last updated 16th January 2007

....and keep coming back between now and January

Pictures of the Auckland inauguration yajna

Pictures from the Whangamata Harinaam and Boat festivals

Pictures from the Katikati Pizza Festival @ Jharikhanda

Pictures from the program with Janananda maharaj ACBSP @ JTCd's & Vedavati's in Katikati
(more yet to come)

Pictures from the Rotorua program

Pictures from the Hamilton program

Schedule: Jagannatha Family Festival 2007

Unity in Diversity - by Parthasarathi devi dasi
Time in Separation - by Yashoda Dhulal dasa

New Year’s Eve Maha-Harinam and Jagannath’s Family Festival - Kalasamvara dasa
The Katikati Annual Pizza Festival - by Jaya Tirtha Charan dasa
Rotorua Program
Hamilton leg of Festival - by Abhay Charan dasa

Transportation
Accommodation
Jharikhanda - Katikati

Can You Help?

Article - The potency of Good Saintly Association:

Art comptetition - Posters for Whangamata Jagannath at the beach

Contact Details:

Lord Jagannath's Summer Family Festival in New Zealand

31st December 2006 - thru' 14th January 2007
Come Join in the Fun

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Festival Begins Auckland December 31st 2006:
31st      Maha AgniHotra @ New Varsana New years Eve at 11am (*Followed By Prasadam)

31st     Maha harinama Aotea Square New-year's Eve evening until early
             Return to temple for Mangal Arati

Auckland Temple January 1st 2007:

2nd     Travel to Whangamata
Address: Waihi-Whangamata Road
Campsite is just north of the Parakiwai Quarry Road turnoff, (over the bridge)
Watch out for a flag on your left.       (see accompanying map)

Note 1 -  Prasadam will be served at 4.30pm on Tuesday 2nd.
For parents with children; please come prepared with extra snacks as the camp cooking will be focusing on breakfast, lunch and light evening snack and will not be providing extra snacks.

Note 2: There will be a morning and evening program every day. Amongst other activities most days will include a harinam in the main centre.

3rd      Harinama Sankirtana in Whangamata
                    Ramai Swami arrives

4th      Jagannatha Balarama Subhadra Boat festival + Pastimes @ the beach

5th     Jagannatha fest Public Program (Whangamata Memorial Hall)

                6th - Jharikhanda  (Works Rd., Katikati,) set up for 'Family camp out '

7th     Annual Katikati 'Pizza Festival'
                Morning Bush walk, Annual Katikati 'Pizza Festival'

8th     Free Day    ( digesting pizza!!) walks & swimming available
            as well as hot pools and local beaches !
                    Janananda Prabhu arrives. Program @ JTCd's and Vedavati's @ 4:30pm

9th     Family Action Day   (sports, Competitions, creativity and Drama)
                Harinam Sankirtan in Tauranga + Family Action Day, (sports, Competitions, creativity and Drama)

10th   Travel to Rotorua
                Tunohopu marae – Tunohopu Road, Rotorua
                10th  Jan - 3pm,   Welcome onto Marae

11th    Harinama Sankirtana in Rotorua
                Prabha-Visnu Swami arrives -  Harinama Sankirtana in Rotorua.

12th    Jagannatha Fest'  Public Program
                    Rotorua Public Program

13th    Travel to Hamilton Temple  For Program
Address: ISKCON Hamilton
188 Maui Street, Te Rapa, North Hamilton.

Travel to Hamilton Temple  For A Special Vipra Sasana offering to Lord Jagannath. The Hamilton Yatra are organizing a maha bhoga offering for Jagannath,  They invite all devotees to come and also you may bring a cooked dish to contribute to the offering. Anyone who would like to catch a  bus from Auckland on this day (the 13th) please contact Krsnendu Prabhu (09) 9742701   or Suhrt Krsna, (09) 8361214. (There will also be a bus from Auckland to Katikati and back, on the 7th, for devotees to attend the pizza festival in Katikati. For information see Suhrt Krsna Prabhu.)

14th    End of Festival

NOTE: Each day of the festival will include a full morning and evening program as well as complimentary Duties to be attended and performed by all festival Participants.
 

