as.it.is Bhaktivedanta Manor Sankirtan Newsletter International Society for Consciousness, Founder Acarya His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada

Spring 2014 New Year… New Opportunities!

A new year brings many new his eyebrows very high and opportunities. In this Spring emphatically ordered, "Bring edition of “As It Is” you will find them!" Prabhupada was quite out about the dynamic devotees satisfied and had Bhakti-caru who decided to follow in the read in Hindi from one of them. footsteps of Nityananda Prabhu Later, he listened to the and Haridas Thakur: Sankirtana Newsletter No. 4:7 with great interest. He really "Listen, listen, Nityananda! appreciated the work of listing Listen, ! Go from house all statistics, and he was very to house and beg from all the enlivened to hear that nearly residents, 'Please chant Krishna’s forty thousand big books had name, worship Krishna, and been distributed. "If book teach others to follow Krishna’s distribution increases, I will instructions.' (Caitanya- , Madhya-Khanda never die. I will be living for (13.8-9) centuries." (TKG’s diary)

2013 was an amazing year of Everyone can do sankirtan in book distribution at some way. Get some books. Get Bhaktivedanta Manor. The some sankirtan buddies. Get participation was some advice, and just go out Inside this issue: overwhelming, and it all and have fun telling people culminated in the Christmas about the books . Everyone can Door-to-Door Prabhupada Marathon. Thank be a "sankirtan devotee", at you to everyone who went out least for a little while each Wedding Sankirtan in the cold month of December month. It makes you feel good to distribute Srila Prabhupada’s to be doing the "greatest UK BD Network books. welfare work" for humanity! Get Involved HH Tamal Krishna Maharaja Your servant, relates a wonderful incident Sutapa das Marathon review with Srila Prabhupada in 1977: 2013 Results [email protected] This evening Gopala Krishna 07957 636 283 Half a billion! arrived with new books. When Prabhupada found out, he raised as.it.is Knock Knock… Who’s there? The door bell rings. It could be finding great inspiration in a window salesman, it could be speaking to people about the milkman, it could be kids Krishna. At the end of an playing a trick, or, it could be a evening everyone always has devotee of Krishna! Over the amazing stories to share. last few months nearly 150 Why not get involved? congregation members have Devotees from the Manor are taken to the suburban streets happy to come along and assist with books, prasadam and you to be part of this wonderful leaflets, sharing Krishna with project. whoever they meet. If you are interested please They often go door-to-door contact Sutapa das for more during the evenings or information weekends. Even the most ([email protected]) nervous and hesitant are

“In the spiritual world everything is present but one thing: the pleasure of saving the conditioned souls through sankirtan. Therefore even Krishna descends, in the form of Lord Caitanya, to perform sankirtan and taste this pleasure. So who can doubt that sankirtan is the real source of our joy and happiness.”

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Pictured above: Sanga groups, bhakti vriksa teams, and other inspired devotees who have taken up the door-to-door challenge. Contact us and we’ll help mobilise your team of devotees!

Page 2 Book Distribution @ Weddings We have teamed up with the Weddings usually take place on Wedding department to Fridays and Saturdays, and the formulate a plan for book book table usually runs for two distribution at each event, which hours at each wedding. Over the often attracts hundreds of first- course of one year this will time guests. hopefully result in nearly 20,000 books being distributed! The Wedding department has kindly agreed to sponsor 150 If you would like to join the books for each wedding! Now we fortunate team of distributors require budding book please contact Sutapa das for distributors to speak with the more information gusts and hand them out. ([email protected])

Half a billion books! The , The BBT achieved this after an which publishes the spiritual exciting year - 8 million books literature of ISKCON founder were sold around the world in Srila Prabhupada, has reached a 2013, the highest total since new watermark of success. 1995.

Thanks to the efforts of book distributors around the world, it has sold over half a billion books - 503,385,383 to be exact - since Srila Prabhupada began ISKCON in 1965.

