..to experience unbelievable rocking kirtan at the Toronto Tunnel.



Check out why Agent Bhakti Marga Swami believes that this is THE place to be !!!!

www.feedyoursoul.to\tunnel

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Krishna Camp is a collective of inspired individuals who want to make Krsna Consciousness their life and soul and bring that into the world in amazing and wonderful ways. The Lord seems to think it's a good idea and so has been arranging some very nice facilities for Krishna Camp at this year's Burning Man festival We'll be camping with Entheon Village and cooking tons of super-yummy organic vegan Prasadam for all the most inspired spiritualistic souls at this 50,000 person event. We're looking to see you there for wild kirtans, exotic fire sacrifices, impromptu discussions on essential reality, and lots of fun in the sun in this oasis of hope in the black rock desert. August 25th - September 1st Contact Nitai at 347-409-3897 or email us at nitai.rns_at_gmail.com if you're game.

Dear friends,
Guess what! Our big annual festival is here!
It’s the famous Jhulan Yatra! Every year, it becomes possible by the effort of a handful of Mayapur ex-Gurukulis. This festival is well known in Bengal. Thousands of pilgrims and devotees get together to swing their Lordships and get their blessings every evening.
Every day over 5000 plates of Prasadam is distributed amidst blissful kirtans and stage programs performed for the pleasure of their Lordships
We cordially invite you to assist us in this five day festival and in so doing receive the blessings of their Lordships.

As Gurukulis you might be wondering how you can help make this festival more grand.
Here is how:

Get us some sponsors, or you can grab all the mercy by sponsoring yourself

1. Pandals Rs 34,000 $850.00
2. Decorations Rs 30,000 $750.00
3. Daily prasadam distribution Rs 15,000 $375.00
4. Daily flowers and garlands Rs 7,000 $175.00
5. Daily generator, and electricity Rs 4,000 $100.00
6. Daily lamp offering Rs 3,000 $ 75.00
7. Daily offerings for the Deities Rs 1,800 $ 50.00
8. Any amount you desire (the sky is the limit)…
All donation should be sent to:

Name of account: ISKCON Gaura-purnima Festival Fund Account no.: 237010100071336 Bank: AXIS Bank Ltd., 12 MM Ghosh Street, 1st Floor, Krishnanagar, District Nadia, West Bengal, INDIA 741101 Swiftcode: UTIBINBB005 Please send a confirmation email with transfer details to: jhulanyatra@gmail.com

The Vaishnava Youth greatly appreciate your initiative and can never thank you enough.
May the blessings of Sri Sri Radha Madhava be bestowed upon you.
Your humble servants,
Mayapur Vaisnava Youth
Jhulan festival committee.

2008 Krishna Culture Festival Tour Schedule
-------------------------------------------
revision: June 4, 2008

3 spots left on the boy's bus
5 spots left on the girl's bus

Email bustour2008@krishna.com for information.

JUNE

20 - FRI, One bus leaves Alachua for New Vrindavan early AM, for 24-hour kirtan festival. (Returns to Atlanta by Monday morning.)
21 - SAT, Airport pickup in Jacksonville, Florida, by 6 p.m.
22 - SUN, Alachua. Loading the bus. Sunday Feast. Bus leaves after the feast.
23 - MON, Atlanta. Morning program. 24-hour kirtan crew returns from New Vrindavan and meets up with us. Intros & orientation. Performance Auditions. Rehearsals begin.
24 - TUE, Atlanta. Morning program. Performance rehearsals (kirtan, dance, drama, sound, lighting, make-up, stage props, stage hands... something for everyone.) Orientation continued, and group "getting to know you" games.
25 - WED, Prabhupada Village. Morning program. Rehearsals. Sports. Group games.
26 - THU, Prabhupada Village. Morning program. Rehearsals. Sports. Swimming.
27 - FRI, Prabhupada Village. Morning program. Drama rehearsals.
Evening premiere performance in Winston-Salem.
28 - SAT, Detroit Ratha-yatra.
29 - SUN, Cleveland - Theater Performance - OR Chicago Ratha-yatra (date not confirmed yet.)
30 - MON, New Vrindavana. Morning program. Rehearsals. Prabhupada's Palace of Gold and Organic Gardens tour.

