Bringing Krishna Culture Festivals to a City Near You

Submitted by madhuha on Sun, 12/23/2007 - 04:18

On May 11, 1977 Srila Prabhupada wrote to Ambarisa Prabhu, "Recently I have received some photographs of the Doll Exhibit which they have prepared in Los Angeles. From the photographs it appears that they have done everything very nicely. This idea of doll exhibitions to demonstrate our philosophy has long been proposed, and my Guru Maharaja was very keen to execute this idea. Therefore I am just trying to give some shape to what my Guru Maharaja wanted."

Today, at museums in Los Angeles, Detroit, New Delhi and elsewhere, these diorama exhibits Srila Prabhupada inspired portray the sublime culture and philosophy he captured in his numerous books. Diorama viewers can quickly understand that they are not temporary bodies but eternal souls, parts and parcels of Lord Sri Krishna. The dioramas present the same message presented by Lord Krishna thousands of years before in the Gita :

"As the embodied soul continually passes, in this body, from boyhood to youth to old age, the soul similarly passes into another body at death. The self-realized soul is not bewildered by such a change." Bhagavad-Gita 2-13

Changing Bodies Diorama

Now there is a unique opportunity for you to further fulfill this cherished desire of Srila Prabhupada. But first let me share some of my own experiences with this exhibit.

During my years on the Festival of India I have watched our portable Changing Bodies diorama consistently attract thousands of viewers. Of all our exhibits, it has the most transcendental impact. In fact, it is clearly the most prominent component of the festivals. On seeing the Changing Bodies, people ask about reincarnation and often decide to take home Srila Prabhupada's books.

Since 1979 we have presented the Changing Bodies Diorama at more than 850 festivals. Now, to better accommodate this highlight exhibit, we are building a trailer and installing a full multi-media program around it. The exhibit is being repaired and repainted, and we've spent hundreds of hours designing accompanying audio and video programs and the hardware to run them. The resulting mobile Multi-Media presentation will impress the philosophy of Bhagavad-Gita far more effectively than ever before.

Krishna willing, the new presentation will be rolled out on March 19th at the University of Florida, the first festival of our 2008 tour. Inspired by Srila Prabhupada's request, Ambarish Prabhu has offered to match all gifts we receive for this project.

That's right; every dollar you donate toward this exciting preaching project will be instantly doubled. Please help Festival Of India fulfill Srila Prabhupada's desire to bring a "doll museum" to the many cities on Festival Of India's 2008 Tour. You can either mail in your contribution to Festival Of India; P.O. Box 100; Sandy Ridge, NC 27046; or use our secure online contribution terminal on our Get Involved page to make your tax-deductible gift today. Hare Krishna!

Your gift(s) to Festival of India are always greatly appreciated. Thanking you in advance for your participation. Hare Krishna!