ISKCON Desire Tree's Posts

Celebrating Jaganath Ratha Yatra – 2015 Dublin

Posted by ISKCON Desire Tree on August 31, 2015 at 5:10pm

By Sebastian J. Rutkowski
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Copyright © Sebastian J. Photography

Chariot Festival, Ratha Yatra is a colourful and vibrant public festival that dates back thousands of years to ancient India. It features a huge chariot pulled by hand, accompanied by music and dancing, culminating in a fun-filled afternoon of stage shows and exhibitions as well as a free, sumptuous vegetarian feast.

Ratha Yatra is celebrated all over the world and was first introduced to the West in 1967 in San Francisco by ISKCON founder Srila Prabhupada and his American disciples. This year the festival team is delighted to return to Dublin on its European tour.

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Srimad Bhagavatam Canto - 07, Chapter - 02, Text 48

Posted by ISKCON Desire Tree on August 31, 2015 at 1:00pm

Lecture on Srimad Bhagavatam Canto - 07, Chapter - 02, Text 48 by Hridayananda Das Goswami

(Hridayananda dasa Goswami (Howard J. Resnick, Ph.D.) is one of the most senior and respected spiritual leaders of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON).)

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Posted by ISKCON Desire Tree on August 31, 2015 at 12:57pm

Lecture on Srimad Bhagavatam Canto - 10, Chapter - 72, Text - 06 by HG Narayani Mataji at ISKCON Alachua

(Her Grace Narayani Devi Dasi joined ISKCON in Boston in 1970. She has done many services for Srila Prabhupada including Deity worship in Calcutta temple, traveling book distribution in Western India for the Bombay temple, and teaching Bhakti Sastri, Bhakti Vaibhava and Bhaktivedanta courses in the VIHE in Vrndavana. )

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Vaishnava Etiquette-The Refined Ornament of a Leader and of a Follower

Posted by ISKCON Desire Tree on August 31, 2015 at 12:52pm

Lecture on Vaishnava Etiquette-The Refined Ornament of a Leader and of a Follower by HH Romapada Swami in 27 Mar 2015 at Naperville

(Romapada Swami‘s first encounter with Krishna consciousness came in Buffalo, in the shape of a lecture at the State University of New York in 1969. The lecturer was His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada. The following year, Romapada Swami joined the movement in Boston and was initiated in 1971.)

Devotional Discourse on The Life of Srila Prabhupada

Posted by ISKCON Desire Tree on August 31, 2015 at 12:48pm

Lecture on Devotional Discourse on The Life of Srila Prabhupada by HH Sivarama Swami on 11 Aug 2014 at Budapest

(Sivarama Swami was born in Budapest, Hungary in 1949. His family immigrated to Canada where some years later in 1970 he first came in contact with Srila Prabhupada's teachings, via his transcendental books. He became an initiated disciple of His Divine Grace in 1973 and accepted the renounced order of life in 1979.)

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How to Find Lasting Contentment in a Discontent World?

Posted by ISKCON Desire Tree on August 31, 2015 at 12:30pm

I am sure we all have at some point of time in our lives or are currently been whipped with thoughts like: I wish I had more money... I wish I was more beautiful... I wish I had a better life... I wish I had that fancy car or bike... or maybe thoughts like: If I had more money I could have bought that bigger luxury apartment? If only I was a little thinner I would look more attractive? A lack of true contentment is the seed-bed in which sins like covetousness, lust, anger, hatred, and a host of grosser evils are bred and cultivated. Advancement of material vision or material civilization is a great stumbling block for spiritual advancement. Such material advancement entangles the living being in the bondage of a material body followed by all sorts of material miseries. Such material advancement is called anartha, or things not wanted. These anarthas are inordinate, ungoverned, selfish and passionate desire that leads us away from God and corrupts our relationship with others. We live in a culture where we’re conditioned to believe that more is never enough and our success is based on how we’re doing in comparison to others.

