Liquid-Gold Mine Discovered

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With the Chinese New Year gone by, it is expected that the sun will scorch the land for a few months at a stretch in this part of the world. That means we have a challenge. In our 4-acre farm, around 2 acres of land is used for farming various types of vegetables, fruits and flowers. Needless to say, that requires a lot of water.

We got an idea. The land adjacent to our farm has a large water body which extends beyond the boundary of that land and occupies parts of two other plots of land. Upon Sundar Gopal Prabhu’s suggestion, on the 9^th of February, 2011, we bought a pump to suck the water from that pool for our irrigation purposes.

After we bought the pump, we went near the location where we wanted to place the pump and extend the suction pipe into the water body. Little did we expect that we were in for a big surprise!

As we went to the point a little inside the boundary of the farm where we wanted to place the pump, we saw a small underground stream percolating out from a hole in the land. The water is crystal clear. We even drank the water. This water has been going to the big lake in the adjacent plot of land.

By Krishna’s mercy, the Malaya Giri Dham houses its very own natural spring! All our irrigation problems will be solved if we hold this water. We wanted to test it out. We made a small trench in the path of the stream and when water accumulated there, we used the pump to suck that water in and use it for watering the crops.

It was a huge success! That evening, Sundar Gopal Prabhu called the contractor and we surveyed the place. On the 12^th of Feb, the bull dozer was called in to dig at the site. As of now, the well is being constructed. It is expected to be completed by the middle of March.

Hare Krishna!

 

A Fabulous Govardhan Puja

Hare Krishna!

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Back after a long break – with a bang! For the past one month, Sundar Gopal Prabhu has been practically alone at the farm-temple. Dynamic that he is, a lot of interesting developments took place. The kitchen was extended and tiled flooring was laid down for the same. A new big stove added to the charm. So now, cooking for big festivals will be no problem as was evinced during the Govardhan Puja. We’ll come to this festival after a while.

Other developments include gorgeous tiling of the temple room and the altar. The temple room looks classy now! All the guest rooms were furnished with double-decker cots and mattresses.

Apart from the building, all the thick long grass that was spread out at the back of the farm was uprooted using a bull-dozer. Farming will commence soon. We are planning to farm a variety of vegetables there.

All that culminated in a very successful Govardhan Puja on the 7th of Nov, 2010. We organized two vans to ferry about 30 devotees from Singapore. It was a two-day one-night package tour for the devotees. So there was a total attendance of more than 50 devotees for the festival. Quite a number for a remote farm! This was the first time in the history of Sri Krishna Mandir that we did go-puja (cow puja) with our very own cows! That’s a remarkable achievement! Since Lord Krishna is the well wisher of the cows and brahmanas, we are sure that He is most pleased with this endeavor.

At about 11:00 am, we had the go-puja done and from 12:15pm to 1pm, we had Govardhan puja following which all the devotees had sumptuous prasadam. At 3pm, the Singaporean devotees left for Singapore in the two vans.

The real intention of the tour was that we wanted to give the Singaporeans a chance to get out of their urban lifestyle at least for 2 days and most importantly attend the full morning program which includes Mangala-arati at 5am, chanting japa along with the devotees, Darsana-Arati, Srimad Bhagavatam class and breakfast Prasadam.

This solid program keeps one above the three modes of material nature, namely goodness, passion and ignorance. Then one can appreciate real transcendental life. Once one gets a taste for serious Krishna consciousness, one will be able to give up one’s affinity for deep-rooted materialistic life.

We feel very encouraged to hear from the people who participated when they appreciate the experience of a devotee lifestyle. The importance of the Malaya Giri Dham project is becoming more evident day by day.

So we would like to take this opportunity to extend special thanks to Sundar Gopal Prabhu who worked single-handedly and relentlessly on this project despite many inconveniences. We would like to also extend our thanks to Raghupati Prabhu for arranging the devotees’ transportation from Singapore to the farm and back. Our special thanks to all the Matajis headed by Candralatika Mataji and Gandhini Mataji for the nectarean Prasadam.

Thank you!

Hare Krishna!

The Goshala Is Underway

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Rocketing Developments

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Hare Krsna!

All glories to Srila Prabhupada!!

