Founder Acharya His Divine Grace
A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada

E-Card Offering for 50th Aims to Break World Record
By Madhava Smullen   |  Jul 13, 2016
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Among their many plans for ISKCON’s 50th anniversary, ISKCON Mumbai’s four temples – Juhu, Mira Road, Khargar and Chowpatty – have launched a website that allows devotees to submit their written offerings to Srila Prabhupada in the shape of e-cards.

With the project they aim to collect 108,000 e-card offerings from devotees worldwide, which would shatter the previous Guiness World Record of 65,000 e-cards submitted.

The deadline to offer your e-cards at http://offeringstosp.com/ is July 28th, the Vaishnava calendar date for ISKCON’s 1966 Incorporation by Srila Prabhupada in New York.

On that day the Mumbai temples will offer a beautiful printed card to their Srila Prabhupada murtis from his society, citing the number of devotees from each country or city who have written their e-offerings to him. Temples around the world will also be encouraged to print out cards and do the same.

Currently at just 1,700 offerings, the project has a very long way to go to reach its goal in a very short time. However organizer and ISKCON Chowpatty communications director Leela Radha Dasi is hopeful that the word will get out and devotees will see the value of making their offering.

Even if the offerings only reach a few thousand, though, she feels it will still be worth it. “The World Record is not so important,” she says. “The important part is that devotees come together to give their offerings to Srila Prabhupada. And we will offer the card to his murti on July 28th whatever the number is.”

 Of course, there are many devotees and temples all around the world putting on different events and making different efforts for Srila Prabhupada, whether it’s distributing 50 books each in the year, or doing 50 Harinamas, or telling government leaders about Prabhupada’s achievements at a VIP dinner.

So why is the e-card offering important? Leela Radha feels it’s a chance for all those different devotees in their different temples to participate in one group activity for ISKCON 50.

“Srila Prabhupada faced so many struggles and worked so selflessly to bring us closer to Krishna,” she says. “From one small center on 26 2nd Avenue, 650 temples have grown, and from just a few devotees in that center he has given us a worldwide family.”

So, just as a family all comes together to write in a card for the birthday or anniversary of their parents, Leela Radha explains, we can make a similar offering to our spiritual father.

“When my son comes together with all his brothers and sisters and gives me something, it is all the more touching,” she says. “So in the same way we can please our spiritual master by showing our unity and the the bond amongst us. As he expressed many times, seeing all the devotees cooperating together is most pleasing to Srila Prabhupada.”

The e-offerings are also an opportunity for devotees to put in writing their personal feelings of gratitude to Srila Prabhupada. There’s no word limit, and the website software keeps them confidential, hidden even from those working on the project.

“You can write anything – something about what you have done for him for ISKCON 50, prayers to guide you in your spiritual life, or just how thankful you are,” Leela Radha says. “Srila Prabhupada may not be physically present, but he is with us, and I am sure he will accept our offerings. So let’s all come together and present something special to him.”

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To write your offering to Srila Prabhupada and help make a World Record, please visit http://offeringstosp.com/

Tag: e-card , mumbai
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