Things to remember to bring

Unity in Diversity

In the Summer of ’93  I was invited by the Hare Krsna devotees of Christchurch city to join them on a travelling festival tour of the South Island. Six weeks of non-stop singing, dancing, feasting, humour, drama, talent, entertainment and personal care gave me a taste for Krsna life. I found myself in the folds of a mystical and adventurous movement.

After the festival and two years of close contact with the devotees, another unforgettable journey brought the message of the movement home. This time on foot we travelled through the Arthur’s Pass gorge and up the West Coast walking with two large bullocks pulling a traditional cart. A large sign on the back read - SIMPLE LIVING, HIGHER THINKING. Some of the traffic whizzing past would stop to find out what was going on. We camped by rivers or on a farmers land and our evenings were filled with singing, drama, philosophy and a bonfire feast.

Twelve years later and I still choose to be with the devotees of Krsna.  Some think they are sentimental and members of a cult. I have learned that they are, in fact sane, truthful, compassionate, knowledgeable, clean and practised in simple monastic life. Devotees lead a healthy progressive spiritual life full of knowledge and renunciation.

This Summer we are organising another festival on the East Coast of the North Island. Our first destination is Whangamata where we will be camping for four days from the 2nd to the 6th of January. There will be daily street sankirtan or singing, an evening program with drama, dance, philosophy and entertainment for the children such as facepainting, and plenty of vegetarian prasadam feasting. Everyone is welcome to join in. The name of the festival is Jagannatha’s Family Festival and the theme is Unity in Diversity.

Please feel free to contact myself, Yashoda or Terry (Trivikram) for more information.

Yashoda (03) 960 7832 (Christchurch)
Terry (Trivikram) (07) 552 0029 (Tauranga - Katikati) or
Charlotte (Sarathi) (09) 412 5283 (Auckland)

We look forward to seeing you and your family for a festival of fun!
Hare Krsna,

Your servant,
Sarathi

Dear Devotees,

Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Srila >Prabhupada.

Some years back by the grace of Lord Krsna, we had some ecstatic Padayatra and travelling festivals in New Zealand that stimulated large gatherings of devotees. The challenge of outward preaching that demanded co-operative spirit became a catalyst for wonderful sadhu sanga.  We all got a higher taste...it was contagious and outsiders became attracted.

Both Lokanath Swami and Prabhavisnu Swami have several times pricked my desire to once again help facilitate some similar happenings on a national scale. Although not as large a scale, what we have been planning is short, punchy, and has all the potential to "go off" with a bang.

We are now down on our knees begging for your participation. What better way and reason to get together is there other than to make it happen around Lord Jagannath, Baladeva and Lady Subhadra.

"Every year devotees would gather annually to worship Lord Jagannath in Puri. They would all come from specific temples and Holy Dhams for Rathayatra"

We are requesting the Lord to inspire us to facilitate some attractive pastimes in the seaside resort and Jharikhanda property of NZ. Our desire is to arrange some attractive pastimes that maximises Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhi's acintya veda veda tattva principal, ie providing a variety of engagements that encourages the unity and diversity of the devotee family. There is a place for children, families, preachers, book distributors, sanyasis and renunciants. All of us working together. This would indeed please Srila Prabhupada. Jagannath Lila was such an integral part of our Srila Prabhupada's life, right from his boyhood Rathayatra pastimes. His connection with his spiritual master Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Swami Maharaj and Bhaktivinod Thakur. His salvation dream on voyage the Jaladhuta to New York City. His disciple Malati's discovery of the tiny Jagannath deitites in an import store in San Fransisco and Srila Prabhupada's request to Syamasundar to carve 3ft high copies of these.

Consequently the worldwide Rathayatra's manifested from Srila Prabhupada's grace. It is parampara. Lord Jagannath, the Lord of the Universe, is the ultimate head of the family.

Wherever His pastimes are going on with Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, there will always be an abundance of chanting, dancing and feasting.  Please give your association and bless our efforts to make Jagannath's family Holiday most auspicious.

Your servant,
Yasoda Dulal das

New Year’s Eve Maha-Harinam and Jagannath’s Family Festival.

