimately one remains frustrated.”

She then went on to enumerate the principles that build a good relationship: respect, appreciation, encouragement, integrity, loyalty, service, trust, forgiveness, and tolerance. Bhakti is the science of building good relationships on the platform of truth and that brings the highest fulfillment.

The true relationship of the soul is with God. Though that relationship is eternal, we have forgotten it, and we are trying to replace that experience with mundane things of this world. God is a person with whom we can have the most intimate relationship: he knows what is in our hearts, he knows what is best for us, he is our best friend, and he knows all our desires. But how do we reestablish our lost relationship with Him? By first developing relationship with those who represent God within this world, the spiritual gurus. By associating with them and following their guidance, we can reestablish our lost relationship with God, our true friend. That is the secret of success.

After the lecture there was a melodious kirtan of the mahamantra, “Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare/ Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare.” The program ended with sumptuous dinner Prasad (Sanctified food.)

When Generation Y becomes Generation Why

-- A Newspaper Report by Ujjayini Das Panigrahi, Indian Express, Dec. 2nd 2004

YOU’RE young. You’ve got the cameraphone, the sharp clothes, the latest CDs and money to burn. You’ve got everything. Or is something missing? Like, how’s your soul? That’s the question Mumbai’s young men seem to be asking themselves as more and more turn to the International Society of Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON) temple at Girgaum in Chowpatty.

The number of single young men attending their monthly ‘Prerna’ enlightenment discourses- which cover everything stress management to future goals- has been rising and now regularly touches 800. “Even we’re amazed at how numbers are swelling,” says regular Prerna attendee Vraj Bihari Das, an MBA graduate and postgraduate in Economics. At Tuesday’s ‘Prerna’ session, the hall was packed with young men for Radhanath Swami’s discourse on ‘Why Bad Things Happen to Good People.’ They laughed on cue, echoed the ‘Hari-Bols’ at the right times and hung on every word. “What are you undergoing today is actually nature’s reaction to your past needs,” intoned the Swami. “If you kill 100 men, the law of the land may kill you once, but nature will find a way to kill you 100 times. And that is Karma.”

“These meditations help me to concentrate on my studies,” says Nipun Tandon, a science graduate and post graduate of IIT Mumbai who finds no conflict between his scientific and spiritual worlds. “If you think a little deeply the entire process is scientific.”

Young women are seeking out ISKCON’s brand of enlightenment too, at sessions entitled ‘Chetana’. “The transformation I have gone through since I started coming here is amazing,” says 26-year-old former Sahara Airline employee Kavitha Jajoo (name changed on request). Jajoo has been a ‘Chetana’ regular for the past three years. Now it’s impossible to imagine her in modern clothes. Dressed in a sari and head-covering, her days revolve around Sattvik food, chants of the Lord’s name and service at the temple.

Bars and discos may be spilling over, but the Swami’s tribe is growing. HariBol!

Students love ISKCON’s Vedic take on life

-- Excerpts from an Newspaper Article in Times of India, Feb. 28 2003

EVERY month, hundreds of students congregate at the ISKCON temple, Chowpatty, with a purpose. This is a congregation of its kind in a city like Mumbai. And this time too almost 600 students from different colleges came together to participate in the Prerna Festival, which is said to be festival of inspiration and joy.

People chant, dance and feast during this festival. Through this medium the blissful Krishna Conscious Vedic culture is introduced to students.

“As we need physical exercise to keep our body fit, we need certain exercises to keep our mind and soul free from modern-day maladies like stress, anxiety, fear etc” says Gauranga Das the coordinator of the youth wing of ISKCON, which organizes the festival.

“The first festival was started in the month of July, 2002. Over 200 students from different colleges had attended the festival. And this time, we have over 600 students” says Vasudev Das of ISKCON.

“In fact we take up a subject on which a learned swami gives his opinions and discourses. In this festival, the youth are the target as they are confused and stressed out. Through this, they can get a new Vedic perspective on things,” says Gauranga Das.

Sheriff of Mumbai addresses in a Prerana Festival: