Srila Prabhupada’s New Jaipur Vedic village project continues to progress a little each day. “Even drops of water will wear away stone.” (Chinese proverb) The 37 foot concrete bridge across our little river is complete- beyond it lies a large part of the farm where we hope to have flooded rice fields and a large garden area. The farm roads on the river’s east side are shaping up nicely with graveling and several culverts, and when dry weather allows, we will dress them and make final touchups. Another 18 foot concrete bridge has also been completed to replace the narrow wood timbers that made everyone nervous upon crossing. Gravel extracted from the river has been piled up on top and along the banks, available when needed for roads and construction.

The concrete block walls are done on the first two out of six cottages and the roof construction is ready to begin. It has been just about a year now since we first began clearing the cottage hillside, and finally we are getting an impression of what they will look like. They will be simple cottages, strong and open to breezes and views. They are available to qualified, approved applicants interested to participate in the New Jaipur Vedic village project, another humble contribution to the pleasure of Srila Prabhupada and the previous acharyas. There is no price tag attached, but contributions according to one’s means will be accepted in furtherance of the farm and temple programs. We always tell locals that we are developing a non-commercial spiritual resort and retreat.

The dalo (taro) harvest is ready to start, and already has been kicked off by some wild pigs from the hills. However, the local dalo buyer who connects with the main exporter in Suva says the market is frozen due to backlog and will need a few weeks to open up again. Last week the farm boys finished moving 1210 tausala dalo plants to start anew in a dryer hillside field which they already like much better- their previous location was poorly drained where they were very stunted. We are learning where in the farm various crops will do best. Learning the ways of farming is exciting, and we rely a lot on our local helpers.

We have planted several hundred more pineapple tops and in our small garden we are concentrating on longer-life varieties such as eggplant, okra, and green leaf bushes like bele and katuk. There are a half dozen bushes in Fiji whose leaves make excellent spinach-like preparations. Lemons, limes, and kumquats are in steady supply now, planted only 3 years ago, with the extras going to the town market where they are easy to sell. Wait until our rambutan, lychee, mangosteen, sapadillo, langsat, and longon begin to fruit- these more exotic fruits are unknown in these parts! The deity fruit plate will be very colorful and pleasing to Their Lordships Radha Govinda…

Our temple site is fully prepared, having been excavated, levelling over an acre just below the high point of our west ridge as it reaches the ocean from the hills behind us. We took advantage of the excavator machine and did this much, although the actual temple will be built later when the community has developed sufficiently further. Meanwhile the temple room in the main lodge building will serve as the home for Sri Sri Radha Govinda and for all programs, kirtans, and festivals.

So the question may be raised as to how we interact with the local ISKCON devotees on our island in Fiji… There is no temple here yet, with perhaps a hundred initiated devotees dating back to the 1980’s when Tamal Krishna Goswami was establishing his zone here. That ended with his demise in 2002, when Bir Krishna Maharaj began visiting twice a year and taking most of the new initiates as his disciples.

ISKCON on this island is definitely still in the zonal acharya days, stuck in a time warp of obliviousness towards factual realities. There is no knowledge of the turmoil or history of ISKCON after Prabhupada’s physical departure. Devotees who were personally initiated by Prabhupada are limited to Vasudeva and Bhagavati Prabhus in Suva; they now reside at the temple in older age. We will include a few factoids that will help convey the kind of awareness in Fiji ISKCON. The regional secretary, when asked about the ISKCON gurus who were falling down, hotly replied that this did not matter, because they would just go on initiating more and more devotees (as though this would solve the problem of falling initiators??) One new ISKCON recruit who was preparing to take initiation was asked as to who would be her guru, and replied that she did not know but the leaders were arranging everything(!!) The local devotees all have been taught that Prabhupada appointed all the ISKCON gurus, and cannot understand the import of the July 9^th letter nor of Tamal’s 1980 confessions regarding rtviks vs full gurus (just Google that phrase). They also celebrate days which Prabhupada never gave much importance to at all (Shivaratri, Pitrpark, Durga’s appearance, lengthy funerals, etc.) Their understanding of Prabhupada’s vision for the future of humanity was shown when we were invariably discouraged from leaving town for our life on the farm because then we “would be so far away from everything wonderful in town…”