But the truth is, this kind of thinking only results in dissatisfaction and disillusionment.

In the present context of material advancement one over endeavours for money, riches, wealth, name, fame, false prestige, one splurges on harmful intoxicants like hard drinks, cigarettes, etc. failing to realize that just like the smoke emanating from the cigarette, their precious lives too are being consumed by and vanishing into oblivion due to such anomalies. There are so many unwanted things which are all products of the material conception of life. By diverting attention to so many unwanted things, human energy is spoiled without achievement of spiritual realization, the prime necessity of human life. The attempt to reach the stars, other planets and galaxies is another example of spoiling energy because even if one reaches other planets, the basic or real problems of life will not be solved.

If happiness is the ultimate goal of life, one must be satisfied with the position in which he is placed by providence. One has to perceive happiness by the supersenses. The supersenses are not the senses of the material elements. Our senses are now covered by material elements, and because of ignorance we consider the material senses that cover us to be our real senses. The real senses, however, are within the material covering. Within the covering of the material elements are the spiritual senses. When the spiritual senses are uncovered, by these senses we can be happy. When the senses are engaged in devotional service to the Lordships, then the spiritual senses are completely satisfied. Without this superior knowledge of sense gratification, one may try to satisfy his material senses, but happiness will never be possible. One may increase his ambition for sense gratification and even achieve what he desires for the gratification of his senses, but because this is on the material platform and is temporary, he will never achieve satisfaction and contentment.

The devotees of the Lord are called akiñcanas because they have practically no material assets. Such material assets are all products of the three modes of material nature. They foil spiritual energy, and thus the less we possess such products of material nature, the more we have a good chance for spiritual progress. One should be satisfied with whatever he achieves by his previous destiny, for discontent can never bring happiness. A person who is not self-controlled will not be happy even with possessing the three worlds. One who is satisfied by that which is obtained by destiny, by God's arrangement, is fit for liberation from this material existence.

Therefore, the key to finding lasting contentment in a discontent world is to curb the mundane desires to over endeavour for sense gratificatory objects which pull us towards illusion. Rather, we must dovetail our vital energies towards making spiritual advancement, by engaging our mind and senses in chanting His holy name and serving the Divine. We must constantly remember that the hardest times are an opportunity to find contentment in God’s grace, which is the sole destination to experiencing peace, joy, His love and eternal bliss.

Kurukshetra - Installation of Ananta Shesha

Posted by ISKCON Desire Tree on August 31, 2015 at 11:00am

Entire Album is in below link
http://tinyurl.com/nuwo8df

On the auspicious occasion of Baladev Purnima, August 29, 2015, a grand function including the visit of His Excellency the Governor of Punjab and Haryana Professor Kaptan Singh Solani, was organized by ISKCON at the new six acre plot of land that was aquired in the recent past from the Haryana State Government. At the function, marking the beginning of construction of a grand temple for Krishna and Arjuna, the Diety of Anantadev was installed by HH Gopal Krishna Goswami, ISKCON GBC for most of North India as well as one of ISKCON's diksha gurus, in the presence of His Excellency the Governor.

das,

Basu Ghosh Das

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Will Suffering Ever End?

Posted by ISKCON Desire Tree on August 30, 2015 at 3:30pm

This material world is certified by the Lord in the holy scriptures, as a dangerous place full of sufferings. First of all, we need to comprehend that we are all spiritual beings within material bodies. As soon as we are enclosed in a material body and interact with the material energy, we are going to experience various aspects of worldly existence which may not be the most pleasant. According to our interpretation of the experience, based on the dictates of the senses and mind, some of these incidents may be appealing and some will be less than desirable, or even appear to be troublesome to the extreme. These troubles come under three categories. First there are the troubles caused by the body itself, then those which are caused by other beings, and then those caused by nature.

