Courses

Systematic Sastric Study

On January 6, 1976, Srila Prabhupada directed the GBC to implement a graduated system of sastric examinations to ensure that his disciples were carefully studying his books. In pursuance of Srila Prabhupada's directive, we offer the Bhakti-sastri and Bhaktivaibhava Degree Courses. We present a personalized approach to learning which encourages you to go beyond simply memorizing the content of Srila Prabhupada's books by digesting the philosophy and practically applying it. Focusing on behavior and character, these courses will nurture you in appropriate Vaisnava values. Professionally designed and written, they draw on the principles of Krishna consciousness and the best of progressive education. They are thus true to ISKCON's heritage and at the same time relevant to its mission within contemporary society.

You can read more about systematic sastric study, its aims and purposes in our Resources section.

We are now also offering sastric study courses at other locations within India and Bangladesh. To find out more about a course near you, or if a course is offered in your language, please contact us for further details.

Bhakti-Pravesa Course

The Mayapur Institute is happy to announce the launch of the Bhakti-Pravesa course (only for ladies).This introductory course will offer valuable theoretical and practical training in core areas of Krishna Consciousness. This certified course is strongly recommended for those who wish to acquire a strong foundation before taking the Bhakti-sastri.

Requirements: Chanting atleast one round daily and eagerness to learn and practice Krishna Consciousness. Applicants are encouraged to become familiar with “Lilamrita“(abridged version), the authorized biography of Srila Prabhupada by Satsvarupa das Goswami.

Bhakti-sastri Ladies Course

The Ladies Bhakti-sastri course this year will be unique in that it will combine both systematic and thematic approaches to studying the books. In the forenoon sessions, facilitators will guide the students through the text ,verse by verse,. Bi-weekly thematic sessions in the afternoons will take students deeper into the knowledge and understanding already acquired, to churn the nectar. It is guaranteed that this new teaching method will render the course more powerful, effective and stimulating than ever before.

Requirements: chanting sixteen rounds daily and practising Krishna Consciousness seriously for atleast one year. Applicants are expected to be familiar with all four books for this course.

Bhakti-sastri Course

3 months

This course comprises and in-depth study of Bhagavad-gita, Sri Isopanisad, Nectar of Instruction and Nectar of Devotion. It has been designed for devotees who have been seriously practicing Krishna consciousness for at least a year, and have basic sastric knowledge and understanding. The course has a modular design, which means you can take separate Modules spread over a few years to suite your schedule if you are unable to complete it in one semester. A Preliminary Self-study guide is available, once you have registered, to enable you to prepare ahead of each lesson, and also before coming to Mayapur. You can find out more about these materials and preparing for your study in Mayapur in our Resources section.

Bhaktivaibhava Course

Each module 3 months

When you have completed the Bhakti-sastri Course, you can enroll for the Bhaktivaibhava Course, which is a concentrated study of Srimad-Bhagavatam Cantos 1 to 6. The course is presented over two separate semesters; Module 1 for Cantos 1 to 3, and Module 2 for cantos 4 to 6. Each of the two semesters comprise 13 weeks of study at our campus in Mayapur. As with the Bhakti-sastri Course, this course has a Preliminary Self-study guide which is available only to registered students. It is essential that you prepare ahead for this course, as it was designed with the intention that you spend 13 weeks studying prior to attending the classes in Mayapur. This course can also be spread over a few years, with you attending portions of the Module each year. You can find out more about preparation for your study in our Resources section.

Sanskrit Level One: A practical introduction to Sanskrit

A one month certified course from 10 November 2011 to 9 December 2011 conducted by the Mayapur Institute

This course introduces the students to elements of Sanskrit:

the Devanāgarī script
pronunciation including training to pronounce a selection of verses from Bhagavad-gītā
fundamental Sanskrit grammar: sandhi operations, nouns, adjectives, verbs, compounds
Training on how to use a Sanskrit-English dictionary
Application of this knowledge to understand a selection of verses from Bhagavad-gītā

ISKCON devotees who complete this course will be able to identify the basic components of a simple Sanskrit verses using a dictionary. This will be useful for those who are studying the Bhagavad-gītā

Sanskrit Level Two: Basic Sanskrit

A two month certified course from 15 December 2011 to 14 February 2012 conducted by the Mayapur Institute.

This course teaches students the following:

Parts of speech in Sanskrit
Vibhaktis (cases) in declension
Common declensions in nouns, adjectives and pronouns
Avyayas (adverbs)

Exercises will consist of stories from the Rāmāyaṇa. Students who complete this course will be able to read and understand simple Sanskrit prose sentences, and will be able to enlarge their vocabulary of nouns and adjectives. This course will be useful to deepen the students’ understanding of Sanskrit texts in Bhagavad-gītā.

Each session will be for 90 minutes. There will be classes six days a week, Sundays being holidays. Class timings: 4:30 to 6:00 PM.

These two courses will be taught by Kṛṣṇa-svarūpa Prabhu, a Sanskrit scholar and teacher, who has studied Sanskrit since his childhood. He has been teaching Sanskrit to ISKCON devotees and others since 1991.

Teachers Training course Part 1

This is the first of a series of several courses for training teachers. The skills you will learn in this course can be applied in many situations, not just in a formal classroom. You will find that besides the teaching application, there are unlimited possibilities in using these skills in preaching work.

This dynamic six-day training course will equip you with:

Speaking skills
Effective use of resources
Proper delineation of aims and objectives
Skills in writing lesson outlines/plans
The ability to give oral feedback for assessment
Different interactive teaching and preaching styles
The art of empathic listening

Teachers Training course Part 2

The Teacher Training Course 2 is a 30-hour seminar for devotees wishing to facilitate courses and presentations. It is especially recommended for those pursuing outreach, training, and education within ISKCON. The course focuses on classroom-delivery skills, particularly those required for an interactive and experiential approach to teaching. Students will be trained to take into consideration, and address, the needs and learning styles of varied audiences.

