By Amala Prema devi dasi
The Bhakti Tree has been serving prasadam and taking every opportunity to promote kirtan and prasadam through catering at Newcastle University, at public events and through its Friday kirtan evenings at the restaurant. This time, The Bhakti Tree hosted His Holiness Vedavyasapriya Swami on June 24th at its weekly Friday Fest evening. This was His Holiness Vedavyasapriya Swami’s second visit after a year. Maharaj led kirtan and gave a talk on the divinity of Supreme, the self and the Maha-mantra. Maharaj encouraged the congregational chanting of Hare Krishna to create a fast and powerful impact on our spiritual understanding. He also inspired everyone to personally practice chanting of the Hare Krishna maha-mantra. He made relevant points on the power and divinity of the maha-mantra, which is not subject to interpretation, but which can be experienced by personally taking the step to try and practice it. He gave the audience tips on how to practice mantra meditation and to practically balance daily routines and spiritual life by focusing on time management and developing the quality of being selfish for our own sadhana, especially japa.