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An Introduction to the Prabhupada-vani
vision and the Vanipedia project
Gaura Purnima 2013
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Contents
The Prabhupada-vani vision 1
Prabhupada-vani vision statement 2-3
Vani, personal association and service in separation 4
Devotees are Srila Prabhupada’s limbs … 5
A political, social and educational culture is vital … 7
Distributing the teachings of parampara 8
Using media to spread Krishna’s message 9
Modern-media, modern opportunities 10
Vani projects – to complete and to create 11-12
Vanipedia – the Vani-temple 13
What is motivating us to build Vanipedia? 14
Different ways to study 15
Vanipedia mission statement 16
Summary of the Vanipedia project 17
Vanipedia petals overview 19
Vanisource 20-21
Vanibooks and Vanictionary 22
Vanimedia and Vaniversity 23
Vanipedia – the petal 24
Vaniquotes 25
What is Vaniquotes? 26-27
Vaniquotes sample page 28
Umbrella and related categories 29-37
Vaniquotes
Vaniquotes compilations – still growing 38
Vaniquotes ticks all the boxes 39
Vaniquotes on the web 40-41
Evolution of Vanipedia 42-43
Appreciations for Vanipedia 44
Organization 45
Organizational structure of Vanipedia 46
Bhaktivedanta Library Services (BLS) 47
Prabhupada Vani Research Academy (PVRA) 48
How did Vanipedia come about? 49
The history behind Vanipedia 50-51
Wikipedia – an inspiration 53
Wikipedia – goodwill properly engaged and expressed 54
Wikipedia – Hinduism & Religion 55-58
About Vaniseva 59
Collaboration – the key to our success 60
Vaniseva – the sacred act of serving Srila Prabhupada’s Vani 61-63
Vaniseva – taking practical action to serve 64-65
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The Prabhupada-vani vision
1
Prabhupada-vani vision statement
 Srila Prabhupada is our pre-eminent siksa-guru
 We accept that all of Srila Prabhupada’s followers can experience his presence and shelter within his teachings – both individually
and when discussing them with each other.
 We purify ourselves and establish a firm relationship with Srila Prabhupada by learning to live with him as our guiding conscience.
 We encourage devotees feeling separation from Srila Prabhupada, to take the time to seek his presence and solace within his Vani.
 We share Srila Prabhupada’s compassion with all his followers, including those who take initiation in his line as well as those who
follow him in different capacities.
 We educate devotees in the truths of Srila Prabhupada’s position as our pre-eminent siksa-guru, and our sisya relationship with
him in separation.
 We establish a succession of siksa-empowered disciples to uphold Srila Prabhupada’s legacy throughout successive generations.
 Srila Prabhupada is the Founder-Acharya of ISKCON
 We promote his Vani as the primary driving force that keeps the members of ISKCON connected and faithful to him, and thus
inspired, enthused and determined to make his movement everything that he wished it to be – both now and in the future.
 We encourage the sustainable development of Vaishnava-brahminical standards centered on Srila Prabhupada’s teachings and his
preaching strategies – a “vani-culture.”
 We educate devotees in the truths of Srila Prabhupada’s position as the Founder-Acharya of ISKCON and our service to him and his
movement.
2
Suppose you have got now ten thousand. We shall expand to hundred thousand. That is required.
Then hundred thousand to million, and million to ten million. So there will be no scarcity of acharya,
and people will understand Krishna consciousness very easily. So make that organization. Don't be
falsely puffed up. Follow the acharya's instruction and try to make yourself perfect, mature. Then it
will be very easy to fight out maya. Yes. Acharyas, they declare war against maya's activities.
– Srila Prabhupada lecture on Sri Caitanya-caritamrta – 6 April, 1975
Prabhupada-vani vision statement (cont’d)
 Srila Prabhupada is the world-acharya
 We increase the global awareness of the significance of Srila Prabhupada's spiritual stature as the world-acharya by establishing the
contemporary relevance of his teachings in all circles in every country.
 We inspire a culture of appreciation and respect for Srila Prabhupada's teachings, resulting in active participation in the practices
of Krishna consciousness by the world’s population.
 We realise the premise that Srila Prabhupada built a house in which the whole world can live by establishing his Vani as
simultaneously the foundation and roof – the shelter, the ashraya – that protects this house.
3
Vani, personal association and service
in separation
“So far personal association with the Guru is concerned, I was only with my Guru Maharaja four or five times, but I have never left his
association, not even for a moment. Because I am following his instructions, I have never felt any separation.”
– Srila Prabhupada letter to Satyadhanya das – 20 February, 1972
“I shall remain your personal guidance, physically present or not physically, as I am getting personal guidance from my Guru
Maharaja.” – Srila Prabhupada room conversation – 14 July, 1977
“My Guru Maharaja passed in 1936, and I started this movement in 1965, thirty years after. Then? I am getting the mercy of guru. This is
Vani. Even the guru is not physically present, if you follow the Vani, then you are getting help.”
– Srila Prabhupada morning-walk conversation – 21 July, 1975
“In the absence of physical presentation of the Spiritual Master the Vaniseva is more important. My Spiritual Master, Sarasvati
Gosvami Thakura, may appear to be physically not present, but still because I try to serve His instruction I never feel separated from
Him. I expect that all of you should follow these instructions.”
– Srila Prabhupada letter to Karandhara das (GBC) – 22 August, 1970
“Please be happy in separation. I am separated from my Guru Maharaja since 1936 but I am always with him so long I work according
to his direction. So we should all work together for satisfying Lord Krishna and in that way the feelings of separation will transform
into transcendental bliss.”
– Srila Prabhupada letter to Uddhava das (ISKCON Press) – 3 May, 1970
We can learn to happily serve Srila Prabhupada in separation,
by taking inspiration from the way he served his Guru Maharaja.
4
Devotees are Srila Prabhupada’s limbs,
ISKCON is his body, and his Vani is his soul
“You are all my limbs of my body. Unless you cooperate, my life will be useless. The senses and life are correlative.
Without life the senses cannot act and without sense, life is inactive.”
– Srila Prabhupada letter to Brahmananda das (TP) – 17 July, 1968
“I am fervently appealing to you all not to create fracture in the solid body of the Society.
Please work conjointly, without any personal ambition. That will help the cause.”
– Srila Prabhupada letter to Brahmananda and Gargamuni Swamis – 31 July, 1970
“Make the covers of the book very much attractive so that automatically they will read the knowledge inside.
The covers are like the mind and the senses, and the contents of the book are the soul.”
– Srila Prabhupada letter to Amogha das (TP) – 22 May, 1972
“I wish that it will be noted down in history that this Krishna consciousness movement is responsible for saving the world.
Practically, our movement is the only hope for saving the world from complete disaster.”
– Srila Prabhupada letter to Sucandra das (TP) – 17 July, 1968
“You should always remember that whatever we are doing, it is in the parampara system beginning from Lord Krishna, down to us.
Therefore, our loving spirit should be more upon the message than the physical representation. When we love the message and serve
Him, automatically our devotional love for the physique is done.”
– Srila Prabhupada letter to Govinda dasi – 7 April, 1970
When limbs are properly cooperating with the body, the body is strong to act. However, if there is no soul within the body, one’s life will be
useless, and the limbs will not be able to function. Our holistic success strategy is for everyone to love the messages within Srila
Prabhupada’s teachings and boldly place them within his Krishna consciousness movement. In this way Srila Prabhupada’s devotees can
flourish properly in their respective services and make ISKCON a solid body through which to fulfill Srila Prabhupada’s desire to save the
world from complete disaster. The devotees win, the GBC wins, ISKCON wins, the world wins, Prabhupada wins, and Lord Caitanya wins.
There will be no losers.
5
“From the very beginning I was strongly against the impersonalists and all my books are stressed on this point. So my
oral instruction as well as my books are all at your service. Now you GBC consult them and get clear and strong idea,
then there will be no disturbance. Disturbance is caused by ignorance; where there is no ignorance,
there is no disturbance.” – Srila Prabhupada letter to Hayagriva das (GBC) - 14 September, 1970
6
A political, social and educational culture is
vital to establish Srila Prabhupada’s
natural position
 We believe our society needs a political, social and educational culture to facilitate and nurture Srila Prabhupada’s natural position
with his followers and within his movement. It will not happen automatically or by wishful thinking. It can only happen by intelligent,
concerted and collaborative efforts offered by his pure-hearted devotees.
 We identify 5 key obstacles concealing Srila Prabhupada’s position within his movement:
1. ignorance of Srila Prabhupada's teachings – he has given instructions but we are not aware they exist.
2. indifference to Srila Prabhupada's teachings – we know the instructions exist but we do not care about them. We walk past them.
3. misunderstanding of Srila Prabhupada's teachings – we apply them sincerely but due to our over-confidence or lack of maturity
they are misapplied.
4. a lack of faith in Srila Prabhupada's teachings – we do not believe in them. We think they are neither realistic nor practical. They
are only theory. Or they are for his diksa-disciples and not for me, or they were valid for the ’60s and ’70s but not for now.
5. in competition with Srila Prabhupada's teachings – we go in a completely different direction than what Srila Prabhupada has
instructed, and we do it with full force and conviction – and we enthusiastically take others with us.
 We believe these obstacles can easily be overcome with the introduction of integral, structured educational programs aimed at
nurturing our relationship with, and increasing our knowledge of Srila Prabhupada’s teachings. This will only succeed however if fueled
by serious political commitment to create a culture whereby proper education and training are emphasized and valued as essential.
And then Srila Prabhupada’s natural position will become, and remain, apparent to all generations of devotees – through his Vani.
7
Distributing the teachings of parampara
1486 Caitanya Mahaprabhu appears in order to teach the world Krishna consciousness – 527 years ago
1488 Sanatana Goswami appears in order to write books on Krishna consciousness – 525 years ago
1489 Rupa Gosvami appears in order to write books on Krishna consciousness – 524 years ago
1500 Mechanical printing presses begin to revolutionise the distribution of books throughout Europe – 513 years ago
1834 Bhaktivinoda Thakura appears in order to write books on Krishna consciousness – 179 years ago
1874 Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati appears in order to write books on Krishna consciousness – 139 years ago
1896 Srila Prabhupada appears in order to write books on Krishna consciousness – 117 years ago
1914 Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati coins the phrase "brhat-mrdanga" – 99 years ago
1935 Srila Prabhupada receives the instruction to print books – 78 years ago
1944 Srila Prabhupada starts Back to Godhead magazine – 69 years ago
1956 Srila Prabhupada moves to Vrndavana to write books – 57 years ago
1962 Srila Prabhupada publishes his first volume of Srimad-Bhagavatam – 51 years ago
1965 Srila Prabhupada arrives in the West to distribute his books – 48 years ago
1968 Srila Prabhupada publishes his abridged Bhagavad-gita As-It-Is – 45 years ago
1972 Srila Prabhupada publishes his full version of Bhagavad-gita As-It-Is – 41 years ago
1972 Srila Prabhupada establishes the BBT to publish his books – 41 years ago
1974 Srila Prabhupada's disciples start the serious distribution of his books – 39 years ago
1975 Srila Prabhupada completes the Sri Caitanya-caritamrta – 38 years ago
1977 Srila Prabhupada stops speaking and leaves his Vani in our care – 36 years ago
1978 The Bhaktivedanta Archives is established – 35 years ago
1986 The world's digitally stored material amounts to 1 CD-ROM per person – 27 years ago
1991 The World Wide Web (brhat-brhat-brhat mrdanga) is established – 22 years ago
1992 The Bhaktivedanta VedaBase version 1.0 is created – 21 years ago
2002 The Digital Age arrives - worldwide digital storage overtakes analogue – 11 years ago
2007 The world's digitally stored material amounts to 61 CD-ROMS per person – 6 years ago, that makes 427 billion CD-ROMs. (all full)
2007 Srila Prabhupada's Vani-temple, the Vanipedia begins construction in the web – 6 years ago
2010 Srila Prabhupada's Vapu-temple, the Temple of the Vedic Planetarium begins construction in Sridhama Mayapur – 3 years ago
2012 Vanipedia reaches 1,906,753 quotes, 108,971 pages and 13,946 categories – 1 year ago
2013 500,000,000 of Srila Prabhupada's books have been distributed by ISKCON devotees in 48 years – an average of 28,538 books every single day
8
Using media to spread Krishna’s message
“So go on with your organization for distribution of my books through press and other modern-media and Krishna will certainly be
pleased upon you. We can use everything – television, radio, movies, or whatever there may be – to tell about Krishna.”
– Srila Prabhupada letter to Bhagavan das (GBC) - 24 November, 1970
“The mass-media can become such an important instrument in spreading our Krishna consciousness movement and I
am glad to see that you are endeavouring to explore how this can be done.”
– Srila Prabhupada letter to Nayanabhirama das (TP) - 9 January, 1971
“We are modern day Vaishnavas and we must preach vigorously using all the means available.”
– Srila Prabhupada letter to Rupanuga das (GBC) - 10 December, 1971
“His Divine Grace was very pleased to hear your proposal for systematically amassing a subject by subject encyclopedic
compilation of all of Srila Prabhupada's teachings and instructions as found in his books.”
– Letter from Srila Prabhupada’s secretary to Subhananda dasa - 7 June, 1977
There is still more to be done to make Srila Prabhupada’s teachings accessible and prominent in the
world today. Now with collaboration and the help of web technologies we have an opportunity to
surpass all our previous successes.
9
Modern-media, modern opportunities
 For Srila Prabhupada, in the 1970’s, the terms modern-media and mass-media meant the printing press, radio, TV and movies. The
world has since gone digital, and the modern mass-media is the web and its associated technologies – social networking sites,
streaming videos, VoiP, interactive TVs, e-book readers, wireless touch-screen tablets and android phones.
 The web is akin to a gigantic reference library and Google is the prominent library assistant. As the world increasingly depends on
Google to find information, the question of how to maintain visibility in web search results has become a key concern for all types of
institutions –commercial, educational, governmental, charitable and religious.
 The key to maintaining visibility and higher ranking in web search engines depends on elements known as search engine optimizers
(SEOs). They include (i) key words (ii) titles (often concealed in the source code) (iii) links with other webpages (iv) key words in links
and (v) webpage traffic.
 Using the above elements, we have been, since 2007, compiling, indexing and categorizing Srila Prabhupada’s Vani into a dynamic,
searchable, online encyclopedia.
 Vanipedia’s aim is to increase the visibility and accessibility of Srila Prabhupada’s teachings on the web by offering a free, authentic,
one-stop resource for :
• ISKCON preachers
• ISKCON leaders and managers
• devotees studying devotional courses
• devotees wishing to deepen their knowledge
• devotees involved in inter-faith dialogues
• curriculum developers
• devotees feeling separation from Srila Prabhupada
• executive leaders
• academics
• teachers and students of religious education
• writers
• searchers of spirituality
• people concerned about current social issues
• historians
10
Vani projects – to complete and to create
 Complete the preservation work of Srila Prabhupada's Vani – Bhaktivedanta Archives.
 Complete the full translations of all of Srila Prabhupada's books, lectures, letters and conversations in 8? 16? 25? languages and
complete all the books in 64? 108? other languages – E-books and/or hardcopy – BBT.
 Complete the Vanipedia in 16 languages and partially in 108 other languages – PVRA.
 Gather the oral histories of Srila Prabhupada's memories from his disciples into a central website. In another section of this website
there will be the facilities for Srila Prabhupada's followers post 1977 to document their dedication to, realizations of, and relationship
with Srila Prabhupada. One possible name of this site is “Vanimemories”.
 Build 6-10 Founder-Acharya memorials in different continents which present the life and teachings of Srila Prabhupada – tentative
places include North America, South America , Western Europe, Russia, India (3 places), Africa, South East Asia and Australasia.
 Create 108 educational courses and training initiatives to teach the theological, philosophical and practical application of Srila
Prabhupada's premises found within his teachings.
 Create clay plaques of Srila Prabhupada’s Bhagavad-gita As-It-Is which will survive the elements for 5,000 years plus.
 Create a comprehensive history of ISKCON from 1965 to 1977 (12 years).
 Create a comprehensive history of ISKCON from 1978 to 2027 (50 years).
 Create the Acharyapedia in English – an encyclopedia of the works of the Gaudiya Vaishnava Acharyas.
If we really want to see an oceanic smile on Srila Prabhupada's face, then let him see us working
together, with proper commitment to bring his teachings to their pristine condition. In this way we
can pragmatically fulfill his desire to see us cooperate.
11
Vani projects – to complete and to create by 2027
If we can complete all these projects by 2027, it will be a glorious achievement to celebrate the first
50 years of serving Srila Prabhupada’s Vani in separation
Complete the full translations
of all of Srila Prabhupada's
books, lectures, letters and
conversations
Complete the Vanipedia in 16
languages and partially in 108
other languages
Complete the oral history of
Prabhupada's memories
Build 6-10 Founder-Acharya
memorials in different
continents
Create 108 educational courses
and training initiatives based
on Srila Prabhupada's
teachings
Create a comprehensive
history of ISKCON
from 1965 to 1977
(12 years)
Create a comprehensive
history of ISKCON
from 1978 to 2027
(50 years)
Complete the work of the
Bhaktivedanta Archives’
preservation of
Srila Prabhupada's teachings
Create clay plaques of Srila
Prabhupada’s Bhagavad-gita
which will survive the
elements for 5,000 years plus
Create the Acharyapedia in
English
A call for mission!
shall we unite our
voices?
12
Vanipedia – the Vani-temple
13
What is motivating us to build Vanipedia?
 We accept that
 Srila Prabhupada is a pure devotee, directly empowered by Lord Sri Krishna to engage living entities in loving devotional service to
God. This empowerment is proven in his unparalleled exposé on the Absolute Truth found within his teachings.
 There has been no greater exponent of Vaishnava philosophy in modern times, and no greater social critic who explains this
contemporary world AS IT IS, than Srila Prabhupada.
 Srila Prabhupada wanted his teachings to be profusely distributed and properly understood.
 A thematic approach to Srila Prabhupada's teachings greatly enhances the process of understanding the truths within them, and
that there is immense value in exploring, discovering and thoroughly compiling his teachings from every angle of vision.
 Srila Prabhupada's teachings will be the primary shelter for millions of his followers for many future generations.
 In his physical absence, Srila Prabhupada requires many vaniservants to assist him in this mission.
 Thus, we are committed to create a truly dynamic platform to facilitate the profuse distribution and proper understanding of the perfect
knowledge and realizations found within Srila Prabhupada’s teachings, so they may be joyfully acted upon. It is that simple.
 The only thing separating us from the completion of Vanipedia is time, and the many sacred hours of vaniseva that is yet to be offered
by the devotees who commit themselves to this vision.