Dear Devotees,

On the 31st of December we will be having our annual maha-midnight-harinam in downtown Queen Street. This day falls on a Sunday and the devotees at The Radha-Giridhari Temple will hold an auspicious fire-yajna in the afternoon as part of the Sunday feast program. This sacrifice is to usher in the New Year remembering that Lord Caitanya’s Sankirtan movement is primarily about spreading the Lord’s holy names to every town and village of the world. We will then proceed to Queen Street at 10pm. Please join us in this annual event and receive the special blessings of Caitanya Mahaprabhu and the Panca Tattva.

 The Festivities continue –

After a day of rest on New Year’s Day, we will depart for Whangamata beach, setting up camp on Tuesday afternoon the 2nd of January. On the 6th (Saturday) we will move to Katikati, the 10th to Rotorua and finally to Hamilton on the 13th  ending on the 14th. We will be, amongst other things,  spreading the holy names and bathing in the nectar of sadhu-sanga.

If you are interested in participating in either or both of these transcendental events please contact myself,

Kalasamvara (09) 412 6362
(about the New Year’s Eve fire sacrifice and Harinam) and

Trivikram Prabhu, (07) 5520029 - Tauranga - Katikati
Yasoda-Dulal (03) 9607832 – Christchurch
or Parthasarathi dd (09) 4125283 – Auckland

for ‘Jagannath’s Family Festival.’

We look forward to seeing you there!

Your servant,
Kalasamvara.

This has for the last so many years been a most popular festival among our devotees. It started back in 1993 when a few of us moved down to the Western Bay of Plenty to give a mood of family sanga over the Xmas period when all the non-devotees were getting together for their thing. As usual we're all about positive alternatives so we combined some known and proven factors of the six loving exchanges between devotees (.....offering and receiving prasädam are two of the six kinds of loving exchanges among devotees (see Upadesämrta verse 4) with what most of us found to be a most inspirational form of prasadam - pizza.

At that time we had some pretty inspirational cooks too, the late Srimati Vrindavanesvari mataji among them, and we still do now. Associating with devotees for us is serious fun. We all have a similar mood of trying to please and serve and pizza at that time became an ideal meduim.

So for the last 12 or 13 years our little congregation of devotees would come together sometimes boosted to 40 or 50 members for the event. One year we had Bhaktisiddhanta Swami and his travelling book party of brahmacharins come and join with us and share in the spoils of the event.

Limbering the tongue for the pizza prasadam is set by lashings of Harinaam sankirtan, after all one has to first purify to tools by which we undergo the sacrifice isn't it..........! After an hour or more of total gratification with the Holy Name of the Lord some sharing and inspirational discussion further sheds light on our appreciation of Sadhu-sanga, association of saintly devotees and the mood of rendering service. These are the FUNdamentals of the Krishna consciousness movement.

Everyone who comes to the festival brings with them their offering cooked with love and devotion to please the presiding Deities at Jharikhanda. Either we help in the Jharikhanda kitchen and preparation areas, or we cook at home with Suchih standards and bring our contribution to the community. In this way the Lord is satisfied by our devotional effort and accepts our humble offerings. In the Hari Bhakti Vilas it mentions how Krishna Himself enjoys such an offering:

naivedyam purato nyastam drstvaiva svikrtam maya
bhaktasya rasanagrena rasam asnami padmaja

(Hari Bhakti Vilasa 10/360 from Brahma Purana spoken by the Supreme Lord Sri Krishna)

 "Oh Brahma, if someone makes an offering of food grains in front of Salagram Sila (who is non-different from Me), I just by looking at it eat it, but I taste the food when My devotees touch it with their tongues (eat it)."

Why Pizza??? simply why not???  Inspired by the transcedental pastimes of Lord Chaitanya and Lord Nityananda at the Panihati Chida Dahi festival where an incredible amount of preparations were made and shared among the devotees.