JULY

01 - TUE, Gita Nagari. Temple Makeover.
02 - WED, Gita Nagari. Temple Makeover.
03 - THU, Gita Nagari. Gundica Marjana.
04 - FRI, Washington D.C. Ratha-yatra.
05 - SAT, New York City. 26 2nd Ave & Tompkins Square Park.
Evening theater program at Edison, NJ.
06 - SUN, New York City. Brooklyn Radha Govinda Temple,
shopping and sight-seeing.
Evening theater program at Towaco, NJ.
07 - MON, Maine. Adventure Bound. Whitewater Rafting.
Ropes Course. Rock Climbing.
08 - TUE, St. Andrews, NB, Canada. Whalewatching, sail ship. Alternate (for those not whalewatching): day trip to Prince Edward Island, home of "Anne of Green Gables." Plenty of time to relax, chant, read...
09 - WED, Halifax, Nova Scotia. Performance at Neptune Theatre.
10 - THU, Drive to Montreal. Swimming pool in Quebec city.
11 - FRI, Montreal. Ratha-yatra preparations. Evening Harinama.
12 - SAT, Montreal Ratha-yatra parade and festival.
13 - SUN, Montreal Ratha-yatra. Day two of festival.
14 - MON, Montreal. Maha clean-up Dhama Seva. Olympic Pool Swimming.
15 - TUE, Ottawa. Bungee jumping / zip lining (see bungee.ca). Evening theater performance in Ottawa.
16 - WED, Toronto. Evening outdoor festival program at Yonge & Dundas square, downtown Toronto.
17 - THU, Niagara Falls - Maid of the Mist boat ride up to the water falls.
18 - FRI, Toronto. Ratha-yatra preparations. Evening Harinama.
19 - SAT, Toronto Ratha-yatra parade and festival.
20 - SUN, Toronto Ratha-yatra festival, day two.
21 - MON, Serpent River, Ontario. Swimming, rest and relaxation.
22 - TUE, Thunder Bay, Ontario. Performance at Lakehead University.
23 - WED, Drive across the Midwest to the Rocky Mountains.
Stop along the way for rest and recreation, sports...
24 - THU, Royal Gorge, Colorado. Whitewater Rafting.
Late afternoon at Great Sand Dunes National Park.
25 - FRI, Spanish Fork, Utah. Evening program at temple.
26 - SAT, San Francisco. Ratha-yatra preparations.
Harinama in Chinatown.
27 - SUN, San Francisco Ratha-yatra in Golden Gate Park.

End of first half of the bus tour.

28 - MON, if you're leaving us after the first half, book your flight home on Monday from SFO, San Francisco airport.

Beginning of second half of the bus tour:

JULY
26 - SAT, fly into San Francisco airport by 6 p.m. We will
arrange one airport pickup at 6:30 p.m. from SFO.
(We'll help you with airport pick-ups. Just email
us your flight details.)
27 - SUN, San Francisco Ratha-yatra parade and festival at
Golden Gate Park.
28 - MON, San Diego, California.
Evening kirtana and dance program at the temple.
29 - TUE, Alisitos, Mexico. Bhajan & Kirtan retreat. Beach camping, swimming, Pacific Ocean.
30 - WED, Alisitos, Mexico. Bhajan & Kirtan retreat. Beach camping, swimming, Pacific Ocean.
31 - THU, Alisitos, Mexico. Bhajan & Kirtan retreat. Afternoon: Harinama in Ensenada. Souvenir shopping.