Dear devotees, well wishers and friends,

We are glad to announce that the developments in the farm have been going on at a very fast rate ever since the bhumi puja last month. It has indeed been very encouraging for the batches of devotees, who drive to the farm every weekend, to see the tremendous changes every week. The man behind the whole show is none other than His Grace Sundar Gopal Prabhu, the temple president of Sri Krishna Mandir, Singapore.

As we have already mentioned herein before, ever since the Bhumi Puja in the farm, HG Sundar Gopal Prabhu has taken up the challenge to build up a farm community according to the orders of Srila Prabhupada. Despite great difficulties and lack of sufficient manpower to assist him, he has been pushing on all alone completely depending upon the mercy of Prabhupada and Krishna. And sure enough the progress has been remarkable.

From the last time we updated you with the developments, there have been a considerable number of changes in the farm.

• The structure for the cow shed is now up (as can be seen in the pictures).
• We now have facilities to accommodate more number of guests as we have come up with four new guest rooms and two new rooms for the brahmacaris to stay.
• We have started cultivating vegetables and flowers around the temple which can be used for worship.
• Now that the cowshed is up, the cows will also be arriving very soon.
• We are also working on the interiors of the temple hall where some finishing touches are required. The altar is also now being designed.

The next structure we would be working on is a roofed patio, which is like a small sitting place that is partially enclosed and can be used for having classes, honouring prasadam, etc.

And not to forget the most important thing of all – we have also been very very busy with……………… plucking the fruits from the trees!! Now being the fruit season, the farm is full of various types of fruits of different colours. That adds to all the fun! We have been collecting bags full of them from the farm and distributing them among all the devotees back in Singapore.

So come and join us for a weekend full of bliss!!

We will update you with further developments this weekend. So stay tuned for more!

Hare Krsna!!

Spiritual Retreats Are A Success

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Family Retreat, posted with vodpod

Hare Krsna!!

All glories to Srila Prabhupada!

Here is yet another interesting news to share with all the devotees, friends and well-wishers.

Malaya Giri Dham is gaining tremendous popularity as a favorite spiritual retreat site among the devotees’ and well-wishers’ families especially in Singapore, who are looking for an alternative to the hectic, tiresome lifestyle that is typical of Singapore!

The variety of spiritual programs that are available, has stirred up the interests in the minds of many families in Singapore and Malaysia as well. Our programs mainly include spiritual discourses on Bhagavad Gita and Srimad Bhagavatam, Brahmacarya training, cooking classes, Japa Retreat, dramas by the devotees, campfire, trips to gifts of nature in the vicinity like the famous Kota Tinggi waterfalls and many more which will enliven your minds and give you a whole new spiritual experience! And all this at an extremely nominal price!

We are pleased to inform you that we are organizing retreat programs every weekend and over the last few weeks, and by the grace of Srila Prabhupada and Krishna, the response has been tremendous! We have been having families excitingly signing up for the retreat program and their experiences that they shared with us have boosted our enthusiasm.

Everyone was very thankful to us and really appreciated the spiritual program that we are offering. They also appreciated the very location of the farm, which is full of fruit trees and surrounded by beautiful hill ranges. The cows, which are soon to come, are going to add to the charm! And now being the fruits season, the children are having a jolly time plucking varieties of fruits like rambutans, mangosteens, star fruits, jackfruits and durians and filling their stomachs to the fullest and taking bags full of them back home as well!

A secluded place such as this has also given them an opportunity to cut off from the hectic urban life and has afforded them a chance to interact with devotees on a personal capacity and be enlightened in their association about the profound theoretical and practical aspects of the Krishna consciousness lifestyle. This lifestyle in the mode of goodness, sattva guna, is very conducive for advancement in bhakti yoga.

Basically, the retreat program has been very successful so far and we are looking forward for much more! This is the reason why Srila Prahupada has stressed so much on Varnasrama communities. It is definitely the best formula for spreading the Krishna Consciousness movement.

— By Vraja Kisora Das

Bhumi Puja Report

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Bhumi Puja Report, posted with vodpod

Hare Krishna!!

All Glories to Srila Prabhaupada!

We are pleased to inform all the devotees, friends and well wishers that our new farm project – Malaya Giri Dham – has been progressing steadily and with full vigor.

