March 14, 2023

Temple Newsletter

Hare Krishna! Register through Thursday evening to attend the upcoming A Caring Community workshop online, via Zoom (in-person registration is now closed). Friday is Ekadasi. Saturday is St. Augustine Ratha-yatra (please be there by 9:00 a.m.) Jay Nitai Prabhu will give a special Sunday Feast lecture on A Caring Community. Govinda's Gifts is now open throughout the week and has a new online store. Save the dates: Chaitanya Charan Prabhu will visit us March 22-26, India Fest will happen in Alachua March 25, TOVP will conduct a presentation and fundraiser April 2 (see article), the Temple Yard Sale will be on April 15, and the Earth Day Eco Farm Festival on April 22. Please scroll down for details...

St. Augustine Ratha-yatra

St Augustine Ratha-yatra is this Saturday, March 18. The procession leaves at 9:30 am sharp; please be there by 9:00 am. Don't miss this opportunity to serve Their Lordships and Their devotees by pulling the chariot, dancing, chanting and associating with Vaishnavas!

Additional upcoming Ratha-yatra festivals:

Saturday, May 6, Clearwater Beach Ratha-yatra

Saturday, May 20, Jacksonville Beach Ratha-yatra

Saturday, August 26, Daytona Beach Ratha-yatra (subject to change)

Registration through Thursday for Zoom participants:

A Caring Community - Workshop 1

with Jai Nitai Dasa and Bhava Bhakti Devi Dasi

Sponsored by Southcare – Devotee Care

Friday, March 17, 5:30-7:30 pm EST

Sunday, March 19, 10am – 2 pm EST

Sunday Feast Lecture

Please note: registration for in-person attendees is now closed. However, you can still register for online Zoom participation through Thursday, March 16.

In conjunction with the ISKCON GBC SPT and International Devotee Care Team, HG Jai Nitai Dasa and his wife HG Bhava Bhakti Devi Dasi will be presenting an interactive introductory workshop focused on embedding care into Krishna conscious communities. They will be looking at the spectrum of care, why it is necessary and how to practically implement this caring culture.

This workshop is inspired by the Devotee Care Course, “Embedding Care into Krishna Conscious Communities”, developed by Rasamandala Dasa in collaboration with over 40 international leaders. This course is now being taught in India, Europe and North America.

Jai Nitai Dasa will also give the Sunday feast lecture on March 19^th on the broad framework of caring for people in general, creating bonds, and as devotees of God, trying to do that with each other and with our greater community.

For in-person attendees the workshop will be held at the Alachua Learning Academy Cafeteria. The Zoom link will be sent out to all registered participants shortly.

Friday, March 17, 5:30 - 7:30 pm EST – Ekadasi prasad served 5-5:30 pm

Sunday, March 19, 10 – 2 pm EST – Lunch served at 2 pm

Note: prasad is complimentary

Although registration for in-person attendance is now closed, you can still register (through Thursday) to participate online via Zoom:

Register Here

Read Biographies Here

And here is a short video on the subject

Govinda's Gifts New Online Store

We are now open Monday through Saturday from 10 a.m. - 3 p.m. and Sunday from 10 a.m. - 1 p.m. and 4 p.m. - 8 p.m. Please stop by, we are receiving new items every week.

Please check out our new online store at

https://www.facebook.com/govindasgiftsalachua

We hope you will like it and share it around.

India Fest 2023 - Traditions of India

On Saturday, March 25, the India Cultural and Education Center (ICEC) will organize India Fest 2023 at Legacy Park Multipurpose Center in Alachua. This family friendly event will feature fun activities for kids, a health fair, fashion and jewelry, delicious food, music and dance. Vendors, advertisers, cultural performers and volunteers please contact the organizers via the email addresses in the above flyer. For more information, visit the website: icec-florida.org

Save the Dates

March 22-26, Chaitanya Charan Dasa will visit and give the morning classes in the temple room on Thursday (23), Saturday (25) and Sunday (26).
April 2, the Temple of the Vedic Planetarium (TOVP) Lord Nrisimhadeva Tour will be giving a presentation in the ISKCON Alachua temple room, starting at 5 p.m. (see poster and article)
Aprils 15, Temple Yard Sale, 8 a.m. - 11 a.m. (see article)
April 22, Earth Day Eco Farm Festival, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.

