Welcome to the SVA Family!

Hare Krishna. Welcome to the October edition of the SVA Newsletter. We’re excited to share with you this month’s top highlights, deepest meditations, and most exciting events.

A Heart Prayer.

You’re always welcome to join our online live classes and kirtans, where we can come together to stay hopeful and uplifted during challenging times.Our hearts and prayers go out to everyone affected by the storm this past week. We hope that you, your friends, and your family are safe and in good health. In a couple of days we will be sending our devotees to bring prasadam lunches to those in disaster areas.

Coming Up

The Most Auspicious Month of the Year:

Kartik

Oct 17 – Nov 15

October 17th begins the unparalleled month of auspiciousness, Kartik, a commemoration to Sri Krishna’s pastimes in Vrindavan.

This month is a uniquely special opportunity for us all to strengthen our bhakti, as Radha and Krishna become especially merciful to those who practice devotional acts during Kartik with love and sincerity. In fact, any devotional activity performed during Kartik yields multiplied spiritual benefits!

If you are inspired to offer service in the form of performing kirtan, giving class, cooking, cleaning, decorating, distributing books and prasadam, handy-work, Deity and Tulsi care, or a skill you are inspired to offer, please contact Vasanti Didi or Narasimha prabhu. To stay informed with regular updates on all the incredible festivities celebrated throughout this month, and the entire year, please follow us through our socials and see the unlimited seva opportunities!

We look forward to chanting, dancing, and feasting with each you as often as you can join us.

Mangala Arati

Begins at 5:30am

For thousands of years, spiritual practitioners have started their morning with Mangala Arati, or auspicious worship, in the pre-dawn period of the day, which is “the most auspicious time for devotees seeking success in spiritual realization.” (Aracana Padati)

You are invited to experience this sacred ancient practice every morning here at SVA. (if not possible in person, then by livestream).

Tulsi Devi Worship

Daily

“Make your life magical by taking a Tulsi Devi plant home and caring for and worshiping her. She has come from the spiritual world to bless you with her association and service.” – Srimati Syamarani Devi Dasi Didi.

mūlam aṅkuraṇam patram skandhaḥ kṣīraḥ sura-drumāḥ gandho rasaḥ phalaṁ nātha sarvaṁ bhadrāya kalpate

“By merely seeing, touching, remembering, or bowing before the Tulasi plant, one achieves all auspiciousness.” (Skanda Purana, Uttarakhand, 25.16)

You are welcome to come to SVA any day to pick up a Tulasi Devi plant for your own home worship. Please see any of the residents to help you choose your Tulasi and give you instruction on how to care for her.

Regular Harinama Sankirtana

2-3 times a week

All glories to the Harinama Sankirtana Party! Exuberant congregational chanting of the holy names cures the heart like nothing else. A few days a week, we chant the holy names in the streets of Miami at Wynwood, Brickell, Legions Park Farmers Market, South Beach, the Design District, and throughout greater South Florida. 

“For spiritual perfection in this Age of Kali (the age of quarrel and hypocrisy), there is no alternative, there is no alternative, there is no alternative to the holy name, the holy name, the holy name of the Lord.”(Chaitanya Charitamrita Ādi 7.76)

Model Devotional Couple

For an entire month, SVA was blessed by the presence of Gaura Krishna Das and Puja Dasi, a beautiful example of a married couple relationship in the modern world. As Srila Prabhupada explained: “Grihastha means living as husband and wife together, but the aim is Krishna consciousness.” (Srila Prabhupada, Sep. 11. 1974, Vrindavan)

Gaura Krishna and Puja embodied this ideal, dedicating everything to Krishna’s service. During their time here, they served the temple and devotees with love and devotion, complementing each other’s unique gifts and offering them in service to Krishna, Guru, and Vaishnavas.

College Outreach

2-3 times per week

Srila Prabhupada stated, “In every college and university all over the world, there are so many different courses available to help the student become more entangled in the material world and to forget his real occupation. None of them offer any instruction on the nature of the spirit soul and his relation with the Supreme Soul. So our program at these colleges is so important, because we are giving all these young people an opportunity to develop real knowledge and make their lives successful.” (Letter to Gunagrahi, Srila Prabhupada 1972)

Serving the students by providing them spiritual knowledge, hope, and happiness is our mission. Check out our continuous events below.

Master your Mind with a Monk

at Florida International University (FIU)

Week 2 on Oct. 3

The “Master Your Mind with a Monk” series continued this past Thursday as Haridas Brahmachari elaborated on the Bhagavad Gita’s teachings on the mind and explored bhakti yoga as a practice for cultivating mental and inner steadiness, peace, and a deeper connection with our true self. Students actively engaged by asking questions, sharing their personal experiences, and joyfully participated in an ecstatic kirtan meditation through dancing and chanting. Later, they enjoyed a delicious vegan prasadam dinner, continuing their conversation about the Bhagavad Gita, sacred spiritual texts, and devotional art.

