About Saranagati Village:
Saranagati Village is 1600 acres, located about 4 hours from Vancouver in Venables Valley. Today we have about 25 families who make Saranagati their home. We have a small simple Temple “Sri Sri Gaura Nitai Mandir” where we have regular programs including Sunday Feast and Major Vaisnava Festivals. We also have Govardhana Goshala for our cows. Govardhana Academy, our local school for Vaisnava students is a K-12 Distance Learning School. As well as the students regular academics, they also have a regular spiritual morning program. We currently have 10 students ranging from Grade 2 -12
Bhakti Yoga:
The residents of Saranagati relate to God through loving devotional service. They practice bhakti yoga – the yoga of love and devotion. They utilize their abilities, intelligence, talents in service to the Supreme Lord, and in this way they are able to serve each other and the needs of a spiritual community.
The spiritual vision held by the residents is the goal of understanding our relationship with the Supreme Personality of Godhead. When we understand this, we align all our activities to achieving this goal. The residents understand that their primary identity is as servant of the Supreme Lord. This encompasses service to all other individuals, both within and outside of the community.
Living With Krishna:
Krishna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, is the centre of all the farm activities. Every resident understands himself/herself to be a servant of Krishna and offers his/her service at every moment in this spirit. There are no “chores” on the farm, just simply loving service to each other and Krishna.
Spiritual Practices, Bhakti Yoga:
PrabhupadaThe residents of Saranagati relate to God through loving devotional service. They practice bhakti yoga – the yoga of love and devotion. They utilize their abilities, intelligence, talents in service to the Supreme Lord, and in this way they are able to serve each other and the needs of a spiritual community.
The spiritual vision held by the residents is the goal of understanding our relationship with the Supreme Personality of Godhead. When we understand this, we align all our activities to achieving this goal. The residents understand that their primary identity is as servant of the Supreme Lord. This encompasses service to all other individuals, both within and outside of the community.
Living With Krishna:
Krishna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, is the centre of all the farm activities. Every resident understands himself/herself to be a servant of Krishna and offers his/her service at every moment in this spirit. There are no “chores” on the farm, just simply loving service to each other and Krishna. Endeavours are an offering to Krishna, the Supreme Lord, for His pleasure
Who is Srila Prabhupada?
His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada (1896-1977) is widely regarded as the foremost Vedic scholar, translator, and teacher of the modern era. He is especially respected as the world’s most prominent contemporary authority on bhakti-yoga, devotional service to the Supreme Person, Krishna, as taught by the ancient Vedic writings of India. He is also the founder-acharya of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness.
Srila Prabhupada:
Srila Prabhupada, as he’s known to his followers, translated and commented on over eighty volumes of the Vedas’ most important sacred bhakti texts, including the Bhagavad-gita—a concise handbook for understanding the purpose and goal of human life—and the multi-volume Srimad-Bhagavatam—an epic biography of Krishna, Krishna’s avatars, and His many devotees throughout the history of the universe.
Srila Prabhupada’s spiritual master, Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakur, was the leading proponent of Krishna consciousness in India during the early part of the twentieth century. He specifically taught the philosophy of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, the divine avatar who revived Krishna-bhakti all over India in the 1500s. When Srila Bhaktisiddhanta first met the young man later known as Srila Prabhupada – in Calcutta in 1922 – he urged him to preach Chaitanya Mahaprabhu’s message of Krishna consciousness throughout the English-speaking world.
After forty years of struggling within India to carry out his guru’s order, while maintaining family and business responsibilities, Srila Prabhupada boarded a steamship bound from Calcutta to New York City in 1965. The journey proved to be treacherous and he suffered two heart attacks aboard. At age sixty-nine, with forty rupees and a trunk of his Bhagavatam commentaries – the first ever in English – his aim was to introduce “India’s message of peace and goodwill” to the western world. During the last twelve years of his life, Srila Prabhupada would inspire thousands of Westerners and Indians to devote their lives to Krishna consciousness, launching one of the fastest-growing spiritual movements in the history of the world.
