Vanipedia:Promotional Tools

Five Principles of a Vanirecruiter

Principle 1 - Be on the lookout

Always think that the person you meet could be a potential Vanisevak. Try to attend programs, festivals and get to know as many devotees as you can. Make friends.

Principle 2 - Begin with the goal in mind

Think straight... Think Vanipedia. Whatever the conversation, try to mold it so that you can introduce the subject of Vanipedia. Look for an opportune moment and ask the basic question - "Have you heard of Vanipedia, the online encyclopedia on Srila Prabhupada's quotes?"

Principle 3 - Express the simplicity of the program

Judge by the facial expressions the success or failure of your explaination about Vanipedia. Either way, talk about how simple it is that even a child can do it. Cite examples.

Principle 4 - Reach out with a demo

If time and circumstances permit, give a short demonstration of Vanipedia. Or give them the website address on the Vanipedia flyer. Try to arrange a hands-on very soon before the interest dwindles.

Principle 5 - Stress the importance of Vanipedia Be convinced and then convince others about the importance of Vanipedia. Bring out printouts of articles on Vanipedia. Show the philosophical side of Vanipedia.

Articles

Independently written

January 2008

By Antardwip Dasa - 1st January 2008 - for Vaisnava Connection

http://news.iskcon.com/node/780/vanipedia_prabhupada_research_program_go_online

Vanipedia, a new program being developed by the Prabhupada Vani Research Academy based in Radhadesh, Belgium, represents a seismic change in the way we can approach Srila Prabhupada's teachings. Why? Because for the first time it enables lSKCON devotees web access to reference whatever they do with Srila Prabhupada's instructions by providing a means of easily sifting through the vast mountain of literature and teachings left by Srila Prabhupada.

There have only been a limited number of printed compilations of Srila Prabhupada's teachings over the years, and those dating back many years. Ajamila prabhu compiled the "Shikshamrita," with excerpts categorized by title and compiled from Srila Prabhupada's letters and done entirely without computer search capabilities. Subhananda prabhu also did excellent work on three topics with the "Preaching is the Essence", "Namamrita" and the "Spiritual Master and the Disciple." A few other compilations have also been produced. Now the same principle is being extended to reference not just the letters but also the books, lectures and conversations by Srila Prabhupada with the most efficient search engines, and not restricted to any particular subject but to eventually cover every possible subject from every possible angle (for instance, what did Narada Muni say about devotional service, what did Lord Brahma say about devotional service, etc) from Srila Prabhupada's teachings.

The collating stage will use a collaborative approach with different devotees contributing towards analyzing search results on a particular subject, finding the beginning and end of each thread, separating such quotes further into titled sub-grouping, and with each quote linking back directly to the original document/conversation/book it came from as well as any MP3 or video which was also source material.

Project leader Visnu Murti prabhu calls the central database (which you may remember as the Vedabase) "Vanisource," which he describes as the base of the lotus with the following areas surrounding it like petals - the area we just described (a "wiki" to computer nerds), where devotees collaboratively sift through the search results on a topic. This is called "Vaniquotes," and when such work is complete, it becomes the resources for developing the other petals of Vanibooks, Vanipedia articles and online courses in Vaniversity.

Thank goodness ISKCON has big lotuses or they would have run out of vani-petals, as there are more: Vanimedia for Srila Prabhupada audio, video and images and Vanictionary, which is very interesting. It will have a Sanskrit/English and Bengali/English compilation of all Srila Prabhupada's translations of different words in those languages.

It will also hold statistical data such as: Did you know the top speakers by number of verses spoken are:

Sukadeva Goswami (4846 verses ) (when he is saying what someone else said, it doesn't count) Lord Krishna (1116 verses) Maitreya Rsi (1077 verses) Narada Muni (830 verses) Suta Goswami (741 verses)

Here is an example of how a compilation in Vaniquotes will develop: From a search on "The Krsna consciousness movement" there were 350 references found in Srila Prabhupada's Srimad Bhagavatam. After first choosing the beginning and ending points of each thread, the devotees on the wiki came up with the following headings under which those 350 quotes were categorized:

Contribution to Human Society Origin and Authenticity Establishment of the KC movement Principles Purposes Members Leadership Propagation

The quotes are then put under those headings with links back to the original text/sound file. The reader will be able to approach Vaniquotes via philosophical and social themes, the personalities who present them, or via Srila Prabhupada's usage of the English, Sanskrit and Bengali languages.

