On Thursday September 17th, at 10:00am, Boston City Hall raised the Indian flag in honor of ISKCON Founder-Acharya Srila Prabhupada.

It was on the same day fifty years ago in 1965, that Prabhupada arrived in Boston’s Commonwealth Pier on the steamship Jaladuta with his message of God consciousness.

This is the first time the City of Boston has ever honored India by raising its flag.

The Mayor of Boston also issued a proclamation for the occasion which read "I Martin J. Walsh, Mayor of the City of Boston, do hereby proclaim September 17th, 2015 as His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada Day in the City of Boston."

Julie Burros, Chief of Arts and Culture for the City of Boston was the guest of honor at the event. The Nepal Consul General of New England also spoke, thanking ISKCON for its continuing humanitarian work following the earthquake there.

Fifty years on from Srila Prabhupada’s historic Boston arrival, his International Society for Krishna Consciousness has hundreds of temples, farms, eco-villages, restaurants, and educational institutions around the world. ISKCON has over 75,000 initiated devotees, and approximately seven million worshippers attend its centers annually.

“This was a unique opportunity to confirm that ISKCON is a key thread in the fabric of spiritual traditions that are now imbedded in the ever-changing cultural landscape of America,” said event organizer Amit Dixit.

More details on this story will be added as they come in.

A Sarasota, Florida family have opened up their home to provide a Krishna conscious oasis for devotees and newcomers in their city, which is three hours’ drive from the nearest ISKCON temples in Alachua and Miami.

“People can make the drive on festival days,” says mother of four Rachel Ward. “But we wanted to give them the temple experience of seeing deities, associating with other devotees, and sharing prasadam and kirtan on a weekly basis.”

Her husband Shashvata Das, a bass player initiated last year by Bhaktimarga Swmi, says they were inspired by Kalindi Dasi and Jaya Das in Colorado, who run the Boulder Krishna House from their home.

Shashvata and Rachel’s weekly programs run from 6:30 to 9:30 on Sunday evenings, starting out with kirtan, and an ice-breaker in which attendees introduce themselves and talk about how they heard about Krishna.

Everyone then takes turns reading a verse from Bhagavad-gita As It Is, which the group is working its way through. Next, it will move on to Nectar of Instruction, Nectar of Devotion, and Sri Isopanisad.

Finally there is prasadam, and then a lively kirtan, in which many of the muisicians in the local community come with their guitars, bass guitars, mridangas, kartals, and harmoniums. Occasionally, when there are special guest like recent speakers Bhaktimarga Swami and Ramiya Das from Alachua, the program is held at a nearby yoga studio.

Anywhere from half a dozen to twenty people attend, from Sarasota as well as local towns Bradenton, Venice and even as far as Tampa, and from a variety of different backgrounds.

Some are yoga enthusiasts who attend monthly performances at local yoga studios by the Cheryl Chafee kirtan band, which Shashvata and Rachel both play in. Some are curious newcomers who find out about the program by word of mouth and have never heard of Krishna before. And others are devotees starved for spiritual association.

“One devotee who had just recently moved from Dallas to nearby Bradenton found us on Facebook, and was so happy to be able to take her children to offer candles to Lord Damodar during Kartik month,” says Rachel. “Another is mother Maharani, an elderly Prabhupada disciple who missed temple life.”

The program changes lives. One devotee who was initiated in 1985, but had since left, began chanting Hare Krishna on his beads again as a result of attending. Eva, a newcomer, is moved to tears when reading the Bhagavad-gita, and she and her husband are now familiar with the maha-mantra. 

The program also creates community. Regular newcomer Mary, for instance, brought her six-month old son Talon for a Vedic grain ceremony, in which the child traditionally chooses between spiritual books, money, and other items. “He chose the Bhagavad-gita, which was really cool,” says Shashvata. 

