VOICE

NEWSLETTER
May ’ 19, #Issue No. 33

INSIDE THIS ISSUE

MORE DEVOTEES
PG. 2: Srila Prabhupada’s Article

PG. 3: Summer Camp 2019

HAPPY DEVOTEES

PG. 8: VSSUT Burla TAPAS SAPAT

PG. 8: GGD TAPAS SAPAT

“ I F O N E I S
PG. 9: SLV visits VIT VOICE R E A D Y T O
PG. 10: Shreshtha of the Month A C C E P T

H I S M E R C Y
U N L I M I T E D L Y ,

T H E N H E I S
P R E P A R E D T O

G I V E I T
U N L I M I T E D L Y ”
1 DARSHAN OF THE MONTH

Sri Krishna is the intimate friend of Arjuna. He has appeared on

this earth in His transcendental body, which resembles the
bluish color of the tamala tree. His body attracts everyone in the
three planetary systems [upper, middle and lower]. May His
glittering yellow dress and His lotus face, covered with paintings
of sandalwood pulp, be the object of my attraction, and may i not
desire fruitive results.
[SB 1.9.33]
Editorial Board
2 S R I L A P R A B H U PA D A’ S A R T I C L E

In the Vedänta-sütra (3.2.26) it is described in the following words: prakäçaç ca

karmaëy abhyäsät. "Devotional service is so potent that simply by engaging in
the activities of devotional service one becomes enlightened without a doubt." A
practical example of this can be seen in the previous life of Närada, who in that
life happened to be the son of a maidservant. He had no education, nor was he
born into a high family. But when his mother was engaged in serving great
devotees, Närada also became engaged, and sometimes, in the absence of his
mother, he would serve the great devotees himself.

In this verse from Çrémad-Bhägavatam (1.5.25) Närada

describes his previous life to his disciple Vyäsadeva. He
says that while engaged as a boy servant for those purified
devotees during the four months of their stay, he was
intimately associating with them. Sometimes those sages
left remnants of food on their dishes, and the boy, who
would wash their dishes, wanted to taste the remnants. So
he asked the great devotees for their permission, and
when they gave it Närada ate those remnants and
consequently became freed from all sinful reactions. As he
went on eating, he gradually became as pure-hearted as
the sages. The great devotees relished the taste of
unceasing devotional service to the Lord by hearing and
chanting, and Närada gradually developed the same taste.

By associating with the sages, Närada got the taste for hearing and chanting the glories of the
Lord, and he developed a great desire for devotional service. Therefore, as described in the
Vedänta-sütra, prakäçaç ca karmaëy abhyäsät: if one is engaged simply in the acts of devotional
service, everything is revealed to him automatically, and he can understand. This is called
pratyakña, directly perceived. [Bg 9.2]
3 MORE DEVOTEES

Summer Camp 2019

The annual VOICE summer camps were once again
held with great pomp and splendour by the ISKCON Date: 24th May – 2nd June
Kolkata youth forum, VOICE in collaboration with the No. of Participants: 800
VOICEs from Pune, Kanpur, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Venue: Sri Dham Mayapur
Tirupati, Nagpur and other centres in the ISKCON
world headquarters at Sridham Mayapur popularly
known as Sri Mayapur Chandrodaya Mandir. Over 800
youths from all over the country had come for
participating in different camps running parallelly
spanning the grand Utkarsh festival for the first-year
students and GS-NS, Facilitator Training &
Empowerment course, Sharanagati camps for the
seniors. All these lectures were delivered by a team of
over 25 esteemed and experienced preachers headed by
HG Radheshyam Prabhu. The daily schedule of the
participants included an exuberant experience of the
enchanting Mangal Aratis, persevering Japa Sessions,
heart rending Darshans and the other camp activities
that filled up the day.
The centre of all the events going on was the Utkarsh
camp, where the number of participants touched a
whopping total of 501 who were fully exposed to a
presentation of Krishna Consciousness with perfect
explanations, uniting the domains of science and spirituality, spanning all the essential basic
philosophical aspects of Krishna Consciousness like supremacy, opulence & sweetness of Lord
Krishna; importance of chanting the holy name; science behind deity worship; importance and
danger of faith and blind doubting & vice-versa – all via the wonderful means of lectures,
dramas, chart presentations & quizzes.
4 MORE DEVOTEES