I thank you very much, all of you, for appreciating my humble service which I am trying to render as a matter of duty
ordered by my Guru Maharaja. I request all my disciples to work cooperatively and I am sure our mission will advance
without any doubt. – Srila Prabhupada letter to Tamala Krishna das (GBC) - 14 August, 1971
14
Different ways to study
The 60 ways Srila Prabhupada instructs the devotees to study his books:
Frequency
again and again • always • as much as possible • as soon as you get time • at least one hour daily • at least one or
two hours daily • at least three hours a day • constantly • continuously • in small installments • more and more •
once-twice-thrice • one after another • over and over • profusely • reading twenty-four hours • regularly •
repeatedly • repeatedly whole life • throughout the day as much as possible • whenever there is time
Mood
as it is spoken by Krishna • adeptly • attentively • carefully • critically • deeply • devotedly • diligently • expertly
• faithfully • intensely • nicely • penetratingly • persistently • philosophically • profoundly • profusely • seriously
• sincerely • step-by-step, cautiously • submissively • thoughtfully • with adherence • with due care
Method
from all angles of vision • from different lights of directions • from every point of view • from varieties of angles •
inspecting the subject matter from all angles of approach and savouring the new understandings • to understand the
subject matter from different angles of vision • by discussing them • in the association of devotees • with the
cooperation of your God-brothers and -sisters • with the help of other devotees • with the help of your senior God-
brothers and -sisters • minutely • scientifically • scrutinizingly • thoroughly
Better to boil the milk now very vigorously and make it thick and sweet, that is the best process. So let
us concentrate on training our devotees very thoroughly in the knowledge of Krishna consciousness
from our books, from tapes, by discussing always, and in so many ways instruct them in the right
propositions. – Srila Prabhupada letter to Hamsadutta das (GBC) - 22 June, 1972
15
Vanipedia mission statement
 To offer Srila Prabhupada a continuous, worldwide platform to preach, educate and train people in the science of Krishna
consciousness in all languages of the world.
 To explore, discover and comprehensively compile Srila Prabhupada's teachings from multiple angles of vision.
 To present Srila Prabhupada’s Vani in easily accessible and understandable ways.
 To offer a repository of comprehensive thematic research to facilitate the writing of many topical books based on Srila Prabhupada’s
Vani.
 To offer curriculum for various educational initiatives into Srila Prabhupada's Vani.
 To collaborate with other educational institutions and help them improve the quality of their courses that are based on Srila
Prabhupada's Vani.
 To instil in the first, second and subsequent generations an unequivocal understanding of the necessity to both consult Srila
Prabhupada’s Vani for personal guidance, and become sufficiently learned to represent him on all levels.
 To attract Srila Prabhupada's followers from all nations to collaborate globally with the view to achieve all the above.
In the absence of a suitable king to curb irreligious tendencies, educating the people systematically in
the teaching of Srimad-Bhagavatam will clear up the hazy atmosphere of corruption, bribery,
blackmail, etc. – SB 1.17.27, purport
16
Summary of the Vanipedia project
 Vanipedia is the collaborative endeavour of a group of devotees working on the development of a comprehensive, thematic and
interactive encyclopedia of Srila Prabhupada's teachings on the web. Vanipedia is presented as a lotus flower with 7 divisions or petals.
Vanipedia – the petal
 The portal for all of the other 6 petals. Will offer thematic
articles researched from Vaniquotes.
Vanisource
 The archived collections of Srila Prabhupada’s
books, lectures, letters and conversations which
provides the linking and cross-referencing
foundation for Vaniquotes and the other petals of
Vanipedia.
Vanibooks
 Will offer compendiums on specific topics, drawn
from Vaniquotes. Chapters and pages will have links
to Vaniquotes for in-depth studies, and all quotes will
be cross-referenced to Vanisource. Ideal for topical
study, discussions and presentations.
Vanictionary
 Will offer automatic lookup for specific words in
Srila Prabhupada’s books, cross-referenced to
Vanisource, Sanskrit and Bengali synonyms.
Vaniversity
 Will be an educational resource providing
curricula and training materials based on
Vaniquotes, Vanibooks, and Vanisource. Three
levels of courses are envisioned: Vanifun,
Vanischool and Vaniversity.
Vanimedia
 Repository for images, audio and video of Srila
Prabhupada compiled and categorized by subject,
linked to Vaniquotes and all other Vani petals.
Additional projects include a Vaniradio and VaniTV.
Vaniquotes
 A comprehensive compilation of quotes by Srila
Prabhupada categorized by subject, themes,
personalities, scriptures and usage of language.
All quotes are cross-referenced to Vanisource, and
some to Vanibooks, Vanimedia, etc. Ideal for quick
search and reference for essays, lectures and
discussions.
17
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18
Vanipedia petals overview
19
Vanisource
 The Vanisource petal features archived collections of Srila
Prabhupada’s books, lectures, letters and conversations. It
is presented in a similar, navigable format to Vedabase.com
and Vedabase.net, but with the additional benefit of cross-
referenced links to other petals of Vanipedia.
 Vanisource is the foundation upon which all linking and
cross-referencing in Vaniquotes and other petals of
Vanipedia are built.
 Still to be added:
 Back to Godhead magazines
 Some miscellaneous books
 PDF files of original letters
 Legal documents
 Original manuscripts
Random selection of
“Sloka of the day”
Exclusive to the archived collections of
Srila Prabhupada’s teachings
Photo randomly selected
from Vanimedia
Gradually, we shall replace the literatures which are currently popular with our own style of transcendental literature.
I have tried it: any page you open, that is wonderful reading matter. My ambition is to spread these books far and wide
all over the world so that everyone shall read at least one of our books and that will change his life. If only 1% become
devotees, that will change the world. – Srila Prabhupada letter to Karandhara das (GBC) - 2 May, 1972
20
Vanisource (cont’d)
Page views
Photo randomly
selected from
Vanimedia
Links to previous and
next verses
Links allow to
backtrack
to indexed lists
Names of speaker and listener
of each verse indicated at the
bottom of each page
Cross-referenced link
21
Vanibooks and Vanictionary
 Vanibooks
 A Vanibook is a clear and conclusive compendium of a
particular subject. It is researched and compiled from
Vaniquotes, Vanisource and Vanimedia, and covers all
the angles of vision.
 Chapters and pages will have links to Vaniquotes for in-
depth studies, and all quotes will be cross-referenced to
Vanisource.
 The Vanibook has all of the natural elements of a book
(introduction, chapters, index and glossary) and
compilers can write brief commentaries to aid in the
flow of the quotes.
 Ideal for topical study, discussions and presentations.
 Vanictionary
 Will offer automatic lookup for specific words found in
Srila Prabhupada’s books and is cross-referenced to
Vanisource, Sanskrit and Bengali synonyms.
 Vanictionary will offer a Sanskrit and Bengali glossary,
synonyms with reference, the possibility to browse by
verse or translation and see where the verse is quoted
and descriptions of personalities.
22
Vanimedia and Vaniversity
 Vanimedia
 Will be a very appealing and an easy-to-use repository
of media:
• 20,000 photos for seeing Srila Prabhupada.
• 60 hours of video for seeing Srila Prabhupada.
• 1,700 hours of audio for hearing Srila Prabhupada.
• Thousands of Vaniquotes pages synchronizing the
text with their audio clips. The current milestone is to
complete 1,080 of these files by Gaura Purnima
2013.
• Thousands of short audio clips with subtitles in
multiple languages.
• We are still in search of qualified and enthusiastic
devotees who would like to build the most fun and
dynamic way to browse through Srila Prabhupada's
pictures, audio and video.
 Vaniversity
 This is the educational petal of Vanipedia. As
Vaniquotes and Vanibooks develop, Vaniversity will
organize their content in educational format,
functioning both as a curriculum resource as well as
providing customized courses into Srila Prabhupada's
Bhaktivedanta translations and purports. User feedback
via tests and polls will enable constant improvement of
the educational faculties.
 For ages 3-99, we will have Vanifun programs where
learning takes place by having fun!
 Teenagers aged 12-99, will probably want to attend
Vanischool. Educational faculties can set up portals for
independent teaching programs, or individual devotees
can start their own programs for guiding readers into
Vaniquotes or Vanisource, etc.
 Adults aged 18-99 wishing to deepen their knowledge
will benefit from thoroughly developed curriculum and
be provided training in all social fields.
In the western countries many Ph.D.'s are out of employment because they did not get any service. We do not want to
become great philosophers but rather to understand the philosophy in our own books. If we remain strong in our own
literature, we can meet anyone else without any fear. – Srila Prabhupada letter to Damodara Pandita das - 17 July, 1976
23
Vanipedia – the petal
 The Vanipedia petal is now beginning to unfold. Glancing through the first two completed articles – Animal-Killing in Human
Society(1) and Buddha: A Vaisnava Perspective(2) – one can experience the high standard of devotional research within
Vaniquotes, complete with source notes and extensive references for additional reading and study.
 The article entitled Animal-Killing in Human Society(1) has already inspired the Northern European BBT to publish a book on the
subject.
 Just imagine the power of delivery of 500 to 1,000 similarly compiled thematic articles, translated into multiple languages, interlinked
with each other and all accessible under one platform as a dynamic way to introduce people to Srila Prabhupada’s teachings.
 We envision that the Vanipedia petal will become the preferred resource for all devotee preachers, students, teachers and publishers, as
well as other students and teachers of oriental philosophy, social studies, religious studies , Indology, etc.
 The Vanipedia petal will also have introductory articles using samples, lists and graphs to introduce the user to the wealth of content in
Vaniquotes.
Type these URLs in your web-browser to view the corresponding articles in Vanipedia:
(1) http://www.vanipedia.org/wiki/Animal-Killing_in_Human_Society
(2) http://www.vanipedia.org/wiki/Buddha:_A_Vaisnava_Perspective
I am very pleased that you are inclined to read and study our books with such seriousness. Thank you
very much. And your conclusion is very nice. So continue it whole-heartedly. We want good preachers
also. Preaching shouldn't depend on me only. My disciples should become all good preachers, and
that depends on studying the books nicely so that you can arrive at the right conclusion.
– Srila Prabhupada letter to Hrdayananda das (TP) - 5 July, 1971
24
Vaniquotes
25
What is Vaniquotes?
 The Vaniquotes petal offers an unparalleled compilation of quotes, drawn exclusively from Srila Prabhupada’s books, lectures,
conversations, morning walks and correspondence and organized into categories and pages.
 Vaniquotes are grouped together via themes, personalities, scriptures and the usage of language. Each quote is linked to its original
source, thus keeping everything within its proper context.
 Vaniquotes is an ideal tool for quick searching and in-depth referencing for lectures, presentations, discussions, etc.
 We have introduced in the Vanipedia petal two ready-made topical articles based on Vaniquotes research. We will be inviting devotees
with academic drive to participate in building a library of similar articles.
 Some research projects already within Vaniquotes:
I am very much stressing at this point that all of my students shall be very much conversant with the philosophy of
Krishna consciousness, and that they should read our books very diligently at least one or two hours daily and try to
understand the subject matter from varieties of angles. – Srila Prabhupada letter to Madhudvisa das (GBC) - 16 June, 1972
• 10,165 questions asked to Srila Prabhupada
• 4,243 entries in the Sanskrit dictionary
• 2,908 entries in the English dictionary
• 1,679 names of 1st initiates of Srila Prabhupada
• 1,536 questions posed by Srila Prabhupada
• 902 different kinds of devotees
• 851 verses from CC with their scriptural origins
• 679 names of 2nd initiates of Srila Prabhupada
• 649 analogies given by Srila Prabhupada
• 588 verses cited from Bhagavad-gita As-It-Is
• 488 verses cited from Srimad-Bhagavatam (cantos 1 – 3)
• 207 appointed leaders receiving training from Srila Prabhupada
• 187 meanings of the Krishna consciousness movement
• 185 different kinds of disciples
• 81 stories told by Srila Prabhupada
• 78 proverbs quoted by Srila Prabhupada
26
What is Vaniquotes? (cont’d)
prescribed
duties
prescribed
duties
prescribed
duties
prescribed
duties
prescribed
duties
prescribed
duties
prescribed
duties
The quotes on “prescribed
duties” are copied from
Vedabase into Vaniquotes
pages and then linked to
Vanisource
A-Z. Pages regrouped and
indexed under the category
showing “prescribed duties”
in their original context
Categories hold pages and
related-categories
Select to view the vast
compilation achieved to date
Links to other petals
1. Overview pages of all
references to “prescribed
duties”
27
Vaniquotes sample page
Cross-referencing to
other relevant
categories
One of 76 pages
showing the full
context of the quote
“prescribed duties”
Page title - linked to
relevant categories and
can be accessed through
each of them
Link to Vanisource
with automatic
scrolling to relevant
place in the source
28
Umbrella and related categories
A related category is also
a complete category. It is
called a related category
only when it is placed
within another category.
We place categories
within Umbrella
categories and within
normal categories
29
Umbrella and related categories (cont’d)
30
Umbrella and related categories (cont’d)
31
More examples of related-categories
Regarding my books, everyone should read. I am also reading. Everyone should be engaged 24 hours. That is the sum
and substance. How much you should read and how much you should do other types of service, that has to be decided
by each individual devotee. Eating and sleeping should be minimized—not a single moment should be misused.
– Srila Prabhupada letter to Govardhana das (TP) - 15 February, 1975
32
List of umbrella categories
Name of Umbrella category Related categories Name of Umbrella category Related categories
Absolute and Relative 7 Cause and Effect 28
Abuse, Neglect, Appreciate, and Praise 78 Ceremonies and Functions 41
Acharya, Guru, Spiritual Master 89 Change, Fixed, and Eternal 173
Action Words 279 Chemicals, Elements, Metals, and Minerals 99
Activities and Work 170 Colors 18
Agriculture and Husbandry 40 Coming and Going 101
All the "Ways"... 28 Communicating, Distributing, and Sharing 240
Allowing and Preventing 121 Compilations from Books 8,250
Always, Even, and Only 46 Compilations from Conversations 5,099
Arts and Sciences 98 Compilations from Lectures 5,931
Attraction and Repulsion 40 Compilations from Letters 4,837
Attributes and Descriptives 68 Concepts 10
Auspicious Things 15 Consciousness 56
Authority 89 Controlled and Uncontrolled 62
Beautiful and Attractive 25 Cooperation and Surrender 152
Begin and Become 115 Cosmological Places 8
Bhagavad-gita 31 Creation, Maintenance, and Destruction 89
Bhaktisiddhanta 11 Deity Worship 31
Bhaktivinoda 6 Desires and Needs 79
Birth, Life, and Death 235 Deviation, Disobedience, Punishment, and Apology 70
Bodies of Water 16 Devotee 79
Bodily Activities 120 Devotee - different kinds of 48
Body 70 Devotion 139
Bondage and Liberation 146 Difficult and Easy 51
Books 55 Dis* and Im* - meaning "not" 57
By and For 91 Disciples of Srila Prabhupada 222
Caitanya Mahaprabhu 54 Disciples of Srila Prabhupada (Our) 215
Can and Cannot 95 Do's and Dont's 82
Care and Attention 47 Duties, Principles, Rules, and Responsibilities 95
33
List of umbrella categories (cont’d)
Name of Umbrella category Related categories Name of Umbrella category Related categories
Each, Every, and All 103 Institutions 27
Ecstatic Symptoms 19 Interpersonal Relationships 63
Education 88 Judging and Evaluating 10
Eighteen Kinds of Material Contaminations 21 Kinds and Types Of (Quantity) 15
Emotions 270 Knowledge and Knowing 116
Emphasis On... 103 Krishna 271
Energy and Power 108 Krishna consciousness 73
Enjoying and Renouncing 56 Krishna's Family Members 129
Events Appearing in the Gaudiya Vaisnava Calendar 35 Krishna's Ornaments and Paraphernalia 18
Failure and Success 89 Languages 13
Faith 19 Leadership 203
Geographical Places 60 Learn, Understand, and Teach 201
Give, Take, and Receive 123 Literature and Its Elements 30
Giving Protection 67 Living Entity (Jiva) 61
God 203 Longitude and Latitude Locations 21
Good and Bad 197 Lord Buddha 9
Good and Bad Qualities 255 Love 71
Governance 45 Manifest and Unmanifest 54
Gradations and Stages 279 Many, More, and Most 71
Great, Greater, and Greatest 228 Married Life 46
Habitations and Their Fixtures 75 Material 137
Happiness and Distress 170 Material and Spiritual 251
Holy Name and Chanting 47 Meanings and Explanations 296
How, Why, When and Where 45 Mercy, Compassion and Forgiveness 81
Human Beings and Society 112 Mind, Intelligence, and Ego 90
Il*, In*, and Ir* - meaning "not" 50 Mis* - meaning "wrongly" 22
In and Out 133 Mission 12
Industry, Finances, and Business 138 Motivation and Inspiration 79
Inhabitants of Vrndavana 62 Must and Should 107
34
List of umbrella categories (cont’d)
Name of Umbrella category Related categories Name of Umbrella category Related categories
Nine Processes of Devotional Service 10 Prabhupada's Expressions 148
No Emphasis On... 15 Preaching 35
No Intoxication, Gambling, Meat-eating, or Illicit Sex 55 Principal Personalities from Mahabharata 53
Normal and Not Normal 51 Principal Personalities from Ramayana 14
No's and Not's 355 Processes of Knowledge and Understanding 16
Numbers 177 Pure 79
Nutrition and Health 97 Qualities Leading to Bondage 18
Observe, Perceive, and See 145 Qualities of a Brahmana 16
Other, Such, Possibilities, and Uses 100 Qualities of Krishna 40
Our Initiations (Disciples of Srila Prabhupada) 36 Questions Asked to Srila Prabhupada - By Theme 142
Parts of the Body 136 Radharani and Her Expansions 27
Past, Present, and Future 69 Real, False, and Truth 264
People and Persons 500 Realization and Revelation 61
Perfect and Imperfect 72 Religion 84
Periods of Time 210 Religiousness - different aspects of 176
Personal and Impersonal 55 Remember and Forget 21
Personalities Appearing after Lord Caitanya 9 Saintly Personalities 36
Personalities Appearing before Lord Caitanya 13 Same and Different 146
Personalities Appearing in the Gaudiya Vaisnava Calendar 78 Sanskrit Terms 490
Personalities from Bhagavad-gita 16 Scriptural Origins of Sri Caitanya-caritamrta Verses 70
Personalities from Sri Caitanya Caritamrta 224 Service 66
Personalities from Srimad Bhagavatam 664 Sex 27
Places of Worship 52 Small 14
Plant Life 27 Social Ailments and Their Paraphernalia 80
Prabhupada 104 Soul 52
Prabhupada ( I ) 119 Sound and Hearing 51
Prabhupada (My) 151 Spiritual 115
Prabhupada Citing Verses From Different Scriptures 31 Spiritual Happiness 28
Prabhupada's Books 43 Srimad-Bhagavatam - Bhagavata Purana 36
35
List of umbrella categories (cont’d)
Name of Umbrella category Related categories Name of Umbrella category Related categories
Supreme and Absolute 71 Names of Apsaras 3
Systems, Processes, and Positions 136 Names of Avataras 6
Temples of Vrndavana (Seven Principal) 7 Names of Brahmacaris 2
The Twelve Primary Disciplinary Principles 11 Names of Cities 125
The Vedas 51 Names of Contemporary Personalities Mentioned by SP 40
Things and Objects 142 Names of Continents 8
Thinking, Feeling, and Willing 99 Names of Countries 80
This Ism or That Ism 491 Names of Cowherd Boys 68
Three Modes of Material Nature 21 Names of Days, Months, and Years 68
Time 56 Names of Demigods 43
Transcendental 41 Names of Demons 53
Traveling and Moving 126 Names of Dramas, Poetry and Song Books 11
Twelve Forests of Vrndavana 12 Names of Dynasties 12
Un* - meaning "not" 95 Names of Earthly Planets 2
Under and Over 56 Names of Festivals 12
Vaniquotes Dictionaries 46 Names of Forests 8
Varnas and Asramas 74 Names of Gandharvas 7
Very and Much 86 Names of Gopis 49
Visnu's Twenty-four Forms 24 Names of Gopis (The asta-sakhis) 10
Visnu-tattva 83 Names of Great Sages 114
Weather and Natural Phenomena 34 Names of Guna-avataras 4
Weights and Measures 187 Names of Heavenly Planets 12
Whole and Complete 52 Names of Hellish Planets 32
With, Within, and Without 76 Names of Higher Planets 27
Worlds and Universes 158 Names of Historical Personalities Mentioned by SP 33
Worthless and Not Needed 25 Names of Kings 19
Yoga 40 Names of Krishna 102
Young and Old 45 Names of Krishna's Sons 112
Names of Acharyas 43 Names of Lila-avataras 25
36
List of umbrella categories (cont’d)
Name of Umbrella category Related categories Name of Umbrella category Related categories
Names of Logicians 3 Names of the Twelve Mahajanas 12
Names of Logics Quoted by Srila Prabhupada 22 Names of Vaikuntha Planets 22
Names of Lords 50 Names of Vedas 7
Names of Manjaris 14 Names of Villages 19
Names of Manus (14 in total) 16 Names of Yoga Systems 19
Names of Manvantara-avataras 5 Types of Animals 78
Names of Mountains 46 Types of Avataras 10
Names of Other Mahajanas 19 Types of Birds 19
Names of Places of Pilgrimage 22 Types of Clothing 20
Names of Planets 61 Types of Disasters 12
Names of Prajapatis 20 Types of Diseases 20
Names of Purusa-avataras 3 Types of Family Members 65
Names of Races 37 Types of Flowers 12
Names of Radharani 17 Types of Food 85
Names of Regions within Countries 32 Types of Fruits 8
Names of Religions 8 Types of Furniture 5
Names of Sacred Lakes 3 Types of Insects 16
Names of Sacred Rivers 36 Types of Living Entities 22
Names of Saintly Brahmanas 58 Types of Musical Instruments 13
Names of Saintly Kings 75 Types of Oceans 92
Names of Saintly Women 61 Types of Plants 18
Names of Saktyavesa-avataras 14 Types of Transport 35
Names of Sampradayas 49 Types of Trees 15
Names of Scriptures 212 Types of Weapons 22
Names of Srila Prabhupada 10
Names of Sutras 3
Names of Temples 13
Names of the Seven Great Sages 7
37
875
3,957
1,361
3,954 2,952
1,028
4,702
5,953
4,676
19,061
36,690
40,162
15,386 42,562
135,245
428,898
1,007,893
1,952,656
Mar 2008 Mar 2009 Mar 2010 Mar 2011 Mar 2012 Mar 2013
Categories created Pages created Quotes compiled
Vaniquotes compilations – still growing
Gaura Purnima
21 March 2008
Official launch of
Vanipedia
642,312
390,448
375,245
240,699
140,683
126,509
36,760
Srila Prabhupada lectures
Srila Prabhupada
conversations
Srimad-Bhagavatam
Srila Prabhupada letters
Sri Caitanya-caritamrita
Other books by Srila
Prabhupada
Bhagavad-gita As-It-Is
Progression of Vaniquotes compilations since 2007Number of quotes compiled by source
Almost 2 million
quotes compiled !