Less intelligent persons prepare plans to adjust to those sufferings without knowing that the nature of this place is itself full of calamities. This is solely because they have no information regarding the abode of the Lord, which is full of bliss and without trace of any sufferings.

On the positive side, suffering helps one see how to rise above the difficulties, or overcome the limitations or challenges, and reach that consciousness beyond dualities. Through this process people have overcome their seeming handicaps or restrictions to discover their true potential and attain major accomplishments in spite of whatever difficulties they may have had.

The duty of the sane person, therefore, is to be undisturbed by worldly calamities, which are sure to happen in all circumstances. Suffering all sorts of unavoidable misfortunes, one should make progress in spiritual realization because that is the mission of human life. The spirit soul is transcendental to all material calamities; therefore, the so-called sufferings are called false. A man may see a tiger swallowing him in a dream, and he may cry for this calamity. Actually there is no tiger and there is no suffering; it is simply a case of dreams. In the same way, all sufferings of life should be considered as dreams.

The sufferings of this world should be seen as an impetus to open the doors to realize the real happiness we are looking for, and that is in spiritual truth. That is in loving devotional service. If we are fortunate enough to come in contact with the Lord by devotional service, we are in the perfect condition of life and are perenially benefitted materially as well as spiritually. Hence, sufferings can only end through religious and sincere contact with the Lord. This can be achieved by any one of the nine devotional services which are - 1. Hearing (sravanam) 2. Chant- ing (kirtanam) 3. Remembering the Lord (vishnu smaranam) 4. Serving the Lord's lotus feet (pada sevanam) 5. Deity Worship (arcanam) 6. Praying (vandanam) 7. Carrying out the orders of the Lord (dasyam) 8. Becoming friends with Him (sakhyam) 9. Surrendering everything to Him (atma nivedanam).

Therefore, such activities performed for the pleasure of the Supreme Lord, with unalloyed devotion, which is not mixed with any desire for personal pleasure paves the roadway for going back to Godhead and this is the means to end all kinds of sufferings.

The Most Suitable Boat

Posted by ISKCON Desire Tree on August 30, 2015 at 2:30pm

Generally the distressed, the needy, the intelligent and the inquisitive, who have performed some pious activities, worship or begin to worship the Lord. Others, who are thriving on misdeeds only, regardless of status, cannot approach the Supreme due to being misled by the illusory energy. Therefore, for a pious person, if there is some calamity there is no other alternative than to take shelter of the lotus feet of the Lord.

Constantly remembering the lotus feet of the Lord means preparing for liberation from birth and death. Therefore, even though there are so-called calamities, they are welcome because they give us an opportunity to remember the Lord, which means liberation. We must pray to the Lord with a consciousness that, "I wish that all those calamities would happen again and again so that we could see You again and again, for seeing You means that we will no longer see repeated births and deaths.

One who has taken shelter of the lotus feet of the Lord, which are accepted as the most suitable boat for crossing the ocean of nescience, can achieve liberation as easily as one leaps over the holes made by the hoofs of a calf. Such persons are meant to reside in the abode of the Lord, and they have nothing to do with a place where there is danger in every step.

Dependance on Krishna

Posted by ISKCON Desire Tree on August 28, 2015 at 1:52pm

Lecture on Dependance on Krishna by HH Sivarama Swami on 11 Aug 2014 at Budapest

(Sivarama Swami was born in Budapest, Hungary in 1949. His family immigrated to Canada where some years later in 1970 he first came in contact with Srila Prabhupada's teachings, via his transcendental books. He became an initiated disciple of His Divine Grace in 1973 and accepted the renounced order of life in 1979.)

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Everything for Krishna

Posted by ISKCON Desire Tree on August 28, 2015 at 1:46pm

Lecture on Everything for Krishna by HH Niranjana Swami on 15 Aug 2015 at Taichung

(His Holiness Niranjana Swami was born on December 10, 1952, in Lowell, Massachusetts, USA. In 1972, his spiritual search took a turning point when he saw a Bhagavad-Gita As It Is, on the counter of a bookshop in Washington, DC.)