Attendees are grateful to the point of tears for the Sarasota Krishna House. When Rachel and Shashvata recently had to put their program on hiatus due to an illness in the family, their regulars would constantly call and knock on their door, asking them when they were starting it up again.

For their part, the family is always enthusiastic about the program, handing out maha-mantra cards on the beach and at the local farmer’s market, and talking about it whenever they can.

“On Janmastami, my eight-year old daughter went out the Sarasota Farmer’s Market and distributed the cookbook Higher Taste,” says Shashvata. “We just get out there and try and spread the Holy Name. We would like to see this house busting at the seams every week!”

In the future, he and his wife say, they would love to see similar “Krishna Houses” springing up all over the nation, providing an essential service to people who live far away from any temple.

On September 17th, 1965, a 69-year-old Indian holy man from Calcutta stepped off the cargo ship Jaladuta at Boston’s Commonwealth Pier. He had suffered two heart-attacks on the treacherous 35-day journey. And all he had to his name was seven dollars in Indian rupees and a crate of his translations of sacred Sanskrit texts.

“I didn’t know where to turn, left or right,” he later said. But what he did know was that he was determined to carry out the will of his spiritual master, Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati, to bring the teachings of Lord Krishna to the English-speaking world, and thus alleviate the suffering of the masses.

Fifty years later, on September 17th 2015 – the day of his arrival – Boston City Hall raised the Indian flag in his honor, and Mayor Martin J. Walsh released a proclamation declaring it “His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada Day in the City of Boston.”

That weekend, on Saturday September 19th, nearly 500 of his disciples and grand-disciples from all over the U.S. and Canada as well as from Russia, Ukraine, England and India gathered at Commonwealth Pier – the same place he had arrived alone – to celebrate his priceless gift to them and to the world.

Anuttama Das, Radhanath Swami, Bhaktimarga Swami and Pyari Mohan Das at Boston's Commonwealth Pier, where Srila Prabhupada arrived in the US

Chartering a two-storey touring boat, they took a three-hour ride into Boston Harbor, as Niranjana Swami led a beautiful kirtan.

Onboard, devotees offered a few dozen garlands to a murti form of Srila Prabhupada, followed by guru-puja, along with more rapturous kirtan by Bhaktimarga Swami.

Under a blue sky and puffy white clouds on the roof of the boat, many senior devotees then spoke from their hearts about what Srila Prabhupada’s coming meant to them. They included Trivikrama Swami, Jayadvaita Swami, Romapada Swami, Navayogendra Swami, Chandramauli Swami, Malati Devi, Visakha Devi, Rangavati Devi, and more.

“They spoke of how he was at this very harbor with no money and no solid plans of what awaited him, and how he achieved so much because of his dedication and devotion Krishna,” says GBC Anuttama Das, who also attended. “Some shuddered to think where they would have been – if even alive – had Prabhupada not come.”

Devotees at Boston Common

Alighting from the boat, devotees were chauffered back to Boston Common, the oldest city park in the United States, for lunch. They then made their way to Faneuil Hall, a historic Boston landmark since 1743, for a festival attended by a large audience including some local Buddhist monks.

There MC Graham M. Schweig, Ph.D., Professor of Philosophy and Religion at Christopher Newport University, recounted Srila Prabhupada’s achievements: how in twelve years, he established with his early disciples at least one hundred centers around the globe, published over fifty thick volumes of translations and commentary, which have been translated into dozens of languages, and traveled twelve times around the world bringing his teachings to virtually all peoples.

“Swami Prabhupada has brought more light into this world, a world in which we still find too much darkness,” Schweig said. “Let us celebrate on this day how Swami Prabhupada raised greater awareness to the monumental teachings of the Bhagavad Gita. Let us honor on this day how Swami Prabhupada selflessly traveled the world to the hearts of so many.”

Devotees hear offerings to Srila Prabhupada on the boat tour

This was followed by a colorful and historical 20-minute Powerpoint presentation by Guru Gauranga Das from Switzerland, telling the story of Prabhupada’s journey from Kolkata to Boston, and then on to New York.