The boys were also taken for visits of many significant places such as the Mayapur Gurukul,
Yogapitha, a tour of the upcoming Temple of Vedic Planetarium, Mayapur Goshala, etc. where
they got to experience and appreciate the various cultural and social aspects of Krishna
Consciousness.
The dramas which were wonderfully put up by the devotees were deeply appreciated by the boys -
Bhrigu Muni's test - Who is the Supreme?, Sakshi Gopal, Killing of Vyomasura, Madhumangala
and Laddoos and the Deliverance of Ajamila – all of them left the audience enthralled, and
looking for more.
Special gifts such as Radha Madhav photo frames were given to the participants at the end of the
camp.
The Utkarsh camp participants along with the participants of other camps were supremely
blessed to have the association of HH Jayapataka Swami Maharaj and HH Bhakti Purushottam
Swami Maharaj as well during the camp.
Facilitator training & Empowerment course mainly focused on developing the essential qualities
of a facilitator – it was mainly aimed for the second year devotees who will be taking up the
responsibilities of guiding their juniors in the upcoming academic year. Participants also got to
visit the home of Srila Bhakti Vinod Thakur.
Sharanagati camp was organised for the final year devotees who will be passing out of their
VOICE & college lives in order to empower and equip them to face the challenges of the world
outside. The importance of Vaishnav association and sticking to the DO’s & DON’Ts of bhakti
was repeatedly highlighted all throughout the camp.
5 MORE DEVOTEES

Participants were also blessed with the association of

HG Jananivas Prabhu at Rajapur temple and HG
Krishnanand Prabhu at Srivas Angan where they go to
hear nectarine pastimes of the Lord.

Everyone had a spiritually surcharged and mesmerising

experience at Sri Dham Mayapur, for which deep
gratitude is expressed to the wonderful leadership of
HG Antardvipa Prabhu, HG Vraja Krishna Prabhu and
HG Nimai Anand Prabhu for overseeing the successful
operations of the camp and making it a grand success.

Thanks to the smooth management done by Atul

Prabhu (Gita Life Hyderabad) & Jyotirmay Prabhu
(ISKCON Kolkata- IIT KGP) and their team who
digitized the entire process of registrations and
accommodation which made the whole accommodation
planning quite hassle free and convenient.

We also wish to express our heartfelt thanks to all the

mentors and frontlines who through their personal
example, persistent efforts and regular association,
throughout the year have inspired so many youths to
come to Utkarsh camp.

We are very grateful to the entire Mayapur Temple

Management for giving us full support in this camp.
6 MORE DEVOTEES
We took prasadam from Nama Hatta
Bhavan kitchen. It works under the
supervision of HG Radhadyuti Prabhu
who has a very special heart to feed all
youths as nicely as possible. Their
service attitude and dedication is deeply
inspiring. Practically, every meal was a
very special one and still they were also
eager to hear feedbacks to make the next
one even better.
HG Padma Netra Prabhu, Head of
Nama Hatta Bhavan, adjusted his own
events in Nama Hatta Bhavan to host
us.
HG Madhav Hari Prabhu, a very senior
leader in Mayapur management, despite
his other duties, gave us good time to
help us deal with all vendors. He made
them majorly reduce the costs involved
and also greatly eased our management
troubles.
Overall the camps were very successful
in all aspects of training in Krishna
consciousness at various stages of one’s
spiritual lives
- Kannan Prabhu (SRKD VOICE)

.
7 MORE DEVOTEES
Feedbacks
Utkarsh camp was a whole new experience for me. The lectures given by the speakers were
fascinating - each and every doubt was clarified in an excellent manner. Mangala Aarti was ecstatic.
Krishna Prasad was delicious and in particular the sweets were so nice. Overall it was an eye-opening
experience. - Raja Durai Prabhu, Utkarsh Camp Participant