Morning Walk at Villa Borghese — May 25, 1974, Rome

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Prabhupada:  Yes, naturally. If this man is fed up with this industry, he can go back to village and produce his own food. But he is attached to this industrial activity because he is thinking that “We are getting more money for wine and woman and meat. Let me enjoy.” That is the perfect, imp… But if he chants Hare Krsna maha-mantra, his consciousness will be purified and he will be made not interested this kind of work. He will go back to village and produce food.

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When we first arrived here in 2010, devotees had practically no Prabhupada books and had not heard his voice even. They had no Prabhupada lectures, movies, or kirtans. We went to great lengths to provide many of Prabhupada’s books, plenty as gifts, to the ISKCON devotees, but few are reading them much less chanting their rounds. Their guru and leaders are doing little to train them properly as per Prabhupada’s standards, except for the overwhelming emphasis on vegetarianism, neck beads, and attendance to weekly meetings. Classes often come from Hindi Ramayana translations or involve lengthy esoteric stories about supposed spiritual secrets (why did Satyabhama do such and such?), and Prabhupada’s purports are generally skipped. When asked if the morning program was important, their guru encouraged them to at least “do some puja for 5 minutes…”

They know nothing of the massive book changes, nothing factual about the poison issue, nothing about the guru or initiation issue- simply following blindly without philosophical understanding, as though questions or thought were inappropriate. They are told not to discuss these things nor to research them on the internet(!!) Morning program is conspicuous by its absence. Since they are offering their food to self-appointed gurus who are subject to falldowns (50% of them have publicly fallen down already) and “may or may not be self-realized pure devotees” (a quote from their guru, as though it is irrelevant- which of course Prabhupada repeatedly states IS very relevant)… they are surely eating only bhoga, not prasada. What misfortune! In ISKCON Fiji, the Founder-Acharya Srila Prabhupada has been pushed back onto the dusty shelves of past history… Overall, ISKCON locally is spiritually weak and resembles a social club.

Our conclusion is that they are more or less cut off from Prabhupada’s mercy, like a broken and dangling branch, disregarding much of his teachings, and are hopelessly uncorrectable, having adopted fear, offenses to Prabhupada, false pride, and sectarianism as their gatekeepers. Pride cometh before the fall. Gradually ISKCON, in Fiji and elsewhere, is deviating further and further away from the proper standard as established by His Divine Grace Srila Prabhupada, and without their connection to the current link in the disciplic succession, they must drift away into the mists of maya. Thus we should simply avoid them while being respectful of their residual Vaishnava status. The future of the Golden Age belongs not to the ever-increasingly deviated ISKCON institution (ongoing book changes, guru hoax, offenses to Prabhupada), but to those who are sincere and strong enough to adopt the Prabhupada standard and the path of truth rather than the hodgepodge, contradictory rationalizations used to prop up a thoroughly corrupted organization of bogus pretender gurus and their cheated disciples. The Vedas teach that a bonafide guru must be fully God realized and be ordered, appointed by his predecessor guru, a prerequisite that ISKCON disregards.

We lament over their loss and ill fate, take no joy in these circumstances, but decline to gloss over these facts. It is our task (if not us, then who?) to restore Prabhupada’s spiritual mission in spite of their continuous spoiling activities. We must stick strictly to Prabhupada’s teachings, and be prepared to go it alone despite all opposition. Whatever we may be called- Prabhupadanugas, Bhaktivedantas, the original Hare Krishnas, rtviks… we are sure to be on the right path because we are being sure to follow the Jagat Guru Srila Prabhupada’s instructions and teachings without compromise.

