Bhakti Vriksha

What is Bhakti Vriksha?
Bhakthi Vriksha (literally means the tree of devotion) is the name given to a system wherein a group of devotees meet on a fixed day and time of every week, in one of the member’s home. The purpose behind the meeting is to read about and understand Krishna Consciousness in a systematic, consistent and regular manner and to get association and develop good relationship with the other members of the group. In Bhakti Vriksha groups devotees learn how to nourish their spiritual creeper and to cultivate their service attitude in cooperation with others.

Bhakti Vriksha Sessions consist of Kirtan, Mahamantra Japa (chanting), Spiritual discussions and Question/Answers, preaching and conclude with Prasadam (food that has been offered to the Lord). The entire session is about two hours long. The number of members that can be part of one particular Bhakti Vriksha group is not fixed and can vary between 3 to 20 people. Each group has a Group Instructor (known as servant-leader) and trainee servant leader which is being trained and groomed to become the future group leader after the group multiplies into two.

The group instructor usually asks participants to do readings from the pre-printed course book based on Prabhupada books. Mahamantra Japa session soothes the mind and creates a mood of love and learning, preparing one for the subsequent sessions. Spiritual discussion is usually from same course content which is read by participants during the class.

Questions from the course content are answered by participants and elaborated upon by the group instructor. This session is more of a dialogue on spirituality and Krishna consciousness and allows participants to clear their doubts & share their experiences, thus creating an environment of learning & sharing. 

What is the Goal of Bhakti Vriksha Program?
Lord Chaitanya says:
… I order every man within this universe to accept this Krishna consciousness movement and distribute it everywhere. Chaitanya –Charitamrita, Adi-Lila 9.36
The Bhakti Vriksha program is meant to enable everyone to practice, to grow and to preach the process of Bhakti-yoga. By practicing, devotees will grow in Krishna consciousness, will learn how to help others in Krishna consciousness and also be able to preach to new people. Bhakti-Vriksha program provides association and spiritual community support and when new devotee becomes strong he should preach. One cannot carry out Lord Chaitanya’s orders without preaching.
Why is it called "Bhakti-Vrksa?"
In the Chaitanya-Charitamrita, Lord Chaitanya and His movement are compared to the tree of devotion, the Bhakti-Vriksha:

    The Lord brought the desire tree of devotional service to this earth and became its gardener. He sowed the seed and sprinkled upon it the water of His will. By His inconceivable powers, Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu Himself became the gardener, the trunk and the branches of the tree of devotional service simultaneously. From the trunk grew many branches and above them innumerable others. Thus the branches of the Chaitanya tree formed a cluster or society, with great branches covering all the universe – Chaitanya-Charitamrita Adi, 9.18.

Lord Chaitanya would go from village to village, and everywhere He went, each person he preached, would branch out and make five more families Krishna conscious. Each of those families would make five more. The Bhakti-Vriksha programme uses a similar dynamic, with small groups that multiply by each member bringing new people to Krishna Consciousness. Just as in a tree, a branch of a certain thickness divides in two, so the Bhakti-Vriksha group divides into two smaller groups at a certain point.
 Srila Prabhupada writes in his summary of Adi-lila, Chapter Nine:
"It is figuratively described that both the tree itself and the trunk of the tree are Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu… The tree surrounds the entire world, and the flowers of the tree are to be distributed to everyone. In this way the tree of Lord Chaitanya Mahaprabhu intoxicates the entire world."

Srila Prabhupada also says:
"Our International Society for Krishna Consciousness is one of the branches of the Chaitanya tree. -Chaitanya-Charitamrita, Adi-lila 9.18
Every small group in ISKCON’s congregation is therefore a branch of the branch, stemming from the Bhakti-Vriksha, the tree of bhakti of Lord Chaitanya. The Bhakti-Vriksha group is a type of Nama hatta group especially geared toward branching out. Just like a tree, a branch of a certain thickness branches off into two. This branching process keeps going until the tree has thousands and thousands of twigs all connected to the main root. Lord Chaitanya is the original root, and even one single branch from the tree can grow and form thousands of sub branches, small twigs, leaves and so on.

For those aspiring to make steady spiritual progress through proper understanding of scriptures and to have the company of like minded people, this Bhakthi Vriksha program is very ideal. There are no pre-qualifications to be a part of such a group. Everybody is most welcome to join.
Please contact any of the following people in your neighborhood to join a Bhakti Vriksha group

Location	Contact Person	Phone No.	Day	Timing
Malviya Nagar	Sunita Sharma M.D.Bang	9352604664	Monday	7:00 pm
Army Base	Mr.and Mrs. Acharya	9829180597	Tuesday	6:30 pm
Mansarover	Damodar Krishna Das	9351612604	Wednesday	6:30 pm
Triveni Nagar	Hemraj Chaturvedi	9414486690	Thursday	7:00 pm
Bapu Nagar	Satbhuj Das Arti Prema Devi dasi	0141-2707404	Friday	6:30 pm
Shyam Nagar	Sri Bhagavan Das	0141-2391294	Saturday	6:30 pm
Chomu	Ruchi Krishna Das Nrsimha Charan Das	9829268038	Saturday	7:30 pms