On Thursday, the 17th of June 2010, we had conducted the Bhumi Puja (corner-stone-laying ceremony) in the farm for bringing about auspiciousness. Many devotees from Singapore and Malaysia gathered at the farm to make the occasion a grand success. Program involved special puja, fire sacrifices, ecstatic bhajans, a small discourse on the importance of Varnasrama Dharma and sumptuous prasadam. The chief priest was His Grace Saci Suta Prabhu and the sacrifices were performed under the supervision of His Grace Sundar Gopal Prabhu. All the devotees present conveyed their heartfelt thanks. Sri Sri Gaur Nitai have been installed the same day and worship has started.

Ever since then, His Grace Sundar Gopal Prabhu, determined as he was to start the Varnasrama project, has been staying in the farm and personally supervising the project development with two other devotees assisting him.

Another interesting piece of news that we wanted to share with you was that one of our Indian contacts in Malaysia has recently agreed to donate a few cows for our farm. Therefore, work on the cowshed immediately commenced and it is going on. The project, as per the plans displayed in the last post, is gradually taking shape.

The rate of development of the project depends almost entirely on the funds available. We humbly appeal to you all to kindly donate generously for this project.

The breakdown of costs will be given soon on this page. Stay tuned!

Hare Krishna!

— By Vraja Kisora Das

Temple Architectural Plans

Hare Krishna!

Again it has been a good six and a half months since we posted last. Our apologies for that. We have a lot more to tell this time. The developments have come about really fast.

By the mercy of Srila Prabhupada, we have performed a grand Bhumi puja (corner stone laying ceremony) for the farm community project on the 17th of June, the details of which will be given in the next post.

The main purpose of this post is to show the architectural plans for the project. We would like to extend our special thanks to Sriman Nand Kishore aka Nikhil Joshi for all the hard work, enthusiasm and determination he has put in to come up with the beautiful plans as shown below.

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Temple Structure Done, Electricity In

Hare Krishna!

That was a long gap of time since we wrote! Well, we were busy with so many preaching activities in a row that we did not have enough time to spend on writing. Anyway, we love to write and spread the glories of Lord Krishna!

So finally, the temple structure is up. There is a nice gravel-car park as well. That was about three weeks ago. The electricity just came in last week! So we are all set for more work. About 12 devotees have stayed this weekend at the Malaya Giri Dham after an ecstatic Ratha Yatra festival in Johor Bahru on Saturday, the 19th of December, 2009.

We were really captivated by the beauty of the place. It seems to have great potential in making devotees. After a few minor changes, we should be ready for hosting prospective devotees in the farm and let them have a glimpse of the simple lifestyle of the devotees.

Vrndavana Prabhu will be managing the farm community in the very near future. Our main agenda is to promote cow protection, agriculture and gurukula. This will be a very important project.

We shall keep you posted!

Haribol!

The Shed Is Up

Hare Krishna!!

On the 11th of Aug, 2009, five of us, Sundar Gopal Prabhu, Mahaprabhu, Avijit Prabhu, Vraja Kisora Prabhu and ourselves, left from Singapore for the Malaya Giri Dham to construct a shed for the temple room.

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As the photos depict clearly, we worked till late evening on Sunday and by the grace of Krishna, were able to complete building the shed. It was an amazing experience!

Just to let you know, our plans for the temple structure have changed. Well, we would say it was Krishna’s will!

Sundar Gopal Prabhu along with his son Mahaprabhu, went up to Malaysia for two days, 8th and 9th of Sep, 2009. It so happened that Sundar Gopal Prabhu met the secretary of a very influential gentleman. The lady secretary was very much impressed with our project in Kota Tinggi and proposed to donate ten truckloads of quarry to make the final stretch of road leading to the farm.

Enthused by the incident, Sundar Gopal Prabhu immediately started to think in bigger ways for developing the farm project.Till then, Prabhu wanted to make a simple structure for the temple. But now, he wants to eventually build a grand temple emulating the style of the Krishna Balaram Temple in Vrndavana, India. Of course, this comes at a later stage.

For now, the plan is that we build a simple building with a shed. The structure is fully completed. Once the electricity comes in, the place will be fully operational.

In fact, we might even want to shift the temple at Taman Daya, JB, to the farm.Very soon, we shall put up the proposed site plan for the entire project.Also coming soon are the spiritual retreat tours. In one week’s time, we will put up the details in this website.

Stay tuned!! Haribol!

Work In Progress As On 23rd Aug, 2009

Hare Krishna! We are working on the temple structure. We extend our thanks to Sriman Nikhil Joshi, who is assisting us with his architectural expertise.

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Haribol!!