Bhakti Vriksha

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Kirtan

Kirtan, like in any ISKCON program, involves a lead singer and the group singing responsively. We could sing the invocation prayers to Srila Prabhupada, Panchatattva mantra and Hare Krishna maha-mantra.

The sheets having Srila Prabhupada’s pranam mantra, Panchatattva mantra and Hare Krishna mahamantra have to be circulated in the language which the members are comfortable in reading. The tune should be simple for everyone to follow. During kirtan, the members could be encouraged to offer agarbatti to the photos/deities in the altar.

Japa

Before the Japa Session, the Bhakti Vriksha sevak could read the excerpts from the Namamrta book in the lesson. This would help the devotees appreciate the importance of chanting the Lord’s holy name.

Ice Breaker

Ice breakers could be questions, games or anything which reveals interesting details about people’s history, thought process, life and values, and can sometimes provide insights into their personality. This would help the Bhakti Vriksha sevak to assess how much a member can absorb and therefore mentally plan the interactive session accordingly. Every ice breaker should have a conclusion and interface with the topic for the week’s discussion. For further details, The Book of Ice-breakers published by ISKCON Congregational Development Ministry could be referred.

Interactive Session

The interactive session is based on the passage which is generally from Srila Prabhupada’s books and his teachings. The Bhakti Vriksha sevak has to circulate the lesson sheet, consisting of a passage for the week with lead questions, excerpts from Namamrta book and excerpts from Preaching is the essence book. This has to be in the language in which the member is comfortable in reading. The discussion should be in the language which all the members understand.

The members could be asked to read one paragraph each. After which they could be given 5 minutes to read the whole passage by themselves before starting the interaction. The questions given under Discovery, Understanding and Application are lead questions for better facilitation. They could be broken down into smaller questions based on the passage for better interaction with the members. As a takeaway, the Bhakti Vriksha sevak has to summarise the right Krishna conscious message.

Application part of the interactive session is an important component of Bhakti Vriksha. During this session, members learn to practically implement the topic they discussed in their day to day life. The Bhakti Vriksha sevak should inspire every participant to share their views in response to the Application questions. The Bhakti Vriksha sevak can provide a tailor made solution for each member’s practical application. If required, the tailor made solution could be discussed with the members individually.

It is prudent to follow a prescribed flow of activities in each Bhakti Vriksha session. Given the varied kinds of persons (with different tastes, attitudes and levels of understanding) who attend these sessions, it is important that the topics follow a pre-defined flow. Also, it must be ensured that not too many new subjects are introduced or sought to be discussed in these sessions, otherwise it would make it difficult for the participants to absorb and thus feel left behind.

For every lesson the Bhakti Vriksha leader is provided the material for his preparation for the program. There is also train the trainer program conducted in selected centers so that the leaders are aware of the methodology to facilitate the Bhakti Vriksha.

Importance of Preaching

An extract from the book “Preaching is the essence” has been included in the lesson. The Bhakti Vriksha sevak reads from this so that from the very beginning the members get to appreciate the glories of preaching. By this, the members feel enthused to share their knowledge in Krishna consciousness with others, inspire them and bring them to the programs.

Prasadam

Prasadam could be planned depending on what time the program is held. If it is held in the afternoon or early evening, then simple prasadam like fruit salad or Mayapur khaja or anything simple but not heavy could be offered. In case it is a late evening program, and people need to travel far after the program, a light but sumptuous dinner could be planned. It’s better not to set a high standard of providing an elaborate dinner. People may hesitate to have the program in their house if they think they may need to maintain that standard.