Newcastle Hare Krishna Farm - News 9-4-91

About 40 Hare Krishna devotees set up the Millfield community in February. They plan to transform the 220 hectare property into a self-sufficient organic farm complete with accommodation and a school. They also have plans to help the surrounding community. We'd like to get a mobile kitchen so we can go to the outer lying areas and whenever there's an emergency, the food for life crew can go there and help people. We'd also like to set up a soup kitchen in Newcastle and say, where ever there's actually a need.

Hare Krishna's have been meeting the nutritional needs of millions of people worldwide since 1972 as Food for Life pioneer Maharaj explains. In the Vedic culture there's a tradition that no one within 10 miles of a Hare Krishna temple should go hungry. Here in Australia we've distributed over 2 million plates. Just recently we had a celebration in Sydney and that's about 200,000 plates every year. In Seshnok Town Hall tomorrow night, hunter region Australians have the chance to sample a free feast of their own.

We've invited the mayor of Seshnok to serve the first meal in Kani Cake along with the pioneer of the Food for Life, Swami. And what we will do is put on a feast for the whole community. It's all vegetarian but we're preparing about an 8 or 10 preparation menu. Hare Krishna's have been active around Seshnok for some time but established a permanent settlement in the area near Millfield in February.

They've built a temple and set up a vegetable and flower garden and intend to transform the 220 hectare property into a self-sufficient organic farm with accommodation and a school. Agriculturally we are planning to produce adequate crops for our community in the areas, basic things like pumpkins, watermelons, cauliflower, broccoli, beans and so on. Also we plan to plant some reasonable sized orchards. One of our very important projects also is to utilize bullocks or oxen for tilling the land.

Animals will only be used for labour and the food they produce, never butchered because devotees believe in the law of karma. For every action there's a reaction. So that is one of our teachings that if we kill unnecessarily innocent creatures then we have to suffer a reaction for that. Vegetarian food plays an important part in Krishna life. Much of the community's work revolves around its production and distribution. In the Vedic culture there's a tradition that no one within 10 miles of a Hare Krishna temple should go hungry.

Since 1972 we've distributed over 50 million plates of Krishna's brashadam, vegetarian food. Here in Australia we've distributed I think over 2 million plates and that's about 200,000 plates every year. Hare Krishna's have fed people in almost every nation. The religion has even been practiced in Eastern Europe and the USSR and up until recently encountered difficulties. As soon as the authorities began to see that we were present there they began to arrest our devotees.

And for several years, three or four years, most of our members were in jail. They were in psychiatric hospitals, they were in labour camps, etc. And of course now that Paris-Deutkir and Glastonost has come about we've actually been recognized as a bona fide religion. Harajah joined the movement in 1969. Since then he's become one of its world leaders feeding thousands around the globe never staying more than three days in the same place.

He's here to help the hunters Hare Krishna's stage of free feast in Cessnau tomorrow night for locals to introduce their food for life philosophy. Well we've invited the mayor of Cessnau to serve the first meal and curry cake along with the pioneer of the food for life, Swami. And what we will do is put on a feast for the whole community. Well here's a sample of what you may or may not try tomorrow night.

We've got some basic vegetable curries here, a vegetarian steak which is like a cheese with a tomato sauce, some butter rice, a freshly baked chapati and take it from me, they're good. But their work won't end in Cessnau Town Hall tomorrow night. The group hopes to feed the community on an ongoing basis.

We'd like to get a mobile kitchen so we can go to the outer lying areas and whenever there's an emergency the food for life crew can go there and help people and also we'd like to set up a soup kitchen in Newcastle and Cessnau and wherever there's actually a need.