TOVP Nrisimhadeva Tour

The TOVP team will give a presentation at the ISKCON Alachua Hare Krishna temple on Sunday, April 2, at 5 p.m., themed "Lord Nrsimhadeva is Coming." They will be carrying with them a replica deity of Mayapur's Nrisimhadeva and will inform devotees that the entire Nrisimhadeva Wing of the TOVP, including the Lord’s altar, will be completed and opened in October of this year.

Guiding them will be Lord Nityananda’s padukas (shoes) and Lord Nrisimha’s sitari (helmet). Accompanying Lord Nrisimhadeva will be His devoted servant, Jananivas Prabhu, along with Ambarish Prabhu and Svaha Mataji, Braja Vilasa Dasa, Brajpati Dasa and Sunanda Dasa. They will offer the blessings of the Lord's shoes and crown to the devotees present, and conduct fundraising for the completion of the Nrisimhadeva Wing.

“The more you help develop Mayapur, the more Lord Chaitanya will bless your area of the world and it will flourish” –Srila Prabhupada letter to Hari-sauri Prabhu

“If you all build this temple, Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakur will personally come and take you all back to Godhead.” –Srila Prabhupada to Giriraja Swami

Temple Yard Sale

April 15, 8 a.m. - 11 a.m.. Get a table at our annual Yard Sale and sell your old items, grab some fresh homemade prasad goodies, see your friends and make new ones. Tables are $15; the fees will be collected on the day of the yard sale. Check this Facebook events page for details.

TSI Summer Retreat For Youth

August 3-7, TSI retreat for youth ages 18-30, click here for details.

Srila Prabhupada's Film Restoration Project

Support the global initiative to restore and preserve all of the film footage captured of Srila Prabhupada. Click here to read the full article.

A decades-old tradition

Harinama Every Friday

4:00–5:30 PM

13th and University

Gainesville, Florida

Support Your Temple With a Tithe

"The question is not how much of our money we should give to God, but how much of God's money we should keep for ourselves.”

Your tithing dollars help maintain your temple and pay regular monthly expenses:

electric
gas
water
bhoga expenses
flowers
yard maintenance

When you come to the temple any day of any week and see the beautiful darshan, the refreshing gardens, breakfast, lunch and feast prasad, understand that this is possible because of our regular monthly tithing donors.

It is your privilege and responsibility to support Krishna's temple. Become a tither today. Choose an amount you feel comfortable giving each month. Please click here to sign up!

Support Devotee Care at New Raman Reti

As our New Raman Reti Community expands it's clear that in order to take care of our extended family we're going to need more caregivers. Our Devotee Care Group has a small core of devotees overseeing the needs. But the plan is to expand. By dividing our community into twelve neighborhoods we're envisioning each neighborhood caring for the needs of the community for one month each year. This would prevent "burn out" and give everyone a chance to follow in Srila Prabhupada's footsteps by serving one another. More details will be forthcoming!

But if you would like to provide a hospital visit, in-home visits, prasad delivery, medical advocacy or other types of support now, we need you! There are several devotees in care homes and they would love your association. Even if you went once a month, it would be so appreciated. You can text Sukhada Devi Dasi at 352-474-7294 to get a list of names and addresses of our devotees in Care Homes now!

As you might imagine, sometimes the cost of gas or groceries becomes prohibitive and we would like to be able to cover this as needed. A small monthly donation to our Devotee Care fund would cover this. At this point no one in the group receives a stipend or salary, these funds are used only to cover transportation and the cost of preparing special meals as needed. Thank you for your consideration.

Click here to make a monthly contribution.

Online Survey: New Community Directory

This time we are starting from scratch, collecting every family’s data through an online survey. Every family is requested to fill out the online survey. Newcomers or old-timers, we need your input.

Don’t forget photos – connecting the name and the face is awesome! Email them to 2022nrrcommunitydirectory@gmail.com. Those who submit a photo will be entitled to participate in a raffle and could win some really unique Deity maha-prasad.

Don’t worry about privacy: you can rest assured that your information is never going to be put online; this is a printed directory only.

Here’s how to submit your info:

Click HERE for the NRR Community Directory Survey

(The online business directory is a separate project. Our Community Directory will be printed and not online.)

Advanced Care Planning

Click here for the Google form to be filled out by anyone wanting to complete the Living will and Health care surrogate forms. Sponsored by End of Life Care - Alachua.