The event also included speeches by Malina Shah from the Mayor of New York’s Advisory Council for South Asian Affairs; Mary Truong, Executive Director at the Commonwealth of Massacheusetts; and L.T. Ngaihte, Consul and Head of Chancery at the Consulate General of India, New York.

After them Ambarisa Das (Alfred Ford), great grandson of auto magnate Henry Ford, spoke about how his great-grandfather’s belief in reincarnation and vegetarianism made Krishna consciousness a natural step for him; and how Prabhupada’s message had brought deeper meaning to his life.

Ambarisa Das (Alfred Ford) speaks at Faneuil Hall

Meanwhile Rukmini Devi talked about how Prabhupada came to sow the seeds of revolution within the hearts of the younger generation; Radhanath Swami spoke about the importance of awakening people to his message; and Anuttama listed his movement’s achievements up till now, such as 600 temples, 3 billion meals of prasadam served, and 1,000 Harinama parties on the streets.

The program ended with a 15-minute trailer for the upcoming film “Acarya,” by husband-and-wife team Yadubara and Visakha, with scenes showing Prabhupada’s arrival to Boston.

The next day, a Rathayatra circled Boston Common from noon to 2pm, and the traveling Festival of India put on kirtan and stage performances including a magic show by ISKCON Boston president Pyari Mohan.

Devotees gather with Srila Prabhupada Fanueil Hall

Another highlight was the unveiling of a specially commissioned sculpture by Ukrainian artist Volodymyr Zhuravel. The sculpture, which took Zhuravel six months to make, shows Prabhupada alighting from the Jaladuta in Boston, and will be temporarily displayed at ISKCON Boston until a permanent location is found. An accompanying piece, showing Prabhupada boarding the ship in Kolkata, is being kept at ISKCON Kolkata and will be installed in a park near that city’s Khidirpur Dock.

The festival ended with Bhaktimarga Swami, the Walking Monk, being introduced onstage, and setting off on his 907-mile trek retracing Srila Prabhupada’s journey from Boston to Butler – where he stayed with the Agarwal family – and then on to New York, where he incorporated ISKCON.

The whole event was broadcast live on Mayapur.tv.

Niranjana Swami presents the sculpture of Srila Prabhupada arriving at Commonwealth Pier

“It was a very warm and heartfelt festival,” says Anuttama Das. “Because all the devotees, individually and together, were remembering what Prabhupada had done, the sacrifices he’d made, and how much we had all personally benefitted from them. So I saw devotees young and old all sharing a real sense of gratitude for Srila Prabhupada.”

While speaking on the Boston Harbor boat tour, Anuttama also synthesized what should be on our minds now.

“Prabhupada would be happy to see us celebrating our successes,” he said, “But his question would be ‘What’s next?’ That we shouldn’t feel comfortable on ISKCON’s achievements, but should think about what we can do next to try to help suffering humanity and spread Krishna’s glories.”

And in the short term, that is remembering that the 50th anniversary celebrations of Prabhupada’s leaving Kolkata and arriving in Boston are pre-events to the main course.

“The important thing now is to see what devotees in Los Angeles, New York, London, Delhi, Nairobi, Sydney – all over the world – are going to do to celebrate the 50th anniversary of ISKCON’s incorporation in 2016,” says Anuttama. “Your chance to have a big celebration is coming up next!”

Over the past few weeks, in the midst of Europe largest political and humanitarian crisis since World War 2, the Hungarian Society for Krishna Consciousness have been actively involved in helping migrants and refugees stuck at the railways stations or crossing through the country. Devotees have distributed about 5,000 plates of hot meal, and 1.5 tons of fruits and other food items, while maintaining their usual program of feeding 2,000 marginalized Hungarians every day.   

