Deity Installation In Peru

[Guest guest]

Report on the Mela of the Vrinda Mission in South America On May 19th till 23rd the Pacto Andino Transcendental held its second South-American annual Mela (Festival Internacional de Yoga y Ecologia) in the marvelous exotic Eco Truly Ashrama, Chakra y Mar, Peru, on the famous beach near Lima, the capital of Peru. Participants of Mexico, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Chile, Bolivia, Argentina, the USA, and Europe inaugurated the event with a march "For Those Who Cannot Talk for Themselves" through the city of Lima to demonstrate solidarity against animal-slaughter, abuse, and abortion.

 

Accompanied by three Harinama- parties and a devotee-band playing native instruments of Bolivia with Vedic mantras, the mixed group of approx. 200 devotees with colorful posters, flags, and banners called the attention of the public and the press. At the central place of the city they invited everybody to the program at night with music, chanting, and distribution of prasadam in a pleasantly located rented hall. A national TV-channel took 15 minutes of footage of the Harinama- sankirtana and interviewed Swami Srila B. A. Paramadvaiti Maharaja.

 

The next day the devotees traveled one hour to the Eco Truly Ashrama on the Pacific Coast to be cordially received by the organizing committee and to be introduced into the ecological and spiritual facilities of the place; peaceful living in the natural harmonic environment of clay-houses, organic farming with mixed culture for mutual protection of the crops, use of the environmentally friendly dry-toilets, separation of trash, garbage, and wastes, a solar oven, wind-power driven water- pumps, and last but not least, the tranquil and inspiring temple of Sri Sri Guru-Gauranga Radha-Damodara Giriraja.

 

Life in the Ashrama is oriented toward combining spirituality and living in harmony with nature without harming nature. All the buildings, trulys, bovedas, and houses in conventional style are made of adobe, which has the advantage of keeping cool in summer and warm in winter and does not at all create a burden to mother earth at any time. In addition its materials are readily and economically available causing no material harm to the inhabitants in any way like many modern building-materials do.

 

According to the Acharyas, Swami Srila Bhakti Aloka Paramadvaiti Maharaja and Prabhu Sripad Atulananda Acharya, combining God-consciousness and nature-consciousness is a must, because nature is an energy of the Supreme Lord given to man to be cherished and utilized in His loving service rather than to be harmed and exploited for selfish purposes of a few individuals.

 

Thus seminaries like "Vedic Culture and Ecology", "Arcana - The Art of Adoration of the Supreme", "Human Relationships", "Vedic Architecture", "The Yoga for the Present Age", "Brahmacaria", and many more, and workshops like "Organic Agriculture", "How to Construct a Truly", and "Vedic Cooking" found a high appreciation by the participants who increased in number day by day, until finally on Sunday more than 500 devotees, friends, and guests united in an enthusiastic kirtana for the pleasure of Their Lordships Sri Sri Guru-Gauranga Radha-Damodara Giriraja.

 

With the official installation of Their Lordships Sri Sri Guru-Gauranga Radha-Damodara Giriraja and the inauguration of the temple-truly, Their Lordships' new residence, along with a maha-abhiseka-ceremony, more than 30 Harinama-initiations, 3 Vedic weddings, and 4 simultaneous fire-sacrifices, accompanied by chanting of Vedic mantras and continuous kirtana by musical groups of devotees of Colombia, Ecuador, Bolivia, and Chile the festive mood of the devotees found its summit on Sunday, the last day of the festival.

 

Many devotees, though, could not tolerate to be separated and decided to stay a few days more to continue relishing the nectar of Sadhu Sanga and glorifying the Supreme Lord by congregational chanting of the Holy Names of Sri Gauranga Mahaprabhu.

 

The devotees cordially invite everybody to participate in the next year's Mela which will be held in the ecological garden-project "Vrndavan Jardin Ecologico", near the town of Banos in the natural paradise of the Ecuadorian jungle.