38
Vaniquotes ticks all the boxes
vaniquotes
.com
vedabase
.com
vedabase
.net
Vedabase
offline
Prabhupadabooks
.com
Prabhupadavani
.org
Is exclusively for Srila Prabhupada’s Vani      
Is part of a larger project      
Offers a thematic presentation      
Openly invites collaboration      
Has an index of search words and quotes
linked to source      
Provides an index of source page titles
with linked access      
Search terms are highlighted on source
pages      
Source pages provide cross-referencing to
other source pages and additional
matching categories
     
Provides accurate search results      
Has Help and Tutorials(1) section      
Note:
(1) Vaniquotes tutorials are in development
39
Vaniquotes on the web
 Although still a work in progress, web traffic based on daily
score of unique visitors is steadily increasing
 Jan-Mar 2012: average of 362 a day
 Apr-Jun 2012: average of 438 a day
 Jul-Sep 2012: average of 693 a day
 Oct-Dec 2012: average of 813 a day
 A recent test search for “prescribed duties” using Google
returned the following:
 Vaniquotes.org appeared on the first result page
 it ranked fifth out of 38.1 million results
40
Vaniquotes on the web (cont’d)
 A recent test search for “duty of a disciple” using Google
returned the following:
 Vaniquotes.org appeared on the first result page
 it ranked third out of 7.2 million results
 Vaniquotes is the only non-Christian webpage in the
listing
41
Evolution of Vanipedia (2006-2013)
2007 2008 20092006 20132010 2011 2012
Note:
(1) MediaWiki is the software that runs the Wikipedia website. For more information, visit MediaWiki.org. At Vanipedia, we are very satisfied with our inspired choice.
2006
 Bhaktivedanta Library
Services (BLS) establishes
the Prabhupada Vani
Research Academy (PVRA)
2007
 Vanipedia is born
 MediaWiki(1) software is adopted
 BBT Trustees approve the project
 Vanisource is created and the
compilation process starts
2008
 Vanipedia is publicly
launched at the Gaura
Purnima festival in
Radhadesh
2009
 BLS finances the construction of
a 150 square metres office and
volunteer living facilities to
support the Vanipedia project
June 2007 – March 2013
 257 volunteers from 44 nationalities have performed
over 95,000 hours of devotional service to compile
• 14,127 categories
• 111,244 pages
• 1,952,656 quotes
• 464,288 edits
 Page views on Vanipedia for the same period have
reached
• Vaniquotes – 11,568,857 views
• Vanisource – 6,010,506 views
• Vanipedia – 382,839 views
2012
 Year filled with many milestones and record-
breaking compiling scores
 Thematic mapping of the 10,000 questions asked
to Srila Prabhupada completed
 English and Sanskrit Dictionaries completed with
2,908 and 4,227 entries
 Vanipedia Facebook group reached 2,530
members in December
 Vaniquotes pages reached 10,235,593 views
42
Evolution of Vanipedia (2013-2027)
2013
2013–2014
 IT development and web promotion
(Vanipedia is setting up office in Sridhama
Mayapur to facilitate this)
 Write Vanipedia articles (we need writers)
 Develop the Vanimedia audio files (lots of
opportunity to hear)
2017 2019 20212015 2023 2025 2027
2013–2022
We hope to complete:
 the compiling in Vaniquotes
 the links from Vanisource to Vaniquotes
 the Vanictionary
 the Vanimedia with all of Srila Prabhupada's audio, video and photos
 the thousands of short audio clips of Srila Prabhupada’s Vani
 the compendiums in Vanibooks
 the 1000 thematic and introductory articles in Vanipedia
 the educational courses in Vaniversity
 Vanipedia in many languages
October 2015:
50th anniversary of
Srila Prabhupada’s
arrival in America
May 2022:
50th anniversary of
Srila Prabhupada
founding the BBT
November 2027:
50th anniversary of serving Srila Prabhupada in separation.
We would love to see:
 the completion of all outstanding Vani projects
 the first generation of disciples leaving behind a solid “vani-culture”
driven by Srila Prabhupada’s teachings being in their pristine condition
 the first, second and subsequent generations unequivocally understanding
the necessity to consult Srila Prabhupada’s Vani for personal guidance and
being sufficiently learned to represent him on all levels
43
Appreciations for Vanipedia
I have been immersing myself in Srila
Prabhupada's Vani at Vanipedia. You have
undertaken a most significant and
monumental undertaking, and from what I
have seen, you are executing it with great
conviction, intelligence, and skill.
We are deeply indebted to you.
Giriraja Swami
First, I want to thank whomever I should thank
for the kind acknowledgement at the bottom of
the "About" page. I am Steven
Gelberg, formerly Subhananda das, who Srila
Prabhupada approved to compile the
encyclopedia of his teachings all those years
ago. I'm glad to see that such work has been
carried on to the high point of development
evinced in the Vanipedia site.
Steven Gelberg / Subhananda das
After doing a Google search for
'tatastha' I chanced to find the
Vanipedia site. I was so very pleased
beyond words, and impressed and
joyful and uplifted to see such an
amazing meaningful project. I am now
old and poor, but I would like to extend
all my good wishes for all success with
this endeavour and indeed with your
relationship with Lord Sri Krishna.
Lord Caitanya has created this
gigantic mridanga, the internet, to
save this sad sad world. Your efforts
are completely aligned with His vision
and He is undoubtedly very pleased
with your service.
Me, I am still in awe. Thank you again.
Gaura Hari das
The “BEST” book distributor cannot
possibly personally distribute all the Vani
that is being presented in any of the 3
‘Vani” links: Pedia, Quotes or Source!
However the same distributor can
distribute these 3 links to multitudes of
persons WORLDWIDE in a single day!!!
This is intelligent service… Out of
those multitudes, MANY will learn
“bhakti” principles, buy books online in
growing numbers, and apply devotional
principles in their own home town or
village – in every corner of the globe…
Langaganesh das
44
Organization
45
Organizational structure of Vanipedia
Bhaktivedanta Library
Services (BLS)
(non-profit organization
registered in Belgium
since 1995)
Prabhupada Vani
Research Academy
(PVRA)
(internal department of BLS
established in 2006)
Vanipedia
(started in 2007, the first
project of PVRA)
46
Bhaktivedanta Library Services (BLS)
 The Bhaktivedanta Library Services a.s.b.l. is a non profit organization established in 1995. It is situated adjacent to the ISKCON
Radhadesh community in Petite Somme, Durbuy in Belgium.
 BLS was established for the “soul” purpose of facilitating the propagation and preservation of the transcendental knowledge
propounded in the life and teachings of His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, Founder-Acharya of the
International Society for Krishna consciousness.
 BLS works collaboratively with the North European BBT for the distribution of Srila Prabhupada’s books in English throughout
Europe, and also acts on behalf of the BBT to supply the French yatra with their sankirtan books.
 The Bhaktivedanta Library Program was developed by BLS to ensure that the teachings of His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami
Prabhupada become a focus in temples and in the homes and hearts of disciples and followers.
 Since 1995 BLS has continued to expand in order to supply a wider range of books, videos, CDs, MP3s, DVDs, computer programs and
presentations. It aspires to continue to develop into a strong, stable asset assisting many souls to connect to the wonderful principles
and practices of Krishna consciousness.
 Over the years BLS has supported various authors, communication preaching, the Bhaktivedanta Archives and the Bhaktivedanta
College.
 BLS has been developing the Vanipedia project since 2007.
 To discover more, go to http://blservices.com
47
Prabhupada Vani Research Academy (PVRA)
Mission statement
 To offer a global platform for Srila Prabhupada to profoundly inspire millions of human beings to awaken their dormant love for
Krishna by taking up the process of devotional service.
 To offer a global platform for Srila Prabhupada to clearly express his vision for the spiritual upliftment of human society via the
establishment of daivi-varnasrama and the sankirtana-yajna.
 To follow the Vaishnava-brahminical principles of simplicity, straightforwardness, mercy, truthfulness, and action from a non political
platform.
 To present, in compiled form, the multifarious Krishna-conscious truths established by Srila Prabhupada in his teachings.
 To facilitate the proper understanding of both these essential philosophical truths, and the various other related subjects.
 To facilitate the education and training of Srila Prabhupada's followers to assist him as empowered servants of the Krishna
consciousness movement.
 To assist in identifying the essential principles from Srila Prabhupada's teachings in concise form, with the hope that one day they will
be established as the guiding principles for the worldwide Krishna consciousness movement, via a constitutional process and other
forms of implementation.
Note: PVRA is the internal department of Bhaktivedanta Library Services. PVRA is developing the Vanipedia project.
48
How did Vanipedia come about?
49
The history behind Vanipedia
1987 Jul: Visnu Murti begins a thematic compilation from Srila Prabhupada's letters, drawing from the five-volume set ‘Letters from Srila Prabhupada’ recently
published by the Bhaktivedanta Archives in June 1987.
1988 Jan: He visits the Bhaktivedanta Archives in Los Angeles and is moved to learn they have a lot more of Srila Prabhupada's teachings that have still not been
released.
May: He finishes the compilation from the letters, consisting of 200 (A4) pages divided into 17 subjects, prints 150 copies and distributes them to the devotees.
Aug: He teams up with Ekanath and Ranjit at Bhaktivedanta Archives in Los Angeles, and helps with the production and distribution to the devotees of Srila
Prabhupada's remaining archived teachings. Settling in England, he also teams up with Ajamila who is working on a far superior compilation from Srila
Prabhupada's letters, the ‘Siksamrta’.
1988-95 Visnu Murti travels throughout Europe to assist in the publication and distribution of the following titles of Srila Prabhupada's teachings:
Books: Conversations with Srila Prabhupada (37 volumes)
Collected Lectures on Bhagavad-gita As It Is (7 volumes)
Collected Lectures on Srimad-Bhagavatam (11 volumes)
Collected Teachings of His Divine Grace AC Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada (7 volumes)
Srila Prabhupada Siksamrta (3 volumes)
Back to Godhead 1944-1960 The Pioneer Years
The Jaladuta Diary
The Beginning
Festivals with Srila Prabhupada
Audio: Sets of the lecture tapes of Srila Prabhupada (711 cassettes)
Sets of the new realized lecture tapes of Srila Prabhupada (320 cassettes)
Srila Prabhupada's bhajans on CD (the first CD's in Iskcon)
Other: The VEDAbase search index software
1995 Sep 14: He moves to a property adjacent to Radhadesh in Belgium, where he registers the non-profit organization Bhaktivedanta Library Services a.s.b.l. (BLS) to
further facilitate the distribution of Srila Prabhupada's teachings to the devotees.
1995-2003 BLS solidifies its distribution network by developing a mail order service, a shop, and wholesale outlets.
50
The history behind Vanipedia (cont’d)
2000-2003 Convinced that systematic training and education in Srila Prabhupada's books is a very good way to help the devotees imbibe his teachings, Visnu Murti involves the
BLS in developing and managing the Bhaktivedanta College in Radhadesh. He experiences that more curriculum resources need to be developed in order to better
facilitate education in Srila Prabhupada's teachings.
2004 BLS stops its involvement with the College.
2005 While pondering over the need for a serious research facility Visnu Murti compiles Srila Prabhupada teachings within Excel and Word files, and from that develops a
comprehensive, word-based thematic methodology for more compilations.
2006 Jun: He decides that the Web is the best platform for developing a research facility.
Sep: Eivind Morland from Norway joins BLS. After due consideration, they decide to inaugurate the project.
Nov: BLS establishes Prabhupada Vani Research Academy (PVRA) as an internal department.
Oct-Dec: Eivind starts researching for the best web-based software for the execution of the research.
2007 Jan-Apr: Eivind concentrates fully on the development. He concludes that MediaWiki is the best software, and starts to familiarize himself with it. Visnu Murti shares
the vision with different devotees and receives a lot of encouragement to perform the sacrifice.
Jan 15: Visnu Murti decides on the name Vanipedia and BLS buys the domain name.
May: Acyutananda Caitanya from Colombia joins the PVRA team in Radhadesh and starts the process of building Vanisource by extracting the data from Vedabase.
May: In Los Angeles, Visnu Murti presents the project to the BBT Trustees at their annual meeting, and receives an enthusiastic response and a license to develop
the project.
2007–to date The Vanipedia project is taking form with the support of devotees from many nations.
51
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52
Wikipedia – an inspiration
53
Wikipedia – goodwill properly engaged
and expressed
 Since its creation in 2001, Wikipedia has grown rapidly into
the world’s largest reference website
 4,141,132 articles in English (that’s only 19% of all
articles)
 29,243,296 pages in total
 800,168 uploaded files
 587,077,045 edits
 Totaling over 22,000,000 articles in 285 languages
 Wikipedia attracts people
 470 million unique visitors monthly
 18,198,204 registered users
 Wikipedia attracts volunteers
 77,000 active contributors
 1,456 administrators
 Wikpedia’s organization
 non-profit organization
 150 staff members – working in technology,
community, management, finance, and administration
 every month over 30,000 volunteers participate to write
the articles – includes research, editing and
coordination
 already five billion more articles planned
 Wikipedia’s finances
 funded by a small percentage (.02%) of their satisfied
users giving an average of only $22 each annually
 Returns to people who give large donations whatever is
in excess of budget
 budgets always collected before the new year begins
 no advertisements
 no corporate funding
Wikipedia’s organizational, financial and managerial strategies are working. They are obviously
doing something right. What can we take from Wikipedia’s model to present Srila Prabhupada's
teachings in a way that would make him proud of our efforts to distribute his Vani?
54
Wikipedia – Hinduism & Religion
 Wikipedia reports that their audience
includes a high level of students and
teachers who browse for schoolwork, and
postgraduates in education researching
their subjects.
 Wikipedia ranks the popularity of its
pages by number of views. Wikipedia’s
Top 500 pages under Hinduism and
Religion show:
 Among spiritual leaders, Srila
Prabhupada is still not so well known.
Page views for him represent a mere
0.8% under Hinduism and his name
does not appear at all in the ranking
under Religion.
 Swami Vivekananda enjoys a very
high level of popularity under both
Hinduism and Religion, indicating
that his followers are successfully
keeping him alive and vigorously
spreading his impersonalist teachings.
