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THE ANGKOR BULLETIN
NATION RELIGION KING – KINGDOM OF CAMBODIA
Siem Reap September, 2009 OM SURABHYAI NAMAH! OM SRI-GURAVE NAMAH ! WELCOME
Welcome to the first edition of THE ANGKOR BULLETIN. This will serve as a supplement to our website www.bhakticambodia.com. Devotees serving in the Kingdom of Cambodia would like to provide various information to our viewers to solicit their interest and participation, however that may be. We plan to make available literatures in the local Khmer language both those of the Bhaktivedanta Book Trust (BBT) and those of the Varnasrama Book Trust (VBT). We are looking for interested persons from the Kingdom of Cambodia who can help in various activities, including translation and printing of literatures into Khmer. Hare Krishna.
HIGHLIGHTS
NEWS IN DETAILS
RAMA LAXMAN PRABHU RETURNS TO INDIA Rama Laxman prabhu served in various ways during his two month stay with us here in Siem Reap. He is seen here making chapatis just one or two days before returning to India. Along with prabhu Kisora, he was able to contact some of the local universities arranging to hold programs with the students. All the devotees were very pleased with Rama Laxman prabhu’s service and presence. We hope he will again join us in the not too distant future. DHIRA SANTA MAKING KRISHNA’S GARDEN LOOK MORE AND MORE GREEN Some people have a “green thumb” it is said. Well, it seems like our Dhira Santa prabhu is one of those rare species. He is the main devotee overseeing Krishna’s garden. He daily attends to the garden unless it is heavily raining. Bindi has come out beyond our expectations and continues to grow after 5 months without any end in sight. Now sweet corn is coming up nicely. Last year I was told, some of these stems gave three and even four pieces of corn. We also prepare regular green salads from the long beans and spinach growing in the garden. We also get regular coconuts (dobs) as well as bananas. Some of our papaya trees will soon be giving us their fruits. We make little use of our hand pump since Krishna is very generously supplying unlimited quantities of rain since the last few months to His garden. COOKING WITH GUNA AVATARA It definitely does make a difference when one cooks with wood. Our bill for cooking is practically nil since most people now use gas and therefore have little use for their wood, which we get for free. We cook twice daily, the first cooking begins at 5:15 a.m., offered at 6:15 and honoured at 6:30 am, like the locals. The second cooking begins at 10:30 a.m., is offered at 12 noon and prasadam taken at 1:00 pm. In Cambodia the monks don’t take food after 12 noon. We are more or less following that system since our devotees take only these two meals. And we don’t use any chillies... everyone is happy about it.
GUESTS AT THE ASRAMA By Krishna’s mercy we are getting the occasional guests attending our program or coming for English conversational classes. Here we see the photos depicted in the art gallery at the Royal Palace in Phnom Penh. The subject matter is the Ramayana. At the turn of the 20th century the king of Cambodia ordered for the construction of the Royal Palace with a special pavilion dedicated to art and culture to help preserve the Khmer traditions. A local artist was engaged in painting the entire Ramayana along with various students and assistants. Over 200 portraits are on display and can be seen at the Royal Palace of Gold in Phnom Penh. The names of most characters in the Ramayana are pronounced differently in the Khmer language (such as Rehm Lekh for Rama Laxman) but all are present. INTRODUCING JIVAMRTA TO CAMBODIA Guna Avatara prabhu is very enthusiastic to introduce natural farming here in Cambodia. Here he is teaching one of the local Cambodians about the proper mixture for making jivamrta. The three ingredients needed are cow dung, cow urine and jaggery. Ideally it should be left for a few days to increase its potency and then it can be spread in the garden. Another way is to make balls and place where seeds will be placed. Our newfound friend who live walking distance from our asrama is very eager to learn. His father looks after one hectare of land and they have 15 cows, ox and calf, an abundant supply for making continuous jivamrta. Our long term objective is to actually teach the local farmers how to get milk from the cows. It is an amazing fact that no one in Cambodia knows how to milk cows.... it has become a lost science... signs of Kali Yuga’s future developments where entire countries will forget some of the basics in sustenance and nutrition. NITYA TRIPTA OUR LATEST ADDITION TO THE SERVANTS IN SIEM REAP He has just arrived recently but is already blissed out with many engagements. Here Nitya Tripta prabhu is seen swimming in the corn field happy to see the new corn coming up so nicely. He has also been assisting Guna Avatara prabhu in visiting the new goshala we found. Spontaneously he has interviewed our new found friend and is thus making quick friends with the locals. Various plans are being discussed how to increase and vary our activities and projects so as to involve more and more local people. All one needs is a bit of enthusiasm... it is contagious and the best of medicines.
KRISHNA MATIR ASTU BHAKTI RAGHAVA SWAMI |
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