Sketch by Tungavidya Devi Dasi In this Issue Durban Krishna News Women’s Forum Report 4 A Little Bhakti Goes A Long Way 4 Retreating Into the Spirit 5 Sri Krishna Janmashtami Janmashtami Hall Festivals Festival Guide 6 #TeamLove Lord Krishna’s Lotus Feet 8 Living With Srila Prabhupada A festival can be celebrated everyday if we counted the The Servent Leader 10 appearance or disappearance of all the saintly personalities. In this age, our spiritual masters have decided on the most Marriage Matters Why Problems Don’t auspicious days to celebrate and honour a divine personality. Mean a Bad Marriage 11 Festivals help deepen our relationship with the Supreme Lord by awarding greater opportunity to render devotional The Body, Bodily Conception & Freedom service. Awaken 12 On the Cover 13 The great news is that festival season is almost upon us. The Vaishnava Chef Warm Stir Fry with The Sri Krishna Janmashtami celebration will run over four Semolina Olive Oil Bread 14 days, beginning on Saturday 1 September until Tuesday 4 For the Kids September. We also planned pre-festivals in local areas. The Boy Who Ran Away 15 Residents can expect bhajans, kirtan, a talk, entertainment, and a vegetarian meal. Details of the festival are on pages: Temple Directory Communications Krishangi Radhe 083 254 8339 3 & 6-10. Facilities Manager Akrura 072 463 8119 Festival Manager Balaram 082 881 4521 Festivals cannot be possible without devotees. With Finance Ramvijay 084 550 4101 over 30000 visitors expected over the festive days, Youth Officer Sudhir 079 144 0003 General Queries 031 403 3328 o/h 9am – 5pm we sincerely rely on people to come forward and render Contact the Temple directly for the following departments: service. Back to Godhead Queries (Wednesdays only 9am – 2pm) Book Table (10am – 8pm) Devotee Breakfast/Lunch Sponsorships – Rasalika 031 403 4600 The Bhagavad-gita describes devotional service or bhakti- Govinda’s Restaurant (10:30am – 7pm. Direct line 031 403 4600) yoga as the easiest way for advancement in spiritual life as it Radhanath’s Gifts (10:30am – 6:30pm) engages all the senses in the service of the Lord. Take Care of Krishna – Bhakti Devi (Radhanath’s Gifts Manager) Departments Book Distribution Krishna Chaitanya Das 081 088 2493 In a world where we spend more time touching our phone Deity Department Deva Deva 076 178 6850 than our japa (meditation) beads, where our senses get easily Funerals Ananta Sesh 084 686 2618 distracted, a festival is the ideal opportunity to strengthen Guest Accommodation [email protected] our connection with the Supreme Lord. 031 403 3328 House Programmes Radha Giridhari 076 190 8485 Patita Pavan Nitai 078 455 7594 Join #TeamLove – a group of people coming together to Outreach Programmes Alanath 083 775 2760 render devotion. Email [email protected] with Street Chanting Virabadra 071 870 0588 Temple Room Coordinator Arjuna Acharya 031 403 3328 #TeamLove in the subject line and we will contact you. Or University Programmes Rukmini 084 579 1080 you can WhatsApp #TeamLove to 062 526 3606. I Smart Box Queries Ananta Gauranga 082 783 3599 look forward to seeing you at the temple and to you joining Men’s Ashram Pralambari 072 800 8329 #TeamLove. Ladies’ Ashram Radha Radhanath 071 473 3355 Email Subscription: [email protected] WhatsApp/SMS Subscription: Hare Krishna! WhatsApp or SMS “Subscribe” to +27 81 759 0191. Save the Vibhu Chaitanya Das number as SSRRT News. Note this is a no reply service. Child Protection Office - www.childprotectionoffice.org [email protected] | 076 719 6461 Pinetwon Quotes from the Srimad Bhagavatam, Bhagavad-gita, Srila Prabhupada Lectures and pictures on page 16 are © The Bhaktivedanta Book Trust International, Inc. www.Krishna.com. Pinetown Civic Hall, Kings Road Used with permission. Design and Layout by Lashika Ravjee - 082 309 2396 18 August | 5pm Janmashtami Hall Festivals ArenaPark ReservoirHills Chatsworth Seva Samag Hall Sri Vishnu Temple Society Battersea Avenue corner of Roads 601/701 14 August | 6:30pm 11 August | 7pm Stanger MidSouthCoast Sanathan Mundal Hall Craigieburn Temple Hall 21 Greyridge Drive Temple Road 25 August | 4:30 pm 25 August | 4pm ClareEstate Northdene Salligram Hall Santh Samaj Clare Road Santh Circle 1 September | 6:30pm 1 September | 5pm LotusPark 1 September Estcourt @3pm Lotus Park Community Hall Swami Sahajananda 4 Araucaria Place Community Centre, Canna Avenue 1 September | 6:30pm RichardsBay ISKCON Temple Site @ 2:30pm A Little Bhakti Goes a Long Way By Girisha Naicker Women's Forum Report Little Bhakti Theatre is a platform for under 12s January – June 2018 to explore the wonders of creativity and art, whilst learning confidence, discipline, and most The Women’s Forum at the Sri Sri Radha Radhanath importantly, to use their energy in devotional service. Temple has hosted three exclusive events and a Love This initiative encourages children to develop a Feast this