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Bharat Milap

Posted by ISKCON Desire Tree on August 28, 2015 at 1:43pm

Lecture on Bharat Milap by HG Nitaisevini Mataji on 08 Aug 2015 at ISKCON Vizag

Nitaisevini Devi Dasi was born in Mumbai in a Gujarati Business family, conventional followers of the Pushtimarg. Later she with her family shifted to Hyderabad in 1984, since then she was closely connected to ISKCON Secunderbad. Inspired by Visits of many senior devotees, she later joined as a Full time devotee in 1997 and took initiation in the year 1998 in Atlanta,USA from H.H.Jayapataka Swami.

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Balaram Jayanti

Posted by ISKCON Desire Tree on August 28, 2015 at 1:40pm

Lecture on Balaram Jayanti by HH Radhanath Swami on 13 Dec 2014 at ISKCON London

(Radhanath Swami was born in Chicago in 1950. Radhanath Swami's childhood name was Richard Slavin; Radhanath Swami was given the name Radhanath Swami after he entered the renounced order. In his teenage years)

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How to Keep Ourselves in God's Love?

Posted by ISKCON Desire Tree on August 28, 2015 at 1:00pm

By the Lord's arrangement, I happened to meet my college friend after a long time during a preaching program. It was a nostalgic moment for both of us, as our eyes met and all sweet memories resurfaced. In college she used to be extremely restless, constantly searching for peace and solace. She would frequent mosques, gurudwaras, churches and monasteries in search for eternal peace. She would listen to any and every discourse by mundane self proclaimed Gods posing as self-realized souls. Caught in the web of these pseudo-saints, who simply misguide innocent souls, she was lost in the forest of nescience. She was left perplexed, confused and bewildered. Just like her, there are so many of us who with a view to achieve fruitive results, observe fasts for certain material gains or visit shrines and knock on doors of different demigods only when we are in distress or to ask for some benefaction from them.

A chaste devotee of the Lord does not look to others, namely any other living being or demigod, for peace, happiness or even for deliverance from danger.

By building up ourselves on our most holy faith, and praying with selfless sincerity, we must patiently wait for the mercy of the Supreme Lord with perennial eternal spiritual life in view, and by constantly engaging in His unalloyed devotion, we can keep ourselves in God's love.

Balaram Jayanti (Appearance of the Original Spiritual Master)

Posted by ISKCON Desire Tree on August 28, 2015 at 11:00am

This is the most auspicious appearance day of Lord Balarama, the elder brother of Lord Krishna. The Supreme Personality of Godhead, Krishna, is the fountainhead of all incarnations. Lord Balarama is the first bodily expansion of Krishna, and He assists in Lord Krishna’s transcendental pastimes. He is the source of the entire spiritual world and is the adi-guru, the original spiritual master.

The Supreme Lord Krishna and Lord Balarama, are each the seed and womb of the universe, the Creator and His Creative potency, respectively. They enter the hearts of living beings and control their conditioned awareness. They are the primeval supreme.

Birth

Balaram appeared on the full moon day of Shravana. The history of His appearance is unique. He was born as the seventh son of Devaki and Vasudeva.

Yogamaya transferred Ananta Sesa (Balarama) from the womb of Devaki to the womb of Rohini. Seven months later during the most auspicious moment in Sravana month, Rohini, gave birth to Lord Balarama. His complexion was just like a white lotus flower and He resembled the full moon. His eyes were brilliant like lightning flashes and his hair was the color of a new cloud yet brilliant like the sun. Such extraordinary beauty prevailed because He was none other than the Lord Sankarsana.

He executes the orders of Lord Krishna in the work of creation, and in the form of Lord Sesa He serves Sri Krishna in various ways. He tastes the transcendental bliss of serving Krishna. No one can approach Krishna without first getting the mercy of Baladeva.