Each student is required to prepare and deliver a forty-minute presentation, which will be assessed by both facilitator and peers. There is little or no written assessment. The VTE Teacher Training Course I Certificate is a pre-requisite.

Bhakti Sastri Teachers Training

Bhakti Sastri Teachers' training is and 8 hour course specifically designed to further build on the learning of the previous two teachers' training courses (TTC1 & TTC2) with the aim of equipping teachers of Bhakti Sastri course with the specific skillset necessary for teaching sastra systematically.

The Bhakti Sastri Teachers' training course offers potential teachers training in analyzing the aims of sastric study, lesson planning, effective assessment, the underlying ethics as well as the practical details of organizing a bhakti sastri course.

An important note: This course is available only for devotees who successfully completed TTC1 and TTC2 courses and are seriously interested in teaching sastra.

ISKCON Disciples Course

The ISKCON Disciples Course is a training program which deepens devotees understanding of guru tattva and guru padasraya within the multiple guru environment of ISKCON. Designed for new devotees preparing to take initiation in ISKCON, the course is also recommended for leaders, preachers councilors and educators in ISKCON. The course was developed under the direction of the Guru Services Committee, with the combined efforts of leading educators in ISKCON. The course is based on the teachings of Srila Prabhupada and current ISKCON Law and gives reference to the writings from the broader Gaudiya Vaisnava tradition. The 14 lessons include Power point presentations, interactive workshops and assessment exercises.

Topics covered in the ISKCON Disciples Course:

Guru-tattva and the Guru-parampara System
Srila Prabhupada ISKCON Founder Acarya and Preeminent Guru
Types of Gurus
Relationship between ISKCON Guru and ISKCON Authorities
Gurus outside of ISKCON
Guru-padasraya
Selecting a Guru
Following Initiation Vows
Guru-puja and Vyasa-puja
Worship of ISKCON Gurus
Guru-vapu and vani seva
Guru-tyaga
Developing Cooperative Relationships in a multi guru enviorment

ISKCON Leadership & Management Course

A hands-on, interactive six-day course designed for GBC members, temple presidents, department heads and other devotees who supervise people or projects. The course examines the essential principles of leadership and management and enhances skills in both personal and professional capacities.

Delegation, time management, strategic planning, public speaking, project vision, team development, writing job descriptions, assessment and reporting, facilitation and meeting skills, and characteristics of expert leaders are some of the areas explored in the course. All are welcome. No prerequisite courses are required.

Anuttama dasa has been a member of ISKCON since 1975. He served as sankirtan leader, and later president, of the Denver temple, before moving to Washington, D.C. in 1993 to become ISKCON's North American director of communications. In 1999, he became a member of the GBC and was appointed as the International Minister of Communications. Anuttama is a founding board member of Children of Krishna (CKI). He is the national vice president of the Religion Communicators Council (RCC), and a board member of the
Washington, D.C. region of the National Conference for Community and Justice (NCCJ). He and his wife, Rukmini, live in Rockville, Maryland, and are members of the ISKCON congregation of Washington, D.C.

Srila Prabhupada, Our Founder-Acarya

Celebrating Srila Prabhupada's preeminent position in ISKCON, as well as every Prabhupada follower's foundational relationship with him.

Sambandha: Deepening our understanding of Prabhupada's relationship with all of us as our founder-acarya.

Lesson 1: Introductions, Needs, & Norms
Lesson 2: Guru Review
Lesson 3: The Founder-acarya
Lesson 4: Srila Prabhupada, Our Founder-Acarya

Abhidheya: Srila Prabhupada's mission/Developing our mission within his mission.

Lesson 5: His Mission Part 1--From Seed to Flower Buds
Lesson 6: His Mission Part 2--His ISKCON Branch
Lesson 7: Varnasrama--Clearing the Confusion
Lesson 8: Finding Our Mission Within His Mission

Prayojana: Loving Srila Prabhupada

Lesson 9: To Love is to Cooperate
Lesson 10: Fictional Prabhupadas
Lesson 11: Your Srila Prabhupada

Devotional Film Making

This course also know as “Armed with Camera, Stand and Film”, By Vasudeva Das, is geared to provide aspiring film makers with basic shooting and editing skills for documentaries, news clips, promotionals, and lectures.

Dates are: 22, 23, 24, 25th Feb, from 10am to 1pm.
Fee: Rs1,000
Please register at Chaitanya Bhavan

(Vasudeva das can be reached at 9735555488, 03472 245107)

Schedule

Day One and Two - The Technique of Effective Shooting
Day Three - Essential Principles of Film-Editing
Day Four - Tourne’ Monte’ - (A time-saving, all-in-one approach to home-made video.)

Each session combines theory and hands-on practice. Students should preferably, but not compulsorily, bring their own video camera and accessories (camera stand and laptop)
This course does NOT teach how to use specific cameras or digital editing programs, nor how to use lighting at night or indoors.

Topics Covered

Filming as Meditation, Worship, and Preaching
Holding your camera / Using a Stand (Tripod)
Location / Framing your subject
Zooming, Panning, Movement
Close-up, Wide Angle, No Movement
Sound and Lights and Interviews
Script-writing
Basic Video and Sound Editing
Titling & Subtitling
Tourne’ Monte’

For further details and registration, please contact Mayapur Institute office at Caitanya Bhavan,
Ph +91 3472 245-748, E-mail : mayapur.institute@pamho.net