With the Tranzit Zones at the Budapest railway stations now closed, devotees shifted to transporting truckload of fruits, baby food, yoghurt and water to the Western borders of Hungary, where thousands of alysium-seekers gather before entering Austria every day.

ISKCON congregational members gives out bananas at the country's border

With the European public completely divided over how to treat refugees, whether Europeans should welcome them or be afraid of them, likewise, devotees in Hungary have also expressed their concerns about the issue. In the following interview Sivarama Swami addresses some of them.

ISKCON News: Where is the limit of helping refugees and migrants considering the safety of a country?

Sivarama Swami: The government is always obliged to maintain safety among its own citizens, as it is among refugees. Because some Hungarians are murderers and thieves, that does not mean all Hungarians are criminals or social risks. The same rule applies to refugees. Even though some might misbehave, I don’t think refugees represent any more of a security risk than Hungarians.

However the safe transit of refugees through Hungary is not just Hungary’s problem, it is Europe’s problem — as it is obviously an overwhelming challenge for a small and poor country. 

Sivarama Swami talking to Syrian people at Budapest Keleti Railway Station 

ISKCON News:  What is our opinion about putting up a fence on Hungary’s Southern border? 

Sivarama Swami: Borders are already artificial, since God did not create the world with them. But if you already accept that borders exist and people need to pass through them in an orderly way, then there is no harm in putting up a fence to maintain that order.  The question is whether the present flow of refugees will be managed better by a fence, or not. That we will see.

ISKCON News: How should devotee relate to refugees?

Sivarama Swami:  Bhagavad-Gita says “pandita-sama-darshina”, religious people see all human beings equally and relates to them according to qualification. 

Considering that educated Hungarians are leaving Hungary by droves, it would be wise to consider whether the educated refugees can fill the vacant positions that Hungarians are leaving behind. 

In other words, don’t stigmatize people, but see what individuals have to contribute to the country.

Aya was an elementary school teacher in Aleppo, Syria. Once their home was destroyed, she and her husband and their two sons had to flee.

ISKCON News: While helping them or distributing food, should ISKCON devotees be concerned about contracting some contagious disease from the refugees?

Sivarama Swami: No. We are always travelling to India and have yet to get some contagious disease. But here in Hungary we have repeated problems with tick borne encephalitis what to speak of allergy, that effects 10% of Hungarians.

ISKCON News: What kind of help can we offer to the migrants?

Sivarama Swami: We distribute food and chant Hare Krishna. The former is to fill their stomachs the latter to pacify their soul. It means a lot of work, on top of what we are already doing for Hungarians. Like the Hungarian government, we feel the strain, but its our dharma, or duty. 

The migrant crisis is not just a problem, it is a symptom of a greater problem. It is one of many symptoms, as are the wars that caused the crisis and the varied reactions in Europe to the crisis.

Exhausted refugee children sleeping on the railway station floor.

ISKCON News: What do you mean by “greater problem”?

Sivarama Swami: Ignorance of who we really are and who is the owner of everything. The root problem is that people think they are the body, Shiite, Sunni, Muslim, Christian, Syrian, Hungarian, German and American. But these are false designations. We are spirit soul. We are all spiritually equal although externally appearing different.

Like borders and fences, national identities are also false conceptions of “this is mine.”

Nothing is ours everything belongs to God.

So if you want to solve the migrant crisis, and the other problems that will come from that, then people need to be educated to understand they are not this body and that God is the proprietor and we only have a right to a certain quota of his creation, not more.

And everyone has a right to a quota. 

That is what we are doing on the streets, in our centers, in our college: educating people.

Unless the world decides to accept that it will go from one crisis to another.

 Devotees cheer refugee children up with their chanting.

More than 50 ISKCON medical practitioners—doctors, nurses, medical technicians, Ayurveda experts and other healthcare professionals—gathered at the Gita Nagari Yoga Farm in rural Pennsylvania on September 25-27 for a three-day event, the “North American ISKCON Medical Professionals Retreat.”