AUGUST

01 - FRI, Los Angeles. Ratha-yatra preparations.
02 - SAT, Los Angeles. Vaishnava Youth & Gurukuli Reunion.
Evening Harinama with 300+ devotees, Santa Monica
03 - SUN, Los Angeles Ratha-yatra.
04 - MON, Yosemite National Park. Camping, hiking to waterfalls.
05 - TUE, Yosemite Nat'l Park. Campfire bhajans. Hiking. Swimming.
06 - WED, Leave for San Francisco mid morning.
Pickup Kulimela attendees at SFO airport by 7:00 p.m.
Overnight drive to Boise, Idaho.
07 - THU, Boise, Idaho. Performance at Boise State University.
08 - FRI, Seattle, Washington. Evening performance at the newly built
(2008) ISKCON Vedic Cultural Center in Sammamish.
09 - SAT, Vancouver Ratha-yatra.
10 - SUN, Vancouver Ratha-yatra.
11 - 15, MON - FRI, Sharanagati Farm. Japa Retreat. Japa workshops and seminars in the morning and evening, activities in the afternoon. There will be a 64-rounds "mauna" vrata day, where we take a vow of silence except for chanting the Holy Names.
16 - SAT, Morning: Miette Hot Springs in Jasper National Park, Canadian Rocky Mountains. Evening program for Lord Balarama's appearance day at the Edmonton temple.
17 - SUN, Calgary. Late afternoon performance at
University of Calgary.
18 - MON, Regina, SK. Performance at
Royal Saskatchewan Museum Auditorium.
19 - TUE, Winnipeg. Evening theatre performance at Gas Station Theatre in Winnipeg.
20 - WED, St. Paul - Minneapolis. Theatre performance at University of Minnesota.
21 - THU, Atlanta. Six Flags Adventure Theme Park
(roller coasters, rides, etc.)
22 - FRI, Evening performance at University of Florida, Gainesville.
23 - SAT, Alachua. Ichetucknee River Float trip.
24 - SUN, Alachua, FL. Sri Krishna Janmashtami.
25 - MON, Alachua, FL. Srila Prabhupada's Appearance Day.
26 - TUE, Airport drop-off in Jacksonville (JAX) by 9:00
a.m. Book your flights to leave after 11:00 a.m.


COST:

The entire tour will cost us about $96,000 this year, with
the price of fuel rising and rising. We will be traveling
over 16,000 miles across the USA and Canada for 9 weeks,
on the adventure of a lifetime, the ultimate road trip.

Divided among participants, that averages out to the below
costs per person.

To make the tour more affordable, we've separated the
elective add-on adventure activities from the base cost.

BASE COST, per person:

$1699 whole tour, 9 weeks, June 21 - August 26

$999 First half of the bus tour, 5 weeks,
June 21 - July 27, Alachua to San Francisco.

$799 Second half of the bus tour, 4 weeks,
July 26 - August 26, San Francisco to Alachua.

$499 Last 3 weeks of the bus tour, August 6 - August 26,
San Francisco to Alachua (not to confuse you, this
is our second visit to San Fran to pick-up returning
Kulimela attendees, after our camping trip to Mexico,
LA Ratha-yatra, and camping at Yosemite National Park.)

$199 1.5 weeks: Mexico / Los Angeles Ratha-yatra / Yosemite.
Camping with the bus tour July 28 - August 6
(Round-trip, San Fran to San Fran, with visit to
San Diego temple, camping in Baja California, Mexico
on the beach for two days, shopping and Harinama in
Ensenada, Mexico, LA Ratha-yatra weekend, including
the LA Vaishnava Youth and Gurukuli reunion, and camping
at Yosemite National park for two days. See the
schedule above for details.)


-----------------------------------
To apply to come on the tour, email:

bustour2008@krishna.com
-----------------------------------


ELECTIVE ADD-ON ADVENTURE ACTIVITIES: (not included in base cost)

Please note: this year you get to choose which adventure
activities you want to participate in / pay for. This
reduces the overall bus tour costs for everyone and makes
the tour more affordable.


Here they are, listed by date on the schedule.