Whenever Krishna appears in the material world, He is accompanied by His associates and paraphernalia. When Krishna descended into the material world, He was first preceded by Baladeva. Only after Baladeva gave His mercy did Krishna descend, such is the intimate relationship between Krishna and Baladeva.

Appearance

Lord Balarama is full of the luster of youth and has a fair complexion. He wears blue garments and a garland of forest flowers. His beautiful hair is tied in a graceful topknot. Splendid earrings adorn His ears and His neck is wonderfully decorated with garlands of flowers and strings of jewels. Resplendent armlets and bracelets ornament Balaram’s very strong arms and His feet are decorated with jeweled anklets.

Splendor

The splendor of Lord Balarama’s form eclipses many millions of glistening rising moons, and the slightest scent of His boundless strength is sufficient to destroy many armies of demons. Although He knows the supernatural power of His younger brother, Krishna, still, out of love for Him, He never leaves Krishna alone in the forest even for a moment. Balarama is Sri Krishna’s dearest friend and is a great reservoir of many kinds of divine pastimes.

Mercy of Lord Balarama

Lord Balarama exemplifies the service attitude to Krishna. His only mission is to please Krishna by rendering service to Him, whether it is in the creation of the material worlds, maintaining the spiritual world or as His personal associate. Lord Balarama is the eternal companion of Sri Krishna. He incarnated as Lakshmana with Rama and later as Nityananda Prabhu with Lord Chaitanya Mahaprabhu. He is the original spiritual master, and any one desiring to make spiritual progress must first get the mercy of Lord Balarama. We can never directly approach Krishna, only by the mercy of and through Lord Balaram we can approach the Supreme Lord Krishna. Spiritual master is considered the true representation of Balaram. Thus by following the instructions of the spiritual master and by pleasing him we can get the grace of Krishna.

Kalash Support Structure

Posted by ISKCON Desire Tree on August 28, 2015 at 10:22am

As the main dome structure is now almost complete, a lot of preparation has been underway to commence the next step, the Kalash.

In a previous article we have seen the Kalash mock-up from McCoy industry, made in titanium nitride coated stainless steel, being fabricated in Mumbai. Our latest addition, shown in the photograph, is a life-size, in-house made frame of the bracket that will support the Kalash. Made in GRC (glass reinforced concrete), this 3/4 inch (1.9cm) thick frame is 14 feet (4.5m) tall.

In the weeks to come we will begin fabricating the mold from the frame described above to make the actual brackets which will be made of a combination of fiberglass and polyurethane. There will be 24 brackets in total, each weighing 1.2 tons.

Window of Wisdom

Posted by ISKCON Desire Tree on August 27, 2015 at 5:00pm

This material world is the world of duality, in contrast with the oneness of the absolute realm. The world of duality is composed of matter and spirit, whereas the absolute world is complete spirit without any tinge of the material qualities. In the dual world everyone is falsely trying to become the master of the world, whereas in the absolute world the Lord is the absolute Lord, and all others are His absolute servitors. In the world of duality everyone is envious of all others, and death is inevitable due to the dual existence of matter and spirit.

The Lord is the only shelter of fearlessness for the surrendered soul. One cannot save himself from the cruel hands of death in the material world without having surrendered himself at the lotus feet of the Lord.

Therefore, we need to open our eyes- to envision this window o- f wisdom which requires us to simply keep moving forward in Divine trust and the pathway of what is meant for us, will illuminate one step at a time, effortlessly.

What is the Key to Happy Family Life

Posted by ISKCON Desire Tree on August 27, 2015 at 4:30pm

In the revealed bonafide scriptures there are two nomenclatures for the householder’s life. One is 'grihastha', and the other is 'g?hamedhi'. The 'g?hasthas' are those who live together with wife and children but live transcendentally for realizing the ultimate truth. The 'g?hamedhis', however, are those who live only for the benefit of the family members, extended or centralized, and thus are envious of others. The word 'medhi' indicates jealousy of others. The 'g?hamedhis', being interested in family affairs only, are certainly envious of others. Therefore, one 'g?hamedhi' is not on good terms with another g?hamedhi, and in the extended form, one community, society or nation is not on good terms with another counterpart of selfish interest.