I have never spent any vacation in such a useful, at the same time, with more of excitement, as I did
this year in Utkarsh camp. Early morning program, wonderful prasadam, good accommodations,
wonderful lectures, dramas full of humor and thought provoking points and the list goes on. I never
thought that I would see the holy river Ganges but I was actually swimming in ecstasy! Still I am
unable to believe it all has happened. I know seriously I didn't deserve this. Thanks to all the
devotees who made this possible. - Murugan Prabhu, Utkarsh Camp Participant

Sharanagati camp gave practical tips and advices on how to deal with materialistic people in our
work life. Visits to different places in Mayapur and enlightening lectures by HG Jananivas Prabhu
and HG Krishnanand Prabhu, on taking shelter of Guru & Gauranga and discussion of various
pastimes that occur over there were a delightful experience. It was a much needed bridging between
our college and work life. - Chandramouli Prabhu, Sharanagati Camp Participant

Before attending FTEC I had no idea on how to inspire new devotees and take care of them in
different issues in their budding days of Krishna Consciousness. After the camp, I came to know how
to take care of the details without losing out on the core principles based on time, place and
circumstance and ways to increase genuine relationship with boys.
- Nava Sairam Prabhu, FTEC Participant

Utkarsh Japa Commitments

8-15
Center 1-3 Rounds 4-7 Rounds 16 Rounds
Rounds
No. of
Camp AIT 0 0 0 6
Participants
Utkarsh 501 Bhu Vaikuntha 0 2 3 0

FTEC 115 GGD 0 0 7 13

Sharanagati 80 I2IT 0 1 0 0
Nishtha 14 IITM 0 0 3 13
Mayapur 0 3 0 0
Utsah 132
GS-NS 145 Mithila YOGA 0 2 1 1

Brahmacharis 97 NITR1 0 0 0 7
Volunteers 10 NITR2 0 0 3 3
1094 NITW 1 1 7 1
SLV 0 1 0 3
SRKD 0 0 3 8
SRM 1 0 0 0
VIT 0 0 9 2
VSSUT 2 2 4 17
Wagholi 0 1 2 2
4 13 42 76
135
8 HAPPY DEVOTEES

VSSUT Burla TAPAS SAPAT

TAPAS SAPAT festival was celebrated in VSSUT Burla from 6th to

9th April. It was very inspiring to hear about the glories of our
benevolent seniors. Many heart touching personal incidents were
shared and gratitude was expressed by all inmates. It was followed by
SAPAT part where passing-out devotees shared their heart felt
realizations of past 4 years and also shared how we can balance our
studies and Krishna Consciousness successfully. Lastly, they
expressed gratitude to all the VOICE residents for their Krishna
Conscious association. It was followed by a grand feast Prasadam.

Devotee Services Qualities

Abhishek Prabhu Preaching, Marketing Humble, Caring, Service Attitude
Agneyarka Prabhu Preaching, IM Jolly, Preaching Spirit, Good actor
Kranti Prabhu Preaching, Accounts i/c Preacher, Caring, Walks his talk
Nilesh Prabhu Samvardhan Tolerant, Kirtaniya
Pritish Prabhu PC Submissive, Calm, Mode of Goodness
Satyajeet Prabhu Study Slot Strict Sadhaka, Taste for Chanting & Hearing
Shekhar Prabhu Preaching, Deity i/c Loves Preaching, Book Distribution, Reading, Expert Sloka Reciter
Sudeep Prabhu Preaching, Kitchen i/c Expert Manager, Submissive, Good Guide
Susheel Prabhu OC Sincere, Tolerant, Dynamic and Responsible
Vivek Prabhu Maintenance Attentive Hearing, Taste in Vaishnava Songs, Avoids Offenses
- Abhishek Prabhu
GGD TAPAS SAPAT
On 5th May, GGD celebrated "TAPAS SAPAT" festival with great enthusiasm. It was joined
by SAE VOICE devotees, as well as few first-year students.
The temple hall was beautifully decorated with theme of "7 temples of Vrindavan". Notice
boards were decorated with appreciations of devotees and photographs of Srila Prabhupada
with his disciples. The altar was decorated magnanimously. The overall environment was
radiating with enthusiasm.
The passing out devotees were glorified by the inmates. A
short video of each passing out devotee was also played,
which was full of sweet memories and cherished moments
that everyone enjoyed watching. Finally, each passing out
devotee shared their "SAPAT" with all of us, along with
valuable suggestions.
9 HAPPY DEVOTEES

