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By Manohara Syama das

... Many people were drunk, pouring beer and champagne everywhere. At that moment we felt that we had made a mistake in going there, as the people were becoming agitated. But His Grace Mahajan das, who was expertly leading the harinama, shouted: “Tapasyaaaaaa!!!!!”, and in our hearts grew the feeling that we were making a real sacrifice to please Guru and Gauranga in delivering the fallen souls of Kali Yuga.

Then something incredible happened: the people who had been joining us started to pacify the agitated masses and made a road for us to pass. As we left “Puerta del Sol”, the sidewalk was clear again and the harinama continued much more powerful than before. ...

by Kaunteya Das

It is with great pleasure that I again meet my friend Jambavan, at his first visit to Mayapur. I was with him in Spain a month ago, when he invited me and my wife to give a communication and relation-building seminar in Nueva Vrajamandala, the farm—a couple of hours from Madrid—that is home to Sri Sri Radha Govinda Candra, Gaura Nitai and Laksmi Nrisimhadeva.

Jambavan, a disciple of HH Hanumat Presaka Maharaja, is serving as the Temple Manager there. With remarkable courage and effort he and his family (including three children: one nine-year old, one three, and one only four months of age) embarked on their first trip to India. I take the opportunity to ask a few questions. Sitting in an office of the Long Building he exudes an air of serenity, tolerance and unshakable patience.

27 February 2006, email from Jambavan das (Spain) to Kaunteya prabhu:

Haribol prabhuji, please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Srila Prabhupada!

I want to ask your blessings. I'm about to do something new that I want to try, but only with your and HH Jayapataka Maharaja's blessings.

As I told you, I read some books by Joel Comiskey. One of them brought me the idea I was looking for: "Groups of 12". Basically it's about the system used by the church "Mission Carismatica Internacional" in Colombia, led by Cesar Castellanos, which you probably know about. In this book the whole system is explained: the same cell church system, like other cell churches or our Bhakti-vriksha, with one difference: the G-12.

Basically the difference is that they don't wait to multiply until a group reaches 15 members. From the very beginning of the group, any member can become a new leader. After the new leader attends a short training course he starts a new cell group, taking two or three members of the original group with him.

The second important part is that every leader starts a G-12 group; that means when the new leader starts his own group he will continue to take part in the meetings of the group in which he joined.