Rank Spiritual leaders (Hinduism) Views
1 Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi 550,096
3 Gautama Buddha 234,215
5 Swami Vivekananda 199,612
30 Sai Baba (Shirdi) 81,401
48 Sai Baba (Sathya) 52,907
94 Ravi Shankar (spiritual leader) 32,607
95 Adi Shankara 32,330
103 Ramakrishna 30,721
116 Maharishi Mahesh Yogi 28,473
129 Sri Aurobindo 25,304
143 Ramana Maharshi 23,372
157 Dayananda Saraswati 21,504
173 Paramahansa Yogananda 20,133
179 Mahavatar Babaji 19,227
216 Tukaram 15,474
238 A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada 14,140
242 Narayana Guru 13,848
258 Swami Nithyananda 13,168
259 Neem Karoli Baba 12,906
272 Raghavendra Swami 12,528
276 Kanada 12,240
282 Shankaracharya 11,858
285 Kashyap 11,779
288 Ramanuja 11,614
346 Swaminarayan 9,446
348 Sri Chinmoy 9,410
434 Shri Swami Samarth 7,576
495 Harishchandra 6,468
496 Pramukh Swami Maharaj 6,454
Rank Spiritual leaders (Religion) Views
9 Jesus 571,641
11 Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi 550,096
14 Martin Luther King, Jr. 393,286
20 Muhammad 289,732
34 Sigmund Freud 239,526
35 Gautama Buddha 234,215
53 Swami Vivekananda 199,612
155 Dalai Lama 119,880
174 Confucius 110,203
257 Sai Baba of Shirdi 81,401
316 Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh 69,654
337 Deepak Chopra 65,887
427 Sathya Sai Baba 52,907
??? Srila Prabhupada None
“We must learn all of us, to defeat
these nonsense rascals, and curtail
this epidemic of
impersonalism, which is fatal to the
innocent people. We can stop this
epidemic with this information of
Krishna consciousness, and it is our
duty to do it.” – Srila Prabhupada letter
to Upendra das (TP) - 1 March, 1968
55
Note: Swami Vivekananda died in 1902
Wikipedia – Hinduism & Religion (cont’d)
Rank Scriptures (Religion) Views
97 Quran 149,167
114 Bible 139,316
163 Bhagavad-gita (which one?) 115,370
229 Ramayana 90,554
232 Torah 89,220
264 Old Testament 80,411
277 Vedas 76,724
293 New Testament 72,898
Rank Scriptures (Hinduism) Views
17 Bhagavad-gita (which one?) 115,370
21 Mahabharata 96,552
22 Ayurveda 94,804
26 Ramayana 90,554
32 Vedas 76,724
77 Upanishads 36,037
96 Rigveda 32,021
180 Vedanta 19,179
188 Puranas 18,514
197 Yoga Sutras at Patanjali 17,813
235 Bhagavata Purana 14,586
461 Shiva Purana 7,129
Rank Beliefs (Religion) Views
15 Islam 338,680
16 Buddhism 337,517
21 Agnosticism 286,045
33 Scientology 240,048
37 Hinduism 231,250
40 Christianity 226,273
44 Jehovah Witnesses 223,600
47 Atheism 217,072
48 Existentialism 215,632
60 Judaism 191,765
62 Paganism 186,534
65 Rastafari movement 183,296
74 Zoroastrianism 173,413
77 Bahá'í Faith 166,044
81 Nihilism 162,491
131 Feminism 129,253
135 Protestantism 128,357
150 Zionism 122,798
152 Cannibalism 120,492
157 Wicca 118,298
161 Taoism 116,315
191 Sufism 104,138
227 Sikhism 91,342
243 Falun Gong 85,917
244 Shamanism 85,604
245 Satanism 84,490
260 Mormonism 80,700
323 Baptism 68,598
347 Anglicanism 64,669
494 Creationism 46,078
??? Vaisnavism None
 Bhagavad-gita is a very popular scripture
under both Hinduism and Religion. One
wonders which version of Bhagavad-gita
is the most consulted?
 In the Top 500 ranking under
Religion, the beliefs of Buddhism and
Hinduism rank highly but Vaisnavism
does not appear at all.
 The Hare Krishna maha-mantra attracts
6 times less interest than the mantra
Om.
Rank Mantra (Hinduism) Views
14 Om 134,223
43 Mantra 59,435
65 Hanuman Chalisa 39,897
120 Gayatri Mantra 27,540
132 Hare Krishna (mantra) 24,108
189 Om Namah Shivaya 18,483
292 Vishnu sahasranama 11,564
475 Shanti Mantra 6,974
“From the very beginning I was
strongly against the impersonalists
and all my books are stressed on this
point.” – Srila Prabhupada letter to
Hayagriva das (GBC) - 14 September, 1970
56
Wikipedia – Hinduism & Religion (cont’d)
Rank Deities (Hinduism) Views
6 Shiva 193,901
7 Krishna 175,912
12 Ganesha 140,216
23 Vishnu 94,586
29 Kali 82,700
37 Hanuman 69,532
45 Rama 54,841
47 Ayyappan 53,608
49 Surya 52,793
60 Lakshmi 42,310
61 Brahma 41,700
72 Ravana 37,405
73 Murugan 36,484
76 Durga 36,137
100 Garuda 31,465
102 Radha 31,159
107 Saraswati 30,410
118 Indra 28,215
160 Narasimha 21,300
186 Sita 18,724
190 Parashurama 18,455
200 Radha-Krishna 17,230
208 Chaitanya Mahaprabhu 16,542
209 Venkateswara 16,295
211 Navagraha 16,097
223 Vyasa 15,097
224 Agni 14,988
232 Yama 14,669
245 Jagannath 13,753
328 Narayana 10,033
Rank Holy festivals (Hinduism) Views
10 Diwali 156,000
33 Kumbh Mela 72,557
44 Holi 56,153
135 Makar Sankranti 23,898
145 Ganesh Chaturthi 22,792
207 Durga Puja 16,561
271 Onam 12,589
331 Krishna Janmashtami 9,933
334 Raksha Bandhan 9,872
363 Maha Shivaratri 9,003
??? Jagannath Ratha Yatra None
Rank Holy places (Hinduism) Views
31 Ganges 80,391
35 Varanasi 71,686
66 Kanchipuram 39,573
101 Haridwar 31,306
104 Mount Kailash 30,689
108 Ayodhya 30,249
127 Dwarka 25,396
136 Rishikesh 23,672
141 Jagannath Puri 23,397
167 Mathura 20,371
183 Badrinath 18,801
201 Vrindavan 17,206
202 Yamuna 17,203
204 Lake Manasarovar 16,842
278 Srirangam 12,149
??? Sridhama Mayapur None
 Among deities, Lord Shiva is the most
popular . Lord Chaitanya however draws
only 1% of interest.
 Among holy places of pilgrimage,
Varnasi, which is overflooded with
mayavadi sannyasis and philosophers,
attracts 400% more interest than
Vrindavan. Sridhama Mayapur does not
appear in the ranking.
 Among festivals, Diwali is still more
popular than Sri Krishna Janmastami,
and although Rathayatra festivals run
every year in major cities around the
world, it does not appear in the Top 500.
“I am the only one in India who is
openly criticizing, not only demigod
worship and impersonalism, but
everything that falls short of
complete surrender to Krishna.” –
Srila Prabhupada letter to Giriraja das
(TP) - 3 January, 1972
57
Wikipedia – Hinduism & Religion (cont’d)
Rank Interests (Hinduism) Views
11 Yoga 145,260
18 Chakra 112,707
20 Caste system in India 102,241
34 Tantra 72,327
36 Avatar 70,297
46 Brahmin 54,083
55 Kundalini 48,632
57 Kali Yuga 46,287
58 Lingam 43,505
62 Third eye 41,437
69 Ashtanga Vinyasa Yoga 38,301
85 Hatha yoga 34,429
87 Vaikunta Ekadashi 34,131
89 Jyotirlinga 33,376
90 Hindu astrology 32,829
98 Guru 31,549
111 Vastu shastra 29,960
113 Soma 29,124
114 Kundalini yoga 28,760
128 Asura 25,314
131 Yoni 24,330
148 Surya Namaskara 22,385
161 Pranayama 21,042
170 List of asanas 20,302
291 Kriya Yoga 11,573
319 Sri Yantra 10,317
427 Bhakti yoga 7,721
Rank Interests (Religion) Views
88 Artificial intelligence 158,304
105 Yoga 145,260
151 Metaphysics 122,730
170 Chaos theory 111,261
172 Meditation 110,969
179 Money 107,833
181 Dead Sea Scrolls 107,288
193 Kabbalah 101,956
213 Ayurveda 94,804
231 NLP 89,996
261 Astrology 80,645
262 Devil 80,523
273 Witchcraft 77,886
274 Assassins 77,796
275 Demon 77,305
276 Jihad 77,248
278 Supernatural 76,688
284 Martyr 74,550
295 Yahweh 72,568
297 Tantra 72,327
354 Reincarnation 63,115
377 Mantra 59,435
381 Separation of church and state 59,247
396 Soul 56,237
414 Secularism 54,004
425 Truth 53,122
459 Afterlife 49,143
 Yoga and meditation attract high levels
of interest under Hinduism and
Religion, but bhakti yoga attracts only
0.6% of interest.
“Regarding competition with other
so-called yoga groups, certainly we
have to win the race because we
represent Krishna directly, and
others are all mostly impersonalists
or less than that.” – Srila Prabhupada
letter to Janaki - 18 January, 1969
Note: All figures valid as of 31 January 2013; Sources:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:WikiProject_Hinduism/Popular_pages
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:WikiProject_Religion/Popular_pages
58
About Vaniseva
59
Argentina 1
Bangladesh 1
Belgium 12
Bosnia 1
Brazil 4
Bulgaria 1
Canada 1
Chile 2
Columbia 1
Croatia 1
Czech Rep. 2
Slovakia 1
Slovenia 5
South Africa 1
Spain 3
Swaziland 1
Sweden 3
Switzerland 2
Tunisia 1
Uruguay 2
USA 20
Wales 1
Denmark 1
England 13
Finland 1
France 4
Germany 5
Hungary 1
India 110
Indonesia 2
Ireland 4
Italy 3
Lithuania 2
Mauritius 1
Mexico 2
Morocco 1
Netherlands 14
New Zealand 9
Norway 3
Poland 3
Portugal 1
Russia 5
Serbia 3
Singapore 2
Collaboration – the key to our success
To date, 257 volunteers from 44 nationalities have offered vaniseva to build the Vanipedia
Actually, the United Nations or united people can be possible only in Krishna consciousness.
Otherwise it is not possible. – Srila Prabhupada lecture on SB 2.9.2 - 4 April, 1972
60
Vaniseva – the sacred act of serving Srila
Prabhupada’s Vani
Srila Prabhupada stopped speaking on the 14th of November, 1977, but the Vani he gave us remains ever fresh. However, these teachings
are not yet in their pristine condition, nor are all of them readily accessible to his devotees. Srila Prabhupada’s followers have a sacred duty
to preserve and to distribute his Vani to everyone. We are therefore inviting you to perform this vaniseva.
“Always remember that you are one of the few men I have appointed to carry on my work throughout the world and your mission before
you is huge. Therefore, always pray to Krishna to give you strength for accomplishing this mission by doing what I am doing. My first
business is to give the devotees the proper knowledge and engage them in devotional service, so that is not very difficult task for you, I
have given you everything, so read and speak from the books and so many new lights will come out. We have got so many books, so if we
go on preaching from them for the next 1,000 years, there is enough stock.”
– Srila Prabhupada letter to Satsvarupa das (GBC) – 16 June, 1972
In June of 1972 Srila Prabhupada said that “we have got so many books” that we have “enough stock” to preach from for the “next
1,000 years”. At that time, only 10 titles had been printed, so with all the extra books that Srila Prabhupada published from July ’72 to
November ’77 the amount of years of stock could easily be expanded to 5,000. If we add to this his oral instructions and letters, then the
stock expands to 10,000 years. We need to expertly prepare all these teachings to be accessed and properly understood, so that they can be
“preached from” for this whole period of time.
There is no doubt that Srila Prabhupada has unending enthusiasm and determination to preach the message of Lord Caitanya
Mahaprabhu. It does not matter that his vapu has left us. He remains in his teachings, and via the digital platform, he can now preach even
more widely than when he was physically present. With complete dependence on Lord Caitanya's mercy, let us embrace Srila Prabhupada’s
vani-mission, and with more resolve than ever before, expertly prepare his Vani for 10,000 years of preaching.
Vaniseva is a wonderful opportunity for us to unite and to cooperate with other ISKCON devotees
to perform this sacred service.
61
Vaniseva – the sacred act of serving Srila
Prabhupada’s Vani (cont’d)
“Over the past ten years I have given the framework and now we have become more than the British Empire. Even the British Empire
was not as expansive as we. They had only a portion of the world, and we have not completed expanding. We must expand more and
more unlimitedly. But I must now remind you that I have to complete the translation of the Srimad-Bhagavatam. This is the greatest
contribution; our books have given us a respectable position. People have no faith in this church or temple worship. Those days are gone.
Of course, we have to maintain the temples as it is necessary to keep our spirits high. Simply intellectualism will not do, there must be
practical purification.
So I request you to relieve me of management responsibilities more and more so that I can complete the Srimad-Bhagavatam
translation. If I am always having to manage, then I cannot do my work on the books. It is document, I have to choose each word very
soberly and if I have to think of management then I cannot do this. I cannot be like these rascals who present something mental
concoction to cheat the public. So this task will not be finished without the cooperation of my appointed assistants, the GBC, temple
presidents, and sannyasis. I have chosen my best men to be GBC and I do not want that the GBC should be disrespectful to the temple
presidents. You can naturally consult me, but if the basic principle is weak, how will things go on? So please assist me in the
management so that I can be free to finish the Srimad-Bhagavatam which will be our lasting contribution to the world.”
– Srila Prabhupada letter to All Governing Body Commissioners – 21 November, 1976
Here Srila Prabhupada is stating “this task will not be finished without the cooperation of my appointed assistants” to help
him make “our lasting contribution to the world.” It is Srila Prabhupada’s books that have “given us a respectable position” and
they are “the greatest contribution to the world.”
Over the years, so much vaniseva has been performed by BBT devotees, book distributors, preachers who have held firmly to Srila
Prabhupada’s words, and by other devotees who have been dedicated to distribute and preserve his Vani in one way or another. But there is
still much more to do. By working together via the technologies of the brhat-brhat-brhat mrdanga (the World Wide Web) we now have an
opportunity to build an incredible manifestation of Srila Prabhupada’s Vani in a very short period of time. Our proposal is to come together
in vaniseva and build a Vani-temple to be completed sometime between 2015 and 2027, at which time we will also be celebrating the
numerous 50th anniversaries of Srila Prabhupada’s achievements. This will be a very appropriate and beautiful offering of love to Srila
Prabhupada, and a glorious gift to all the future generations of his devotees.
62
Vaniseva – the sacred act of serving Srila
Prabhupada’s Vani (cont’d)
“I am glad that you have named your printing press the Radha Press. It is very gratifying. May your Radha Press be enriched in
publishing all our books and literatures in the German language. It is a very nice name. Radharani is the best, topmost servitor of
Krishna, and the printing machine is the biggest medium at the present moment for serving Krishna. Therefore, it is really a
representative of Srimati Radharani. I like the idea very much.”
– Srila Prabhupada letter to Jaya Govinda das (Book production manager) - 7 July, 1969
For the better part of the 20th century, the printing press provided the tools for successful propaganda from so many groups of people. Srila
Prabhupada stated how expert the communists were to spread their influence in India via the pamphlets and books they distributed. Srila
Prabhupada used this example to express how he wanted to make a large propaganda program for Krishna consciousness by distributing
his books all over the world.
Now in the 21st century the power of influence has shifted to the Internet. Srila Prabhupada's statement “at the present moment” was
made long before the Internet started. In Vanipedia, we are preparing Srila Prabhupada’s teachings for proper representation on this
unparalleled modern-media platform. There is no doubt that the web is now “the biggest medium at the present moment for
serving Krishna” . Srila Prabhupada stated that the Radha Press of his devotees in Germany was “really a representative of Srimati
Radharani”. We are therefore certain that he would consider Vanipedia to be a representative of Srimati Radharani as well.
So many beautiful Vapu-temples have already been built by ISKCON devotees – let us now build at least one glorious Vani-temple. The
Vapu-temples offer sacred darshans to the forms of the Lord, and a Vani-temple will offer the sacred darshan to the teachings of the Lord
and His pure devotees, as presented by Srila Prabhupada. The work of ISKCON devotees will naturally be more successful when Srila
Prabhupada’s teachings are situated in their rightful, worshipable position. Now there is a wonderful opportunity for all his current
“appointed assistants” to embrace the vani-mission of building his Vani-temple and to inspire the whole movement to participate.
Just as the enormous and beautiful Vapu-temple rising from the banks of the Ganges in Sridhama Mayapur is destined to help spread Lord
Caitanya’s mercy all over the world, so too can a Vani-temple of Srila Prabhupada’s teachings strengthen his ISKCON mission to spread all
over the world and establish Srila Prabhupada’s natural position for thousands of years to come.
63
Vaniseva – taking practical action to serve
 Completing Vanipedia means Srila Prabhupada’s teachings will be presented in a way that no one has ever done for the works of any
spiritual teacher. We invite you to take part in this sacred mission. Together we will give Srila Prabhupada a unique exposure to the
world on a magnitude only possible via the web.
 Our desire is to make Vanipedia the No.1 reference encyclopedia of Srila Prabhupada’s teachings in multiple languages. This will only
happen with the sincere commitment, sacrifice and support of many devotees. To date, a few committed vaniservants have been
building Vanisource and Vaniquotes. Now in order to build the Vanipedia articles, the Vanibooks, the Vanimedia, and the Vaniversity
courses we need more support from devotees with the following skills:
 Vaniservants can offer their service from their homes, temples and offices, or they can join us full-time for certain periods in Sridhama
Mayapur or Radhadesh.
Please spread the word! Talk to your contacts; take leaflets to distribute and display on temple notice
boards; invite us for presentations and talks. To get in touch and to get involved, contact us at
vaniseva@pamho.net
• Administration
• Compiling
• Curriculum Development
• Design and Layout
• Finance
• Management
• Promotion
• Researching
• Server Maintenance
• Site Development
• Software Programming
• Teaching
• Technical Editing
• Training
• Translating
• Writing
64
Vaniseva – taking practical action to serve (cont’d)
 For the past 6 years Vanipedia has been financed by the book distribution from Bhaktivedanta Library Services. To continue its
construction, Vanipedia needs funding beyond the current capacity of BLS. Once completed, Vanipedia will hopefully be sustained by
small donations from a percentage of many satisfied visitors. But for now, in order to complete the initial phases of building this free
encyclopedia, the service of offering financial support is crucial.
