Newest Prayer Requests

 New Prayer Requests

You will see from the attached photos that it has been quite a rough period for us and I am sending this to you to ask you to add Gillian and Daryl and baby Declan to your prayers.      He was born 14th June and we were told just a few days later that he had been born with cancer.    

He has had 12 chemo treatments so far and is just 6 weeks old, but we have a prayer chain going around the world and the improvement has been nothing short of miraculous. He has a very aggressive tumour but it has responded well to chemo. Side effects are horrendous though and it is a 24 hour a day job nursing him. I spent three weeks with them from his birth, then Linda went up to take over helping and this has been followed by other family members.   I go back again on 20th. Friends of theirs have set up a fund as medical costs have spiraled out of control and they have also set up a website which Gillian updates regularly.

Please go and read it and pray for them. The address is www.all-hands-on-dec.co.za

 
More Pictures of baby Declan

offer a prayer for baby Declan

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Hare Krishna devotees,

Please accept my humble obeisances. All Glories to Guru Maharaj, All glories to Srila Prabhupada.

It is my unhappy task to inform you that Chudamani dasi (JPS), is going to the hospital on Monday (today) for a check on a lump she discovered.

Chudamani mataji asked for her godsisters and godbrothers prayers - but the e-mail doesn't seem to work, so I thought I would widen the net and ask everyone here to give a prayer for her safe passage through the hospital visit she is having this Monday.

Lets offer our prayers and best wishes for this very active mataji. She is involved with child protection services in both Mayapura and the Bhaktivedanta Manor, as well as doing lots of service to her GM, HH Jayapataka Swami. Please pray that Lord Krishna takes special care of her during this time.

She also looks after her elderly devotee mother.

Your humble servant,
Antardwip das

Offer a prayer for Chudamani

In Medical News

Submitted on August 26, 2008 by Sangita devi dasi, RN, CHPN, Educator

Ultrasound and Mammography

 According to an article in JAMA (Journal for the American Medical Association), among women at high-risk of developing breast cancer, breast ultrasound combined with mammography may detect more cancers than mammography alone. These results came from a multi-center trial that included Southwestern Medical Center researchers. Overall, 40 participants were diagnosed with breast cancer. Of those patients, 12 lesions were suspicious only on ultrasound and eight were suspicious on both ultrasound and mammography.

Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder and Heart Disease

 According to a study reported in the Psychosomatic Medicine (Journal), Vietnam veterans who experienced post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) were twice as likely to die from heart disease as veterans without PTSD. The more severe the PTSD diagnoses, the greater the likelihood of death from heart disease. The study included 4000 participants who were Vietnam veterans. The results were equated to smoking 2-3 packs of cigarettes per day for more than 20 years.

If you have any recent medical news you would like to share with our readers, kindly send it to: jusaniya@msn.com

Transcendental Nectar

Submitted on August 18, 2008  by Supriya Likhar, State College, Pennsylvania (U.S.)

Pray for the mercy of the Six Goswamis

If one wants to benefit the entire world, he will certainly find persons like hogs and pigs who will put forward many impediments. That is natural. But if a devotee seeks shelter at the lotus feet of the six Gosvamis, the merciful Gosvamis will certainly give the Lord's servitor all protection. It is not astonishing that impediments are placed before those who are spreading the Krsna consciousness movement all over the world. Nevertheless, if we adhere to the lotus feet of the six Gosvamis and pray for their mercy, all impediments will be annihilated, and the transcendental devotional desire to serve the Supreme Lord will be fulfilled.

More Transcendental Nectar...

Momji's Devotional Painting

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More of Momji's Paintings

Dear Devotees,

Momji, as she has been named by the devotees in Canada, who is the mother of Padmapani dasa, a dear disciple of Srila Prabhupada, has just sent us another beautiful painting for all of us to see. Although she is elderly and her eyes are failing her, she still gets so much joy from painting pictures that glorify Srila Prabhupada and Lord Krsna. She is a very special devotee of the Lord and we are most fortunate to have her contribute to the Vaisnavas C.A.R.E. website. We wish her and her son the best in their Krsna consciousness and thank them for their continual gifts to all of us. We pray Momji stays well in all respects. Our thanks to Padmapani Prabhu for the special love and care he gives to his dear mother out of love, appreciation and duty as a true Vaisnava. May Lord Krsna bless them both in every way.       
 
Your servant,
Sangita devi dasi
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (U.S.)
 

Become a V-CARE Volunteer

It is explained in The Nectar of Devotion that "A person who is unable to bear another's distress is called compassionate."

