In2-MeC

Wroclaw, Poland
19 November 2004

University Program (Economics Department)
Namahatta Program

HH Bhakti-tirtha Maharaja update

Please accept our most humble obeisances
All glories to our beloved Gurumaharaja
All glories to ISKCON Founder Acharya Srila Prabhupada

In our last update, we informed everyone that Gurumaharaja condition had stabilized and he would be undergoing some additional treatments to increase his strength. His foot is still swollen, and the antibiotics definitely weakened his immune system, however with much determination, Gurudeva is deligently following the cancer protocol.

Gurudeva was invited by a godbrother to give the lecture for Govardana puja at a nearby Temple, even though his body is weak, he went. His voice was really strong as he shared pastimes of Govardana and the importance of addressing the false ego. The devotees reciprocated very lovingly with Gurumaharaja.

When we returned to the house that night, we received a call from another godbrother, Gopavrindapal Prabhu, the husband of the late Mulikapriti mataji, asking if Gurudeva could speak at the program for Srila Prabhupada's disapearance day. This program was over an hour away, so we requested that Gurumaharaja spend the night, as the program was in the evening. Gopavrindapal Prabhu was happy to make arrangements for all three of us, on his property he has a guesthouse, that he readily made available. He also has a large Temple, with beautiful Radha Krsna Deities. In the absence of his wife, he and his son maintain all the Deity services, and hosts programs regularly for the devotees.

Here again, Gurumaharaja did not seem sick when he spoke, as his voice is very strong. After speaking, he stayed to hear all the other devotees share their heartfelt rememberances of Srial Prabhupada, then he excused himself to go to the cabin for Ekavira Prabhu to administer the last two IV's for the evening.

After a very sober meeting regarding his health with Guurdeva last Sunday, Gurumaharaja will be getting a liver scan next week to see if the cancer has grown in the liver. We will keep you informed of the decision after we receive the results of the scan. Presently we have discussed going to, California, Mexico , or perhaps Gita Nagari on the way to the Bhaktivedanta Hospital in Bombay, where Gurudeva would be under the care of devotee doctors. Ekavira Prabhu is keeping a close watch on Gurudeva's progress, as he is the one that administer all the medical theraphies. He is also quite straight forward with Gurudeva regarding what he feels is not working.

I have shown Gurudeva Dhira Nitai's letter about our dear gobrother Bhagvat Prabhu, of course he was quite shocked, and at the same time fully understanding what Bhagavat Prabhu is going through. He sends his love and asks if Bhagavat's wife could write to him.

Ekavira Prabhu and I are so blessed, so many devotees have been writing and calling to encourage us in our services, thank you so much.

H.H. Kavichandra Maharaja, thank you for checking in regularly, it helps.

Dasaratha Prabhu, your last mail to Bhakti Tirtha Swami really made him happy.

His Grace Bhurijana Prabhu, you are keeping us remembering Krsna and his dearmost devotees. Thank you.

Kunti Devi, thank you, thank you for the care package, so many goodies, yipee!!

Yasoda-Mayi, thanks for the long phone conversation, I needed it.

Mangala Arati, thank you for your beautiful update of the disciple's meeting in Mayapur, Abhi and Arati, please write.

The liver scan is scheduled for early next week, we will keep everyone updated.

Your aspiirng servant
With love
Ekavira and Vrajalila

Pink Locusts from North Africa Swarm Through Cairo

By Amil Khan and Tom Perry

CAIRO (Reuters) - Swarms of pink locusts swept through the Egyptian capital on Wednesday, evoking the biblical description of the plagues which struck in the time of Moses.

The swarms of millions flew high above tall towers or swooped down onto treelined streets, where scared pedestrians stamped on them or ran for cover.

The flying insects arrived from neighboring Libya after devouring the countryside in central and western Africa in past months. But locust experts said they were unlikely to wreak similar havoc in Egypt, where agriculture is a cornerstone of the economy.

"This is really horrible," said one man as he ran past a building where locusts, some of them more than 3 inches (7.6 cm) long, smacked into office windows or landed on cars.

Some of the locusts, which arrived and disappeared in waves, settled on shrubs and trees. Authorities battled swarms at Cairo international airport, but flights were unaffected.

"They are driven by strong winds ... Under current climatic conditions they will not likely cause damage," Christian Pantenius, a locust expert with the United Nations (news - web sites) Food and Agriculture Organization (news - web sites) (FAO), told Reuters.

Pantenius said the locusts would not feed voraciously when the temperature was under 30 degrees Celsius (86 degrees Fahrenheit). Forecasts put Cairo's temperature for the coming days at below 25 degrees Celsius.

Pantenius said the locusts were arriving in medium-sized swarms. "They will very likely either die or migrate further to the south," he said, adding that the Saudi and Sudanese authorities had been alerted.

The locusts appeared to be passing through Egypt and did not pose a threat to agriculture, Egypt's official Middle East News Agency quoting Agriculture and Land Reclamation Minister Ahmed el-Laithi as telling a news conference.

Agriculture is a key sector of the Egyptian economy, employing millions of people in the North African country, which has a population of about 70 million.

The locust swarms have already traveled on the wind from North Africa to Cyprus. They can form swarms of tens of millions, occupying hundreds of square kilometers (miles).

In the Old Testament, locusts were the eighth of 10 plagues which God brought on the Egyptians before Pharaoh, their ruler, relented and let the enslaved children of Israel go. (Additional reporting by Esmat Salaheddin)

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