Академический Документы
Профессиональный Документы
Культура Документы
We planned for each event in quite a bit of detail. We practiced the different tunes of the
mahamantra, decided on the content of the talk, cooked prasadam sweets for the occasion, and
gathered the paraphernalia to take with us. We took Prabhupadas books to gift to the teacher,
musical instruments, a peacock fan and a conchshell. We dressed in our devotional attire with
tilak and neck beads.
We divided our presentation into different topics: geography, music, food, dress and dance of
India. This covered several aspects of Krishna consciousness, namely, chanting,
vegetarianism, why the cow is sacred, and the Krishna conscious lifestyle. Our children made
small presentations on the music and dance of India. At the end we told stories of Krishna
with the help of the Krishna Art Book. The school children were completely fascinated by
these stories and they always wanted to hear more. Krishna would capture their hearts.
At this age, we conducted the programs and the children assisted us. Even though we did the
majority of the talking, our children would sometimes explain their traditional dress, eating
habits and musical instruments. They would chant with us and distribute prasadam. The idea
was that by observing and participating in the programs they would eventually be able to do
them without our help. The programs were always a success, and each time the boys came
home more convinced of the philosophy and confident of their identity as devotees of
Krishna. I also went to public libraries and asked them if we could arrange a
program there. The libraries were almost always willing, and sometimes they even advertised
our programs.
consciousness and answering many questions. On another occasion, a public school invited us
to do an India Day for their 400 kids. We invited women from our temple congregation to
help us with classical Indian dancing, mehndi and face painting while we talked about
Krishna conscious culture and philosophy. For prasadam we distributed about 400 pieces of
papadam.
Our biggest program was when the school district invited us to share our culture in 14 public
schools. They had received funds from the state government to hold diversity programs in
their schools. This was to be done in two weeks, a performance everyday, and they paid us
$1,000 for it.
Depending on where the program was held, we tailored it accordingly. If we expected a
conservative audience, we made the program more cultural and if we expected a more liberal
attitude, we made it more directly Krishna conscious. Nevertheless, we always had chanting
and prasadam, some talk on our lifestyle, food habits and some basic philosophy of the soul,
karma and reincarnation. There were always questions at the end from the children and
parents. It was amazing- most of the questions were about Krishna consciousness and so we
could preach quite openly since it was coming from them. At the end, we always had
prasadam snacks, which would remove any misgivings if there were any. We found that our
expectations about the teachers and students were often wrong. Where we expected to
encounter some difficulty, they turned out to be quite friendly and wanted more Krishna
consciousness, and vice versa. So we learned not to speculate and keep a standard program as
far as possible.
Our children enjoyed these programs very much. These days would be different from the
normal study routine but they were learning invaluable skills that would be impossible to
teach in a classroom. Not only were they learning communication and oratory skills but their
hearts were becoming fixed in Krishna Consciousness.
The teacher was so impressed with the boys that she invited us every semester and placed
many of Srila Prabhupadas books in the school's library. The students enjoyed the program
so much that word would spread in the school and many would skip their own classes and
come to ours. One time a senior devotee was visiting Boise, and we suggested to the teacher
that he could give the class instead of my sons. But the teacher was adamant that the
boys speak. The beauty of your religion is that the youth of your faith can explain it so nicely
and convincingly, she said.
After several years of visiting the high school, now the teacher brings her students to the
temple for the Sunday program, as part of the requirements for the course. The students
participate in the entire program - kirtan, class, arati and prasadam. The teacher especially
likes the chanting and she encourages every student to sing the mahamantra by doing it
herself. During the arati, the students often join in the dancing. It is really quite amazing and
fun!
Whenever traveling sannyasis visited Boise, we would arrange guest lectures for them at the
university. We picked out classes that could relate to Krishna consciousness, and then called
the teachers to find out if they would be interested in a Vedic perspective on the subject.
Often the professors would agree. Eventually, the boys were also able to speak to the classes.
We focused more on the philosophy and less on chanting and dancing. These classes were
longer and more challenging, and covered various subjects, including philosophy, sociology,
education, literature, art, music and theatre. We always took free books for the teacher and
invited the students to the temple.
Another wonderful way to reach out to the local community is by participating in interfaith
services held at local churches. These interfaith programs are often held for public holidays
like Thanksgiving and New Years Eve. Usually, we would be given five minutes to chant the
mahamantra and read a prayer or verse from the Bhagavad-gita.
We would also participate in panel discussions put on by local interfaith groups. Here, the
boys learned how to present their own philosophy in relation to other religious views and to
appreciate the commonality of all religions.