Presently, Vaisnavas C.A.R.E. Inc. has a database of devotee volunteers who offer their assistance, within their own communities, for those who are facing imminent death. Since 2001 our number of volunteers have increased worldwide.  We continue to expand our Vaisnava network by raising awareness of its inevitable need.  Our hope is that our team of volunteers will eventually stretch around the globe to reach any devotee who is in need,  regardless of where he or she resides.

Read more...

The Final Journey
Complete Hospice Care for Departing Vaisnavas

 Order Book

It was a delight to read The Final Journey—Complete Hospice Care for Departing Vaisnavas by Susan  Pattinson, RN (Sangita devi dasi) for three reasons. First, her obvious professional knowledge and experience in hospice care make this book a serious presentation on the subject. Thus it will serve as a practical tool for all concerned, as well as a reminder of how sensitive and qualified one should be for this service. Then, departing spiritualists can derive great benefit from modern medicine as it is applied to hospice care. As a spiritualist herself, the author also gives us inspiring and useful insights on the importance of a good death. She goes deep into subjects like compassion toward spiritual pain, respect for one’s spiritual desires and convictions, importance of prayers and holy association, and relevant scriptural quotes. Finally, this book offers great hope to the aging Vaisnavas and will inspire members of our society to cooperate for this noble service of caring for others.

—Gopaswami dasa (M.D., Qualified in Hospice Care

Read more...

Visit Sri Mayapur Dhama with a Click of a Button

Srila Prabhupada often reminded us that we can visit the holy dhama with the speed of the mind. Now, thanks to modern technology, we can have daily darshan of Sri Sri Radha Madhava and the Asta Sakhis in Sri Mayapur dhama. Please click here and see wonderful videos of mangala arotika, greeting of the Deities, etc. Associate with Their Lordships with "mindspeed."
 

 Visit Sri Vrndavana Dhama with a Click of a Button

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Bhakti Rasa Prabhu
June, 2008

Dear Readers,
We are humbly asking you to kindly continue your prayers for Bhakti Rasa dasa who is preparing for his final journey from this world in a hospice facility in New Zealand. This is a photo of him at Rathayatra,along with his loving sister Hari Priya dasi. Hari Priya, her husband, Bhakti rasa's parents, daughter, and other family members, as well as loving devotees, have been caring for him for quite some time now as his illness has progressed. At this point he is growing weaker, but continues to stay enlivened about his Krsna consciousness and hearing and chanting of the holy names.
 
Please pray for this sincere disciple of HH Tamal Krishna Goswami as well as for his loving family and friends who have given him so much support. We will keep you posted as to how he is doing. Thank you so very much.
 
V-CARE Board of Directors

Offer a prayer for Bhakti Rasa

Welcome Dr. Gupta

Welcome to our Vaisnavas C.A.R.E. team, Dr. Piyush Gupta. We are honored to have you join our team of volunteers to serve the devotees who are very ill or terminally ill and facing the end of life. We thank you so much for this opportunity to learn from you.

For now, Dr. Gupta, who lives in Columbus, Ohio (U.S.),  will be writing a monthly article under the heading of "Health and Well-Being," an article that will, for one thing, teache us all about various diseases and how we can help to prevent them. Dr. Gupta has generously allowed all of our readers to have his personal email address (to be given in his first article) in case you have any medical questions you wish to be answered by a qualified, Vaisnava doctor. Please state in your letter if you wish your question to remain anonymous and not be posted on the website or to be posted on our website with  your name withheld.  You may also opt for your question and name to both be posted on the website.  The choice is yours.

We are so pleased that Dr. Gupta has stepped in to teach us and to answer questions only a trained physician can  answer.

Introduction by Dr. Gupta
Name: Piyush Gupta
Date of birth: 04/18/1977
 
I was born in a small town in Madhya Pradesh, India near Ujjain in 1977. After finishing high school in 1994, I went for medical school at Mahatma Gandhi Memorial Medical College in Indore, one of the best colleges in the region.
 
I finished my Residency in Internal Medicine at The Ohio State University  in July, 2004 and since then I have been working as an Internist for a Community health center in Columbus providing a complete range of adult and geriatric health care services. I take care of a large segment of uninsured immigrants from Somalia, Africa, Mexico, and Asia along with a large African American, Hispanic and Caucasian population. My work has given me an opportunity to manage an entire spectrum of medical diseases, chief among them being Diabetes, Cardiovascular diseases and Chronic lung diseases. My clinic provides a full range of medical, dental and vision services to uninsured and homeless people in Columbus regardless of their ability to pay.
 