As far as we know, the unique word “Prabhupadanugas” was first introduced in an article from VVR #8, April 1989, titled “Duty of the Prabhupadanugas.” (apologies if this is incorrect) An excerpt:

Q: What about medical facilities near New Jaipur in Fiji?

A: The government provides free medical care for residents, but the quality of service is not the best. It is a local tradition to go to the hospital for every flu or indigestion and get Tylenol and an injection, although no one ever asks what is being injected. There are not many private doctors left in Fiji, as most qualified residents have emigrated overseas in the last 25 years. Our closest town Savusavu has a modest expatriate community (foreigners), one of whom has established a charitable, private clinic headed by Dr. Ishaque- and he is very good on all general matters. He is a good friend, chants Hare Krishna, has Bhagavad Gita, and is very helpful. He is associated with a quality lab in Suva for blood analysis, and has several overnight “hospital” rooms. There are also good pharmacies in Savusavu and Labasa. The Suva Private Hospital (on main island) is the best facility in Fiji and can accommodate most types of surgery and treatments, but, of course, for serious or very specialized situations, one should retain an overseas option in case of emergency. In summary, practically all typical medical needs can be met here in Fiji. Medical costs in Fiji are very reasonable, even at the private hospitals and clinics.

Material desires are one of the main hindrances and obstacles on the path of returning to the spiritual world. Material desires are caused from one being envious of Krsna, because that means that we want to enjoy separately from him. It is that which binds one to this material world and cannot get out. Material desires are just like a hard knot and as we develop more and more desires the knot becomes tighter and tighter, binding one to this material world. One must cut this knot with the sword of knowledge. One way to stop material desires or to purify them is to dovetail them into Krsna’s service. Everything belongs to Krsna and should be used in His service only. But, we want to use those things for ourselves- that is why one develops material desires. There are some material desires that cannot be dovetailed and they must be given up. It may be very easy to give up or very hard to give up, but if one sticks to devotional service to Krsna, and prays for those material desires to be given up, then the desires which one was hankering after is gone in an instant.

My Lord, Thy diamond behold, Thy diamond decorate Thou,

Your bluish body is served, By pure and whitish diamond,

The same king of gems, Becomes Krishna’s ring, Oh!

How the beautiful diamond, Even serves you, Ah!,

The rare gem, the diamond, Serves you, Lord Krishna.

You are the Lord of all, Oh! Krishna, You are beauty,

You are God, You are the greatest, You are the master of all,

Strong diamond shiny, Neither by cut nor by break,

O Lord Krishna!  (inspired by Bhaktivinode Thakur’s poems)

3.     THE COWS AND THE BEES          By Sri Govinda das, 8

The cows who are with the Lord all the time are servants- they give milk to the Lord. The bees around the Lord are servants giving honey to the Lord.

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There are so many land. Come here and grow food. Grow fruit. That is… That is the desire of Krsna. Annad bhavanti bhutani. Produce food and eat in sufficiently, be strong, and chant Hare Krsna. That is our philosophy. Why you are producing bolts and nuts, tire and tubes? Eat. Rascal. They do not know that first of all you must eat. No, everyone is engaged in industry. Why? Krsna does not say that “Take to industry.” Krsna says, “Produce foodstuff.” Annad bhavanti bhutani. If you produce foodstuff, then both your animals, yourself, will be happy, becoming strong. Why do they manufacture other things?

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Prabhupada: … When men are uncivilized, they do not how to grow food, they kill animals in the jungle and eat. When they are civilized, they know how to grow food now and the nice food grains, fruit, flowers

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Therefore I am asking so much here and…, “Farm, farm, farm, farm…” That is not my program–Krsna’s program. Annad bhavanti bhutani. Produce greenness everywhere, everywhere. Vrndavana. It is not this motorcar civilization.

Yours in Prabhupada’s service,

New Jaipur, Vanua Levu, Fiji Islands

PS. To be added to our regular mailings of Vedic Village Review bulletins, or for further information about New Jaipur, please contact us at srigovinda@gmail.com.

Hare Krishna! All Glories to Srila Prabhupada!