The conditions for the educational establishments and activities of the different religions have also been favorable in Hungary.

In the beginning I figured out what are the requirements for establishing an educational establishment in Hungary. According to the law, the educational establishment should have teachers, curriculums, finance and premises for teaching before the program can be launched. In the beginning we could not fulfill any of these requirements. Nobody of the Hungarian bhaktas, for example, had the required doctoral degree.

Anyway, things started to shape well in the due course of time. In 1998 the foundation was established, and the regular teaching was started in 1999. Soon it was possible to rent a little house, to establish a library, and to hire a librarian. Eventually the accreditation committee of the country accepted the proposition considering the establishment of the Bhaktivedanta College. In its vote in 2004, the Parliament accepted the activities of the College official.

Since that the college has gotten financial support from the state. The support is based on the amount of the students and teachers of the College. The annual budget is around 260 000 Euros. There were about 160 active students in the College in November 2008. Twenty percent of them are also doing temple service while studying and eighty percent are mainly studying.

Bhaktivedanta College also organizes courses liable to charge. In the College one can study, for example, vegetarian cooking, Ayurveda and the principles of Vastu. The idea of the College came from H.H. Sivarama Swami, the spiritual master of Radhanatha prabhu. The idea is based on the will of Srila Prabhupada. He wished that Krishna consciousness will be taught to the common people at universities.

 

The bridge between material and spiritual world

The Bhaktivedanta College enables one to study regularly the science of bhakti-yoga. According to Radhanatha prabhu this is the most important issue.

In the normal university one can study Artha, in other words, how to success in the material world. One cannot learn anything about the spiritual world in the normal university. As a practitioner of bhakti-yoga I believe that we are all spiritual beings. In this science we teach, how to act according to our original identity. Bhaktivedanta College help us to understand world as a creation of God, and how to function here as a spiritual soul.

The studies of bhakti-yoga will help us to form a bridge between the material and spiritual knowledge. The teachings are based on the interpretations of Gaudia Vaishnavism. According to Radhanatha prabhu Bhaktivedanta College has an important impact and meaning for the society.

It is not a coincidence that the Bhaktivedanta College was launched at the moment, when the essence of the whole material science was shaken. Science is missing objectivity nowadays. Social and humanistic sciences are not sure about the essence of their teachings anymore. People are stressed and they question the promises of the happiness bringing science. They want to understand the deeper truth, and we try to help in that.

 

Systematic approach for bhakti-yoga

In practice the students of the Bhaktivedanta College study the philosophy of bhakti-yoga. They also learn how to apply the teachings in their own life.

According to the Vedas, only applied knowledge is real knowledge. Studies are divided into three years, and one will study Holy Scriptures, like Bhagavad Gita, during that time. Of course we teach also Sanskrit language, so that it would be easier to understand original texts. In addition we also study communication and mantra-meditation.

Twenty Hungarian students have passed the degree until now. This has given them the systematic approach for bhakti-yoga. Major part of them is now working in the service of ISKCON in Hungary, but parts of them are also working in other places, like in Mayapur. Most of the students have come directly from the streets, which have meant a drastic change in their habits of life. Through japa meditation they have gotten rid of their bad habits, like poisoning their body.

According to Radhanatha prabhu, Bhaktivedanta College is a good place to study bhakti-yoga in this age of kali-yuga, because people believe in institutions.

 

Bhaktivedanta-university as a vision

The amount of institutions giving higher education in Hungary is in total 72. Bhaktivedanta College is one of them. According to Radhanatha prabhu the Bhaktivedanta College has been nicely received by the Hungarian people, and the College is making cooperation with other schools.

We have, among other things, agreement on cooperation with the Jewish university, and we keep connection also with other universities. Numerous news about us are being published by the radio and magazines. Those releases have brought new students to us. For example, one actor of the Hungarian soap opera started to study in the College in 2004 when the College was launched.

The vision of Radhanatha prabhu is to expand the actions of the Bhaktivedanta College.

Our goal is to start higher education teaching, and on that way launch the Bhaktivedanta-university.