Hare Krishna Prabhujis and Matajis,
Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Srila Prabhupada!
Janmashtami is quickly approaching! We have just 10 more days to go.
As you all know, it is our utmost important festival of the year! The birthday of our dearest, most beloved Supreme Lord Sri Krishna. It is an extremely auspicious day for all devotees, where all our attention is focused on serving our most beautiful baby Krishna.
Srila Rupa Goswami states that celebrating Janmashtami is one of the 64 limbs of devotional service. So, we need to celebrate this occasion in a wonderful and grand way, and the Lord is very pleased when we come together and make it happen with great devotion and enthusiasm.
Our goal is to spread the joy we get in remembering the Supreme Lord’s name, form, qualities, and pastimes with everyone in the Austin area regardless of caste, creed, race, gender, orientation, or any other material designation.
Krishna says that the real purpose of His advent is to shower mercy on the conditioned souls of this kali yuga. It is stated in Srimad Bhagavatam (9.24.61):
kalau janiṣyamāṇānāṁ
duḥkha-śoka-tamo-nudam
anugrahāya bhaktānāṁ
supuṇyaṁ vyatanod yaśaḥ
Here, Krishna very clearly says the mercy is shown to us by giving us opportunities to do service to Him, and participate, hear, and understand His Vrindavan pastimes. Because these activities will liberate conditioned souls from material sufferings, unlimited unhappiness, and lamentation, which are caused by our ignorance.
We have been given this incredibly rare opportunity to remember and celebrate Krishna’s Vrindavan pastimes and engage ourselves in devotional service. Thus, we would like to humbly request all the devotees in our congregation family to come forward, and help however you can.
Even one small service will be reciprocated by the Lord, many, many times over! We have just 10 days to go, and so much to do in order to get everything ready for the appearance of our dearest, little Krishna.
Many of you have been working countless hours tirelessly, and we express our sincere gratitude to all of you.
But, we still need more help as we complete final preparations! So, we would like to request all of you to please kindly come, participate in various services, sincerely engage in preparing for this celebration, and get the blessings of Srimati Radha Rani and Krishna!
If you are interested in helping with any specific services, please contact our overall coordinators Umesh Prabhuji and Neha Mataji. With respect to services related to cultural programs, please reach out to Neha Mataji and Rasamayi Mataji. They will guide you on how you can help.
Sri Krishna Janmashtami Mahotsav ki jai!
Sri Krishna Bhagavan Ki jai!
Srila Prabhupada ki jai!
Your servant,
Satya Sara das
August 15, 2024