namahatta.org - Congregational Development Ministry

by Bhakta Mike, posted May 13, 2008

In response to a law suit citing obstruction of religious practice, the Arizona attorney general has requested the Tucson ISKCON temple and Govinda's Natural Foods Restaurant to provide three meals a day for inmate Jeff Walls, a Hare Krishna devotee in Federal Prison. Walls told the state that eating the prison food violated his religious practice of only eating sanctified food prepared in a clean, meat free kitchen by a brahmana with spiritual consciousness. The attorney generals office is negotiating with temple president Sandamini Mataji to provide those meals.

by Candra das

HH Hanumat Presaka Maharaja, lead navigator and the ship's captain for the “Hanuman Express Dispatch,” made a scheduled stop at Oregon’s largest prison, Snake River Correctional Institution, on 8 December 2007. Maharaja lectured and spellbound nine inmates with his express dispatch emanating from Bhagavad-gita As it Is.

Maharaja read verse 3:42: "The working senses are superior to dull matter; mind is higher than the senses; intelligence is still higher than the mind; and he [the soul] is even higher than the intelligence.”

After Maharaja read Srila Prabhupada's purport, many inmates expressed their realizations on how their working senses have misdirected them into being victims of prison culture.

On 25 October, the day before Kartika started, we again went to do a preaching program in the Gwalior Central Jail. During his lecture HH Subhaga Maharaja convinced the Jail Superintendent to first offer all food to the Lord and then serve prasadam to the prisoners. In his thank-you speech, the Jail Superintendent announced to the three thousand prisoners that from now on they would be served prasadam.

According to an article published by american libraries on 8 September, 2007, all "appropriate" religious materials that had been removed earlier this year (No Intellectual Freedom in U.S. Prison Chapel Libraries) are being returned to the prisons' libraries.

Following an outcry from civil libertarians and religious groups, the Federal Bureau of Prisons has authorized the return to chapel libraries of all appropriate religious materials that it had ordered removed as part of its new Standardized Chapel Library Project, an effort to restrict prison reading lists to 150 titles per denomination. In an e-mail quoted by the September 26 New York Times, the bureau reported that the only exceptions would be “any publications that have been found to be inappropriate, such as material that could be radicalizing or incite violence.”

Every year for Janmastami we have a big program in Agra Central Jail with very enthusiastic participation from the prisoners who make Krishna Lila dioramas. Unfortunately this year there was civil unrest in Agra do to rioting by a certain community and there was curfew. But several days later after things were peaceful, the superintendent of the Jail invited us for doing a wonderful program.

Another casualty in the "war on terror": the US Bureau of Prisons got some experts to compile a list of religious books that will be allowed in prison libraries. Neither the list of experts nor the list of books have been published yet, but prison chaplains are already busy sorting out unwanted literature across the country's jails.

The stated reason is that prisons should avoid becoming recruiting grounds for militant Islamic and other religious groups. To not allow inflammatory books calling for jihad against the infidels makes sense, of course, but to remove everything but 150 or so books that have been vetted by some obscure experts is a different thing altogether.

“It’s swatting a fly with a sledgehammer,” said Mark Earley, president of Prison Fellowship, a Christian group. “There’s no need to get rid of literally hundreds of thousands of books that are fine simply because you have a problem with an isolated book or piece of literature that presents extremism.”

Several prisoners have filed class-action lawsuits, claiming the bureau’s actions violate their rights to the free exercise of religion as guaranteed by the First Amendment and the Religious Freedom Restoration Act. I don't know about these lawsuits' chances to succeed in the present political climate, and neither do I know if Srila Prabhupada's books are included in the list of sanctioned literatures. If not, we (the IPM) should make some urgent endeavors in this direction.

your servant, phanisvara das

(Read on for a blog-article by Rory Litwin,
LibraryJuicePress.com)

By Giridhari Syam das,
CDM Office, Sri Mayapur

Tamil Nadu, India

Click to see a larger map.

The cult of Krishna consciousness is spreading to every corner of the world by the mercy of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, the compassion of Srila Prabhupada, and the hard labor of Sri Gaura-bhakta-vrnda.

When I visited my birthplace in South India recently to see my mother, I happened to join in prison preaching with Ananda Govinda Prabhu, a congregational preacher. Ananda Govinda Prabhu is balancing family duties and service to the Hare Krishna movement. As a business man, he knows how to convince people to purchase his product. Similarly, he is able to convince people to “purchase the product” of Caitanya Mahaprabhu: the Hare Krishna maha-mantra, which culminates in Krishna-prema. Indeed he has been very successful in the neighboring villages through the Nama-hatta preaching method.

By Jana Janmadi dasa

On July 11, 2006, I participated in oral arguments in the Texas First Court of Appeals (Houston), Case 01-04- 00820-CV. This was an appeal proceeding the lawsuit I filed based on the relatively new Texas Religious Freedom Restoration Act (TRFRA), V.T.C.A. Civil Practice & Remedies Code @110.001 et sequentes.

The TRFRA prohibits the government from making any law or rule that substantially burdens a person's free exercise of religion unless the law or rule is made to further a compelling government interest and is the least restrictive means to further that interest. Generalized security fears are not a compelling interest.

Anne Graham Lotz

Billy Graham’s daughter was being interviewed on the Early Show and Jane Clayson asked her, "How could God have allowed such a horrible thing to happen on September 11th?"