 Supporters of Vanipedia can choose from one of the following options:
Donations can be received through our PayPal account titled vaniseva@pamho.net . If you prefer
another method or have more queries before donating, then email us at
vaniseva@pamho.net
Sponsor: A person donating any amount they desire
Supporting Patron: An individual person or legal entity donating at least 81 euros
Sustaining Patron: An individual person or legal entity donating at least 810 euros
with possibility to make 9 monthly payments of 90 euros
Growth Patron: An individual person or legal entity donating 8,100 euros
with possibility to make 9 yearly payments of 900 euros
Foundational Patron: An individual person or legal entity donating 81,000 euros
with possibility to make 9 yearly payments of 9,000 euros
65

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Introduction to Vanipedia

  • 1. An Introduction to the Prabhupada-vani vision and the Vanipedia project Gaura Purnima 2013 + +
  • 2. This page is intentionally blank
  • 3. Contents The Prabhupada-vani vision 1 Prabhupada-vani vision statement 2-3 Vani, personal association and service in separation 4 Devotees are Srila Prabhupada’s limbs … 5 A political, social and educational culture is vital … 7 Distributing the teachings of parampara 8 Using media to spread Krishna’s message 9 Modern-media, modern opportunities 10 Vani projects – to complete and to create 11-12 Vanipedia – the Vani-temple 13 What is motivating us to build Vanipedia? 14 Different ways to study 15 Vanipedia mission statement 16 Summary of the Vanipedia project 17 Vanipedia petals overview 19 Vanisource 20-21 Vanibooks and Vanictionary 22 Vanimedia and Vaniversity 23 Vanipedia – the petal 24 Vaniquotes 25 What is Vaniquotes? 26-27 Vaniquotes sample page 28 Umbrella and related categories 29-37 Vaniquotes Vaniquotes compilations – still growing 38 Vaniquotes ticks all the boxes 39 Vaniquotes on the web 40-41 Evolution of Vanipedia 42-43 Appreciations for Vanipedia 44 Organization 45 Organizational structure of Vanipedia 46 Bhaktivedanta Library Services (BLS) 47 Prabhupada Vani Research Academy (PVRA) 48 How did Vanipedia come about? 49 The history behind Vanipedia 50-51 Wikipedia – an inspiration 53 Wikipedia – goodwill properly engaged and expressed 54 Wikipedia – Hinduism & Religion 55-58 About Vaniseva 59 Collaboration – the key to our success 60 Vaniseva – the sacred act of serving Srila Prabhupada’s Vani 61-63 Vaniseva – taking practical action to serve 64-65
  • 4. This page is intentionally blank
  • 6. Prabhupada-vani vision statement  Srila Prabhupada is our pre-eminent siksa-guru  We accept that all of Srila Prabhupada’s followers can experience his presence and shelter within his teachings – both individually and when discussing them with each other.  We purify ourselves and establish a firm relationship with Srila Prabhupada by learning to live with him as our guiding conscience.  We encourage devotees feeling separation from Srila Prabhupada, to take the time to seek his presence and solace within his Vani.  We share Srila Prabhupada’s compassion with all his followers, including those who take initiation in his line as well as those who follow him in different capacities.  We educate devotees in the truths of Srila Prabhupada’s position as our pre-eminent siksa-guru, and our sisya relationship with him in separation.  We establish a succession of siksa-empowered disciples to uphold Srila Prabhupada’s legacy throughout successive generations.  Srila Prabhupada is the Founder-Acharya of ISKCON  We promote his Vani as the primary driving force that keeps the members of ISKCON connected and faithful to him, and thus inspired, enthused and determined to make his movement everything that he wished it to be – both now and in the future.  We encourage the sustainable development of Vaishnava-brahminical standards centered on Srila Prabhupada’s teachings and his preaching strategies – a “vani-culture.”  We educate devotees in the truths of Srila Prabhupada’s position as the Founder-Acharya of ISKCON and our service to him and his movement. 2
  • 7. Suppose you have got now ten thousand. We shall expand to hundred thousand. That is required. Then hundred thousand to million, and million to ten million. So there will be no scarcity of acharya, and people will understand Krishna consciousness very easily. So make that organization. Don't be falsely puffed up. Follow the acharya's instruction and try to make yourself perfect, mature. Then it will be very easy to fight out maya. Yes. Acharyas, they declare war against maya's activities. – Srila Prabhupada lecture on Sri Caitanya-caritamrta – 6 April, 1975 Prabhupada-vani vision statement (cont’d)  Srila Prabhupada is the world-acharya  We increase the global awareness of the significance of Srila Prabhupada's spiritual stature as the world-acharya by establishing the contemporary relevance of his teachings in all circles in every country.  We inspire a culture of appreciation and respect for Srila Prabhupada's teachings, resulting in active participation in the practices of Krishna consciousness by the world’s population.  We realise the premise that Srila Prabhupada built a house in which the whole world can live by establishing his Vani as simultaneously the foundation and roof – the shelter, the ashraya – that protects this house. 3
  • 8. Vani, personal association and service in separation “So far personal association with the Guru is concerned, I was only with my Guru Maharaja four or five times, but I have never left his association, not even for a moment. Because I am following his instructions, I have never felt any separation.” – Srila Prabhupada letter to Satyadhanya das – 20 February, 1972 “I shall remain your personal guidance, physically present or not physically, as I am getting personal guidance from my Guru Maharaja.” – Srila Prabhupada room conversation – 14 July, 1977 “My Guru Maharaja passed in 1936, and I started this movement in 1965, thirty years after. Then? I am getting the mercy of guru. This is Vani. Even the guru is not physically present, if you follow the Vani, then you are getting help.” – Srila Prabhupada morning-walk conversation – 21 July, 1975 “In the absence of physical presentation of the Spiritual Master the Vaniseva is more important. My Spiritual Master, Sarasvati Gosvami Thakura, may appear to be physically not present, but still because I try to serve His instruction I never feel separated from Him. I expect that all of you should follow these instructions.” – Srila Prabhupada letter to Karandhara das (GBC) – 22 August, 1970 “Please be happy in separation. I am separated from my Guru Maharaja since 1936 but I am always with him so long I work according to his direction. So we should all work together for satisfying Lord Krishna and in that way the feelings of separation will transform into transcendental bliss.” – Srila Prabhupada letter to Uddhava das (ISKCON Press) – 3 May, 1970 We can learn to happily serve Srila Prabhupada in separation, by taking inspiration from the way he served his Guru Maharaja. 4
  • 9. Devotees are Srila Prabhupada’s limbs, ISKCON is his body, and his Vani is his soul “You are all my limbs of my body. Unless you cooperate, my life will be useless. The senses and life are correlative. Without life the senses cannot act and without sense, life is inactive.” – Srila Prabhupada letter to Brahmananda das (TP) – 17 July, 1968 “I am fervently appealing to you all not to create fracture in the solid body of the Society. Please work conjointly, without any personal ambition. That will help the cause.” – Srila Prabhupada letter to Brahmananda and Gargamuni Swamis – 31 July, 1970 “Make the covers of the book very much attractive so that automatically they will read the knowledge inside. The covers are like the mind and the senses, and the contents of the book are the soul.” – Srila Prabhupada letter to Amogha das (TP) – 22 May, 1972 “I wish that it will be noted down in history that this Krishna consciousness movement is responsible for saving the world. Practically, our movement is the only hope for saving the world from complete disaster.” – Srila Prabhupada letter to Sucandra das (TP) – 17 July, 1968 “You should always remember that whatever we are doing, it is in the parampara system beginning from Lord Krishna, down to us. Therefore, our loving spirit should be more upon the message than the physical representation. When we love the message and serve Him, automatically our devotional love for the physique is done.” – Srila Prabhupada letter to Govinda dasi – 7 April, 1970 When limbs are properly cooperating with the body, the body is strong to act. However, if there is no soul within the body, one’s life will be useless, and the limbs will not be able to function. Our holistic success strategy is for everyone to love the messages within Srila Prabhupada’s teachings and boldly place them within his Krishna consciousness movement. In this way Srila Prabhupada’s devotees can flourish properly in their respective services and make ISKCON a solid body through which to fulfill Srila Prabhupada’s desire to save the world from complete disaster. The devotees win, the GBC wins, ISKCON wins, the world wins, Prabhupada wins, and Lord Caitanya wins. There will be no losers. 5
  • 10. “From the very beginning I was strongly against the impersonalists and all my books are stressed on this point. So my oral instruction as well as my books are all at your service. Now you GBC consult them and get clear and strong idea, then there will be no disturbance. Disturbance is caused by ignorance; where there is no ignorance, there is no disturbance.” – Srila Prabhupada letter to Hayagriva das (GBC) - 14 September, 1970 6
  • 11. A political, social and educational culture is vital to establish Srila Prabhupada’s natural position  We believe our society needs a political, social and educational culture to facilitate and nurture Srila Prabhupada’s natural position with his followers and within his movement. It will not happen automatically or by wishful thinking. It can only happen by intelligent, concerted and collaborative efforts offered by his pure-hearted devotees.  We identify 5 key obstacles concealing Srila Prabhupada’s position within his movement: 1. ignorance of Srila Prabhupada's teachings – he has given instructions but we are not aware they exist. 2. indifference to Srila Prabhupada's teachings – we know the instructions exist but we do not care about them. We walk past them. 3. misunderstanding of Srila Prabhupada's teachings – we apply them sincerely but due to our over-confidence or lack of maturity they are misapplied. 4. a lack of faith in Srila Prabhupada's teachings – we do not believe in them. We think they are neither realistic nor practical. They are only theory. Or they are for his diksa-disciples and not for me, or they were valid for the ’60s and ’70s but not for now. 5. in competition with Srila Prabhupada's teachings – we go in a completely different direction than what Srila Prabhupada has instructed, and we do it with full force and conviction – and we enthusiastically take others with us.  We believe these obstacles can easily be overcome with the introduction of integral, structured educational programs aimed at nurturing our relationship with, and increasing our knowledge of Srila Prabhupada’s teachings. This will only succeed however if fueled by serious political commitment to create a culture whereby proper education and training are emphasized and valued as essential. And then Srila Prabhupada’s natural position will become, and remain, apparent to all generations of devotees – through his Vani. 7
  • 12. Distributing the teachings of parampara 1486 Caitanya Mahaprabhu appears in order to teach the world Krishna consciousness – 527 years ago 1488 Sanatana Goswami appears in order to write books on Krishna consciousness – 525 years ago 1489 Rupa Gosvami appears in order to write books on Krishna consciousness – 524 years ago 1500 Mechanical printing presses begin to revolutionise the distribution of books throughout Europe – 513 years ago 1834 Bhaktivinoda Thakura appears in order to write books on Krishna consciousness – 179 years ago 1874 Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati appears in order to write books on Krishna consciousness – 139 years ago 1896 Srila Prabhupada appears in order to write books on Krishna consciousness – 117 years ago 1914 Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati coins the phrase "brhat-mrdanga" – 99 years ago 1935 Srila Prabhupada receives the instruction to print books – 78 years ago 1944 Srila Prabhupada starts Back to Godhead magazine – 69 years ago 1956 Srila Prabhupada moves to Vrndavana to write books – 57 years ago 1962 Srila Prabhupada publishes his first volume of Srimad-Bhagavatam – 51 years ago 1965 Srila Prabhupada arrives in the West to distribute his books – 48 years ago 1968 Srila Prabhupada publishes his abridged Bhagavad-gita As-It-Is – 45 years ago 1972 Srila Prabhupada publishes his full version of Bhagavad-gita As-It-Is – 41 years ago 1972 Srila Prabhupada establishes the BBT to publish his books – 41 years ago 1974 Srila Prabhupada's disciples start the serious distribution of his books – 39 years ago 1975 Srila Prabhupada completes the Sri Caitanya-caritamrta – 38 years ago 1977 Srila Prabhupada stops speaking and leaves his Vani in our care – 36 years ago 1978 The Bhaktivedanta Archives is established – 35 years ago 1986 The world's digitally stored material amounts to 1 CD-ROM per person – 27 years ago 1991 The World Wide Web (brhat-brhat-brhat mrdanga) is established – 22 years ago 1992 The Bhaktivedanta VedaBase version 1.0 is created – 21 years ago 2002 The Digital Age arrives - worldwide digital storage overtakes analogue – 11 years ago 2007 The world's digitally stored material amounts to 61 CD-ROMS per person – 6 years ago, that makes 427 billion CD-ROMs. (all full) 2007 Srila Prabhupada's Vani-temple, the Vanipedia begins construction in the web – 6 years ago 2010 Srila Prabhupada's Vapu-temple, the Temple of the Vedic Planetarium begins construction in Sridhama Mayapur – 3 years ago 2012 Vanipedia reaches 1,906,753 quotes, 108,971 pages and 13,946 categories – 1 year ago 2013 500,000,000 of Srila Prabhupada's books have been distributed by ISKCON devotees in 48 years – an average of 28,538 books every single day 8
  • 13. Using media to spread Krishna’s message “So go on with your organization for distribution of my books through press and other modern-media and Krishna will certainly be pleased upon you. We can use everything – television, radio, movies, or whatever there may be – to tell about Krishna.” – Srila Prabhupada letter to Bhagavan das (GBC) - 24 November, 1970 “The mass-media can become such an important instrument in spreading our Krishna consciousness movement and I am glad to see that you are endeavouring to explore how this can be done.” – Srila Prabhupada letter to Nayanabhirama das (TP) - 9 January, 1971 “We are modern day Vaishnavas and we must preach vigorously using all the means available.” – Srila Prabhupada letter to Rupanuga das (GBC) - 10 December, 1971 “His Divine Grace was very pleased to hear your proposal for systematically amassing a subject by subject encyclopedic compilation of all of Srila Prabhupada's teachings and instructions as found in his books.” – Letter from Srila Prabhupada’s secretary to Subhananda dasa - 7 June, 1977 There is still more to be done to make Srila Prabhupada’s teachings accessible and prominent in the world today. Now with collaboration and the help of web technologies we have an opportunity to surpass all our previous successes. 9
  • 14. Modern-media, modern opportunities  For Srila Prabhupada, in the 1970’s, the terms modern-media and mass-media meant the printing press, radio, TV and movies. The world has since gone digital, and the modern mass-media is the web and its associated technologies – social networking sites, streaming videos, VoiP, interactive TVs, e-book readers, wireless touch-screen tablets and android phones.  The web is akin to a gigantic reference library and Google is the prominent library assistant. As the world increasingly depends on Google to find information, the question of how to maintain visibility in web search results has become a key concern for all types of institutions –commercial, educational, governmental, charitable and religious.  The key to maintaining visibility and higher ranking in web search engines depends on elements known as search engine optimizers (SEOs). They include (i) key words (ii) titles (often concealed in the source code) (iii) links with other webpages (iv) key words in links and (v) webpage traffic.  Using the above elements, we have been, since 2007, compiling, indexing and categorizing Srila Prabhupada’s Vani into a dynamic, searchable, online encyclopedia.  Vanipedia’s aim is to increase the visibility and accessibility of Srila Prabhupada’s teachings on the web by offering a free, authentic, one-stop resource for : • ISKCON preachers • ISKCON leaders and managers • devotees studying devotional courses • devotees wishing to deepen their knowledge • devotees involved in inter-faith dialogues • curriculum developers • devotees feeling separation from Srila Prabhupada • executive leaders • academics • teachers and students of religious education • writers • searchers of spirituality • people concerned about current social issues • historians 10
  • 15. Vani projects – to complete and to create  Complete the preservation work of Srila Prabhupada's Vani – Bhaktivedanta Archives.  Complete the full translations of all of Srila Prabhupada's books, lectures, letters and conversations in 8? 16? 25? languages and complete all the books in 64? 108? other languages – E-books and/or hardcopy – BBT.  Complete the Vanipedia in 16 languages and partially in 108 other languages – PVRA.  Gather the oral histories of Srila Prabhupada's memories from his disciples into a central website. In another section of this website there will be the facilities for Srila Prabhupada's followers post 1977 to document their dedication to, realizations of, and relationship with Srila Prabhupada. One possible name of this site is “Vanimemories”.  Build 6-10 Founder-Acharya memorials in different continents which present the life and teachings of Srila Prabhupada – tentative places include North America, South America , Western Europe, Russia, India (3 places), Africa, South East Asia and Australasia.  Create 108 educational courses and training initiatives to teach the theological, philosophical and practical application of Srila Prabhupada's premises found within his teachings.  Create clay plaques of Srila Prabhupada’s Bhagavad-gita As-It-Is which will survive the elements for 5,000 years plus.  Create a comprehensive history of ISKCON from 1965 to 1977 (12 years).  Create a comprehensive history of ISKCON from 1978 to 2027 (50 years).  Create the Acharyapedia in English – an encyclopedia of the works of the Gaudiya Vaishnava Acharyas. If we really want to see an oceanic smile on Srila Prabhupada's face, then let him see us working together, with proper commitment to bring his teachings to their pristine condition. In this way we can pragmatically fulfill his desire to see us cooperate. 11
  • 16. Vani projects – to complete and to create by 2027 If we can complete all these projects by 2027, it will be a glorious achievement to celebrate the first 50 years of serving Srila Prabhupada’s Vani in separation Complete the full translations of all of Srila Prabhupada's books, lectures, letters and conversations Complete the Vanipedia in 16 languages and partially in 108 other languages Complete the oral history of Prabhupada's memories Build 6-10 Founder-Acharya memorials in different continents Create 108 educational courses and training initiatives based on Srila Prabhupada's teachings Create a comprehensive history of ISKCON from 1965 to 1977 (12 years) Create a comprehensive history of ISKCON from 1978 to 2027 (50 years) Complete the work of the Bhaktivedanta Archives’ preservation of Srila Prabhupada's teachings Create clay plaques of Srila Prabhupada’s Bhagavad-gita which will survive the elements for 5,000 years plus Create the Acharyapedia in English A call for mission! shall we unite our voices? 12