In the end, devotees were gifted a VOICE bag,

handcrafted Greetings and Appreciation, by the
hands of preachers. All devotees relished this most
awaited festival of the year but felt a sense of
separation from our seniors who will be moving on
toward their future destinations.

- Nikhil Prabhu

SLV visits VIT VOICE

On the auspicious day of Narasimha Chaturdasi, 8 devotees from SLV visited VIT VOICE.
The purpose of visit was to make SLV devotees familiar with “What is a VOICE center?”, as
per HG Radheshyam Prabhu’s desire to start a new center for Corporate Youths in Magarpatta.
At VIT, SLV devotees were explained various aspects of VOICE viz. Morning Program,
Prasadam, Health Care, Preaching, VOICE Structure (PM, OC, PC, etc.), Book Reading,
College Studies, etc.
SLV devotees also observed the beautiful Temple Hall, Altar, Library, Prasadam Hall, Study
Room, Kitchen, etc. Few inquiries were also made to VIT devotees on how they balance their
life in VOICE environment. Later, SLV devotees appreciated the VOICE structure as a boon
where one can practice spirituality while executing their material duties. The visit inspired
them a lot.
After the VOICE visit, everyone visited NVCC temple
to participate in the melodious kirtans by HH
Lokanath Swami Maharaj & HG Jai Sachinandan
Prabhu, followed by Abhishek of Lord Narasimha and
then feast Prasadam. Some boys stayed back at night to
attend the Morning Program next day.

- HG Vaishnav Sharan Prabhu

 10 HAPPY DEVOTEES
Introduction:

Services Rendered/Rendering

 Inspirations
The determination, dedication & sacrifice of Srila Prabhupada
inspires me the most, especially his surrender in following the
instructions of his spiritual master.
Committed efforts of HG Radheshyam Prabhu especially in
Youth Preaching, his expert leadership as Temple President &
tireless efforts for Book Distribution is also inspiring.
Timely direction, encouragement & guidance of my counsellor
HG Amshu Prabhu is also inspiring.
 What difference VOICE training has brought in your life?
 What is your message to My previous friends recognize me now as a disciplined, well
VOICE devotees? mannered, sincere & sober guy. They have also developed
special appreciation for ISKCON & VOICE.
VOICE life is really an oasis & All throughout my stay in VOICE, I served in many
hence one should take fullest departments & learnt many things that would not have been
advantage. Staying in VOICE otherwise possible viz. Philosophy, Maturity in dealings,
leads to overall development of Cooking, Management, Instruments, etc.
both material & spiritual The study slots helped me to remain focused on studies while
personality. practicing Krishna Consciousness
Below are humble suggestions: The guidance of seniors helped me to crack GDs & interviews
1. Lead a regulated lifestyle. & get placed in company.
Morning program is foundation
of spiritual life.  State one of the distractions a VOICE devotee may face.
2. Never miss yatras & camps. Explain how to safeguard oneself from it.
They are spiritual boosters.
3. Pray & beg for mercy every I see lack of interest in college studies as a major problem.
day and chant attentively. Although dedicated study slots are arranged in VOICE, yet
4. Contemplate on the sacrifices devotees don’t take complete advantage of it. This
of SP and lives of Acharyas. tremendously affects their placement in companies during
5. Regular sadhana give us final year. Then, after passing out from VOICE devotees stay
determination & gratitude to away from the association of devotees to search job. That
carry on in devotional service. time, they may see their material friends successfully settled in
6. Always seek guidance of nice companies and may blame VOICE setup & eventually
counselor especially in taking stop practicing devotional service also. Hence, it’s very
major decisions. important to take VOICE study slots seriously and remain in
strong association of devotees after graduation.