Anne Graham replied deep and wisely:

"I believe God must have gotten very sad with what happened, just as much as any of us did. For so many years we have told God not to poke His nose into our choices, get out of our government and out of our lives. Being a gentleman as God is, I believe He calmly left us. How can we expect God to give us blessings and protection when we ask him to leave us alone?

Arizona finds religions make good path to rehabilitation

Judi Villa, The Arizona Republic
Feb. 15, 2006 12:00 AM

Inmate Richard Webb talks to other prisoners last month during a meeting of Wiccan believers at the Meadows prison complex in Florence.

FLORENCE - Geoffrey Burbank knelt in the corner of a prison chow hall, a small silver hammer medallion on his right shoulder.

Burbank, 32, has been in and out of prison in three states, but this time, he says he has found something that just may change the course of his life: faith. More specifically, Asatrú, an ancient Norse religion that espouses family and nine "noble virtues" such as courage, honor, trust and discipline.

"Every other time I got out, it was always get back involved with drugs. Guns and drugs," said Burbank, who studied Asatrú for about a year before he knelt to take his oath of allegiance at the Arizona State Prison Complex-Eyman. The hammer on his shoulder represents the legendary magical weapon of the god Thor.

"This changed my outlook on life," Burbank said. "I got something else to look forward to when I get out. Maybe I can stay away from guns and drugs this time."

by Jagannatha Pandit

His Holiness Candramauli Maharaja and I visited the Federal Correctional Institution McKean in Pennsylvania, where Janmastami Prabhu has a wonderful weekly program that's been going on for over a year. This was Maharaja's first visit and my third. There was a build up of anticipation for those that attend because this was the first visit from a guru. Thirteen men came. They have been studying books, CD's and DVD's of Srila Prabhupada and his disciples and were very excited to have the association of His Holiness Candramauli Swami.

We had a mrdanga and kartalas and began with bhajan, in which everyone participated enthusiastically. Then, Maharaja spoke from Bhagavad-Gita 10.8: "I am the source of all spiritual and material worlds. Everything emanates from Me. The wise who know this perfectly engage in My devotional service and worship Me with all their hearts."

Hare Krsna!

Next Tuesday, July 11th, the Court of Appeals in Houston, Texas will be hearing a case brought forth by a devotee inmate, Jana Janmade dasa. The state of Texas has discriminated against the Hare Krsna movement and has not allowed Jana to have a proper vegetian diet, his japa beads or more than a couple of books (two or three) even though they are religious.

Kaunteya prabhu sent me a description of an early prison-preaching event with HH Visnujana Maharaja, ISKCON's famous singer who disappeared mysteriously in 1976.

Information about HH Visnujana Maharaja, including audio files and devotees' memories of him, are available at vishnujana.com. Here is an excerpt:

Chaitanya dasi: What I always remembered most was he was very transcendental. He would lead for long periods of time. It seemed like he had endless energy. He would play mrdanga, and it looked as though his feet weren't even on the ground. It was so amazing to watch him play mrdanga and chant, and his eyes would always be closed. It was like he went into trance, into another world. And his feet, it was as if he was floating on the ground.

A short, scratchy film of Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Thakura, the guru of ISKCON's founder Srila Prabhupada, has been found circulating on the web. If real, it is the only known film footage of Bhaktisiddhanta (1874-1937).

The film seems to have appeared from nowhere and there are no links on the originating site to give any idea of how it came to light or who found it. This film is of great interest to ISKCON as Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Thakur was the inspiration for ISKCON, having requested his disciple, Abhay Caran De (later, A. C. Bhativedanta Swami Prabhupada) to try and spread the teachings of Gaudiya Vaisnavism in English. Many other Vaisnava groups also trace their lineage to him.

Dear Maharajas and Prabhus, Please accept my humble obeisance. All glories to Srila Prabhupada.

ISKCON New Delhi celebrated Gita Jayanti in Dasna Jail, Ghaziabad (U. P.), on 10 December, 2005. The Superintendent of the District Jail Ghaziabad, Mr. Kesharwani, and senior staff members were invited to join the program, which began with bhajan sandhya, followed by a discourse on Bhagavad-gita by His Grace Vrajendra Nandan Das, Vice President of ISKCON New Delhi. He highlighted the importance of Bhagavad-gita and requested all to follow the instructions of Lord Krishna contained therein, which can change the lives even of sinful prisoners. He also pointed out that by chanting the Hare Krishna maha-mantra one can purify one's heart and become happy.

120 rounds every day—Bhakta Chote Lal in Agra Jail.

Dear Devotees, Hare Krishna. Please accept my humble obeisances. All Glories to Srila Prabupada.

Recently we had a very nice preaching function in Agra jail, in which HH Radha Raman and HH Shubhag Maharajas were present as main co-ordinators of the program. Other devotees from Sri Sri Krsna-Balaram Mandir also attended.

Devotees from this temple perform preaching programs in Agra jail on a regular basis, lead by HG Jankinath Prabhu. Due to Lord Krishna's blessings and the effort of the devotees, many of the prisoners took up chanting. I would like to mention some who received the Appreciation Awards for their regular chanting of the Mahamantra. They are Bhakt Gupta, who chants 44 rounds, Bhakta Ajit, chanting 64 rounds, Bhakta Shiv Kumar, also chanting 64 rounds, and Bhakta Chote Lal, who manages to chant an astonishing 120 rounds every day, without fail.