  • 17. Vanipedia – the Vani-temple 13
  • 18. What is motivating us to build Vanipedia?  We accept that  Srila Prabhupada is a pure devotee, directly empowered by Lord Sri Krishna to engage living entities in loving devotional service to God. This empowerment is proven in his unparalleled exposé on the Absolute Truth found within his teachings.  There has been no greater exponent of Vaishnava philosophy in modern times, and no greater social critic who explains this contemporary world AS IT IS, than Srila Prabhupada.  Srila Prabhupada wanted his teachings to be profusely distributed and properly understood.  A thematic approach to Srila Prabhupada's teachings greatly enhances the process of understanding the truths within them, and that there is immense value in exploring, discovering and thoroughly compiling his teachings from every angle of vision.  Srila Prabhupada's teachings will be the primary shelter for millions of his followers for many future generations.  In his physical absence, Srila Prabhupada requires many vaniservants to assist him in this mission.  Thus, we are committed to create a truly dynamic platform to facilitate the profuse distribution and proper understanding of the perfect knowledge and realizations found within Srila Prabhupada’s teachings, so they may be joyfully acted upon. It is that simple.  The only thing separating us from the completion of Vanipedia is time, and the many sacred hours of vaniseva that is yet to be offered by the devotees who commit themselves to this vision. I thank you very much, all of you, for appreciating my humble service which I am trying to render as a matter of duty ordered by my Guru Maharaja. I request all my disciples to work cooperatively and I am sure our mission will advance without any doubt. – Srila Prabhupada letter to Tamala Krishna das (GBC) - 14 August, 1971 14
  • 19. Different ways to study The 60 ways Srila Prabhupada instructs the devotees to study his books: Frequency again and again • always • as much as possible • as soon as you get time • at least one hour daily • at least one or two hours daily • at least three hours a day • constantly • continuously • in small installments • more and more • once-twice-thrice • one after another • over and over • profusely • reading twenty-four hours • regularly • repeatedly • repeatedly whole life • throughout the day as much as possible • whenever there is time Mood as it is spoken by Krishna • adeptly • attentively • carefully • critically • deeply • devotedly • diligently • expertly • faithfully • intensely • nicely • penetratingly • persistently • philosophically • profoundly • profusely • seriously • sincerely • step-by-step, cautiously • submissively • thoughtfully • with adherence • with due care Method from all angles of vision • from different lights of directions • from every point of view • from varieties of angles • inspecting the subject matter from all angles of approach and savouring the new understandings • to understand the subject matter from different angles of vision • by discussing them • in the association of devotees • with the cooperation of your God-brothers and -sisters • with the help of other devotees • with the help of your senior God- brothers and -sisters • minutely • scientifically • scrutinizingly • thoroughly Better to boil the milk now very vigorously and make it thick and sweet, that is the best process. So let us concentrate on training our devotees very thoroughly in the knowledge of Krishna consciousness from our books, from tapes, by discussing always, and in so many ways instruct them in the right propositions. – Srila Prabhupada letter to Hamsadutta das (GBC) - 22 June, 1972 15
  • 20. Vanipedia mission statement  To offer Srila Prabhupada a continuous, worldwide platform to preach, educate and train people in the science of Krishna consciousness in all languages of the world.  To explore, discover and comprehensively compile Srila Prabhupada's teachings from multiple angles of vision.  To present Srila Prabhupada’s Vani in easily accessible and understandable ways.  To offer a repository of comprehensive thematic research to facilitate the writing of many topical books based on Srila Prabhupada’s Vani.  To offer curriculum for various educational initiatives into Srila Prabhupada's Vani.  To collaborate with other educational institutions and help them improve the quality of their courses that are based on Srila Prabhupada's Vani.  To instil in the first, second and subsequent generations an unequivocal understanding of the necessity to both consult Srila Prabhupada’s Vani for personal guidance, and become sufficiently learned to represent him on all levels.  To attract Srila Prabhupada's followers from all nations to collaborate globally with the view to achieve all the above. In the absence of a suitable king to curb irreligious tendencies, educating the people systematically in the teaching of Srimad-Bhagavatam will clear up the hazy atmosphere of corruption, bribery, blackmail, etc. – SB 1.17.27, purport 16
  • 21. Summary of the Vanipedia project  Vanipedia is the collaborative endeavour of a group of devotees working on the development of a comprehensive, thematic and interactive encyclopedia of Srila Prabhupada's teachings on the web. Vanipedia is presented as a lotus flower with 7 divisions or petals. Vanipedia – the petal  The portal for all of the other 6 petals. Will offer thematic articles researched from Vaniquotes. Vanisource  The archived collections of Srila Prabhupada’s books, lectures, letters and conversations which provides the linking and cross-referencing foundation for Vaniquotes and the other petals of Vanipedia. Vanibooks  Will offer compendiums on specific topics, drawn from Vaniquotes. Chapters and pages will have links to Vaniquotes for in-depth studies, and all quotes will be cross-referenced to Vanisource. Ideal for topical study, discussions and presentations. Vanictionary  Will offer automatic lookup for specific words in Srila Prabhupada’s books, cross-referenced to Vanisource, Sanskrit and Bengali synonyms. Vaniversity  Will be an educational resource providing curricula and training materials based on Vaniquotes, Vanibooks, and Vanisource. Three levels of courses are envisioned: Vanifun, Vanischool and Vaniversity. Vanimedia  Repository for images, audio and video of Srila Prabhupada compiled and categorized by subject, linked to Vaniquotes and all other Vani petals. Additional projects include a Vaniradio and VaniTV. Vaniquotes  A comprehensive compilation of quotes by Srila Prabhupada categorized by subject, themes, personalities, scriptures and usage of language. All quotes are cross-referenced to Vanisource, and some to Vanibooks, Vanimedia, etc. Ideal for quick search and reference for essays, lectures and discussions. 17
  • 22. This page is intentionally blank 18
  • 24. Vanisource  The Vanisource petal features archived collections of Srila Prabhupada’s books, lectures, letters and conversations. It is presented in a similar, navigable format to Vedabase.com and Vedabase.net, but with the additional benefit of cross- referenced links to other petals of Vanipedia.  Vanisource is the foundation upon which all linking and cross-referencing in Vaniquotes and other petals of Vanipedia are built.  Still to be added:  Back to Godhead magazines  Some miscellaneous books  PDF files of original letters  Legal documents  Original manuscripts Random selection of “Sloka of the day” Exclusive to the archived collections of Srila Prabhupada’s teachings Photo randomly selected from Vanimedia Gradually, we shall replace the literatures which are currently popular with our own style of transcendental literature. I have tried it: any page you open, that is wonderful reading matter. My ambition is to spread these books far and wide all over the world so that everyone shall read at least one of our books and that will change his life. If only 1% become devotees, that will change the world. – Srila Prabhupada letter to Karandhara das (GBC) - 2 May, 1972 20
  • 25. Vanisource (cont’d) Page views Photo randomly selected from Vanimedia Links to previous and next verses Links allow to backtrack to indexed lists Names of speaker and listener of each verse indicated at the bottom of each page Cross-referenced link 21
  • 26. Vanibooks and Vanictionary  Vanibooks  A Vanibook is a clear and conclusive compendium of a particular subject. It is researched and compiled from Vaniquotes, Vanisource and Vanimedia, and covers all the angles of vision.  Chapters and pages will have links to Vaniquotes for in- depth studies, and all quotes will be cross-referenced to Vanisource.  The Vanibook has all of the natural elements of a book (introduction, chapters, index and glossary) and compilers can write brief commentaries to aid in the flow of the quotes.  Ideal for topical study, discussions and presentations.  Vanictionary  Will offer automatic lookup for specific words found in Srila Prabhupada’s books and is cross-referenced to Vanisource, Sanskrit and Bengali synonyms.  Vanictionary will offer a Sanskrit and Bengali glossary, synonyms with reference, the possibility to browse by verse or translation and see where the verse is quoted and descriptions of personalities. 22
  • 27. Vanimedia and Vaniversity  Vanimedia  Will be a very appealing and an easy-to-use repository of media: • 20,000 photos for seeing Srila Prabhupada. • 60 hours of video for seeing Srila Prabhupada. • 1,700 hours of audio for hearing Srila Prabhupada. • Thousands of Vaniquotes pages synchronizing the text with their audio clips. The current milestone is to complete 1,080 of these files by Gaura Purnima 2013. • Thousands of short audio clips with subtitles in multiple languages. • We are still in search of qualified and enthusiastic devotees who would like to build the most fun and dynamic way to browse through Srila Prabhupada's pictures, audio and video.  Vaniversity  This is the educational petal of Vanipedia. As Vaniquotes and Vanibooks develop, Vaniversity will organize their content in educational format, functioning both as a curriculum resource as well as providing customized courses into Srila Prabhupada's Bhaktivedanta translations and purports. User feedback via tests and polls will enable constant improvement of the educational faculties.  For ages 3-99, we will have Vanifun programs where learning takes place by having fun!  Teenagers aged 12-99, will probably want to attend Vanischool. Educational faculties can set up portals for independent teaching programs, or individual devotees can start their own programs for guiding readers into Vaniquotes or Vanisource, etc.  Adults aged 18-99 wishing to deepen their knowledge will benefit from thoroughly developed curriculum and be provided training in all social fields. In the western countries many Ph.D.'s are out of employment because they did not get any service. We do not want to become great philosophers but rather to understand the philosophy in our own books. If we remain strong in our own literature, we can meet anyone else without any fear. – Srila Prabhupada letter to Damodara Pandita das - 17 July, 1976 23
  • 28. Vanipedia – the petal  The Vanipedia petal is now beginning to unfold. Glancing through the first two completed articles – Animal-Killing in Human Society(1) and Buddha: A Vaisnava Perspective(2) – one can experience the high standard of devotional research within Vaniquotes, complete with source notes and extensive references for additional reading and study.  The article entitled Animal-Killing in Human Society(1) has already inspired the Northern European BBT to publish a book on the subject.  Just imagine the power of delivery of 500 to 1,000 similarly compiled thematic articles, translated into multiple languages, interlinked with each other and all accessible under one platform as a dynamic way to introduce people to Srila Prabhupada’s teachings.  We envision that the Vanipedia petal will become the preferred resource for all devotee preachers, students, teachers and publishers, as well as other students and teachers of oriental philosophy, social studies, religious studies , Indology, etc.  The Vanipedia petal will also have introductory articles using samples, lists and graphs to introduce the user to the wealth of content in Vaniquotes. Type these URLs in your web-browser to view the corresponding articles in Vanipedia: (1) http://www.vanipedia.org/wiki/Animal-Killing_in_Human_Society (2) http://www.vanipedia.org/wiki/Buddha:_A_Vaisnava_Perspective I am very pleased that you are inclined to read and study our books with such seriousness. Thank you very much. And your conclusion is very nice. So continue it whole-heartedly. We want good preachers also. Preaching shouldn't depend on me only. My disciples should become all good preachers, and that depends on studying the books nicely so that you can arrive at the right conclusion. – Srila Prabhupada letter to Hrdayananda das (TP) - 5 July, 1971 24
  • 30. What is Vaniquotes?  The Vaniquotes petal offers an unparalleled compilation of quotes, drawn exclusively from Srila Prabhupada’s books, lectures, conversations, morning walks and correspondence and organized into categories and pages.  Vaniquotes are grouped together via themes, personalities, scriptures and the usage of language. Each quote is linked to its original source, thus keeping everything within its proper context.  Vaniquotes is an ideal tool for quick searching and in-depth referencing for lectures, presentations, discussions, etc.  We have introduced in the Vanipedia petal two ready-made topical articles based on Vaniquotes research. We will be inviting devotees with academic drive to participate in building a library of similar articles.  Some research projects already within Vaniquotes: I am very much stressing at this point that all of my students shall be very much conversant with the philosophy of Krishna consciousness, and that they should read our books very diligently at least one or two hours daily and try to understand the subject matter from varieties of angles. – Srila Prabhupada letter to Madhudvisa das (GBC) - 16 June, 1972 • 10,165 questions asked to Srila Prabhupada • 4,243 entries in the Sanskrit dictionary • 2,908 entries in the English dictionary • 1,679 names of 1st initiates of Srila Prabhupada • 1,536 questions posed by Srila Prabhupada • 902 different kinds of devotees • 851 verses from CC with their scriptural origins • 679 names of 2nd initiates of Srila Prabhupada • 649 analogies given by Srila Prabhupada • 588 verses cited from Bhagavad-gita As-It-Is • 488 verses cited from Srimad-Bhagavatam (cantos 1 – 3) • 207 appointed leaders receiving training from Srila Prabhupada • 187 meanings of the Krishna consciousness movement • 185 different kinds of disciples • 81 stories told by Srila Prabhupada • 78 proverbs quoted by Srila Prabhupada 26
  • 31. What is Vaniquotes? (cont’d) prescribed duties prescribed duties prescribed duties prescribed duties prescribed duties prescribed duties prescribed duties The quotes on “prescribed duties” are copied from Vedabase into Vaniquotes pages and then linked to Vanisource A-Z. Pages regrouped and indexed under the category showing “prescribed duties” in their original context Categories hold pages and related-categories Select to view the vast compilation achieved to date Links to other petals 1. Overview pages of all references to “prescribed duties” 27
  • 32. Vaniquotes sample page Cross-referencing to other relevant categories One of 76 pages showing the full context of the quote “prescribed duties” Page title - linked to relevant categories and can be accessed through each of them Link to Vanisource with automatic scrolling to relevant place in the source 28
  • 33. Umbrella and related categories A related category is also a complete category. It is called a related category only when it is placed within another category. We place categories within Umbrella categories and within normal categories 29
  • 34. Umbrella and related categories (cont’d) 30
  • 35. Umbrella and related categories (cont’d) 31
  • 36. More examples of related-categories Regarding my books, everyone should read. I am also reading. Everyone should be engaged 24 hours. That is the sum and substance. How much you should read and how much you should do other types of service, that has to be decided by each individual devotee. Eating and sleeping should be minimized—not a single moment should be misused. – Srila Prabhupada letter to Govardhana das (TP) - 15 February, 1975 32
  • 37. List of umbrella categories Name of Umbrella category Related categories Name of Umbrella category Related categories Absolute and Relative 7 Cause and Effect 28 Abuse, Neglect, Appreciate, and Praise 78 Ceremonies and Functions 41 Acharya, Guru, Spiritual Master 89 Change, Fixed, and Eternal 173 Action Words 279 Chemicals, Elements, Metals, and Minerals 99 Activities and Work 170 Colors 18 Agriculture and Husbandry 40 Coming and Going 101 All the "Ways"... 28 Communicating, Distributing, and Sharing 240 Allowing and Preventing 121 Compilations from Books 8,250 Always, Even, and Only 46 Compilations from Conversations 5,099 Arts and Sciences 98 Compilations from Lectures 5,931 Attraction and Repulsion 40 Compilations from Letters 4,837 Attributes and Descriptives 68 Concepts 10 Auspicious Things 15 Consciousness 56 Authority 89 Controlled and Uncontrolled 62 Beautiful and Attractive 25 Cooperation and Surrender 152 Begin and Become 115 Cosmological Places 8 Bhagavad-gita 31 Creation, Maintenance, and Destruction 89 Bhaktisiddhanta 11 Deity Worship 31 Bhaktivinoda 6 Desires and Needs 79 Birth, Life, and Death 235 Deviation, Disobedience, Punishment, and Apology 70 Bodies of Water 16 Devotee 79 Bodily Activities 120 Devotee - different kinds of 48 Body 70 Devotion 139 Bondage and Liberation 146 Difficult and Easy 51 Books 55 Dis* and Im* - meaning "not" 57 By and For 91 Disciples of Srila Prabhupada 222 Caitanya Mahaprabhu 54 Disciples of Srila Prabhupada (Our) 215 Can and Cannot 95 Do's and Dont's 82 Care and Attention 47 Duties, Principles, Rules, and Responsibilities 95 33
  • 38. List of umbrella categories (cont’d) Name of Umbrella category Related categories Name of Umbrella category Related categories Each, Every, and All 103 Institutions 27 Ecstatic Symptoms 19 Interpersonal Relationships 63 Education 88 Judging and Evaluating 10 Eighteen Kinds of Material Contaminations 21 Kinds and Types Of (Quantity) 15 Emotions 270 Knowledge and Knowing 116 Emphasis On... 103 Krishna 271 Energy and Power 108 Krishna consciousness 73 Enjoying and Renouncing 56 Krishna's Family Members 129 Events Appearing in the Gaudiya Vaisnava Calendar 35 Krishna's Ornaments and Paraphernalia 18 Failure and Success 89 Languages 13 Faith 19 Leadership 203 Geographical Places 60 Learn, Understand, and Teach 201 Give, Take, and Receive 123 Literature and Its Elements 30 Giving Protection 67 Living Entity (Jiva) 61 God 203 Longitude and Latitude Locations 21 Good and Bad 197 Lord Buddha 9 Good and Bad Qualities 255 Love 71 Governance 45 Manifest and Unmanifest 54 Gradations and Stages 279 Many, More, and Most 71 Great, Greater, and Greatest 228 Married Life 46 Habitations and Their Fixtures 75 Material 137 Happiness and Distress 170 Material and Spiritual 251 Holy Name and Chanting 47 Meanings and Explanations 296 How, Why, When and Where 45 Mercy, Compassion and Forgiveness 81 Human Beings and Society 112 Mind, Intelligence, and Ego 90 Il*, In*, and Ir* - meaning "not" 50 Mis* - meaning "wrongly" 22 In and Out 133 Mission 12 Industry, Finances, and Business 138 Motivation and Inspiration 79 Inhabitants of Vrndavana 62 Must and Should 107 34