JULY

07 - MON, Maine. Adventure Bound.
http://www.adv-bound.com/rates.html

Choose one of these three (you'll only have time
for one activity)
__ Whitewater Rafting (high-water) - $72
or:
__ Rock Climbing (all-day) - $72
or:
__ Ropes Course (all-day) $72
or:
Ropes Course (half-day) $37

08 - TUE, St. Andrews, NB, Canada. Whalewatching aboard
a real sail ship (the "tall ship" Cory)
http://www.whalewatching-cory.com/
$35 per person, group discount rate.


15 - TUE, Ottawa. Bungee jumping / zip lining ("rip ride")
http://www.bungee.ca/

__ bungee jump plus zip line (aka "rip ride"): $82
__ bungee jump - $57
__ zip line / "rip ride" - $30


24 - THU, Royal Gorge, Colorado. Whitewater Rafting.

http://www.canyonmarine.com/half-day-rafting-trips.htm

$58 for the "Royal Gorge" half-day trip on class
III, IV, and V rapids (if you're in good
physical shape and you've rafted before.)

$45 for the "Bighorn Special" intermediate trip
for beginner or intermediate rafters.


AUGUST

21 - THU, Atlanta. Six Flags over Georgia Adventure Park
- $29 (lots of roller coasters, rides, etc.)

http://www.sixflags.com/overGeorgia/rides/ThrillRides.aspx


23 - SAT, Alachua, FL. Ichetucknee River float trip.

http://www.stateparks.com/ichetucknee_springs.html

$5 entrance fee. $4 tube rental (share a tube with
two or three buddies if you want.)



-----------------------------------
To apply to come on the tour, email:

bustour2008@krishna.com
-----------------------------------

Worlds-Within World-Wide Invitation

This letter beckons young, energetic men and women who have a passion for guiding children and a unique love for India. Worlds-Within is looking for recruits to help out with their new organization, as an Instructor, Guidance Counsellor, Presenter, and/or Marketing Representative. Since we train you on the job, all we need is your time and enthusiasm. You will have the opportunity to travel around India, give presentations to school children, gain experience in a professional setting and work with devotees. If you stay for longer with us, you will get to travel the world on our Life Skills International Workshops. Sounds great, doesn’t it? Here’s more information:

Our Company
Worlds-Within aims to provide children with new experiences in personal enrichment with instructors from around the world. You can look us up on www.worlds-within.com. We want to empower children with important life skills that will help them excel in whichever field they choose. We do this by conducting workshops in various schools as well as taking students on vacation tours. Our tours combine vacation with education, so kids have fun while they learn important Life Skills. We conduct tours in historical and scenic places around India, as well as International tours in countries like Singapore and Australia.

Our Mission
At a time when all countries of the world are modernizing and globalizing, India strives to play an important role in the global competition. Indians are looking abroad for new culture, modernity, education, and new ways to live life. At a crucial time where India grows as a global power, Worlds-Within has realized the importance of the Indian youth and children as the leaders of a future leading country. As India looks abroad, some Indians get bedazzled by modernity and forget their own culture and values. Value education has become more important as young people juggle tradition with modernity. Worlds-Within uses a unique approach of inviting International Instructors to re-introduce India’s own cultural values through interactive presentations and workshops. As India grows more and more curious about the outside world, Worlds-Within provides an experience wherein students can interact with International Instructors and soak up valuable knowledge about principal values for a successful life.

Our Curriculum
The International Instructors at Worlds-Within compile all of our curriculum. We do not borrow or use any outside materials, except for inspiration. All our workshops remain unique through their one-of-a-kind approach, with many workshops composed specifically for that audience. We concentrate on subjects relevant to the age group, which is usually a class of kids between 8-18. We usually present our material with the help of colourful PowerPoint Presentations, and encourage interactive discussion about all subjects to ensure students’ understanding.

