NEWSLETTER 13 April, 2016

Direct Descendants of Sri Advaitacharya’s Lineage Make an Invaluable Donation to BRC

On Feb 18, 2016 BRC was blessed by a generous donation of a special collection of 40 rare manuscripts from the Sri M K Goswami family, who are directly descended from Sri Advaitacarya (17th generation.) Originally from Shantipur, they currently reside in Bangalore. This donation of very precious and rare Vaishnava manuscripts included Govinda Lilamrita by Ragunath Bhatta Goswami, Padyavali of , Stavavali of Ragunath das Goswami, and complete manuscripts of Chaitanya Charitamrita on handmade paper. They are in good to excellent condition. This donation was given in memory of Sri Nanda Gopala Goswami and Nirmalya Rani Goswami, his revered parents. After a nice visit to the library, Mr. Goswami was extremely satisfied that he had made a good decision to place his manuscripts in our care. “A great Sri M K Goswami and his wife Srimati Priti spiritual feeling was accrued after visiting the library,” he wrote in Rekha Goswami stand beside their donated the guest book. manuscripts on display at BRC.

BRC Accepts Invitation to Offer Service at Ariadaha Library, Kolkata

In January 2016, the Manuscript Mission’s Team was invited to a century-old library in Kolkata at in Belgharia, near North 24 Parganas. The Ariadaha Association Library and Literary Club is next to a Sripat (dwelling place) of Raghunath Das Goswami. BRC cataloged, preserved, and digitised over 200 manuscripts there.

left: the state of manuscripts before BRC came. center: entrance to Aridaha library. right: Sri Amit Mukerjee, Ariadaha Librarian, with Bharati Roy, BRC Bengali Librarian. BRC Manuscript Mission Team Visits Sri Vrindavan Dham

This past December, BRC Bengali librarian Bharati Roy and BRC Digitising specialist Asis Chakraborty spent a few weeks in Vrindavan searching out acquisitions for BRC’s collection. The BRC team is particularly grateful to Sanjay Goswami of Madan Gopal Jiu Temple for his hospitality during their visit there, and for the access he provided to his personal collection. Many manuscripts were digitised and cataloged.

an illustrated copy of the Quran that was verified to be over 400 years old, from the same time period as Mughal emperor Akbar.

BRC Welcomes Eminent Guests

left: Hari Sauri Prabhu (BRC Director,) Vaiyasaki Prabhu, Malati Devi Dasi, Srutirupa Dasi, Krsnarupa Dasi, and Visakha Dasi, Srila Prabhupad’s disciples. right: Hari Sauri Prabhu with Rameshwar Prabhu, former head of the (BBT.)

We were very happy to introduce HDG Guru Prasad Ramesvara Prabhu also offered some wonderful Swami to our library. (BRC is) “A virtual words. “The supreme importance of the BRC ‘Transcendental Smithsonian’… like the landing pad Library to the future of BBT and to the future of the for the emanations from Krsna’s flute,” he wrote in our Consciousness Movement cannot be guest book. overstated.” Laser Engraving Comes to BRC

BRC is happy to announce that a 2D laser engraver has been acquired. Engravings are produced directly from high-resolutions image of the originals, while the originals themselves are never manipulated in the process.

above: Engraving of Srila Bhaktivinode Thakura’s signature and handwritten Mahamantra. below: Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura’s signature which reads ”nityashirvad,” referring to the act of bestowing eternal blessings. This closure was later adopted by Srila Prabhupada as He placed it before his own signature as "Your Ever Well-Wisher.”

The adoption of this new technology in our library's conservation procedures will help expand the ways in which we preserve the original rare and delicate works in our collections. Through this method, we can make strong and lasting copies that may be shown in our library to guests, or in exhibitions to our patrons, members, and visitors.

Technology and Website Update – BRCINDIA.COM

Mr. Indranil Das Gupta of L2C2 Technologies has joined the BRC team as a consultant. He is a software architect and has been a Free and Open Source (FOSS) technology and is expert in Koha, the world’s first and also the largest Open Source Integrated Library Software.

He is working diligently along with BRC Librarian Angelo Pugliese (Acyuta Prabhu) to implement systems for our server to enable it to upload huge amounts of content without crashing.

Currently, they are designing a framework for manuscripts; including a cataloging form where details are given (meta data) including title, author, and year to increase accessibility for consultation by scholars and library patrons online.

This manuscript framework is an entirely new contribution to library technology, and will be made available as open source to libraries worldwide that are using the Koha cataloging system. BRC is very pleased to be involved with such a exciting and cutting-edge project. BRC Recognizes These Donors with Utmost Appreciation

2015 Donors

Adikarta das Premal G. Shah Kanti dasi, Florida Advaita Caran das Purushottama Swami Kishor and Srikama Amritarupini dasi Prahlad Bhakta dasa Krsna Kirtan das Ananda Subramanium Radha Damodar Kamalaksa Caitanya das Anand Vardhan Das Rupa Raghunatha Kirtan Priya Krsna das Atmarama das Raghupati Laksman das Lavanya-mangala-devi dasi Ajita das Raj Buyya Lokanath das Bahrain yatra Ronny D’Hoore Madhuri dasi Bhakti Priya Shyam M. Sidhwani Mahesh Pithadiya Bhaktivedanta school Sevapriya dasi Mahesh Advani Bharath Ballal Satya dasi Madhava Gauranga das Cittahari das Srivasa Pandit das Mahotsaha das Devamrta Swami Sridhar Chakravarthy Navina Krsna das Govinda dasi Tamal Dyuti das Niranjan Swami Jaya Pataka Swami Tapas Biswas New Delhi Congregation Jivananda das Vasusrestha das Perth Yatra Jayadvaita Swami Yogesvara das Prthu das Jayadeva das

2016 Donors to date

Sakhi Rai Das, Brisbane – INR 1,64,000.00 Torchlight Publishing, INR 25,000.00 Vasudevdas and Bhagavati dasi, Fiji – $1,100.00, Vasudevdas and Bhagavati dasi, Fiji – $1,100.00, Lavanya Manjari,

Special Thanks to Jaisri Dasi, Australia – AU $10,311.10 Madhusevita Das, Scotland – BPB 6,000.00

Interested in offering support to BRC’s BECOME A BRC MEMBER Seva? Please contact Hari Sauri Prabhu, BRC Director at [email protected] PATRON DONOR – single donation of $10,000 or or Mahalakshmi Dasi, BRC Membership above Coordinator at ADOPT-A-MONTH – sponsor 1 month per year for [email protected]. $2500 Visit and share our Youcaring ANNUAL DONOR – $501 per annum crowdfunding page also: http:// NITYA SEVAK – $1-5 per day tinyurl.com/pu5fkzw