  • 39. List of umbrella categories (cont’d) Name of Umbrella category Related categories Name of Umbrella category Related categories Nine Processes of Devotional Service 10 Prabhupada's Expressions 148 No Emphasis On... 15 Preaching 35 No Intoxication, Gambling, Meat-eating, or Illicit Sex 55 Principal Personalities from Mahabharata 53 Normal and Not Normal 51 Principal Personalities from Ramayana 14 No's and Not's 355 Processes of Knowledge and Understanding 16 Numbers 177 Pure 79 Nutrition and Health 97 Qualities Leading to Bondage 18 Observe, Perceive, and See 145 Qualities of a Brahmana 16 Other, Such, Possibilities, and Uses 100 Qualities of Krishna 40 Our Initiations (Disciples of Srila Prabhupada) 36 Questions Asked to Srila Prabhupada - By Theme 142 Parts of the Body 136 Radharani and Her Expansions 27 Past, Present, and Future 69 Real, False, and Truth 264 People and Persons 500 Realization and Revelation 61 Perfect and Imperfect 72 Religion 84 Periods of Time 210 Religiousness - different aspects of 176 Personal and Impersonal 55 Remember and Forget 21 Personalities Appearing after Lord Caitanya 9 Saintly Personalities 36 Personalities Appearing before Lord Caitanya 13 Same and Different 146 Personalities Appearing in the Gaudiya Vaisnava Calendar 78 Sanskrit Terms 490 Personalities from Bhagavad-gita 16 Scriptural Origins of Sri Caitanya-caritamrta Verses 70 Personalities from Sri Caitanya Caritamrta 224 Service 66 Personalities from Srimad Bhagavatam 664 Sex 27 Places of Worship 52 Small 14 Plant Life 27 Social Ailments and Their Paraphernalia 80 Prabhupada 104 Soul 52 Prabhupada ( I ) 119 Sound and Hearing 51 Prabhupada (My) 151 Spiritual 115 Prabhupada Citing Verses From Different Scriptures 31 Spiritual Happiness 28 Prabhupada's Books 43 Srimad-Bhagavatam - Bhagavata Purana 36 35
  • 40. List of umbrella categories (cont’d) Name of Umbrella category Related categories Name of Umbrella category Related categories Supreme and Absolute 71 Names of Apsaras 3 Systems, Processes, and Positions 136 Names of Avataras 6 Temples of Vrndavana (Seven Principal) 7 Names of Brahmacaris 2 The Twelve Primary Disciplinary Principles 11 Names of Cities 125 The Vedas 51 Names of Contemporary Personalities Mentioned by SP 40 Things and Objects 142 Names of Continents 8 Thinking, Feeling, and Willing 99 Names of Countries 80 This Ism or That Ism 491 Names of Cowherd Boys 68 Three Modes of Material Nature 21 Names of Days, Months, and Years 68 Time 56 Names of Demigods 43 Transcendental 41 Names of Demons 53 Traveling and Moving 126 Names of Dramas, Poetry and Song Books 11 Twelve Forests of Vrndavana 12 Names of Dynasties 12 Un* - meaning "not" 95 Names of Earthly Planets 2 Under and Over 56 Names of Festivals 12 Vaniquotes Dictionaries 46 Names of Forests 8 Varnas and Asramas 74 Names of Gandharvas 7 Very and Much 86 Names of Gopis 49 Visnu's Twenty-four Forms 24 Names of Gopis (The asta-sakhis) 10 Visnu-tattva 83 Names of Great Sages 114 Weather and Natural Phenomena 34 Names of Guna-avataras 4 Weights and Measures 187 Names of Heavenly Planets 12 Whole and Complete 52 Names of Hellish Planets 32 With, Within, and Without 76 Names of Higher Planets 27 Worlds and Universes 158 Names of Historical Personalities Mentioned by SP 33 Worthless and Not Needed 25 Names of Kings 19 Yoga 40 Names of Krishna 102 Young and Old 45 Names of Krishna's Sons 112 Names of Acharyas 43 Names of Lila-avataras 25 36
  • 41. List of umbrella categories (cont’d) Name of Umbrella category Related categories Name of Umbrella category Related categories Names of Logicians 3 Names of the Twelve Mahajanas 12 Names of Logics Quoted by Srila Prabhupada 22 Names of Vaikuntha Planets 22 Names of Lords 50 Names of Vedas 7 Names of Manjaris 14 Names of Villages 19 Names of Manus (14 in total) 16 Names of Yoga Systems 19 Names of Manvantara-avataras 5 Types of Animals 78 Names of Mountains 46 Types of Avataras 10 Names of Other Mahajanas 19 Types of Birds 19 Names of Places of Pilgrimage 22 Types of Clothing 20 Names of Planets 61 Types of Disasters 12 Names of Prajapatis 20 Types of Diseases 20 Names of Purusa-avataras 3 Types of Family Members 65 Names of Races 37 Types of Flowers 12 Names of Radharani 17 Types of Food 85 Names of Regions within Countries 32 Types of Fruits 8 Names of Religions 8 Types of Furniture 5 Names of Sacred Lakes 3 Types of Insects 16 Names of Sacred Rivers 36 Types of Living Entities 22 Names of Saintly Brahmanas 58 Types of Musical Instruments 13 Names of Saintly Kings 75 Types of Oceans 92 Names of Saintly Women 61 Types of Plants 18 Names of Saktyavesa-avataras 14 Types of Transport 35 Names of Sampradayas 49 Types of Trees 15 Names of Scriptures 212 Types of Weapons 22 Names of Srila Prabhupada 10 Names of Sutras 3 Names of Temples 13 Names of the Seven Great Sages 7 37
  • 42. 875 3,957 1,361 3,954 2,952 1,028 4,702 5,953 4,676 19,061 36,690 40,162 15,386 42,562 135,245 428,898 1,007,893 1,952,656 Mar 2008 Mar 2009 Mar 2010 Mar 2011 Mar 2012 Mar 2013 Categories created Pages created Quotes compiled Vaniquotes compilations – still growing Gaura Purnima 21 March 2008 Official launch of Vanipedia 642,312 390,448 375,245 240,699 140,683 126,509 36,760 Srila Prabhupada lectures Srila Prabhupada conversations Srimad-Bhagavatam Srila Prabhupada letters Sri Caitanya-caritamrita Other books by Srila Prabhupada Bhagavad-gita As-It-Is Progression of Vaniquotes compilations since 2007Number of quotes compiled by source Almost 2 million quotes compiled ! 38
  • 43. Vaniquotes ticks all the boxes vaniquotes .com vedabase .com vedabase .net Vedabase offline Prabhupadabooks .com Prabhupadavani .org Is exclusively for Srila Prabhupada’s Vani       Is part of a larger project       Offers a thematic presentation       Openly invites collaboration       Has an index of search words and quotes linked to source       Provides an index of source page titles with linked access       Search terms are highlighted on source pages       Source pages provide cross-referencing to other source pages and additional matching categories       Provides accurate search results       Has Help and Tutorials(1) section       Note: (1) Vaniquotes tutorials are in development 39
  • 44. Vaniquotes on the web  Although still a work in progress, web traffic based on daily score of unique visitors is steadily increasing  Jan-Mar 2012: average of 362 a day  Apr-Jun 2012: average of 438 a day  Jul-Sep 2012: average of 693 a day  Oct-Dec 2012: average of 813 a day  A recent test search for “prescribed duties” using Google returned the following:  Vaniquotes.org appeared on the first result page  it ranked fifth out of 38.1 million results 40
  • 45. Vaniquotes on the web (cont’d)  A recent test search for “duty of a disciple” using Google returned the following:  Vaniquotes.org appeared on the first result page  it ranked third out of 7.2 million results  Vaniquotes is the only non-Christian webpage in the listing 41
  • 46. Evolution of Vanipedia (2006-2013) 2007 2008 20092006 20132010 2011 2012 Note: (1) MediaWiki is the software that runs the Wikipedia website. For more information, visit MediaWiki.org. At Vanipedia, we are very satisfied with our inspired choice. 2006  Bhaktivedanta Library Services (BLS) establishes the Prabhupada Vani Research Academy (PVRA) 2007  Vanipedia is born  MediaWiki(1) software is adopted  BBT Trustees approve the project  Vanisource is created and the compilation process starts 2008  Vanipedia is publicly launched at the Gaura Purnima festival in Radhadesh 2009  BLS finances the construction of a 150 square metres office and volunteer living facilities to support the Vanipedia project June 2007 – March 2013  257 volunteers from 44 nationalities have performed over 95,000 hours of devotional service to compile • 14,127 categories • 111,244 pages • 1,952,656 quotes • 464,288 edits  Page views on Vanipedia for the same period have reached • Vaniquotes – 11,568,857 views • Vanisource – 6,010,506 views • Vanipedia – 382,839 views 2012  Year filled with many milestones and record- breaking compiling scores  Thematic mapping of the 10,000 questions asked to Srila Prabhupada completed  English and Sanskrit Dictionaries completed with 2,908 and 4,227 entries  Vanipedia Facebook group reached 2,530 members in December  Vaniquotes pages reached 10,235,593 views 42
  • 47. Evolution of Vanipedia (2013-2027) 2013 2013–2014  IT development and web promotion (Vanipedia is setting up office in Sridhama Mayapur to facilitate this)  Write Vanipedia articles (we need writers)  Develop the Vanimedia audio files (lots of opportunity to hear) 2017 2019 20212015 2023 2025 2027 2013–2022 We hope to complete:  the compiling in Vaniquotes  the links from Vanisource to Vaniquotes  the Vanictionary  the Vanimedia with all of Srila Prabhupada's audio, video and photos  the thousands of short audio clips of Srila Prabhupada’s Vani  the compendiums in Vanibooks  the 1000 thematic and introductory articles in Vanipedia  the educational courses in Vaniversity  Vanipedia in many languages October 2015: 50th anniversary of Srila Prabhupada’s arrival in America May 2022: 50th anniversary of Srila Prabhupada founding the BBT November 2027: 50th anniversary of serving Srila Prabhupada in separation. We would love to see:  the completion of all outstanding Vani projects  the first generation of disciples leaving behind a solid “vani-culture” driven by Srila Prabhupada’s teachings being in their pristine condition  the first, second and subsequent generations unequivocally understanding the necessity to consult Srila Prabhupada’s Vani for personal guidance and being sufficiently learned to represent him on all levels 43
  • 48. Appreciations for Vanipedia I have been immersing myself in Srila Prabhupada's Vani at Vanipedia. You have undertaken a most significant and monumental undertaking, and from what I have seen, you are executing it with great conviction, intelligence, and skill. We are deeply indebted to you. Giriraja Swami First, I want to thank whomever I should thank for the kind acknowledgement at the bottom of the "About" page. I am Steven Gelberg, formerly Subhananda das, who Srila Prabhupada approved to compile the encyclopedia of his teachings all those years ago. I'm glad to see that such work has been carried on to the high point of development evinced in the Vanipedia site. Steven Gelberg / Subhananda das After doing a Google search for 'tatastha' I chanced to find the Vanipedia site. I was so very pleased beyond words, and impressed and joyful and uplifted to see such an amazing meaningful project. I am now old and poor, but I would like to extend all my good wishes for all success with this endeavour and indeed with your relationship with Lord Sri Krishna. Lord Caitanya has created this gigantic mridanga, the internet, to save this sad sad world. Your efforts are completely aligned with His vision and He is undoubtedly very pleased with your service. Me, I am still in awe. Thank you again. Gaura Hari das The “BEST” book distributor cannot possibly personally distribute all the Vani that is being presented in any of the 3 ‘Vani” links: Pedia, Quotes or Source! However the same distributor can distribute these 3 links to multitudes of persons WORLDWIDE in a single day!!! This is intelligent service… Out of those multitudes, MANY will learn “bhakti” principles, buy books online in growing numbers, and apply devotional principles in their own home town or village – in every corner of the globe… Langaganesh das 44
  • 50. Organizational structure of Vanipedia Bhaktivedanta Library Services (BLS) (non-profit organization registered in Belgium since 1995) Prabhupada Vani Research Academy (PVRA) (internal department of BLS established in 2006) Vanipedia (started in 2007, the first project of PVRA) 46
  • 51. Bhaktivedanta Library Services (BLS)  The Bhaktivedanta Library Services a.s.b.l. is a non profit organization established in 1995. It is situated adjacent to the ISKCON Radhadesh community in Petite Somme, Durbuy in Belgium.  BLS was established for the “soul” purpose of facilitating the propagation and preservation of the transcendental knowledge propounded in the life and teachings of His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, Founder-Acharya of the International Society for Krishna consciousness.  BLS works collaboratively with the North European BBT for the distribution of Srila Prabhupada’s books in English throughout Europe, and also acts on behalf of the BBT to supply the French yatra with their sankirtan books.  The Bhaktivedanta Library Program was developed by BLS to ensure that the teachings of His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada become a focus in temples and in the homes and hearts of disciples and followers.  Since 1995 BLS has continued to expand in order to supply a wider range of books, videos, CDs, MP3s, DVDs, computer programs and presentations. It aspires to continue to develop into a strong, stable asset assisting many souls to connect to the wonderful principles and practices of Krishna consciousness.  Over the years BLS has supported various authors, communication preaching, the Bhaktivedanta Archives and the Bhaktivedanta College.  BLS has been developing the Vanipedia project since 2007.  To discover more, go to http://blservices.com 47
  • 52. Prabhupada Vani Research Academy (PVRA) Mission statement  To offer a global platform for Srila Prabhupada to profoundly inspire millions of human beings to awaken their dormant love for Krishna by taking up the process of devotional service.  To offer a global platform for Srila Prabhupada to clearly express his vision for the spiritual upliftment of human society via the establishment of daivi-varnasrama and the sankirtana-yajna.  To follow the Vaishnava-brahminical principles of simplicity, straightforwardness, mercy, truthfulness, and action from a non political platform.  To present, in compiled form, the multifarious Krishna-conscious truths established by Srila Prabhupada in his teachings.  To facilitate the proper understanding of both these essential philosophical truths, and the various other related subjects.  To facilitate the education and training of Srila Prabhupada's followers to assist him as empowered servants of the Krishna consciousness movement.  To assist in identifying the essential principles from Srila Prabhupada's teachings in concise form, with the hope that one day they will be established as the guiding principles for the worldwide Krishna consciousness movement, via a constitutional process and other forms of implementation. Note: PVRA is the internal department of Bhaktivedanta Library Services. PVRA is developing the Vanipedia project. 48
  • 53. How did Vanipedia come about? 49
  • 54. The history behind Vanipedia 1987 Jul: Visnu Murti begins a thematic compilation from Srila Prabhupada's letters, drawing from the five-volume set ‘Letters from Srila Prabhupada’ recently published by the Bhaktivedanta Archives in June 1987. 1988 Jan: He visits the Bhaktivedanta Archives in Los Angeles and is moved to learn they have a lot more of Srila Prabhupada's teachings that have still not been released. May: He finishes the compilation from the letters, consisting of 200 (A4) pages divided into 17 subjects, prints 150 copies and distributes them to the devotees. Aug: He teams up with Ekanath and Ranjit at Bhaktivedanta Archives in Los Angeles, and helps with the production and distribution to the devotees of Srila Prabhupada's remaining archived teachings. Settling in England, he also teams up with Ajamila who is working on a far superior compilation from Srila Prabhupada's letters, the ‘Siksamrta’. 1988-95 Visnu Murti travels throughout Europe to assist in the publication and distribution of the following titles of Srila Prabhupada's teachings: Books: Conversations with Srila Prabhupada (37 volumes) Collected Lectures on Bhagavad-gita As It Is (7 volumes) Collected Lectures on Srimad-Bhagavatam (11 volumes) Collected Teachings of His Divine Grace AC Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada (7 volumes) Srila Prabhupada Siksamrta (3 volumes) Back to Godhead 1944-1960 The Pioneer Years The Jaladuta Diary The Beginning Festivals with Srila Prabhupada Audio: Sets of the lecture tapes of Srila Prabhupada (711 cassettes) Sets of the new realized lecture tapes of Srila Prabhupada (320 cassettes) Srila Prabhupada's bhajans on CD (the first CD's in Iskcon) Other: The VEDAbase search index software 1995 Sep 14: He moves to a property adjacent to Radhadesh in Belgium, where he registers the non-profit organization Bhaktivedanta Library Services a.s.b.l. (BLS) to further facilitate the distribution of Srila Prabhupada's teachings to the devotees. 1995-2003 BLS solidifies its distribution network by developing a mail order service, a shop, and wholesale outlets. 50
  • 55. The history behind Vanipedia (cont’d) 2000-2003 Convinced that systematic training and education in Srila Prabhupada's books is a very good way to help the devotees imbibe his teachings, Visnu Murti involves the BLS in developing and managing the Bhaktivedanta College in Radhadesh. He experiences that more curriculum resources need to be developed in order to better facilitate education in Srila Prabhupada's teachings. 2004 BLS stops its involvement with the College. 2005 While pondering over the need for a serious research facility Visnu Murti compiles Srila Prabhupada teachings within Excel and Word files, and from that develops a comprehensive, word-based thematic methodology for more compilations. 2006 Jun: He decides that the Web is the best platform for developing a research facility. Sep: Eivind Morland from Norway joins BLS. After due consideration, they decide to inaugurate the project. Nov: BLS establishes Prabhupada Vani Research Academy (PVRA) as an internal department. Oct-Dec: Eivind starts researching for the best web-based software for the execution of the research. 2007 Jan-Apr: Eivind concentrates fully on the development. He concludes that MediaWiki is the best software, and starts to familiarize himself with it. Visnu Murti shares the vision with different devotees and receives a lot of encouragement to perform the sacrifice. Jan 15: Visnu Murti decides on the name Vanipedia and BLS buys the domain name. May: Acyutananda Caitanya from Colombia joins the PVRA team in Radhadesh and starts the process of building Vanisource by extracting the data from Vedabase. May: In Los Angeles, Visnu Murti presents the project to the BBT Trustees at their annual meeting, and receives an enthusiastic response and a license to develop the project. 2007–to date The Vanipedia project is taking form with the support of devotees from many nations. 51
  • 56. This page is intentionally blank 52
  • 57. Wikipedia – an inspiration 53
  • 58. Wikipedia – goodwill properly engaged and expressed  Since its creation in 2001, Wikipedia has grown rapidly into the world’s largest reference website  4,141,132 articles in English (that’s only 19% of all articles)  29,243,296 pages in total  800,168 uploaded files  587,077,045 edits  Totaling over 22,000,000 articles in 285 languages  Wikipedia attracts people  470 million unique visitors monthly  18,198,204 registered users  Wikipedia attracts volunteers  77,000 active contributors  1,456 administrators  Wikpedia’s organization  non-profit organization  150 staff members – working in technology, community, management, finance, and administration  every month over 30,000 volunteers participate to write the articles – includes research, editing and coordination  already five billion more articles planned  Wikipedia’s finances  funded by a small percentage (.02%) of their satisfied users giving an average of only $22 each annually  Returns to people who give large donations whatever is in excess of budget  budgets always collected before the new year begins  no advertisements  no corporate funding Wikipedia’s organizational, financial and managerial strategies are working. They are obviously doing something right. What can we take from Wikipedia’s model to present Srila Prabhupada's teachings in a way that would make him proud of our efforts to distribute his Vani? 54