I joined Krishna consciousness in 2003 at ISKCON, Columbus temple at Ohio State University campus lured by prasadam and Srila Prabhupada's books. My interest, when I am not "doctoring" is distributing Srila Prabhupada's books and dancing in Kirtans. I am part of the campus ministry on campus here and also sit on the temple council.
 
I live with my wife Lalita devi dasi who is training to become a family physician.
 
I hope we can together serve devotees in some capacity. Looking forward to hearing from you. After all, we are in this together.
 
Your servant,
Piyush Gupta, MD
 

Health & Well-being

Vanaprastha and Colonoscopy

Written by: Dr. Piyush Gupta, Columbus, Ohio (U.S.)

Submitted on Auguest 19, 2008
 

Age 50 is the time when you want to hang up your work boots and take time to rededicate your life and immerse yourself in spirituality, but before you do that and use the remaining wonderful years of your life to cultivate God consciousness and pass on the wisdom to posterity, an important medical decision awaits you.
 
Lots of devotees have questions about a test called a "colonoscopy," which is a screening test to look for colon (large intestine) cancer. One of my best friend's father is terminally ill with advanced stage colon cancer and recently another devotee was diagnosed with colon cancer.
 
Fortunately, it is preventable and there is a screening test available. Exactly what is it and what it entails can be found below. I recommend that all people should get a colonoscopy after age 50, if its negative, you do not have to worry about it for the next 10 years.
 
If you have no insurance, this test in the United States can cost anywhere between $1500-$2000. Medicare and medicaid pays for this test and hospitals might cover it under there financial assistance program called HCAP if you have no insurance. 
 
If you have any additional questions related to colon cancer, colonoscopy, or any other health related questions, after reading the rest of this article, feel free to write to me at: pgupta@colnhc.org.

REASONS FOR COLONOSCOPY — The most common reasons for colonoscopy are to evaluate the following:

• As a screening exam for colon cancer in anyone over age 50
• Blood in the stool or rectal bleeding
• Dark/black stools
• Persistent diarrhea
• Iron deficiency anemia (a decrease in blood count due to loss of iron)
• Significant, unexplained weight loss, accompanied by gastrointestinal symptoms
• A family history of colon cancer
• To follow up an abnormal barium enema
• A history of previous colon polyps or colon cancer
• Surveillance in people with ulcerative colitis
• For the medical management of chronic inflammatory bowel disease
• Chronic, unexplained abdominal pain.

Read more...

Lectures 

HH Giriraj Swami in California
(Taken from www.girirajswami.com)
Please visit www.girirajswami.com for more nectar from Maharaja.

Lord Balarama’s Appearance Day
A Talk by Giriraj Swami
August 28, 1996
Vrndavana

We read from Srimad-Bhagavatam, Canto Two, Chapter Seven: “Scheduled Incarnations.”

TEXT 26

bhumeh suretare-varutha-vimarditayah

klesa-vyayaya kalaya sita-krsna-kesah

jatah karisyati jananupalaksya-margah

karmani catma-mahimopanibandhanani

TRANSLATION

When the world is overburdened by the fighting strength of kings who have no faith in God, the Lord, just to diminish the distress of the world, descends with His plenary portion. The Lord comes in His original form, with beautiful black hair. And just to expand His transcendental glories, He acts extraordinarily. No one can properly estimate how great He is.

PURPORT by Srila Prabhupada

This verse especially describes the appearance of Lord Krsna and His immediate expansion, Lord Baladeva. Both Lord Krsna and Lord Baladeva are one Supreme Personality of Godhead. The Lord is omnipotent, and He expands Himself in innumerable forms and energies, and the whole unit is known as the one Supreme Brahman. Such extensions of the Lord are divided into two divisions, namely personal and differential. The personal expansions are called the visnu-tattvas, and the differential expansions are called the jiva-tattvas. And in such expansional activity, Lord Baladeva is the first personal expansion of Krsna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead.

COMMENT by Giriraj Swami

Lord Krsna is the Absolute Truth (janmady asya yatah). He is the original source of all emanations, and the emanations, or expansions, come in two categories: the personal expansions, or visnu-tattvas, and the differential expansions, or jiva-tattvas. The first personal expansion of Krsna is Lord Balarama.

The Brahma-samhita gives the example that from one candle you can light a second candle, from the second a third, from the third a fourth, and so on. They all have the same candlepower, but still there is one original candle—Krsna. And the first expansion of Krsna is Lord Balarama, whose appearance day we are celebrating today.