Our subjects include:
• Cooperation vs. Enjoying at the Expense of Others
• Discipline
• Principal Values of Indian and Western Cultures
• Punctuality
• Selfishness and Self-Respect
• Intercultural Communication
• WATER-(Will power, Action, Teamwork, Enthusiasm and Responsibility)

Our workshops
We present our workshops to kids in four steps:

Free Education
At Worlds-Within, we believe that every child regardless of their situation and background should have the opportunity to receive valuable Life Skills education. We visit various schools to conduct our Free Education presentations, wherein International Instructors speak on a particular Life Skills subject, such as Punctuality, Self Confidence, Will Power etc. In our Free Education presentations, we include an introduction to our company and our other workshops, to give students the opportunity to continue their Life Skills education with us.

In-House Workshops
During our In-House Workshops, we conduct a 10 hour workshop on a particular subject or group of subjects at the school requesting the workshop. We visit the school as per their schedule, for example, if the school wants a 2 day workshop, we conduct a workshop for 5 hours each day, and if they want a 5 day workshop, we will come during the work week for 2 hours daily.

Domestic Workshops
During our Domestic Workshops, students get a chance to leave the familiarity of their own homes and join us for an expedition where we combine fun activities with learning new Life Skills. We travel to places around India where students will have peace and have fun, away from the hubbub of city life. We incorporate games, yoga, healthy eating and relationship development to introduce students to new life style habits that can help them in their lives.

International Workshops
During our international Workshops, students gain a global perspective first-hand by exploring outside their country. International Instructors guide the students to a new outlook to deeply understand what it means to be a “global citizen”. During our International Workshops, Worlds-Within takes students to have fun at all the main tourist attractions as well as visit key places where they can better understand the country from an inside perspective. For example, students visit local schools in the new country to better understand what it means to be a student in that new country.

Our Team:

Nayan Patel
Nayan Patel, the company CEO, started formulating plans for Worlds-Within a few years ago, with the mission to help kids become the future heroes. He officially started Worlds-Within last year, in May of 2007, and since then, has provided Free Education and other workshops for thousands of students. While he is proud to be a pure Gujarati, he also spent time in New Jersey, USA, where he administered a Computer Training company for 13 years. During his stay in the US, Nayan Patel found a haven with at the Hare Krishna temple, where his strong love and dedication to serving Krishna flourished. This inspired him to give back to Krishna’s devotees around the world by giving them an opportunity to travel to India to inspire Indian kids as well as gain their own inspiration from Indian holy places.

Ian Jagannath Cassidy
Famous around the world for his unique and involving ability to retell the Mahabharata, Jagannath now uses his presentation and communication skills to empower students in personal growth. He works with the company full time, compiling the core curriculum as well as giving presentations for the In-House, Domestic and International Workshops.

Kashyap Desai
A life long friend of Nayan Patel, Kashyap Desai configures all Graphic Designing and Layout Presentation for Worlds-Within. With a strong work ethic, Kashyap works tirelessly to perfect our pamphlet and brochure layout presentation. For an example of his handiwork, see the web pages he designed on www.worlds-within.com.

Nila Madhava Raisz
Nila Raisz, compiler of this invitation (hey there!), currently studies Religion and Sanskrit at the University of Florida. She helps Worlds-Within by compiling and presenting the Life Skills curriculum as well as recruiting new Instructors around the world to help with all levels of Worlds-Within workshops.

You
Yes, you can join our team as well! As an International Instructor, Marketing Representative, or any other field you find we need, you can sign on long term or just for a short stay, depending on your plans. Below, you can read the kind of job description that you will have working with us, although you may contact us if you need to change some of the details.

Job Description
Worlds-Within needs your help expanding its horizons to new schools. Along with members of our team, you will meet with school administrators to explain about our company and arrange Free Education Presentations. You will also get to present Free Education sessions along with our instructor, Jagannath Cassidy, where both of you will speak for approximately 20 minutes each on a particular life skill. Most of the time, you will present with the help of Microsoft Power Point. You may compile your own presentation, but if you feel more comfortable, you may present something compiled by us. We always advise you to compile your own material as that will help you to speak more smoothly and passionately.