In the Age of Kali, all the householders are jealous of one another because they are blind to the knowledge of ultimate truth. They have many subject matters for hearing — political, scientific, social, economic and so on — but due to a poor fund of knowledge, they set aside the question of the ultimate miseries of life, namely miseries of birth, death, old age and disease. Factually, the human life is meant for making an ultimate solution to birth, death, old age and disease, but the 'g?hamedhis', being illusioned by the material nature, forget everything about self-realization. The ultimate solution to the problems of life is to go back home, back to Godhead, and thus, as stated in the Bhagavad-gita (8.16), the miseries of material existence — birth, death, old age and disease — are removed.

Those living in the mode of ignorance want to hear something about the name, form, etc., of everything temporary, and they do not know how to utilize this propensity of hearing for the ultimate good. Misguided as they are, they also create some false literatures about the name, form, attributes, etc., of the ultimate truth. One should not, therefore, become a 'g?hamedhi' simply to exist for envying others; one should become a real householder in terms of the scriptural injunctions.

Therefore, the foundation for a happy family life or the process of going back home, back to Godhead, is to engage oneself alongwith all family members, relatives, kith and kin, in hearing about the Supreme Lord and His name, form, attributes, pastimes, paraphernalia and variegatedness. Thus, all temporary and permanent problems cease to manifest or create distress since everything in the family revolves around the Lord, and when Lord is in the centre of our homes, we are assured of transcendental peace and everlasting happiness. This is the Key to a Happy Family Life!

Grand Ratha Yatra celebrations at Gurdaspur, Punjab

Posted by ISKCON Desire Tree on August 27, 2015 at 2:14pm

By Bhakta Nikhil

Gurudaspur is a city situated in the state of Punjab. According to a latest census, the population is just less than 2,300,000. Two rivers flow here: Beas and Raavi and is just 10km from the international border between India and Pakistan.

A grand Ratha Yatra festival for the Lord’s pleasure was arranged on the 22nd August by local devotees. Devotees performed Harinam Sankirtan and book distribution twice daily. Pamphlets for the festival were also distributed simultaneously.

“ Whenever I get report of my book selling I feel strength. Even now in this weakened condition I have got strength from your report. You should know that in this work you have Krishna’s blessings.” SP to Satsvarupa, 8th September 1974.

A yajna was performed in the early hours of the morning on the festival day to create auspiciousness. A stage program was held between 11 am till 3pm. Kirtan, drama, lectures by international devotees and performances by the children inspired all present to take part sincerely in this festival for the Lord’s pleasure.

At 4 o’clock the Lord mounted His chariot which was beautifully decorated with the most fragrant of flowers. It was a feast for the eyes and all were stunned at the picturesque display. Chappan Bhoga was then offered to the Lord. Before the Lord started His journey, invited guests were requested to break coconuts with camphor on, in order to ensure that all obstacles were removed. Vedic hymns were then chanted and conch shells were blown, at that point Jagannath began His 4 hour long walk through the streets of Gurudaspur. 20 policemen were present to ensure that the whole festival flowed smoothly. Fruits and sweets were distributed in abundance to the locals who in turn were greatly satisfied. Ecstatic kirtan was lead by international devotees throughout, in which everyone seemed to be in an ocean of ecstasy. A total of 1000 participated in the Ratha Yatra whilst 10,000 onlookers took darshan of the Lord. At the end of the festival, mass prasad was distributed to all those who came to take part.

“ I thank you all very much for making the ratha yatra festival so successful. Please convey my gratitude to all the boys and girls who participated in this great transcendental service.” SP to Upendra, 4th July 1968.