PURPORT (continued)

In the Visnu Purana as well as in the Mahabharata, both Krsna and Baladeva are mentioned as having beautiful black hair, even in Their advanced age. The Lord is called anupalaksya-margah or, in still more technical Vedic terms, avan-manasa gocarah: one who is never to be seen or realized by the limited sense perception of the people in general. In the Bhagavad-gita (7.25) the Lord says, naham prakasah sarvasya yogamaya-samavrtah. In other words, the Lord reserves the right of not being exposed to anyone and everyone. Only the bona fide devotees can know Him by His specific symptoms, and out of many, many such symptoms, one symptom mentioned here in this verse is that the Lord is sita-krsna-kesah, or one who is observed always with beautiful black hair. Both Lord Krsna and Lord Baladeva have such hair on Their heads, and thus even in advanced age They appeared like young boys sixteen years old. This is the particular symptom of the Personality of Godhead.

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More Lectures

Deity Meditations

Posted July 22, 2008

The Beautiful, Self-Manifested Radharamana Deity

This is the beautiful Deity of Radharamana who resides in Vrindavana, India. He self-manifested from a small Shalagram-sila stone that belonged to Gopal Bhatta Goswami, one of the Six Goswamis of Vrindavan. Gopal Bhatta Goswami had longed to serve the Lord as a Deity in His two-armed form of Lord Krsna. So one day the small Shalagrama-sila stone became the Deity seen above in the photo.

The Shalagrama-sila stone can still be seen attached to the Deity's back.

If you have a photo of the Deities in your temple or home that you would like to share with our readers, please send it to: jusaniya@vaisnavascare.com. Please include your name and where the Deities reside.

More pictures...

Former Leader of Children of Krishna Passes Away
by Children of Krishna

Submitted August 16, 2008
by Lilavilasini devi  dasi
Terne, Italy

Alachua, Florida-Jahnavi Haggard, former Executive Director of Children of Krishna, a non-profit organization formed in 1996 to support second generation Krishna youth with grants for education and counseling, passed away on Saturday, August 9th, at the age of 36. She died at her home in Alachua, Florida, from a heart attack resulting from complications of her life-long struggle with diabetes.
 
Jahnavi was a Krishna devotee from the age of 4, when her parents joined the Hare Krishna movement's western world headquarters in Los Angeles, California. She attended Krishna parochial schools, or gurukulas, until the age of 14, when she transferred to public schools and studied there through high school.
 
Jahnavi became a founding member of Children of Krishna (CKI) in 1996, and during that organization's ten years of active service, was its longest serving Executive Director. During her tenure, CKI became known internationally for its work in networking on behalf of Krishna youth, especially those who had suffered abuse or mistreatment as children.

Read more...

The First V-CARE Hospice Room Opens on
ISKCON’s Gita-nagari Farm

Submitted July 20, 2008
By Sangita devi dasi, RN, CHPN

We are honored to announce the opening of the first Vaisnavas C.A.R.E. Hospice Room located on the Gita-nagari farm in Port Royal, Pennsylvania (U.S.) It is a humble beginning with one room freshly painted, decorated with new furniture, including a comfortable single bed with fresh linens, pillows, and blankets/comforters, a rocking sofa, a dresser, a small table and chairs for dining, and a small refrigerator. The room is equipped with new dishes, silverware, glasses/mugs, etc.

In addition, the patient will have a television with a DVD and video player with a variety of DVDs/videos to watch, a new MP3 player, a complete set of the Srimad-Bhagavatam and other transcendental books, along with many beautifully framed paintings that decorate every wall. Plants brighten the room and white sheer curtains open to expose a window that overlooks Radha-Damodara’s temple. This room also has a ceiling fan for the warm season as well as air conditioning, if desired.

Outside, one can hear the sounds of many peacocks calling to one another and cows mooing from the nearby barn. At various times of the day, kirtan from the temple can be clearly heard for one’s meditation. If the patient is able to walk around the grounds, they can view the newly planted flower and herb gardens in the yard while sitting on the many benches strategically placed for one’s comfort. We also have a walker, new cane, and a wheelchair for those needing extra help with ambulating. V-CARE volunteers will be happy to assist with this. 

Vaisnavas C.A.R.E., together with the Board of Directors for Gita-nagari, and under the auspices of the GBC, HH Ravindra Svarupa Prabhu, are offering this beautifully decorated facility for terminally ill devotees who wish to spend their final days in a lovely farm community. Many years ago, Srila Prabhupada visited this farm and said it was non-different than the holy dhama of Vrindavana. 