Guesthouse Accommodations

Our guesthouse is open for overnight stays. Please call the temple office for more information: 386-462-2017

Request a Prayer

As devotees progress on their path towards becoming more Krishna conscious, sometimes obstacles arise in the form of physical or mental distress. We have a Prayer Circle of senior devotees who are willing to pray to Their Lordships for you or a loved one to help you overcome such obstacles. To submit a request, and for more information, see the Prayer Circle page on our website.

WhatsApp Broadcast List

Dear Alachua / Gainesville / North Florida devotees, please join our ISKCON Alachua Temple WhatsApp broadcast list so we can communicate with you in a timely manner, messaging you with important temple announcements and last-minute event updates.

1) Install WhatsApp on your cell phone (if you haven't already.)

2) Add the temple's WhatsApp number 352-922-0252 to your phone's Contacts, naming the contact "ISKCON Alachua WhatsApp" or similar.

3) Open WhatsApp, find the temple contact you just created, and text us (from within WhatsApp) a message with your full name, location (nearest town or city), and a request to be added.

Listen to Past Lectures

There's a treasure trove of nectarean audio recordings awaiting you in our Alachua Temple Live lecture archive: https://alachuatemplelive.blogspot.com/. The archive is updated once a week.

Thank You to Our Donors and Volunteers!

Thank you to all those who have been serving and contributing to keep our ISKCON Alachua Hare Krishna temple thriving.

DONATE TO SUPPORT THE TEMPLE

Online Events & Resources

The ISKCON Alachua Temple broadcasts daily live scripture classes at 8:00 a.m. on our Facebook page and YouTube channel, with audio recordings here.

On Thursdays, 5:00-6:00 pm, Bhagavad-Gita reading and discussion with H.H. Bhaktimarga Swami.

Support Groups (Grief, Divorce Grief, Suicide Grief, Men's Only...)

Srila Prabhupada Lilamrita readings in installments: WhatsApp / Telegram

Vrindavana Glories by Indradyumna Swami

When Illness Takes Hold: Hopeful Words for Sadhakas explores the challenges and opportunities we face when dealing with illness (or losses and other obstacles) while practicing bhakti. Click here to download the PDF e-book.

Subscribe to This Newsletter

For new subscriptions, fill out this short form. And here are some helpful hints if you, or a friend or family member are having trouble receiving this newsletter.

Temple Schedule

4:30am – Mangala Arati
5:00am – Tulasi Puja, altar closed
5:20am – Japa
7:20am – Deity Darshan and Guru Puja
8:00am – Srimad Bhagavatam Class
9:00am – Temple open
12:00pm – Raja Bhoga Arati
12:30pm – Temple closed until 4:15pm
4:15pm – Dhupa Arati
6:30pm – Sandhya Arati
8:45pm – Sayana Arati
9:00pm – Temple closed

Sunday Program Schedule

4:00 – 8:00pm Gift Shop open
4:15pm – 5:00pm Arati and kirtan
Sunday Feast Free Vegetarian Prasad served between 5:30 – 7:00 pm
5:00 – 6:00pm Discussion on Vedic wisdom
8:50 – 9:00pm Final arati
9:00pm Temple closed

SPONSOR THE SUNDAY FEAST

Class Schedule & Vaishnava Calendar

Week of March 14, 2023

TUE 14, Bhadra Dasa, SB 2.9.2

WED 15, Chaturatma Dasa, SB 2.9.3

Appearance day of Sri Srivasa Pandita

THU 16, Nanda Devi Dasi, SB 2.9.4

FRI 17, Mitrasena Dasa, SB 2.9.5

Ekadasi

SAT 18, Puskara Dasa, CC Madhya 20.272

Disappearance day of Sri Govinda Ghosh

SUN 19, Srila Prabhupada morning class (recording) with interactive questions by Karnapura Dasa | Jay Nitai Dasa (guest), Sunday Feast lecture

MON 20, Nandini Kishori Devi Dasi, SB 2.9.6

TUE 21, Madhumati Devi Dasi, SB 2.9.7

Morning class times are 8:00 a.m. EST unless otherwise noted. The Sunday Feast lecture begins at 5:15 p.m. Tune in live to our ISKCON Alachua Facebook page or YouTube channel; listen to audio recordings in our lecture archive.