The project will be launched at Gaura Purnima for volunteer participation. Vaniseva is the name the devotees at Vanipedia give to all the services needed to make the project a success.

If you want to become a volunteer to do some Vaniseva you can at this time contact Visnu Murti prabhu at [email protected]

This project gives the ISKCON society the opportunity to confirm or deny – or find no reference - at source the validity of any philosophical positions, management policies, established cultures, etc, through this thorough research of Srila Prabhupada's teachings. It will provide a practical method for the society to maintain Srila Prabhupada's teachings at its center.

Vanipedia officially goes online in March 2008.

February 2008

News in Brief - July 2007 - Friends of the BBT Newsletter

http://friendsofthebbt.org/newsletter/Jul07.html

Vanipedia - A New Approach to finding Srila Prabhupada Online Few Internet users will not be familiar with Wikipedia, the vast online encyclopedia compiled by volunteering users. Well, soon you may be able to look up any aspect of Srila Prabhupada’s instructions and teachings in the same way! Using the same software as Wikipedia, The Prabhupada Vani Research Academy, based in Radhadesh, Belgium, is developing a comprehensive encyclopedia of Prabhupada’s teachings. These will be predominantly available via www.vanipedia.org, and may later appear as a series of books printed by the Bhaktivedanta Book Trust, who are collaborators on the project. The site is designed as a lotus flower, with six “petals” including Vanibooks, Vaniquotes, Vaniversity, Vanimedia, Vanisource, and Vanictionary.

Internet Service- By Antony Brennan - for Dandavats website

As manager for a government department I use Internet services as a tool to develop new business processes. This requires me to spend some time looking at new internet developments and services.

As I have to keep up with internet developments for my work it is good to know I can look at Krishna related sites and see what they are up to as well. I often use the Internet to research Srila Prabhupada’s books and teachings. So I spend some amount of time each week surfing the search engines and other likely locations.

Whilst poking around one day on a devotee Internet forum, I came across a reference to a new web site called Vanipedia. I was attracted straight away by the name and wanted to find out more about it. The forum message explained Vanipedia was a new development which would provide access to the teachings of Srila Prabhupada and that interested people should email Visnu Murti dasa from Bhaktivedanta Library Services (BLS) to offer assistance in developing the site.

‘Well I am interested already,’ I thought to myself. ‘I can’t write computer code, I can’t work out computer network and I am also far, far away, beyond South East Asia, in Australia, a long way from Europe where this project is going on. But I can research and report and write.’ I sent an email to Visnu Murti das asking for more information. It read ‘I am wondering if there is any assistance I can give toward your project please let me know. I can read, research and write in English.’

I thought perhaps I wouldn’t hear back because they must be looking for some real hardcore computer skills. But then an email arrived which read as follows: ‘We need writers to make articles, and researchers to compile. As you fulfil both requirements, we are very thankful that you want to be a part of our team.’

Through this email, and further emails I received, the Vani-servants I communicated with told me more about the vision for Vanipedia. The Vani-vision I call it. It goes like this:

They tell me Vanipedia will be an online encyclopedia of Srila Prabhupada’s teachings. Currently under development, it will be a dynamic resource for devotees and a vast library of Vedic knowledge available to anyone with internet access. They say it will contain a reference and index facility that allows you to easily find information based on the subject you are looking for. Containing text, audio and video, Vanipedia has the potential to become the ultimate on-line reference site for Srila Prabhupada Vani.

The first two areas being developed are Vanisource and Vaniquotes. Vanisource contains all of Srila Prabhpada’s books, and Vaniquotes will be a comprehensive compilation of the themes found throughout Srila Prahupada’s work. At the moment there are headings for 3,000 articles at Vanipedia and they won’t rest until there are 100,000.

