Here is the first of a monthly update of significant events that I feel necessary to share with you. It allows me to highlight individual devotee's accomplishment and service so they will not go unnoticed.

New Initiates

Here is the list of the new initiates. They have all done exceptionally well to come this far in their journey to perfection. We pray they will be guided and protected by Srila Prabhupada and Lord Krishna.

• Constantine – Caitanya Prema dasa
• Dmitry – Dhanvantari dasa
• Michael - Murari Krsna dasa
• Daria – Divyasakti devi dasi 
• Kristina – Kamalakunti devi dasi
• Lubov – Lavanga Manjari devi dasi 
• Olga – Ananga Manjari devi dasi 
• Svetlana – Sri Radhika devi dasi
• Victoria - Vraja Sundari devi dasi 

 

Aleksey has been working on the initiation videos from Ukraine and Lithuania and expertly put them together, and made a condensed version.  Here is the condensed video of the initiation ceremony.

 

Pranama mantra

I wish to welcome the following devotees who in the last two months have approval from their mentors to chant my pranama-mantra:

• Ayta - Ukraine
• Diana - Norway
• Egle – Lithuania
• Ernesta - Lithuania
• Mira – Ukraine
• Olga – Ireland
• Ruta - Germany
• Timur – Ukraine
• Vitali – Ireland

 

Sastra-Study Performance

I wish to congratulate the following devotees on the completion of memorizing 12 verses of the Bhagavad-gita during the past six months.

• Alexey – Kyiv, Ukraine
• Danvantari dasa – White Chapel, Ukraine
• Ananga Manjari devi dasi - White Chapel, Ukraine    
• Aurelia – Klaipeda, Lithuania 
• Elena – Kyiv Ukraine
• Elvira – Yekaterinburgon, Russia  
• Inna – Kyiv Ukraine
• Kestudis – Klaipeda, Lithuania
• Natalia, Maypura, India
• Vinid Kumar – Kyiv Ukraine

 

May you continue to be blessed in your sastra studies. Nothing can stop you now! Well done!

 

Hariart

In total, ten canvases have been sold and delivered within this last month

• Ukraine - 2 canvases
• Lithuania - 7 canvases
• Latvia - 1 canvas

 

Let’s get this project off the ground and show the spiritual world's residence that we desire their association within our homes. Anyone who would like to become a distributor, please contact Acyuta Krishna prabhu: acyuta.krishna.d@gmail.com

 

Cooking Workshop

I wish to congratulate the following two devotees, who are the first to receive a RADHAKRSNA award, to complete all the workshop recipes I have presented. I have personally sampled and approved their cooking abilities.

• Aurelia – Klaipeda, Lithuania
• Kastutas -Klaipeda, Lithuania

I also wish to thank the following devotees who have shown a keen interest in the workshop and have reached LIBERATED in all the recipes.

• Vinid & Julia – Kiev, Ukraine
• Radha Prema dasi -Kazan, Russia
• Roman & Olga – Suzun, Russia

 

My heartfelt appreciations go out to Danvantari prabhu & Ananga Manjari dasi for facilitating this workshop. To date, there were sent to them 935 pictures. 185 Chappati, 95 Dosa, 125 Pakora, 116 Puri, 40 Dahi Vada, 100 Spinach, 110 Kichuri, 108 Vegetable, 56 Pushpanna. What a wonderful service you have done.

 

Cooking Experiences

Many of you have already written the experiences you have had since cooking Vedic preparations. Whether the incidents are regarding you, family members, or close acquaintances, it does not matter; they all make a good collection of stories.
Bhaktin Lelde has collected your experiences and placed them into a folder that is now available to read. Here is the link: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1enxP-SH9qTNZCvyO2S7CH1BYGMGQ8tMV8TVv9yTmcFk/edit#gid=1175648711 

The email address to send your experiences is: prasadamstories@gmail.com

They will be an inspiration for all of us to read, so do not feel shy.

 

All Performance Charts

To make things easier for everyone, we have placed all the performance charts within one link. It includes the Sastra-Study Performance chart, Cooking performance Chart, Cooking Experience Chart, The Sanga Groups, Services Chart, and Book Distribution Chart. The link is as follows:
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1enxPSH9qTNZCvyO2S... 

 

Album - Above and Beyond

Here is an update from Jagannath Suta prabhu regarding the album:
This is a breakdown of stats and some feedback from people that I wish to share with you.

Sales and Downloads:
November 24, 2020 - January 4, 2021:

• 6,178 streams through bandcamp
• 23 - Purchases
• 37 - Downloads in total

 

Direct visits (bookmarks, instant messages, etc.*) - 1,201. 

This data shows that the main way devotees are listening are through directly sharing the links with each other. 

Feedback:
Since the albums' release, the contributing artists have commented that they are happy with their parts and the album - Gaura the flute player has said that he would love to be part of future projects and Narotam said the song he plays piano on and composed is beautiful. 

Other feedback has been positive, one person sent me the following thoughts: 
I finally listened to the whole album, all so lovely and put together beautifully.
With a critical ear I didn't even hear one thing that made me think.. Ooh he missed that off bit.
A few words that came into my head were.
Track 1, Christmas, snow, candles, lanterns, procession.
Track 2, Christmas morning Church bells.
Track 3, Sweet and beautiful, heart chakra, soothing, emotional, past times.
Track 4, Lovely harmonies and great to sing along to.
Track 5, lovely to hear the talking and your singing. Interesting with all the overlays of different song bits or mantras.
Track 6, Beautiful chords like from a film.
Track 7, Beautiful narration and Naros lovely piano?
Track 8, Sweet lullaby, relaxing, like everything is ok in life.

 

Audio Book

For some time now, Alexandra Ankudinova and Dmitry Yaroshenko have been working to produce my Russian book "Inspirational Stories" for audio listening. In our 21 century environment where life is fast, and people are very active and on-the-go, we often find no time to read books. Still, never-the-less, audiobook listening has become a popular substitute. 
In our fast-moving digital lifestyle, people now prefer to listen to a book on-the-go, which is why audiobooks were created. The Russian version is now available, and very soon, the Lithuanian audio version will also be available to listen to as well. No doubt the English version will follow. Here is the link:

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLDhINIum9EseybxZUFPEVMMrqfGcJXcBb 

 

Emails

I have become inundated with emails from disciples and followers. The pressure to replying to them all is indeed a task. So, to save time and reduce the number of emails that I receive, we have a new communication system. Vraja Sundari devi dasi will inform you about the details.

 

Children Video 

Here is a children video from Natalia in Mayapur were part of her service is children presentation:

I like this video because you can see how the children look pure and innocent. It is also well produced.

 

Compliments

If there is anybody I have forgotten to mention in this report, please let me know, and we will include you in the next update. But on a final note, I wish to compliment you all on your sincere efforts to make a difference for yourself and the people around you. Srila Prabhupada once said, “It will one day be written in the history books that in its darkest hour, this Krishna consciousness movement saved the world. “A little for a lot,” which means a little sincere effort from each devotee can go a long way to making a difference to the world.

Dhirasanta dasa Goswami