Our company is based in Mumbai, but we travel frequently to Gujarat to different cities and towns, so be prepared to travel with us whenever necessary.

If you are planning to stay with us longer, you may get a chance to help us present our In-House, Domestic, and International Workshops. For that, be prepared to help us compile the curriculum and to be a guidance counsellor for students.

Our Exchange:
In exchange for your talents,Worlds-Within will pay full air fare to India. While you work with Worlds-Within, we will provide you with shared accommodation in a spacious two bedroom apartment with our Instructor Jagannath Cassidy. (He happens to be a really good cook, and jovial interesting person to spend time with—and of course you may gain significant Mahabharata knowledge with his storytelling). During your stay, you will get free lunch and dinner, and all travel expenses with the company will be fully paid by us. For example, if we travel to Ahmedabad in Gujarat, your hotel, trains, and food expenses will be taken care of by us throughout. If there are people who want to spend more than two months working with the company, especially during our In-House and Domestic Workshops, we will work out a payment plan. We are also open to people who want to join our company full time, although we can only finalize a person to join our team after he or she works with us for a two month period.
If you want to come to India to travel to tourist and religious attractions around India, Worlds-Within will help you arrange your itinerary, although you would need to pay for your travel expenses.

The following table explains the work exchange:

One month = One-way ticket and Visa
Two months = Round-trip ticket and Visa
More than two months = Round-trip ticket, Visa, and Salary arranged

If you need to make a custom work plan, you can arrange with us accordingly.

Skills Required
• Public Speaking
• Enthusiasm to work with children (ages 8-18)
• Maturity to give presentations to professional adults
• Strong Work Ethic
• Energy for travel
• Ability to work in a team
• Reliability
• A sense of adventure
• Basic Professional presentation (we’ll help you)
• Basic understanding of personal development and life skills.
• Positive attitude (at least for the time period you work with us—it won’t be hard)
• Basic tolerance for living in India, although we have a pretty nice place for you to stay.

Experience that will help you but is not required:
• Previous travel to India
• Life Skills training
• Working in a professional setting
• Giving and/or compiling PowerPoint presentations
• Argumentative writing ability (this is not the kind of writing where you have an argument, but where you convince someone of something)

How do you start:
Please email Nila Raisz at nila@worlds-within.com to inform us of when you would like to join us. If you have more questions, please feel free to ask. Worlds-Within, as an educational program firmly believes that there are no questions that are irrelevant for learning.

Miscellaneous questions you may have:

What if I am planning to come to India with other people?
You may come with as many people as you like, but Worlds-Within can only hire two people at a time. If more are interested in working with us, they may do so on a purely volunteer basis.

How long can I stay in India?
You can stay as long as you like, although it is up to you to find a visa that will allow prolonged stay. Right now the 6 month tourist visa is the easiest visa to get, and there is another multiple-entry 10-year tourist visa but requires you to travel outside India every 6 months. Also, if you are looking for a round-trip ticket, they usually need to contain a time period within 1 year.

Do I need to bring professional clothes?
Worlds-Within maintains a highly professional image, especially while Marketing to new schools and providing Free Education Presentations. We require that you bring with you a suit and with a few professional shirts.

How strict are you with the time period I will have to work? Can I travel in between work times?
We would like you to work with us for at least two months (8 weeks) in exchange for your air ticket. We can coordinate for you to take a week off to travel on your own in between working with us, but you would have to accept a schedule coordinated by us. We need some one we can rely on since our organization depends on keeping commitments and punctuality. We will try to be as flexible as possible and arrange dates most convenient for both of us.

Now accepting applications for the 2008 spring, summer and fall tour. Festival Of India is looking for a few young men that would like to participate in major festivals all over North America. Please visit www.festivalofindia.org to see our 2008 Tour schedule.

Some Services Available

• Setting up festival sites--tents; exhibits; stages and sound systems.



• Setting up and operating Sound systems.



• Overnight security at some of the festival sites.