They tell me launching time is for Gaura Purnima and they are getting things ready for engaging volunteers in the first wave of service. If you are interested in providing some Vani-service, or just in finding out more, I recommend you contact Visnu Murti das at [email protected].

November 2008

By Madhava Smullen - November 22nd 2008 - for Iskcon News

http://news.iskcon.com/node/1480/2008-11-22/vanipedia_takes_prabhupada%E2%80%99s_teachings_online

Free online encyclopedia Wikipedia has become as integral a part of the internet as Google. Type virtually any word, place or famous name into a search engine and the Wiki entry will be in the top three hits.

Can you imagine an encyclopedia of Srila Prabhupada’s teachings with the same scope?

Well the folks at Vanipedia.org are working hard to make this a reality. They take the project very seriously, and will be taking their time to ensure the creation of a staggeringly vast resource.

“We already have Vanisource, where you can read all of Prabhupada’s works, and Vaniquotes, where we have amassed 50,000 quotes so far,” says project manager Vishnu Murti Dasa, referring to two of the website’s “Lotus Petals.” “Within seven years we would like to complete the compiling in Vaniquotes, link the Vanisource, build the Vanictionary, populate the Vanimedia with Srila Prabhupada's audio, video and photos, make the compendiums in Vanibooks, write all the introductory articles in Vanipedia, and create all the educational courses in Vaniversity.”

But why seven years?

“In seven years, on the 4th of October 2015, many festivities around the world will celebrate the 50th anniversary of Srila Prabhupada first arriving on western shores,” Vishnu Murti explains. “So we’d like to have everything ready by then.”

There’s more. The following twelve years will see many more 50th anniversary festivities celebrating Srila Prabhupada’s activities and achievements. These will culminate on the 2nd of November 2027, the 50th anniversary of Srila Prabhupada’s departure from this world. “We would like to spend these twelve years serving with all the devotees to truly establish a culture of deep dependency on Prabhupada's teachings (Vani),” Vishnu Murti says. “If we can do that, the second fifty years of ISKCON will be gloriously successful.”

The Vanipedia team are now sending out the call for devotees to assist in compiling Vaniquotes. Vishnu Murti says it’s a perfect chance to study Prabhupada’s teachings while building Vanipedia for the benefit of all. “By following the simple methodology of studying via themes and then compiling them one can understand the deep significance of each word, phrase, concept or personality that Srila Prabhupada is presenting. His teachings are without a doubt our life and soul, and when we study them thoroughly we can appreciate this even more.”

The Vanipedia team are committed to creating a dynamic platform for the teachings of Srila Prabhupada, the greatest modern exponent of Vaishnavism; a platform through which they can be “profusely distributed, properly understood, and joyfully acted upon.”

And they want you to help.

“There are many ways that you can compile,” Vishnu Murti says. “Simple editing of pages, compiling of quotes, researching and creating page titles, and developing different pages and categories that help link everything together.”

Volunteers can begin compiling with just a couple of hours training over Skype. Further training courses can then cement your qualification.

“This is history in the making – we are creating our future by serving together,” Vishnu Murti finishes. “Please consider being a part of it.”

To begin training or to find out more, contact [email protected] or visit www.vanipedia.org

Written by various Vanipedians

November 2007

Researching Srila Prabhupada’s Teachings - November 3rd 2007 - by Visnu Murti dasa

http://www.dandavats.com/?p=4679

The Prabhupada Vani Reseach Academy is establishing a new website named “Vanipedia” (vanipedia. org). It will be launched at Gaura Purnima 2008.

Vanipedia will not only feature all Srila Prabhupada’s teachings but also compilations on various subjects that he discussed in his books, lectures, letters, and conversations.

These compilations will be built in a section called Vaniquotes and once a specific subject is thoroughly researched and developed it will be published as a “Vanibook” in the section “Vanibooks”. The result will be a fantastic resource and shelter to better faciltate the devotees in the pursuance of both their individual spiritual lives and their respective services.

