Atlanta,
Dec 2012: Gaudiya Vaishnava Association (GVA), is a non profit
spiritual organization that has been operating in the Atlanta area for
a number of years. GVA was founded by His Divine Grace Swami Bhakti
Swarup Tirtha Maharaj with the sole objective of spreading spiritual
awareness all over the world, and to propagate, preach and promote the
only means of deliverance - the chanting of the Holy Names of God, Shri
Krishna. In order to bring this awareness to the wonderful citizens of
Atlanta, GVA conducted a month long Utsav starting with the Duluth Fall
Festival.
On September 29th, Gaudiya Vaishnava Association
(GVA), conducted the Ratha Yatra as part of the Duluth Fall Festival
parade at Duluth, Georgia. Under the spiritual guidance of its Founder
Acharya, His Divine Grace Swami Bhakti Swarup Tirtha Maharaj, the
devotees carried Their Lordships Sri Jagannath, Sri Baladeva and
Srimati Subadhra devi in a well decorated palanquin on the streets of
the city of Duluth. An age old tradition that originated from Puri,
India it is still followed in many temples around the world. Lord
Jagannath bestows His causeless mercy to one and all by coming outside
the temple and being carried in a rath (chariot) as a yatra (journey).
The devotees carried the Hare Krishna Maha Mantra banners. The
people of Duluth who gathered along the Ratha Yatra route received the
Unlimited Mercy of Their Lordships. Many citizens of Duluth are
witnessing the Ratha Yatra for the first time and very happily joined
the parade. Amidst all the extravaganza, it is noteworthy to say that
the Harinam Sankirtan (Chanting of the Holy Name of Shri Krishna) with
Karatalas & Mirudangas done by GVA in the 2 hour parade was
ecstatic and attracted the young and the young at heart and everyone
danced in great jubilance.
The major event of the Fall Utsav
is the Shrimad Bhagavatam discourses by the Founder Acharya of
GVA, Swami B.S.Tirtha Maharaj between October 1 and 17 in the Cumming
and Alpharetta areas. Shrila Maharaj spoke from the 2nd Canto - 'The
Cosmic Manifestation' with in depth explanations about God realization,
pure devotional service, the process of creation, the scheduled
incarnations of the Supreme Lord with specific functions and how
Bhagavata Mahapuran is the answer to all questions. He explained the
importance of chanting the Lord's holy name by anyone through this
sloka:
Shrila Maharaj presented 'The Nectar of Instruction' ,
also known as 'Upadeshamrita', written by Shrila Rupa Goswami. A direct
disciple of Lord Shri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu and the leader of all the
Goswamis, Shrila Rupa Goswami gave this Upadeshamrita to guide our
activities and become pure Vaishnavas. It is a timely discourse
presented by Shrila Maharaj when everyone in this world is influenced
by the modes of passion (greed) and ignorance (lust).
When
giving a detailed explanation for this verse, Shrila Maharaj explained
how one can control ones senses, especially the tongue,
controlling which one can conquer their other senses and the mind
to live a happy and peaceful life.
An interactive question and
answer session became the finale for the two weeks long
discourses. Members from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day
Saints attended the final day program and posed a series of wonderful
questions, like When did creation begin?,Who is God?, What is God
Realization?, How to be Joyful? and How to achieve Universal
Brotherhood? In answer to their questions, Shrila Maharaj, gave
examples from the Vedas and the Bible, pointed out the common aspects
of Vaishnavism and Christianity, explained the position of Lord Jesus
Christ, proved that service to God is superior by narrating the story
of Thomas Becket (also known as Saint Thomas of Canterbury). They
greatly appreciated the answers and each one received the Bhagavat Vani
magazine from Shrila Maharaj with his blessings. Shrila Maharaj was in
US from September 24th to October 27th on a transcendental tour
delivering spiritual discourses from Shrimad Bhagavat Gita, Shrimad
Bhagavatam and Upadeshamrita in New Jersey, Texas and Georgia.
On
October 22nd, as a penultimate program, Gaudiya Vaishnava Association
performed Harinam Sankirtan on the auspicious Ratha Yatra of Lord
Sri Venkateshwara with Goddesses Shridevi and Bhudevi at The Hindu
Temple of Atlanta, Georgia. Continuous sankirtan for nearly three hours
mesmerized all the devotees who attended the ratha yatra and was a very
memorable event. Everyone is eagerly waiting for the next Ratha Yatra.
Chief priest at the temple, Shri Gopala Bhatar was very appreciative
and thanked the sankirtan party.
Gaudiya Vaishnava Association's
final program for the Fall Utsav 2012 was the Global Mela held at
Global Mall in Norcross on October 27th and 28th. Global Mela attracts
each year more than 15000 visitors during the two day event from the
Southeast. GVA distributed Shrila Maharaj's spiritual discourses in
CDs, DVDs & MP3s. Transcendental books namely "Actually There's No
Problem" and "You Ask He Answers" written by Shrila Maharaj and
"Bhagavat Gita Made Easy" MP3 sets were the highly sought after items
during the Mela.
Young Vaishnavas from GVA performed Lord Shri
Krishna's childhood pastime 'Damodar Lila', a dance-drama during the
inaugural function welcoming the chief guest, Honorable Indian Consul
General for Atlanta Mr. Ajit Kumar. TV Asia, a local TV channel
interviewed the devotees distributing CDs containing Shrila Maharaj's
discourses and the youth group as part of their event coverage.
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