Page 3 as.it.is Sacred Street Party Everyone likes a good of book distribution as Party events please party. Devotees have too intimidating are now contact: ingeniously taken the going out and having party onto the street and wonderful experiences. Krishna das added the Krishna factor 07958 764 409 in what is now known as This new approach is the “sacred street party”! simple, appealing and definitely2013 works! Final Results Every Saturday groups of To find out details about devotees visit local towns future Sacred Street to chant, dance and distribute prasadam and books to the public. The participants come in all shapes and sizes: professionals, students, temple managers, retired book distributors, and congregationalParticipation: members of ISKCON. Even those who previously We thought had over 80 devotees distributing books in high streets

“In the spiritual world everything is present but one thing: the pleasure of saving the conditioned souls Traveling Temples and town centres through sankirtan. Therefore even Krishna descends, in the form of Lord Caitanya, to perform sankirtan and taste this pleasure. So who can doubt that sankirtan is the real source of our joy and happiness.”  We had nearly 40 devotees participating in the Saturday

(Sacinandana Swami) “I was extremely pleased to Wouldn’t it be wonderful to have a traveling hear your report“Sacred from yourStreet Party”temple events in the UK! A team of devotees have begun travelling buses. It sounds as work on the idea, but we need your help in the if your program We is had very, 50 very devotees following going areas:door -to-door in various parts of wonderful andLondon I am very encouraged to hear that such 1. Finding a suitable van / mini coach a program is Overcoming 100 along devotees 2. purchased Converting the a book vehicle pack into containinga temple and 7 living so nicely… Inbooks the end and of your pledged tospace distribute them to friends, family and letter you mention that 3. Ideas / advice you could offer in this regard people are notcolleagues very much over Christmas time eager to go to temples but If you can help please get in touch with: with your programAnother you are350 devotees sponsored books for Gita Jayanti & bringing the templesbook placement to the Sutapa das people. You have picked up [email protected] this idea very nicely, of 079576363283 bringing the temples to the people.We In this also way had you the will BMF, Manor Gurukula, Krishna Club, Pandava give everyoneSena, sanga the groups, NamaRatha hattas, Yatra Success Bhakti Vriksa teams and the opportunity to step in the directiontemple of back hospitality to Godhead, team distributing books. Devotees also Devotees from the back todistributed home. books at the Home Office and Department of Health! Manor had a wonderful

(Apologies if I missed anyone out!) In total, welltime over distributing 400 books (Srila Prabhupada Letter to at London Ratha Yatra. Tamaladevotees Krsna Goswami, distributed books in different ways. In just 4 hours they were 1974) able to distribute:

We aimed to distribute 40,000 books for the 1,08540th Chantanniversary…. & Be Happy 345 Higher taste In the end we managed to distribute 33,045!120 Still Bhagavad an amazing-gita effort (we will make up for it by distributing 41,000130 Veda books in next

year’s marathon!) Jagannatha Ratha Yatra Page 4 ki jai!

Top 20 ISKCON Centres (out of 400) World Sankirtan Results (Jan-Dec 2013)

Temple Maha Big Med Small Points 1 New Delhi (Ind) 439394 8671 48641 384109 1,026,729 2 (Ind) 253606 41382 68377 239749 652,368 3 Juhu (Ind) 300349 8239 23227 113159 648,957 4 Chowpatty (Ind) 176288 9887 7809 144185 405,280 5 Delhi—Punjab (Ind) 149041 6912 8421 122104 353,950 6 Moscow (Rus) 111837 41181 47106 57283 302,728 7 (Ind) 70129 78317 0 224220 274,630 8 Pune (Ind) 121125 5605 4380 46248 267,161 9 (Ind) 82816 10357 7415 151164 231,082 10 Ahmedabad (Ind) 92516 0 2874 9110 190,251 11 Los Angeles (USA) 55760 29850 34854 42847 171,042 12 Surat (Ind) 48668 2621 1768 25126 132,249 13 Krasnodar (Rus) 18695 28712 62214 42536 107,843 14 RVC (USA) 36766 12854 6713 11504 93,868 15 Salem (Ind) 40742 2845 1342 6424 90,668 16 Silicon Valley (USA) 40349 596 572 7373 83,442 17 Chandigarh (Ind) 36070 3662 3048 4579 78,470 18 St Petersburg (Rus) 23801 10673 10761 15944 67,641 19 Kolkata (Ind) 31203 505 860 2867 64,113 20 Bhaktivedanta Manor (Eng) 19588 2890 33711 6194 60,470 21 VV Nagar (Ind) 2526 1617 880 128724 59,402

2013 was successful year at Bhaktivedanta Manor:

 Number 1 in the UK

 Number 1 in Europe

 Number 6 outside of

 Number 20 in the world (out of 400 centres)

Srila Prabhupada ki jai!

Page 5 Read the books. Live the books. Distribute the books.