Homages from ISKCON Centers

Homages from ISKCON Centers
Let us pray that your transcendental desires for Paris and for France be fulfilled and that many people
here get Kåñëa’s mercy in the form of His holy names, His sanctified food, and your most powerful books.
By ourselves we are so conditioned that we can do nothing, but with your transcendental magic touch
we can be empowered to do what seems impossible: enter into Mäyä’s Kali-yuga fortress of Paris and
rescue many sincere souls by engaging them in the service of our Lord.
Your servants in Paris, France.
(written by Nitäi-Gaurasundara Däsa)
Perth
Dear Çréla Prabhupäda,
Please accept our most respectful and humble obeisances at your divine Våndävana lotus feet. All
glories to you, who left India to compassionately and lovingly spread Lord Caitanya’s mercy and share
Våndävana with every village, town, and city of the world!
Here in Perth we are trying to assist you in your mission. We pray that you bless each and every one
of us so that we may serve you with more and more enthusiasm. We pray that we will attain ever deeper
conviction that the words in your books, especially in your purports, your “personal ecstasies,” can
solve all our personal and collective problems and direct us, step by step, back home, back to Godhead.
While writing this offering (in early April), the local authorities have still not definitely concluded
whether we can renovate your temple according to the proposed plan. However, this delay hasn’t
hampered the devotees’ enthusiasm in their service here. The devotees are sacrificing so much, working
so hard to try to please you.
The new restaurant is going well. Week after week, month after month, the devotees prepare and
serve unlimited plates of prasädam to the people of Perth. Also, prasädam catering at summer festivals
has been in full swing as usual this year (beginning in December), with thousands of plates of prasädam
going out to the masses.
Devotees continue to enthusiastically maintain the weekly harinäma in the city, and occasionally
they take the party out to the beach or a park. Recently some devotees worked very hard to organize
a twelve-hour kértana-melä. It was a wonderful success, culminating with the temple being filled with
devotees and guests chanting together ecstatically. The devotees who came from Brisbane to head up
the chanting said that the acoustics in the Perth temple are the best of any temple they’ve visited. The
Perth temple was built by Christians who invested a lot of money and energy into it to allow the sound
to carry nicely for their Bible studies. So even without the renovations, Çré Çré Gaura-Nitäi have provided
this facility for Their kértana. Hopefully by your blessings and mercy many more of these kértana-melas
will go on in the future. Kértana is the greatest gift you have given us. You always stressed that for a
healthy yäträ the community had to come together often for kértana, and that the best way to help the
planet in these times of great need is to organize continuous kértanas in your centers.
Our educational programs are increasing. Courses for training new devotees have resumed at the
temple. Home programs and study programs at devotees’ houses have increased. Also, some devotees
have revived the university preaching program, and a Vaiñëavé saìga group has been meeting at the
temple.
At your Gopénätha Dhäma, devotees have been performing a huge marathon, working around the
clock, and recently they opened the gallery. It is a devotional masterpiece, with very elaborate offerings
203
3_ISKCON Centers_06June2012.indd 203 6/6/12 10:40 AM