There were later sent to us a set of guidelines, by XXXXXXXX maharaj (affectionately known by some as Srila Pizzapad)

Hopefully you have the gist of the event, the mood or flavour (rasa)

Hopefully we have not committed the 5th offense by sharing this festival with those who do not have faith in pizza prasadam :-)

We'll see you there, cooking up the kirtans, cooking up the nice association, and cooking up the pizzas

ys, Jaya Tirtha Charan dasa

                         Tunohopu marae – Tunohopu Road, Rotorua
                            10th  Jan - 3pm,   Welcome onto Marae

                            see you there
 

Respectful dandavat greetings to all the Vaisnava devotees of the Lord.

Our Hamilton community is keenly looking forward to welcome the travelling Vaisnava Sankirtan party to our yatra.  The Hamilton temple’s deities – Radha Govindaji, Gaura-Nitai, Sita Rama Laksman Hanumanji, and Bal Gopal will be smiling to see so many of Srila Prabhupada’s disciples and grand-disciples in Their temple - all celebrating the holy names together.

We are excited that Yasoda Dulal Prabhu is bringing Lord Jaganatha to Hamilton.  Our community will be re-enacting the Orissan festival of ‘vipra-sasana’ – where each family will have the opportunity to personally offer foodstuffs that they have prepared for Lord Jaganatha.  There will be a grand hari-nama sankirtan in Hamilton’s main shopping area, starting at 11.30am.  The afternoon will start with prasadam followed by rest before our festival programme starts in the temple at 6pm with kirtan.  At 7pm, the temple curtains will open for Gaura Arati followed by the ‘vipra-sasana’ offering.  Then we will have the discourse.  We are hoping that the travelling Vaisnava’s may have a drama to perform as well.  Ending the evening will be a huge prasadam feast – including the remnants of Lord Jaganatha’s offerings.

We warmly invite all the devotees to stay at our temple – there is plenty of smooth grassy land to pitch a tent – or you can stay inside the temple – we have two floors so separate areas for men and women.  We have sufficient toilets and we will be providing separate shower facilities as well.  The temple grounds are fully fenced and quite secure at night.

Please allow us this opportunity to serve you on your visit to our yatra.

Your servant

Abhay Caran Das

Temple President

Hamilton yatra

"A bus can be made available for those unwilling to bring their own vehicles, however this is totally subject to numbers , as we require to fill the bus completely in order to make it financially viable. Those wanting to take advantage of this should let us know ASAP so we may assess the situation, and inform everyone involved"

Please contact mother Parthasarathi

Please be advised of the need for personal tent facilities Per individual / family

Dear Prabhu's, Mataji's, venerable Vaisnava's, and Friends
As a humble offering to the Lord and his servants we are attempting to organize this 2007 Jaganatha Family Festival,
In order to create a very welcoming and unifying mood we thought it would be very nice to be able to offer this opportunity to the devotees free from festival fee's, and to this end we are presenting our festival budget, in the hope that some pious and able souls, inclined to support a worthy cause, will come forward to sponsor the various items.
    Due to limitations of  personal circumstanses we are certainly only able to perform this service by the mercy and envolvment of the devotees, therefore with straw between our teeth we prostrate ourselves before you all, that you may be pleased to bestow your blessings upon this humble effort.
Hoping this meets You and Your families, in the best of Krsna Conciousness
Your servants Trivikrama......

For example what we still need:
Double shower unit (transportable), 8 days hire $560.oo
2*   Porta loo's, 8days hire (includes drop off servicing and collection) $820.oo
Marquee 6m >< 9m (clip-on tent) $1512.oo, 9 days hire

Bhoga - General Devotee prasadam $5000.oo
Portable cool room 2 weeks hire $600.00

What we have:
Public program- Hall  {sponsored by Braja jivana, Sacidevi and family}
Advertising being covered by Madan Mohan prabhu of Auckland
Bhoga {sponsored by Nimai + Associates} for Whangamata Public program
Books

Accommodation- (Whangamata){sponsored by Madhumangala+TulasiKrsna}

Rotorua and Hamilton sections have been kindly sponsored by Abhay Charan prabhu and the devotees from Hamilton.

Please donate according to your means..................

Nestled high in the Kaimai ranges in the Bay of Plenty district lies a solitary outpost of  Caitanya Mahaprabhu’s Sankirtana movement.