• Driving small vehicles; tour buses; and Tractor trailers.



• Acting in dramas at festivals.



• Preaching at book booths at festivals.



• Cooking and distributing massive quantities of prasadam.



• Developing your practical relationship skills, learning to work towards a common goal with many other devotees (LA, NY, Toronto and many other Ratha-yatras.)



• Photographing festivals and keeping a photo journal of the tour.

If any of these services sound inspiring to you, Festival Of India is where you can get as much of all of them as you desire! Hare Krishna!

Please write to madhuhadasa@gmail.com for more information.

Your servant
Madhuha dasa

PRESS RELEASE

Dated: 28th January 2008

Dates and Location for Kulimela 2008

Officially Announced

Make Your Plans - Spread the Word

The Radhadesh Kulimela Organisation Team is excited to officially announce the dates and location for the first mega European Kulimela. Commencing from Thursday 31st July 2008 until Sunday 3rd August 2008, Kulimela 2008 will be hosted at the historic Radhadesh castle in the beautiful Ardennes region of the Belgian countryside.

Kulimela 2008 will bring together the largest ever gathering of European second and third generation Gurukuli and Vaishnava related individuals, families and communities for a four day festival of conferences, seminars, networking, feasting, theatre, music, dancing and sports. In this mood of inspiration and discovery we shall explore the ties that bind us together and how these can be of use in helping us to achieve both our material and spiritual goals in a practical context.

“This festival has the power to unite people with different backgrounds, beliefs and experiences from all over the world and to inspire us all with new ideas and opportunities for being successful in our own lives” stated Bala Keilman, lead organizer for Kulimela 2008. “We have a strong and experienced organization team representing all the major European countries as well as North America, which combined with the fantastic facilities and wonderful atmosphere of Radhadesh will make this one of the largest and most exciting and enjoyable festivals ever seen.”

Kulimela 2008 Radhadesh follows the hugely successful Kulimela 2006 in New Vrindavan, USA, in which over 700 people attended in what was a truly groundbreaking event. This was followed up by local Kulimela themed festivals in Alachua and Moscow this last Summer, all of which attracted hundreds of attendees and were by all accounts tremendously successful.

For more information on how to participate, please visit our website www.kulimela.com to register your interest to attend, sign-up to or suggest a workshop/presentation or to volunteer your help in the organization of the festival. You will also be able to find more details on the festival fee, accommodation and travel information. Alternatively, you can contact the organization team and local promoters directly (their contact details are below).



Who are Kulis?

Originally the term ‘Kuli’ related to those youth who attended a school called ‘Gurukula’ that was part of a traditional Indian Vaishnava movement started by Srila Prabhupada in Western countries. Over the years this term has grown to cover any second and third generation youth related to Srila Prabhupada’s movement although its meaning has grown somewhat ambiguous and unclear. Most of the traditional Gurukula schools have disappeared so younger Kulis don’t have the Gurukula background, whilst many of those ‘original’ Kulis are no longer ‘youth’.

To some extent, this ambiguity has also reflected the uncertainty many Kulis have felt in their relationship with each other and perhaps to a greater extent, the spiritual movement that is behind it all. The Kulimela concept is at heart therefore, an attempt to discover who Kulis are and what we stand for (if anything at all).

In the first Kulimela event held in New Vrindavan, it was proposed that Kuli refers to ‘servant’, following its literal Hindi meaning but in the mood of service and support for one another closer to the Vaishnava tradition. In the Alachua Kulimela, the term Kuli expanded to become an acronym for some of the ideals and goals that might tie us together:

Krishna (Consciousness)

Unity

(Balanced) Lifestyle

Inspiration

Whilst embracing the ideas of both New Vrindavan and Alachua, the exploration continues with the Radhadesh Kulimela, which has a strong emphasis on the inclusion of friends, family and other persons that are related, feel connected or somehow attracted to the Kuli community. The Kuli community must be inclusive, not exclusive. This exploration already began with Moscow Kulimela in 2007, which as well as strongly involving the support and participation of the wider Nama Hatta Vaishnava communities has also created a closer link between Eastern Europe/Russia and the Western Kuli groups.