Our gratitude to devotees who participated in the festival, especially those devotees coming from abroad: Spain, Italy, UK and Bangladesh. Our respect to our chief guests of honour: Dr Ram ji Repaka, Professor at IIT Ropar, Punjab and Dr Raj Kumar Meena,Professor at Bikanar Unviersity, Rajasthan. Especially, we would like to express thanks to Dr Anupam das who spearheaded this whole festival and worked tirelessly in order for it to be a success. Finally our heartfelt gratitude to Srila Prabhupada for pushing forward this Ratha Yatra festival to broadcast the Lord’s glories all over the world. We hope that we could please Him in our humble efforts.

Jagannath Swami ki Jay
Ratha Yatra Mahotava ki Jay
Srila Prabhupada ki Jay

ISKCON50 Launch at ISKCON-London

Posted by ISKCON Desire Tree on August 27, 2015 at 2:13pm

WEDNESDAY, 26 AUGUST 2015 / PUBLISHED IN ISKCON 50, REPORTS / 485 VIEWS

On Thursday 13th August, ISKCON-London officially launched their year-and-a-half long celebrations across 2015 and 2016 to commemorate the 50th Anniversary of ISKCON by holding a festival to mark 50 years since Srila Prabhupada departed from India to the US aboard the Jaladuta.

The festival started with an Adivasa Ceremony led by Head Pujari, HG Murli Manohara dasa, and included themed classes from senior Srila Prabhupada disciples, HH Janananda Gosvami and HG Adi Karta dasa. Attendees also experienced an ecstatic maha-harinama and in the evening, there was a full Temple Room with devotees singing Yadi Prabhupada Na Hoite – a bhajan composed by HH Jayapataka Swami. No festival is complete without a sumptuous prasadam feast also being served.

Attendees were treated to a special Vyasasana display showing Srila Prabhupada boarding the Jaladuta. The Temple altar also provided a nice meditation, displaying Srila Prabhupada’s Prayers to Lord Krishna that he wrote on the Jaladuta. Everyone was also gifted with a copy of a special booklet “ISKCON50 in London” which invited the community to the range of ISKCON50 events taking place in London in 2015 as well as some nice excerpts to help imbibe the mood of gratitude to Srila Prabhupada.

Devaki devi dasi, ISKCON-London’s Coordinator for the 50th Anniversary Celebrations, said “There was a wonderful team of devotees involved in organising the festival in various capacities. The event was well-attended and showed excitement in the community about ISKCON’s 50th Anniversary Year. It was a sweet launch and we look forward to having further celebrations throughout 2015 and 2016 and increasing our appreciation for Srila Prabhupada and his achievements.”

One attendee, Bhaktin Channah, said “The Jaladuta 50th Anniversary Celebrations were amazing. I think for the first time I gained an understanding of Srila Prabhupada – not just as a writer of books but as a living guru who went through so much to bring knowledge of Krishna to the West. The festival made me realise just how fortunate I am to be a devotee but also how amazing ISKCON is. It has really inspired me to learn more about Krishna Consciousness and the life of Srila Prabhupada and to remain a devotee for life, and I am very grateful to all the devotees involved in the festival for this and for organising such a wonderful day.”

ISKCON-London are having a series of events in September to commemorate Srila Prabhupada’s journey to the West. The next ISKCON50 events will be Srila Prabhupada Vyasa Puja on Sunday 6th September, the 50th Anniversary of Srila Prabhupada arriving in the US for the first time on Thursday 17th September and the 50th Anniversary of Srila Prabhupada arriving in New York (where the ISKCON movement began) on Saturday 19th September. Full day of festivities are planned on each of these days and everyone is warmly invited to attend. Further details can be found on www.iskcon.london/iskcon50.

To view recordings from the inaugural event, please visit http://bit.ly/iskcon50london-events-playlist.

For any queries, please contact iskcon50@iskcon.london.