This project, born out of the desire for sustainable and compatible lifestyles for our families, has evolved into a shelter and nurturing ground for both the resident and itinerant souls alike.
    It is a great pleasure and privilege to avail the opulence of Jharikhanda for the service and pleasure of our Vaisnava friends and families that we may unite in all our diversity as Srila Prabhupada's greater family for his ultimate satisfaction.

The hearts of saintly people are non-different from holy-dhams as both are special abodes where the Supreme Lord loves to stay. Saintly people are equi-poised, friendly to all living entities, merciful, tolerant. They are aware of the truth that all the riches in this world are temporary and they don't hanker for wealth. They lead a simple, straight forward life, engaging their body, mind and soul completely in service of Supreme Lord.   Akrura, the paternal uncle of Lord Krishna was one such saintly person. When Krishna went to his house, Akrura humbly received him and prayed to the Lord, thanking him for visiting his house. The Lord glorified his saintly uncle, through the following verse in Srimad Bhagavatam (10.48.31)

 na hy am-mayaani tirthaani / na devaa mrc-chilaa-mayaah
 te punanty uru-kaalena     / darshanaad eva saadhavah

"No one can deny that there are holy places with sacred rivers, or that the demigods appear in deity forms made of earth and stone. But these purify the soul only after a long time, whereas saintly persons purify just by being seen."

We all know how Narada Muni was able to change the barbaric Mrgari to sincere devotee just by associating with him for few moments.The following story very nicely illustrates how sadhu's association purifies the heart immediately.

There was one thief, one robber. He was robbing businessmen and murdering people, and then one day he heard that the king of the country had invited all the sannyasis, sadhus and ascetics for a big meeting.  The thief was thinking, "Maybe the king will be giving help to them, so I will see if I can rob someone and get some money."  So he went to the meeting and hid himself away.  The king then came out onto his balcony, and he began to speak.  "O great sadhus, I have a daughter and she is very inclined to marry a saintly person.  So I am offering half of my kingdom with this girl, so someone please marry my daughter."  As soon as he said this, fifteen people in the front row got up and left.  They were sannyasis, they were not interested.  They came because they thought, "The king has called for a saintly meeting, so maybe there will be an opportunity to preach."  But when they heard the king 's proposal, they left.

  And then the other row came forward next.  The king said, "Look, I will give 75% of my kingdom.  I will only keep a little part for myself.  Please accept my daughter." The first person said, "My dear sir, the thing is that we are saintly persons.  And we are not sannyasis, we are married persons.  I have my wife and I have my ashram.  I do not want to marry your daughter.  Since you are the king, in order to respect you I have attended your meeting.  So please give me permission and I am going."  And he left.  Hoping to make best use of this opportunity, the thief disguised himself like a saint and went and sat with the others.  He was sitting in a very uncomfortable position with his eyes half-closed.   All the 5 sadhus present there refused the king's riches saying that their purpose of life is fulfilled only by constantly engaging their minds on the lotus feet pf Supreme Lord and they neither need the kingdom nor the princess for the same.

 Then the king came to the sixth person, who was the robber, and said to him, "O great saintly person..."  "You are wrong, " the thief interrupted.  The king was surprised.  "What?  To address you as a saintly person is wrong?"  "Yes, because I am a robber, not a saintly person.  But I ask you, who wants your country?  Who wants your kingdom?  If it has got any value, why is it that these people got up and left?  So I would rather pursue on this path.  I will neither rob any more, nor will I marry your daughter.  I am sorry but I am going."

In the above story, we can see that he had accrued the nature of a thief by his previous activities, but by association he developed the nature of a sadhu, in just a very short time.  "lava matra sadhu sanga sarva siddhi haya."  Just a moment's association brings all perfection. When he was physically present in this planet, Srila Prabhupada by his merciful glance, and oceanic smile had purified so many souls and gave them the gift of Krishna-bhakti. After leaving this planet, he still continues to give his merciful association through his books and lectures and so it is upto us to take advantage of the same and purify our existence.

written by Sudarshana devi dasi 

Contact Details:

Yashoda (03) 960 7832 (Christchurch)
Terry (Trivikram) (07) 552 0029 (Tauranga/Katikati) or
Charlotte (Sarathi) (09) 412 5283 (Auckland)

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