Los Angeles, Kulimela, on the other hand, which is set for the summer of 2009, intends to explore the roots of Kuli history, the founders of the first Kuli reunions and original Kuli pioneers by celebrating 20 years since the first official Kuli reunion, which was held in LA in 1989.

Our hope is to find a unified purpose, which can respect and promote diversity within unity; one that crosses all political, sectarian and religious divisions, being based on principles of love, service and the search for inner spiritual understanding; and exemplified in our lives through practical and positive actions which benefit our families, friends, communities and society at large. Our strength and thus our success lies in our ability to work with and serve each other, whilst respecting our individual choices and paths.


What is it?

Kulimela 2008 will be 4 day festival of conferences, seminars, networking, feasting, theatre, music, dancing and sport. We want you to tell us what you would like to see, what you can present or instruct, and what you would like to learn.

We are looking for actors, musicians, dancers, artists, yoga practitioners, doctors, lawyers, producers, temple management, bhaktas, mothers, psychologists, researchers, businessmen, to name just a few. We want to know what you are doing, and how we can help one another.

We have focused the seminar conferences on 4 areas:

* Business & Career

* Arts & Entertainment

* Medicine & Health

* Spiritual & Community development

You can attend for purely material reasons, or purely spiritual reasons or some balance in between.

Who should come?

Everyone should attend who is or was a youth in Srila Prabhupada’s movement, whether they are religious, ritvik, Iskcon, Narayan Maharaj disciples, or completely uninterested in religion. And they should bring their friends and family too.

This is an international invitation to all Second/Third Generation Kulis, Gurukulis, Vaishnava Youth, Alumni, Childhood friends, Partners, Friends, the connected, and the disconnected to attend a grand festival of inspiration and renewal.

We want to meet with youth (and the former youth) from Russia, India, Canada, Thailand, England, Germany, USA, and every other nation in between and forge a bond that allows us to feel part of a thriving international community of friends who can help and inspire one another.

Why are we doing it?

Our incentive comes from knowing that somehow, most of us differentiate ourselves from the wider population. We may look and talk and act like the society around us (or some few of us may not), but still, we know with certainty that we are different.

For some of us that difference comes from pain and abuse, and we want to connect here as friends and encourage one another emotionally but materially and spiritually as well.

For some of us that difference comes from having knowledge of Krishna, or however we see God, and that knowledge changes how we look at ourselves and those around us.

Whatever the reason, we want to share that experience and help identify ourselves with more than our difference, but also by our success. Kulimela is about looking to the future.

We want to know what inspires you. We want to know how you have balanced the material and spiritual aspects of your life. We want to know about your success, and your attempted success. And we want to share all of that with each other.

We are asking you to share with us your example and experience, and in exchange we will give you our example. Between all of us we strongly believe we will find a level of excitement at what we can achieve.


We Are Looking for your Participation and Help!

We need representatives to help spread the word, organize travel, answer questions and give us support, particularly in those countries that are not already represented (see below). We also need entertainers who are interested in performing as singers, actors, dancers, and whatever else your specialty might be. We need workshop hosts who have some knowledge to share. We need sponsors willing to help support our endeavour. We need delegates to attend.

Please register now at www.kulimela.com or contact one of our organization team (see contact details below) so that we can make solid plans that lead to the best event possible.

What do you need to do?

Register - Relay - Rejoice

Register: Let us know you are interested, and how you would like to attend, as reps, delegates, workshop hosts, or artists.

Relay: Tell as many others about this as you can. Help us make it a truly global and truly astonishing event. This is not about religion, this is about us. Get the word out, especially to your disconnected and old friends and see if we can all help inspire one another.

Rejoice: start making your plans now, so you are certain you can make it.

Again the website is : www.kulimela.com

Thank you,

The Radhadesh Kulimela Team