Annual Report
Hanumatpresaka Swami
September 24, 2017
We traveled representing NIOS, ISKCON, Anjana Suta Academy, from September to December to Chicago, Richmond, Raleigh, Washington D. C. and Mexico. We also participated in the Gala Event in Houston.
End December to beginning March we had a very hard trip from Mexico City to Houston that was then supposed to go to Delhi, but got rebooked in route four times. Twenty-four hour trip became like 54-hours and we were have severe chest-pains by the end of the trip, but we visited the Indian Council on Philosophical Research, Prof. Kalyan Kumar Cakravary, former Director, of the Lalita-kala Academy, Indians, fine arts academy, presented a paper at a symposium on the Srimad Bhagavatam organized by the University of Madras and Oxford Center for Hindu Studies. Then in Kolkata we did programs with Presidency University and one other. We travelled through the remote North East to Assam, Tripura, Manipur and then Pune, Navi-mumbai and Mayapura. Meeting Directors of biggest NGOs et al.
With ISKCON Kolkata, Delhi et al we did extensive lecturing with hundreds of Society Member and Guests and Brahmcari Ashrams. With Dr. Samaresh Bandhyopadyay we worked on our ISKCON publications: Man Making book, Promtional Brochure, Stapathyam. We finished in Delhi with a visit to Dr. Lokeschandra and the ICCR (Indian Council on Cultural Relations). He proposed to send five scholars from India to participate in Art and the Sacred in Peru in June 2018.
Back in USA we worked with NIOS Nashville. The Peruvian National Library changed their Director three times and the Indian Ambassador for Peru, Dr. Sandip Cakravorty, was re-stationed to Washington D. C. so we could not get a firm sponsor for Art and the Sacred and lost the opportunity.
However, Abhirama thakura Das, Alejandro Salazaar, and other staunch NIOS supporters in Peru pushed ahead The Second Symposium on Psychology and the Sacred in June.
It only had one evening in the National Museum this time for the public and then with the Jesuit University and San Marcos University we organized two more days of extremely potent and informative symposia at universities.
We published the second edition of ‘Solari’ our magazine but will not post it in English.
We have a clip of the events in Peru at www.youtube.com with a keyword search for “psychology and the sacred 2017”.
Besides these massive events in Peru we then continued to Chile where we presented Arjuna and Hamlet at the National Library’s marble hall with the National Poet Laureate, Raul Zurita, and Jung and the Bhagavata at the best Community Cultural Center in Santiago. All these programs and many more were packed with excellent and influential audience members.
We also did programs in Bolivia and worked in a very concentrated effort with local ISKCON educators such as Mathuresa Das on developing education in ISKCON as a NIOS project.
We were one of the principal organizers for the Third Annual Symposim on Education with ISKCON in Seattle. It was attended by 25+ of the best educators and educational institutions in ISKCON and we are working on the editorial board of ‘Viplavah’ the newly formed ISKCON Ministry of Education Journal. The first issue has come out and many educators are asking for more.
We took advantage of NIOS facilities in Murfreesboro to revive our energy. We had traveled through 26-airports from 1 June through 1 August.
We have worked and have a Webmaster: Joshua and Grants-lady: Ambika in Houston and Corresponding Secretary: Dr. Ayus Goyal in Texas.
We are now working on this project: Art and the Sacred, with requirements that Abhirama get a signed proposal for Sept-Oct in the Ricardo Palma Cultural Center in Miraflores, Lima, Peru. They have 4-exhibition halls and guarantee 40,000 people will see displays each week. In their theater we hope to premier our move, “Art and the Sacred: A pilgrim’s progress”. Participation in this symposium and movie are from top Hispanic and International Directors, Artists and Art Historians.
Of course, many people came forward with generous donations which are reported in the Annual Financial Report.
Now we are headed for India and Australia to do interviews for Art and the Sacred, work with Dr. Samaresh and help develop Education with ISKCON.
Of course, at 70-years old this is all happening by Krsna’s will and quite seriously we can die of heart failure and any moment and plan to die of old age November 2024, God willing.
Next year, 2018, is the last year we will serve as General Secretary of the Advisory Board of NIOS.
There are other projects so please ask us questions as you wish.