You’re warmly invited to join us for the final two sessions of the seminar on October 17th and 24th, where the students will deepen their practice by applying the knowledge they’ve gained to their everyday lives.

Srimati Radharani’s Garden Make-Over

Currently in progress

Already beautiful Radharani’s garden is undergoing another amazing transformation—becoming more spacious, versatile, welcoming, and lush than ever before. Under the guidance of SVA resident Tirthapada das, new hand-built garden beds, a generous sitting area with new floors, tables and chairs, a high-performance sound system, beautiful flower decorations, and a Vrindavan-style fountain were installed, thanks to the help of Jay Govinda, Arjun Das, and Tripurari Das. Actually, all the SVA residents worked to improve the beauty of Radharani’s spiritual sanctuary, surrounded by Tulsi Devi and the abundant gifts of nature that Krishna provides.

If you’re interested in lending a helping hand or contributing through donations, feel free to reach out to us via our WhatsApp chat or on social media.

Janardana Das: Spreading Sacred Vedic Arts Across the Globe

Janardana Das, outstanding traveling ambassador of Sacred Vedic Arts, shares the teachings of Bhakti Yoga and the glories of Krishna across the globe. From mountains of Peru, to the islands of the Philippines, to the bays of Canada, and all around the various towns and cities of the United States, he brings kirtan, sacred books, and devotional art to festivals like the Holi Festival of Colors, Burning Man, and Bhakti Fest.

Often performing solo, Janardana also collaborates with renowned fellow kirtan artists like Karnamrita Dasi, Vijay Krsna of the KIRTANIYAS, Vrindavan Candra, and Damodar. Together, they create transformative musical experiences. Whether performing at large festivals or intimate gatherings, Janardana shares the Holy Name and invites people to explore Bhakti Yoga.

Beyond his guitar, harmonium, and mridanga, Janardana offers the transcendental books of Srila A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada and Srila Bhaktivedanta Narayana Goswami Maharaja, as well as the devotional paintings of Srimati Syamarani Didi. Whether on the beach or at a late-night gathering in Los Angeles, he gives these treasures wherever people come together.

Janardana also invites everyone to visit his home at Sacred Vedic Arts in Miami. Through music, art, and scripture, he continues to spread the timeless wisdom of the Vedic tradition, encouraging others to add bhakti yoga to their spiritual journey.

Prasadam Distribution

2-3 times a week

As usual, this month we had the opportunity to distribute several hundred vegan and vegetarian prasadam (mercy) meals to the underserved in our surrounding community. And the underserved get kirtan too. We try to follow Srila Prabhupada’s guidance: 

“We have to see that nobody goes hungry within a 10-mile radius. The temple is the house of God. God is everyone’s father, Krishna is everyone’s father. So in the presence of the father, the son doesn’t go hungry. So we have to make an arrangement that people get fed.” (From Prabhupada’s Conversations: New Vrindaban 1974) 

Interested in getting involved? You are invited to join our WhatsApp community to get updates:

A Super Excellent Weekend with

Manjari Dasi at SVA

Friday Oct. 11 & Saturday Oct. 12

Manjari Das is famous for her healing voice as she chants the timeless transcendental sounds vibrations of the divine and shares them with all who listen.

She was with us at SVA all weekend, sharing her life of devotion through the song of her voice and heart. Friday was an incredible night of heart-opening candle-lit kirtan and spiritual discussion, followed by an authentic fall-inspired Italian prasadam meal cooked by Apollo, a local professional chef, and our very own Hemangini dasi.

On Saturday, Sacred Vedic Arts and Dharma Healing House collaborated on a special kirtan & storytelling event led by Manjari Dasi. She guided those gathered through kirtan with interwoven storytelling to help deepen the experience. Thus the space was full of a rich, shared understanding of connection and devotion.

Book of the Month

“The Butter Thief”

Interested in having your own physical copy? Visit our transcendental book and art boutique at our center in the Design District.

We especially extend our thanks to all of you for supporting and encouraging us, and also participating in our services. You are a great boon to us. 

We look forward to bringing you news of exciting developments and initiatives in the upcoming weeks. We hope and pray to keep serving you all lovingly. We want to hear from you and stay in touch with you.

If you would like to donate to Sacred Vedic Arts, your contribution makes a meaningful difference and we deeply appreciate your generosity. Sacred Vedic Arts is a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt organization. All donations to SVA are charitable contributions that can be deducted from federal income tax.