Goswami Academy Graduation Ceremony, Class Two. NIOS has very intimate relations with the Goloka Foundation and Nila-madhava Dham...

Texas Tour—May to June 2018

Goswami Academy Graduation Ceremony, Class Two.
NIOS has very intimate relations with the Goloka Foundation and Nila-madhava Dhama in Houston, Texas. May 1st to June 5th, Hanumatpresaka Swami (Prof. H. H. Robinson) visited Houston and worked very enthusiastically to push forward our NIOS initiatives.

Systematic Study of the Indian Classics

Systematic harvesting of the wealth of Veda, Upanisad, Purana, Itihasa, etc. is one of NIOS’s dearest projects. This is being pushed forward with the ISKCON Ministry of Education which is developing diploma programs titled:
  • Bhakti-sastri
  • Bhakti-vaibava
  • Bhakti-vedanta
  • Bhakti-sarvabhauma

Authorized teaching and evaluation centers for these diplomas now exist in San Jose, California and Houston, Texas. In the modern, mechanized, industrialized society it is, of course, very difficult to establish the importance of these programs, but there are successful efforts.

While in Texas, we were able to arrange a meeting between local academic leader, Radha-krsna Das, and the Nila-madhava Dhama Temple President, Shyama-sundara Das, in which Radha-krsna Das received full endorsement to develop the programs.

With this under our belt, we were then able to arrange a teleconference with Atul-krsna Das, Chairman of the Board of Examiners of the ISKCON Ministry of Education; Srivasa pandita Das, Director of Education for ISKCON Silicon Valley; Radha-krsna Das and Hanumatpresaka Swami. The meeting was very successful and various enormous challenges facing these Sastric Education programs were brought within the practical reach of harmonized work effort.

Directly, Hanumatpresaka Swami gave three seminars for the Bhakti-vaibhava Diploma while in Houston. Subal-sakha Das, a very senior project architect with Dell, is now working to develop blended education programs for the Bhakti-Sastri program based out of Houston.
Nila-madhava Dhama, Houston, Texas, USA.

Primary Education

Classical resources are not just available as add-ons to our present educational institutions, but a real competition to offer the student a holistic education of body, mind and spirit. In this regard, Hanumatpresaka Swami worked in consultation with the rapidly growing Goswami Academy in Nila-madhava Dhama, which currently enrolls about 30 full-time students and is building a complete facility for 150 students within one block of the temple.

This work was fundamental for the Fifth Annual Symposium on Education with ISKCON being organized for June 21–24 in Alachua, Florida. It is so easy for us to become involved in developing the mechanics of education for pragmatic, social and sensuous success, forgetting the primary dictates of Socrates, Confucius, Solomon, Vyasa et al. — “The unexamined life is not worth living.”

Next, we hope to report the results of the Alachua Symposium.

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