year. Since its inception eight years ago, meaningful understanding of spiritual life. It is up to women have found a wonderful avenue to come parents, family, and the greater community to grow together and bond. The aim of the Women’s Forum our children holistically. It is up to us to teach our is to provide a loving space for women to meet, children about our relationship with God. My most friendships to develop, and ideas to be shared on impressionable childhood memory was playing how to place Krishna at the centre of our lives and the role of baby Krishna in a drama. More than a our homes. With this mood, the forum includes a decade has passed yet I will never forget the music, spiritual aspect within a diverse program. It offers a the costumes, and mainly the friendships created platform for women to come together and bond in a through that experience. “chilling with the gals” vibe. Recently we hosted internationally acclaimed photographer, writer, and movie producer Visakha Dasi. Together with her husband she produced Hare Krishna The Movie, which premiered in Durban in March. She read from her new book, which is a memoir of her time she spent with her spiritual master, Srila Prabhupada. She also shared her wisdom on how to raise spiritually-minded children. On Mothers’ Day the Women’s Forum hosted the Bhakti Theatre has taught me how to serve to the Love Feast. Krishangi Radhe gave the talk and she fullest capacity, and has given me a place to build focussed on Sita Devi’s strength and courage in the a spiritual foundation; and I wish to share the same Ramayan and how we can use those qualities is our experience with future generations. When I had the daily lives. With National Yoga Month this June, we privilege of directing the drama for our first Little hosted a wonderful one-hour hatha-yoga workshop Bhakti Theatre, I thought, "This is how the children and mantra-yoga session. We also presented various will learn about Krishna. These are the future leaders skills from cake decorating to flower arranging to of our community.” I was surprised at the number turning boring lunch boxes into happy meals. of eager children willing to give their time towards devotion, since many prefer staying indoors to watch movies, play video games, or use social media. Our young volunteers’ enthusiasm inspired them to come with fun ideas, build characteristics for the roles they were playing, and also kept me on my feet. I felt a sense of parental pride and joy as I watched how spectacularly they performed the drama Vrindavan Summer. Many of the children were extremely grateful to have been a part of the show, and thanked me with wide smiles. My greatest observation, during the many hours of rehearsals, was the parents/guardians’ level of commitment. I am sure their commitment has imprinted on their children. The Little Bhakti Theatre was done in collaboration with the Bhaktivedanta College. The show included kirtan, traditional dance, and an impressive Bhagavad-gita verse recital. All the performers and even our MC were under 12. The next Little Bhakti Theatre is scheduled for September. Retreating Into the Spirit gave me immense pleasure to share with others the By Chiranjiva Das rare jewel of love that has been given to me. Srila Prabhupada addressed audiences in packed At this retreat, students discussed and did activities halls in WITS University and Westville campus in under the themes of exploring our constitutional October 1975. During his visit, he highlighted the nature as the spirit-soul in the conditioned world, need to engage the intelligentsia of higher education developing conscious relationships within various institutions in bhakti-yoga. Since then, programmes circumstances, and connecting with the Supreme aimed at university students have been a priority Soul, Lord Krishna. The first theme “I am...” gave for Srila Prabhupada’s followers, so much so that students a guided mediation activity in which they over four decades later, bhakti-yoga programmes in were invited to view personal identity constructs universities across the nation are still going strong. acquired in their own lives, with the aim of This year the university programme, aka Bhakti Yoga rediscovering their innermost everlasting identity Society (BYS), continued with the long-standing as the soul in an ever-changing world. The second tradition of not just hosting events at the universities theme “We are...” allowed students to interact with but also bringing students to a Krishna conscious each other, testing group dynamics and purpose- environment to immerse themselves in bhakti-yoga driven relationships in a collective effort towards self- philosophy and practice. For this reason, BYS held a realisation. The final theme “God is...” gave students retreat for students at the end of April at the Sri Sri the chance to review the lessons learned through Radha Radhanatha Temple.