ISKCON Prison Ministry's blog

Hare Krsna, dear devotees!

Hare Krsna, dear devotees!

Dear devotees, nectar keep pouring in and I want to share with you some more nectar.
Today I was reading another letter of an inmate reaching out to Krsna and His devotees for guidance and inspiration. I wanted to share this with you all. I am always awed and touched how Krsna arranges for sincere souls to be connected with Him. Sometimes an inmate finds a book, or is guided to the prison ministry by another inmate. Sometimes they find our address in a resource list provided by the institution. Somehow they come to Krsna's feet.Here is the letter:

"Where is your tilak?“ Candramauli Swami asked us as we gathered in front of Karlovac vege restaurant club, managed by local devotees, preparing to go for a preaching progam in a nearby prison. Quickly running to refresh my already invisible vaisnava marking, I overheard Maharaja quoting Prabhupada on the importance of wearing tilak and vaisnava clothes and remembered Sridhar Maharaja's instruction, "If you are unable to preach by explaining philosophy, just dress as a Vaisnava and go out. You will be a walking advertisment for Krsna consciousness.“

“My life was crazy, something out of a Hunter S. Thompson book. Chaos is a word barely suitable but the closest of one word descriptions. In every aspect of my life action brimmed to its fullest. Work, friendships, girlfriends, even leisure was a fireball of activity in a constant state of flux. I told myself I worked better under pressure, with as many pokers in the fire as I could grasp…and then a few. Add to this hectic lifestyle a strong pursuit of carnal pleasures and mind-altering substances and my life was a ticking time bomb; WAY out of control, but not a minute out of character.

Thankfulness

By Bhakti-lata Dasi

Sometimes, devotees ask me if the inmates are grateful for the support IPM provides to them. You can find this answer loud and clear, in the quotes below:

“ Hare Krsna. Please accept my humblest obeisances. All glories to Srila Prabhupada.

by Bhakti-lata dasi

Almost every week I receive letters from inmates who just came in contact with Krsna through Prabhupada’s books. Some of these letters are brief, others more extensive, but all reflect a genuine desire to know the truth; all are from inmates who are reaching out, excited, curious, hopeful. Eric’s letter (below) is a good example:

“To whom it may concern,

1-18-11
Dear Bhakti-lata, Hare Krsna!
Please accept my humble obeisances.
All glories to Srila Prabhupada!

Article writtten by : Madhava Smullen

Bhakti-lata Dasi is typing away busily at her laptop, absorbed in composing one of the 15 to 40 letters she writes to inmates at prisons across the US every month. But she looks up, smiling, happy to talk to ISKCON News about the service she’s been dedicating the bulk of her time to in the past two years.

Her office is a cosy room at the back of her Alachua, Florida home, dedicated solely to ISKCON Prison Ministry, an organization established in the USA in 1988 to bring Krishna consciousness to those who need it most.

What is so EXCITING about volunteering for IPM is that miracles become an everyday fare! No one can come in contact with Krsna consciousness without seeing his/her life changed for the better. I was just listening to a Prabhupada lecture today and he was reiterating that if one spend one hour rendering devotional service, his life is a success, but that even if one spends millions of lifetimes in material life, there is no gain. I immediately thought of the inmates and how