We wish to thank all of the donars who sent Laksmi, framed pictures, new linens, blankets, pillows, candles, lamps, books, and other items to make this hospice room comfortable and home-like. We also have included a children’s corner with toys and coloring materials to keep the young ones busy while their parents visit with the patient.

We pray that Srila Prabhupada is pleased with this humble beginning and that this Vaisnavas C.A.R.E. project, once guided by HH Bhakti Tirtha Swami, will continue to flourish, not only in Gita-nagari, but also in other ISKCON communities around the world.

We are asking any terminally ill devotee wishing to utilize the hospice facility at Gita-nagari to:

*Contact us by visiting our website at www.vaisnavascare.com. Write to us by clicking on Contact Us.

*We require you to fax a letter from your doctor stating that your prognosis is approximately one month or so given your disease process. Of course, we are aware that this may not always be accurate, but the doctor’s best judgment will be acceptable.

*Once accepted, we require you to bring your medical charts and recent test results with you to Gita-nagari.

*We also require you to bring one caregiver (family member or friend) who will take the primary responsibility for your care. Our Vaisnavas C.A.R.E. volunteers will make every effort to provide as much respite as they can so your caregiver can have the much-needed rest and relaxation he or she deserves.

*There are two licensed home hospice agencies nearby and you, the patient, will have to be admitted to one of these agencies in order to receive care from their Medical Director, trained hospice nurses, trained nursing assistants, etc. Financial arrangements will need to be made between you and the licensed hospice agency. Medicare A covers hospice care as well as Medicaid in Pennsylvania. Most private insurances will also have a hospice benefit for payments. Also, many hospices have a special fund for those unable to afford private insurance.
(NOTE: Being admitted to a local hospice does not mean the patient will stay at the hospice.  The local hospice's Nurse and team will go to see the patient in the room at Gita-nagari.)

V-CARE will soon be holding a hospice seminar for any devotees in and around the Gita-nagari area to learn the art of volunteering as a hospice caregiver to provide spiritual and emotional support. The date and time will soon be announced.

View all photos of the completed room

Inspirations

Saragrahi Vaishnava by Bhaktivinoda Thakura
 

Alas for those who spend their days
In festive mirth and joy.
The dazzling, deadly, liquid forms
Their hearts fore'er employ.

The shining bottles charm their eyes
And draw their heart's embrace;
The slaves of wine can never rise
From what we call disgrace.

Was man intended to be
A brute in work and heart?
Should man, the Lord of all around,
From common sense depart?

Man's glory is in common sense
Dictating us the grace,
That man is made to live and love
The beauteous Heaven's embrace.

The flesh is not our own alas;
The mortal frame a chain;
The soul confined for former wrongs
Should try to rise again.

Why then this childish play in that
Which cannot be our own;
Which falls within a hundred years
As if a rose ablown.

Our life is but a rosy hue
To go ere long for naught;
The soul alone would last fore'er
With good or evil fraught.

How deep the thought of times to be!
How grave the aspect looks!
And wrapt in awe become, O, we,
When reading Nature's books.

Man's life to him a problem dark -
A screen both left and right;
No soul hath come to tell us what
Exists beyond our sight.

But then a voice, how deep and soft;
Within ourselves is left;
Man! Man! Thou art immortal soul!
Thee Death can never melt.

For Thee Thy Sire on High has kept
A store of bliss above,
To end of time, thou art Oh! His -
Who wants but purest love.

O Love! Thy power and spell benign
Now melt my soul to God;
How can my earthly words describe
That feeling soft and broad.

Enjoyment, sorrow - what but lots
To which the flesh is heir?
The soul that sleeps alone concludes
In them it hath a share.

And then, my friends, no more enjoy
Nor weep for all below;
The women, wine, and flesh of beasts
No love on thee bestow.

But thine to love thy brother man
And give thyself to God,
And God doth know your wages fair -
This fact is true and broad.

Forget the past that sleeps and ne'er
The future dream at all
But act in times that are with thee
And progress thee shall call.

But tell me not in reasoning cold,
The soul is made alone
By earth's mechanic lifeless rules
And to destruction prone.

My God who gave us life and all
Alone the soul can kill
Or give it all the joys above
His promise to fulfill.

So push thy onward march, O soul,
Against an evil deed
That stands with soldiers Hate and Lust -
A hero be indeed.

Maintain thy post in spirit world
As firmly as you can
Let never matter push thee down -
O stand heroic man.

O Saragrahi Vaishnava soul
Thou art an angel fair;
Lead, lead me on to Vrindavana
And spirit's power declare.

There rests my soul from matter free
Upon my Lover's arms
Eternal peace and spirits love
Are all my chanting charms.