  • 59. Wikipedia – Hinduism & Religion  Wikipedia reports that their audience includes a high level of students and teachers who browse for schoolwork, and postgraduates in education researching their subjects.  Wikipedia ranks the popularity of its pages by number of views. Wikipedia’s Top 500 pages under Hinduism and Religion show:  Among spiritual leaders, Srila Prabhupada is still not so well known. Page views for him represent a mere 0.8% under Hinduism and his name does not appear at all in the ranking under Religion.  Swami Vivekananda enjoys a very high level of popularity under both Hinduism and Religion, indicating that his followers are successfully keeping him alive and vigorously spreading his impersonalist teachings. Rank Spiritual leaders (Hinduism) Views 1 Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi 550,096 3 Gautama Buddha 234,215 5 Swami Vivekananda 199,612 30 Sai Baba (Shirdi) 81,401 48 Sai Baba (Sathya) 52,907 94 Ravi Shankar (spiritual leader) 32,607 95 Adi Shankara 32,330 103 Ramakrishna 30,721 116 Maharishi Mahesh Yogi 28,473 129 Sri Aurobindo 25,304 143 Ramana Maharshi 23,372 157 Dayananda Saraswati 21,504 173 Paramahansa Yogananda 20,133 179 Mahavatar Babaji 19,227 216 Tukaram 15,474 238 A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada 14,140 242 Narayana Guru 13,848 258 Swami Nithyananda 13,168 259 Neem Karoli Baba 12,906 272 Raghavendra Swami 12,528 276 Kanada 12,240 282 Shankaracharya 11,858 285 Kashyap 11,779 288 Ramanuja 11,614 346 Swaminarayan 9,446 348 Sri Chinmoy 9,410 434 Shri Swami Samarth 7,576 495 Harishchandra 6,468 496 Pramukh Swami Maharaj 6,454 Rank Spiritual leaders (Religion) Views 9 Jesus 571,641 11 Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi 550,096 14 Martin Luther King, Jr. 393,286 20 Muhammad 289,732 34 Sigmund Freud 239,526 35 Gautama Buddha 234,215 53 Swami Vivekananda 199,612 155 Dalai Lama 119,880 174 Confucius 110,203 257 Sai Baba of Shirdi 81,401 316 Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh 69,654 337 Deepak Chopra 65,887 427 Sathya Sai Baba 52,907 ??? Srila Prabhupada None “We must learn all of us, to defeat these nonsense rascals, and curtail this epidemic of impersonalism, which is fatal to the innocent people. We can stop this epidemic with this information of Krishna consciousness, and it is our duty to do it.” – Srila Prabhupada letter to Upendra das (TP) - 1 March, 1968 55 Note: Swami Vivekananda died in 1902
  • 60. Wikipedia – Hinduism & Religion (cont’d) Rank Scriptures (Religion) Views 97 Quran 149,167 114 Bible 139,316 163 Bhagavad-gita (which one?) 115,370 229 Ramayana 90,554 232 Torah 89,220 264 Old Testament 80,411 277 Vedas 76,724 293 New Testament 72,898 Rank Scriptures (Hinduism) Views 17 Bhagavad-gita (which one?) 115,370 21 Mahabharata 96,552 22 Ayurveda 94,804 26 Ramayana 90,554 32 Vedas 76,724 77 Upanishads 36,037 96 Rigveda 32,021 180 Vedanta 19,179 188 Puranas 18,514 197 Yoga Sutras at Patanjali 17,813 235 Bhagavata Purana 14,586 461 Shiva Purana 7,129 Rank Beliefs (Religion) Views 15 Islam 338,680 16 Buddhism 337,517 21 Agnosticism 286,045 33 Scientology 240,048 37 Hinduism 231,250 40 Christianity 226,273 44 Jehovah Witnesses 223,600 47 Atheism 217,072 48 Existentialism 215,632 60 Judaism 191,765 62 Paganism 186,534 65 Rastafari movement 183,296 74 Zoroastrianism 173,413 77 Bahá'í Faith 166,044 81 Nihilism 162,491 131 Feminism 129,253 135 Protestantism 128,357 150 Zionism 122,798 152 Cannibalism 120,492 157 Wicca 118,298 161 Taoism 116,315 191 Sufism 104,138 227 Sikhism 91,342 243 Falun Gong 85,917 244 Shamanism 85,604 245 Satanism 84,490 260 Mormonism 80,700 323 Baptism 68,598 347 Anglicanism 64,669 494 Creationism 46,078 ??? Vaisnavism None  Bhagavad-gita is a very popular scripture under both Hinduism and Religion. One wonders which version of Bhagavad-gita is the most consulted?  In the Top 500 ranking under Religion, the beliefs of Buddhism and Hinduism rank highly but Vaisnavism does not appear at all.  The Hare Krishna maha-mantra attracts 6 times less interest than the mantra Om. Rank Mantra (Hinduism) Views 14 Om 134,223 43 Mantra 59,435 65 Hanuman Chalisa 39,897 120 Gayatri Mantra 27,540 132 Hare Krishna (mantra) 24,108 189 Om Namah Shivaya 18,483 292 Vishnu sahasranama 11,564 475 Shanti Mantra 6,974 “From the very beginning I was strongly against the impersonalists and all my books are stressed on this point.” – Srila Prabhupada letter to Hayagriva das (GBC) - 14 September, 1970 56
  • 61. Wikipedia – Hinduism & Religion (cont’d) Rank Deities (Hinduism) Views 6 Shiva 193,901 7 Krishna 175,912 12 Ganesha 140,216 23 Vishnu 94,586 29 Kali 82,700 37 Hanuman 69,532 45 Rama 54,841 47 Ayyappan 53,608 49 Surya 52,793 60 Lakshmi 42,310 61 Brahma 41,700 72 Ravana 37,405 73 Murugan 36,484 76 Durga 36,137 100 Garuda 31,465 102 Radha 31,159 107 Saraswati 30,410 118 Indra 28,215 160 Narasimha 21,300 186 Sita 18,724 190 Parashurama 18,455 200 Radha-Krishna 17,230 208 Chaitanya Mahaprabhu 16,542 209 Venkateswara 16,295 211 Navagraha 16,097 223 Vyasa 15,097 224 Agni 14,988 232 Yama 14,669 245 Jagannath 13,753 328 Narayana 10,033 Rank Holy festivals (Hinduism) Views 10 Diwali 156,000 33 Kumbh Mela 72,557 44 Holi 56,153 135 Makar Sankranti 23,898 145 Ganesh Chaturthi 22,792 207 Durga Puja 16,561 271 Onam 12,589 331 Krishna Janmashtami 9,933 334 Raksha Bandhan 9,872 363 Maha Shivaratri 9,003 ??? Jagannath Ratha Yatra None Rank Holy places (Hinduism) Views 31 Ganges 80,391 35 Varanasi 71,686 66 Kanchipuram 39,573 101 Haridwar 31,306 104 Mount Kailash 30,689 108 Ayodhya 30,249 127 Dwarka 25,396 136 Rishikesh 23,672 141 Jagannath Puri 23,397 167 Mathura 20,371 183 Badrinath 18,801 201 Vrindavan 17,206 202 Yamuna 17,203 204 Lake Manasarovar 16,842 278 Srirangam 12,149 ??? Sridhama Mayapur None  Among deities, Lord Shiva is the most popular . Lord Chaitanya however draws only 1% of interest.  Among holy places of pilgrimage, Varnasi, which is overflooded with mayavadi sannyasis and philosophers, attracts 400% more interest than Vrindavan. Sridhama Mayapur does not appear in the ranking.  Among festivals, Diwali is still more popular than Sri Krishna Janmastami, and although Rathayatra festivals run every year in major cities around the world, it does not appear in the Top 500. “I am the only one in India who is openly criticizing, not only demigod worship and impersonalism, but everything that falls short of complete surrender to Krishna.” – Srila Prabhupada letter to Giriraja das (TP) - 3 January, 1972 57
  • 62. Wikipedia – Hinduism & Religion (cont’d) Rank Interests (Hinduism) Views 11 Yoga 145,260 18 Chakra 112,707 20 Caste system in India 102,241 34 Tantra 72,327 36 Avatar 70,297 46 Brahmin 54,083 55 Kundalini 48,632 57 Kali Yuga 46,287 58 Lingam 43,505 62 Third eye 41,437 69 Ashtanga Vinyasa Yoga 38,301 85 Hatha yoga 34,429 87 Vaikunta Ekadashi 34,131 89 Jyotirlinga 33,376 90 Hindu astrology 32,829 98 Guru 31,549 111 Vastu shastra 29,960 113 Soma 29,124 114 Kundalini yoga 28,760 128 Asura 25,314 131 Yoni 24,330 148 Surya Namaskara 22,385 161 Pranayama 21,042 170 List of asanas 20,302 291 Kriya Yoga 11,573 319 Sri Yantra 10,317 427 Bhakti yoga 7,721 Rank Interests (Religion) Views 88 Artificial intelligence 158,304 105 Yoga 145,260 151 Metaphysics 122,730 170 Chaos theory 111,261 172 Meditation 110,969 179 Money 107,833 181 Dead Sea Scrolls 107,288 193 Kabbalah 101,956 213 Ayurveda 94,804 231 NLP 89,996 261 Astrology 80,645 262 Devil 80,523 273 Witchcraft 77,886 274 Assassins 77,796 275 Demon 77,305 276 Jihad 77,248 278 Supernatural 76,688 284 Martyr 74,550 295 Yahweh 72,568 297 Tantra 72,327 354 Reincarnation 63,115 377 Mantra 59,435 381 Separation of church and state 59,247 396 Soul 56,237 414 Secularism 54,004 425 Truth 53,122 459 Afterlife 49,143  Yoga and meditation attract high levels of interest under Hinduism and Religion, but bhakti yoga attracts only 0.6% of interest. “Regarding competition with other so-called yoga groups, certainly we have to win the race because we represent Krishna directly, and others are all mostly impersonalists or less than that.” – Srila Prabhupada letter to Janaki - 18 January, 1969 Note: All figures valid as of 31 January 2013; Sources: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:WikiProject_Hinduism/Popular_pages https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:WikiProject_Religion/Popular_pages 58
  • 64. Argentina 1 Bangladesh 1 Belgium 12 Bosnia 1 Brazil 4 Bulgaria 1 Canada 1 Chile 2 Columbia 1 Croatia 1 Czech Rep. 2 Slovakia 1 Slovenia 5 South Africa 1 Spain 3 Swaziland 1 Sweden 3 Switzerland 2 Tunisia 1 Uruguay 2 USA 20 Wales 1 Denmark 1 England 13 Finland 1 France 4 Germany 5 Hungary 1 India 110 Indonesia 2 Ireland 4 Italy 3 Lithuania 2 Mauritius 1 Mexico 2 Morocco 1 Netherlands 14 New Zealand 9 Norway 3 Poland 3 Portugal 1 Russia 5 Serbia 3 Singapore 2 Collaboration – the key to our success To date, 257 volunteers from 44 nationalities have offered vaniseva to build the Vanipedia Actually, the United Nations or united people can be possible only in Krishna consciousness. Otherwise it is not possible. – Srila Prabhupada lecture on SB 2.9.2 - 4 April, 1972 60
  • 65. Vaniseva – the sacred act of serving Srila Prabhupada’s Vani Srila Prabhupada stopped speaking on the 14th of November, 1977, but the Vani he gave us remains ever fresh. However, these teachings are not yet in their pristine condition, nor are all of them readily accessible to his devotees. Srila Prabhupada’s followers have a sacred duty to preserve and to distribute his Vani to everyone. We are therefore inviting you to perform this vaniseva. “Always remember that you are one of the few men I have appointed to carry on my work throughout the world and your mission before you is huge. Therefore, always pray to Krishna to give you strength for accomplishing this mission by doing what I am doing. My first business is to give the devotees the proper knowledge and engage them in devotional service, so that is not very difficult task for you, I have given you everything, so read and speak from the books and so many new lights will come out. We have got so many books, so if we go on preaching from them for the next 1,000 years, there is enough stock.” – Srila Prabhupada letter to Satsvarupa das (GBC) – 16 June, 1972 In June of 1972 Srila Prabhupada said that “we have got so many books” that we have “enough stock” to preach from for the “next 1,000 years”. At that time, only 10 titles had been printed, so with all the extra books that Srila Prabhupada published from July ’72 to November ’77 the amount of years of stock could easily be expanded to 5,000. If we add to this his oral instructions and letters, then the stock expands to 10,000 years. We need to expertly prepare all these teachings to be accessed and properly understood, so that they can be “preached from” for this whole period of time. There is no doubt that Srila Prabhupada has unending enthusiasm and determination to preach the message of Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu. It does not matter that his vapu has left us. He remains in his teachings, and via the digital platform, he can now preach even more widely than when he was physically present. With complete dependence on Lord Caitanya's mercy, let us embrace Srila Prabhupada’s vani-mission, and with more resolve than ever before, expertly prepare his Vani for 10,000 years of preaching. Vaniseva is a wonderful opportunity for us to unite and to cooperate with other ISKCON devotees to perform this sacred service. 61
  • 66. Vaniseva – the sacred act of serving Srila Prabhupada’s Vani (cont’d) “Over the past ten years I have given the framework and now we have become more than the British Empire. Even the British Empire was not as expansive as we. They had only a portion of the world, and we have not completed expanding. We must expand more and more unlimitedly. But I must now remind you that I have to complete the translation of the Srimad-Bhagavatam. This is the greatest contribution; our books have given us a respectable position. People have no faith in this church or temple worship. Those days are gone. Of course, we have to maintain the temples as it is necessary to keep our spirits high. Simply intellectualism will not do, there must be practical purification. So I request you to relieve me of management responsibilities more and more so that I can complete the Srimad-Bhagavatam translation. If I am always having to manage, then I cannot do my work on the books. It is document, I have to choose each word very soberly and if I have to think of management then I cannot do this. I cannot be like these rascals who present something mental concoction to cheat the public. So this task will not be finished without the cooperation of my appointed assistants, the GBC, temple presidents, and sannyasis. I have chosen my best men to be GBC and I do not want that the GBC should be disrespectful to the temple presidents. You can naturally consult me, but if the basic principle is weak, how will things go on? So please assist me in the management so that I can be free to finish the Srimad-Bhagavatam which will be our lasting contribution to the world.” – Srila Prabhupada letter to All Governing Body Commissioners – 21 November, 1976 Here Srila Prabhupada is stating “this task will not be finished without the cooperation of my appointed assistants” to help him make “our lasting contribution to the world.” It is Srila Prabhupada’s books that have “given us a respectable position” and they are “the greatest contribution to the world.” Over the years, so much vaniseva has been performed by BBT devotees, book distributors, preachers who have held firmly to Srila Prabhupada’s words, and by other devotees who have been dedicated to distribute and preserve his Vani in one way or another. But there is still much more to do. By working together via the technologies of the brhat-brhat-brhat mrdanga (the World Wide Web) we now have an opportunity to build an incredible manifestation of Srila Prabhupada’s Vani in a very short period of time. Our proposal is to come together in vaniseva and build a Vani-temple to be completed sometime between 2015 and 2027, at which time we will also be celebrating the numerous 50th anniversaries of Srila Prabhupada’s achievements. This will be a very appropriate and beautiful offering of love to Srila Prabhupada, and a glorious gift to all the future generations of his devotees. 62
  • 67. Vaniseva – the sacred act of serving Srila Prabhupada’s Vani (cont’d) “I am glad that you have named your printing press the Radha Press. It is very gratifying. May your Radha Press be enriched in publishing all our books and literatures in the German language. It is a very nice name. Radharani is the best, topmost servitor of Krishna, and the printing machine is the biggest medium at the present moment for serving Krishna. Therefore, it is really a representative of Srimati Radharani. I like the idea very much.” – Srila Prabhupada letter to Jaya Govinda das (Book production manager) - 7 July, 1969 For the better part of the 20th century, the printing press provided the tools for successful propaganda from so many groups of people. Srila Prabhupada stated how expert the communists were to spread their influence in India via the pamphlets and books they distributed. Srila Prabhupada used this example to express how he wanted to make a large propaganda program for Krishna consciousness by distributing his books all over the world. Now in the 21st century the power of influence has shifted to the Internet. Srila Prabhupada's statement “at the present moment” was made long before the Internet started. In Vanipedia, we are preparing Srila Prabhupada’s teachings for proper representation on this unparalleled modern-media platform. There is no doubt that the web is now “the biggest medium at the present moment for serving Krishna” . Srila Prabhupada stated that the Radha Press of his devotees in Germany was “really a representative of Srimati Radharani”. We are therefore certain that he would consider Vanipedia to be a representative of Srimati Radharani as well. So many beautiful Vapu-temples have already been built by ISKCON devotees – let us now build at least one glorious Vani-temple. The Vapu-temples offer sacred darshans to the forms of the Lord, and a Vani-temple will offer the sacred darshan to the teachings of the Lord and His pure devotees, as presented by Srila Prabhupada. The work of ISKCON devotees will naturally be more successful when Srila Prabhupada’s teachings are situated in their rightful, worshipable position. Now there is a wonderful opportunity for all his current “appointed assistants” to embrace the vani-mission of building his Vani-temple and to inspire the whole movement to participate. Just as the enormous and beautiful Vapu-temple rising from the banks of the Ganges in Sridhama Mayapur is destined to help spread Lord Caitanya’s mercy all over the world, so too can a Vani-temple of Srila Prabhupada’s teachings strengthen his ISKCON mission to spread all over the world and establish Srila Prabhupada’s natural position for thousands of years to come. 63
  • 68. Vaniseva – taking practical action to serve  Completing Vanipedia means Srila Prabhupada’s teachings will be presented in a way that no one has ever done for the works of any spiritual teacher. We invite you to take part in this sacred mission. Together we will give Srila Prabhupada a unique exposure to the world on a magnitude only possible via the web.  Our desire is to make Vanipedia the No.1 reference encyclopedia of Srila Prabhupada’s teachings in multiple languages. This will only happen with the sincere commitment, sacrifice and support of many devotees. To date, a few committed vaniservants have been building Vanisource and Vaniquotes. Now in order to build the Vanipedia articles, the Vanibooks, the Vanimedia, and the Vaniversity courses we need more support from devotees with the following skills:  Vaniservants can offer their service from their homes, temples and offices, or they can join us full-time for certain periods in Sridhama Mayapur or Radhadesh. Please spread the word! Talk to your contacts; take leaflets to distribute and display on temple notice boards; invite us for presentations and talks. To get in touch and to get involved, contact us at vaniseva@pamho.net • Administration • Compiling • Curriculum Development • Design and Layout • Finance • Management • Promotion • Researching • Server Maintenance • Site Development • Software Programming • Teaching • Technical Editing • Training • Translating • Writing 64
  • 69. Vaniseva – taking practical action to serve (cont’d)  For the past 6 years Vanipedia has been financed by the book distribution from Bhaktivedanta Library Services. To continue its construction, Vanipedia needs funding beyond the current capacity of BLS. Once completed, Vanipedia will hopefully be sustained by small donations from a percentage of many satisfied visitors. But for now, in order to complete the initial phases of building this free encyclopedia, the service of offering financial support is crucial.  Supporters of Vanipedia can choose from one of the following options: Donations can be received through our PayPal account titled vaniseva@pamho.net . If you prefer another method or have more queries before donating, then email us at vaniseva@pamho.net Sponsor: A person donating any amount they desire Supporting Patron: An individual person or legal entity donating at least 81 euros Sustaining Patron: An individual person or legal entity donating at least 810 euros with possibility to make 9 monthly payments of 90 euros Growth Patron: An individual person or legal entity donating 8,100 euros with possibility to make 9 yearly payments of 900 euros Foundational Patron: An individual person or legal entity donating 81,000 euros with possibility to make 9 yearly payments of 9,000 euros 65