He considered his translations and commentaries as divinely inspired, practical guidebooks for the spiritual and material benefit of human society. Many scholars and professors who met Srila Prabhupada and became familiar with his work continue to use his books as standard university texts, and regard him as a genuine, realized, and scholarly teacher of bhakti.
With the help of his students, he founded the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON). ISKCON is popularly known as the “Hare Krishna” movement, due to its members’ widespread practice of chanting the Hare Krishna mantra in public. Srila Prabhupada intended ISKCON to facilitate the association and education of bhakti-yoga practitioners, and his followers continue to spread that mission.
“Human prosperity flourishes by natural gifts and not by gigantic industrial enterprises. The gigantic industrial enterprises are products of a godless civilization, and they cause the destruction of the noble aims of human life. The more we go on increasing such troublesome industries to squeeze out the vital energy of the human being, the more there will be unrest and dissatisfaction of the people in general.”
Srimad Bhagavatam 1.8.40
Purport by His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
Govardhan Goshala:
Krishna could have appeared anywhere. He chose to live among the cowherders.
In all of western Canada there was no goshala where the cow is protected, loved and worshiped. There are however hundreds of establishments for abusing and mistreating the cow. We changed that.
The Saranagati Goshala project has a barn near the school. This barn is a clean and comfortable and demonstrates a high level of love and respect for cows. Besides feeding and caring for the cow, regular Go Puja will be conducted. Supporters and friends will be welcome to make personal offerings to the cow.
We currently have three female zebu cows, two zebu bulls, and one female gir cow.
Special Events
jayaCanada Harinam and Picnic Saturday
July 1st in Kamloops more details to follow
Saranagati Rathayatra Festival and Parade
Saturday August 5th more details to follow
Regular Weekly Events
Sunday:
Sunday Feast at Temple 5:30 pm
Monday:
Saranagati Sewing, Beading and Crafting 4:00 pm to 5:30 at Govardhana Academy
Thursday:
Farmers Market 3:30pm at School during Spring, Summer and Fall
Friday:
“Bhajans” at Rasaraja’s 7:00pm most Fridays
Accommodations:
At the present moment we only have accommodations in the form of guest rooms in the homes of residents which may or may not include private bathroom. Prices range from $20-$40 a night and include breakfast, extra meals are available for an additional cost.
In the summer months we have very simple cabins available. No electricity, no running water, no indoor bathrooms communal outhouse and outdoor solar heated shower house. Bedding and Linens are supplied as well as drinking water and a battery operated lamp and or flashlights. Prices range
For more info or to enquiry about the price please contact us
Nearby Hotels in Cache Creek (about 20 minutes from Saranagati)
Sandman Inn, Sunset Motel, and Sage Hills Motel www.booking.com
Please contact us with the form on the right >>
Directions to Saranagati
From Vancouver: Trans-Canada Hwy and BC-1 E/Trans-Canada Hwy (about 4 hours) http://goo.gl/maps/qcHNh
The first Venables Valley Road Look for the small sign and catlle guard, shortly before taking a sharp left. The entrance is across from a gravel factory
From Kelowna: BC-97C and Nicola Ave/BC-8 W about 3 hours) same as above when you turn north at Spences Brides (http://goo.gl/maps/wyBYD
From Kamloops: BC-97 N and Trans-Canada Hwy (about 1 & 1/2 hours) http://goo.gl/maps/5wCXH
Coming from the North, there are 2 Venables Valley Roads off the highway:
1) First road entrance to Venables Valley/Saranagati on your right about 20 km past Cache Creek
2) Partially paved Venables Valley Road entrance to Saranagati on your right, a few kilometers past the first road
Please Note: While the mailing address of Saranagati Village shows as located in Ashcroft BC, the street address on Venables Valley Road shows as located in Spences Bridge, BC on Google Maps
Ashcroft ISKCON Temple Address:
Saranagati Village
PO Box 99
Ashcroft, BC
V0K1A0 Canada
Courtesy: www.saranagati.ca