However, to make all these research activities and compilations relevant for you, we would be very interested to hear which subjects in Srila Prabhupada’s teachings you think need to be better understood, both in devotees’ personal lives and in the Hare Krishna movement as a whole.

We would, therefore, be most grateful if you would kindly take a few moments to answer the three questions below.(*)

Please send your answers to me personally at [email protected]

Thank you very much for your time. With kind regards and appreciation,

Your servants at Vanipedia

(*) You can answer these questions briefly with one word or give more extended answers if you prefer. You can also give the same answer to more than one question. And if you want, you can add more than three subjects to each question. All replies are confidential. However, we do intend to publish statistics of how many persons consider the same subjects to be important.

11:19, 10 March 2009 (UTC)~

SURVEY QUESTIONS

1. According to you, which three subjects in Srila Prabhupada’s teachings should be comprehensively researched to help you in your individual pursuit of Krishna consciousness?

1a):__________________________________________________

1b):__________________________________________________

1c):__________________________________________________

2. According to you, which three subjects in Srila Prabhupada’s teachings should be comprehensively researched to help you carry out more effectively your service responsibilities for Srila Prabhupada’s mission?

2a):__________________________________________________

2b):__________________________________________________

2c):__________________________________________________

3. According to you, which three subjects in Srila Prabhupada’s teachings should be comprehensively researched to help the overall improvement of the Krishna Consciousness movement in executing Srila Prabhupada’s mission?

3a):__________________________________________________

3b):__________________________________________________

3c):__________________________________________________

December 2007

Progress report on the Vanipedia survey - December 3rd 2007 - by Visnu Murti dasa

http://www.dandavats.com/?p=4861

Today on the 1st of December we received response number 101 for our Vanipedia survey. I would like to thank all of the devotees who have offered their reflections into what are the most important subjects in Srila Prabhupada’s teachings that need to be better understood. These reflections are helping us to set up the theme structure in Vaniquotes.

There are quite a few devotees who have contacted me requesting more time to send in their responses as some have been in India for Kartika.

We will wait until the 16th of December until we begin the process of grouping the responses together.

It would be wonderful if we could get another 100 responses in the next 15 days, as that would really help to offer a more conclusive evaluation from the sanga of devotees.

thank you for your time

your servant

Visnu Murti dasa

please respond to me with a private letter to [email protected]

SURVEY QUESTIONS

1. According to you, which three subjects in Srila Prabhupada’s teachings should be comprehensively researched to help you in your individual pursuit of Krishna consciousness?

1a)__________________________________________________

1b)__________________________________________________

1c)__________________________________________________

2. According to you, which three subjects in Srila Prabhupada’s teachings should be comprehensively researched to help you carry out more effectively your service responsibilities for Srila Prabhupada’s mission?

2a)__________________________________________________

2b)__________________________________________________

2c)__________________________________________________

3. According to you, which three subjects in Srila Prabhupada’s teachings should be comprehensively researched to help the overall improvement of the Krishna Consciousness movement in executing Srila Prabhupada’s mission?

3a)__________________________________________________

3b)__________________________________________________

3c)__________________________________________________

February 2008

Results from the Vanipedia Survey - February 1st 2008 - by Visnu Murti dasa

http://www.dandavats.com/?p=5221

I want to thank everyone who participated in our survey. The vast majority of responses were from senior devotees with a variety of social natures. So I believe that the survey accurately represents a wide cross-section of Srila Prabhupada’s followers.

At this stage I have had only enough time to process the results for the third question, which was:

“According to you, which three subjects in Srila Prabhupada’s teachings should be comprehensively researched to help the overall improvement of the Krishna consciousness movement in executing Srila Prabhupada’s mission?”

Results of the Survey:

A total of 124 devotees offered 391 responses to question 3. I have grouped these responses into six natural categories. Two responses suggested researching everything from Srila Prabhupada’s teachings.

30% of the responses referred to philosophical issues

26% of the responses referred leadership issues

21% of the responses referred to social issues

10% of the responses referred to varnasrama

8% of the responses referred to preaching

5% of the responses referred to education

Note: Answers that specifically mentioned varnasrama were categorized as such. So actually out of the total responses received, an overall 31% referred to social issues.

Philosophical issues included these sub-categories:

31% Guru Tattva

11% Krsna Consciousness

9% Qualities

9% Holy names

8% Siddhanta

4% Sadhana

4% Krsna

4% Application

2% Association

2% Bhakti

2% the Future

2% Relationships

2% Studying

10% Miscellaneous

Leadership issues fell into these sub-categories:

32% Iskcon

18% Leadership

13% GBC

13% Management

8% Srila Prabhupada’s position

2% Institution

2% Justice

2% Temples

10% Miscellaneous

Social issues included these sub categories:

49% Relationships

11% Rural community living

6% Women

5% Economics

5% Qualities

4% Civilized behavior

4% Marriage

3% Interfaith

3% Vegetarianism

10% Miscellaneous

Varnasrama topics fell into these sub-categories:

60% Varnasrama

12% Sannyasa

8% Brahmanas

5% Application of

5% Cow protection

3% Grhastha

3% Devotees’ relationship to

2% Vanaprastha

2% Protection of Women

The following 10 sub-categories totaled 54% of all the responses:

11% Relationships

9% Guru Tattva

8% Iskcon

6% Varnasrama

5% Preaching

4% Leadership

3% GBC

3% Management

3% Qualities

2% Education

I leave it to the readers to reflect upon why the devotees considered these subjects important to research and better understand for the overall improvement of the Krishna consciousness movement.

We have found this exercise important in helping us create the framework for Vanipedia and are continuing to build the website. We are on schedule for a public release at Gaura Purnima. In the month of April we will be requesting anyone who could kindly volunteer time to help build the articles inside of the first section to be developed - Vaniquotes, which consists of articles containing exclusively Srila Prabhupada’s written and spoken words.

A brief introduction to Vanipedia

Srila Prabhupada was a prolific spiritual and social commentator who resourcefully drew from the vast and timeless wisdom of the Vedas. The shear volume of his comments sometimes makes it difficult for readers to grasp the proper conclusion.

Vaniquotes collects together Srila Prabhupada’s comments under naturally accruing themes, thus facilitating the reader in gaining a deeper access to the powerful messages that Srila Prabhupada is giving. Quotes are presented in scriptural order and by date. Each quote is also linked to Vanisource, (Prabhupada’s books, lectures, conversations and letters) thus keeping everything very much in context.

The reader can approach Vaniquotes via philosophical and social themes, the different personalities who present them, or from such interesting directions as Srila Prabhupada’s usage of the English, Sanskrit and Bengali languages. All pages will be extensively interlinked.

Vaniquotes will supply the resources to enable the further development of the Vanipedia website; other sections, such as Vanipedia articles, Vanibooks, and Vaniversity online courses will be created.

As Vaniquotes develops, Srila Prabhupada’s lectures and conversations will be compiled along with the audio version, offering a profound hearing experience for the reader and thereby keeping the individual quotes even more in context.

Our first goal is to complete 10,800 articles. To date we have 3,850 articles which are either completely finished, partially finished, or have only a name attributed to them.

Our ultimate aim is to have 100,000 completed articles.

The more articles we have in Vaniquotes, the richer the articles in Vanipedia will be, the more comprehensive the Vanibooks will be, and the more variegated and inclusive the Vaniversity online courses will be – all representative of the siddhanta of our disciplic succession.

There is no doubt that the Vanipedia website will prove to be an extremely valuable resource in assisting devotees to improve their services to Srila Prabhupada, by putting the entire body of his instructions at their fingertips.

Our motto is: “Before enlightenment, copy and paste; after enlightenment, copy and paste.”

Completing all the sections of Vanipedia will be achieved in either of the following ways; a few committed people taking a long period of time, or many committed people taking a much shorter period of time to accomplish this task.

My personal aspiration is that many of us can collaborate in offering this dynamic platform for Srila Prabhupada to continue training numerous assistants to help him give Krsna consciousness to the world.

Your servants at Vanipedia