The event was organized by four doctors, Lila Manjari dasi, a Psychiatrist from Columbus, Ohio; Premvilas das, a physician of Internal Medicine and his wife Lalita dasi, a physician in Family Practice and Palliative Care, both from Columbus; and Acyuta Gauranga das, a Vascular Surgeon from Detroit, Michigan.  

“We wanted to help Krishna devotees who work in various medical fields to discuss the challenges and opportunities we face in our professional and spiritual lives, and to consider ways to coordinate our services to ISKCON and the larger society,” said Prema Vilasa. 

Topics of discussion included: “Effectively Blending our Personal, Devotional, and Professional Lives;” “Sharing the Gift of Krishna Consciousness;” “Total Health;” “Acupressure;” “Raising Children in Krishna Consciousness;” and “Financial Planning/ Retirement.”

Murari Gupta, a Trauma Surgeon from Miami, shares his insights on balancing spiritual life with the pressures of the medical profession

The Keynote address was giving by Murari Gupta who, as a participant in ISKCON since the 1970’s and an initiated devotee since 1999, founded a medical clinic in Miami that specialized in providing free health care for full time ISKCON resident devotees.  Gupta offered this advice: “Start every day and every procedure by offering your efforts to God, Lord Krishna.” In this way, he advised, devotee doctors will not only do their best, but also remain fresh and focused despite the pressure of caring for the lives of others.

The event was held at ISKCON’s several hundred-acre Gita Nagari Yoga Farm, which hosts more than two-dozen retreats annually. Gita Nagari is the “first certified slaughter and cruelty-free dairy” in the United States. No cows or calves are harmed in the production of Gita Nagari milk. Their animals are cared for throughout their lives and never sent to slaughter. As promoters of a healthy lifestyle through diet, yoga and rural living, the Gita Nagari community was the natural choice to hold the retreat. 

Acyuta Gauranga, the Detroit surgeon, brought in a philosophical perspective in his presentation. “The modern medical world talks about the cell as the basic element of life, and spends an endless amount of research on the topic,” he noted.  “But, there is no study of the soul that gives life to the body. The priorities are out of line.”

The presiding Deities of the Gita Nagari Yoga Farm, Sri Sri Radha Damodara.

How to bring medical priorities and values in line with the needs of the mind, body and soul was a common topic of the weekend. The participants also talked a lot about stress. Several speakers acknowledged stress to be a major source of disease in modern society; some analyzed how a spiritual practice can alleviate stress and help patients live a more healthy life.

As professionals in the medical field, many participants shared their own struggles with the pressures of balancing family, job, and spiritual commitment. Solutions ranged from increasing daily prayer and devotional focus, to setting clear boundaries, prioritizing one’s duties in life, and learning how to say “No” to requests beyond one’s capacity.

One speaker with a unique perspective was Allan Shuster from Detroit. As a patient of an ISKCON doctor, Allan told his personal story of how reading the book “Total Health”—which he found sitting in his doctor’s waiting area—opened a door to Krishna consciousness. Today, Allan regularly reads Srila Prabhupada’s books and participates at the Detroit temple and local bhakti vriksha group meetings.

Devamrita Swami, Romapada Swami, and Anuttama dasa, three members of ISKCON’s Governing Body Commission, and Vraja Vihari das, co-director of ISKCONResolve, ISKCON’s conflict resolution ministry, were also present and led morning Bhagavatam classes, a panel on “Life Balance,” and Q & A sessions.

Retreat organizer, Premvilas das, offers concluding remarks in the presence of Romapada Swami and Devamrita Swami

In his Sunday morning Srimad Bhagavatam class, Devamrita Swami noted that “The intense pressure on modern men and women to constantly try to get ahead, along with the side effects of their harmful habits of intoxication, meat-eating, and illicit sex are making people physically and spiritually sick.” The swami advised that medical professionals have a profound duty to help people achieve balanced health in all aspects of their lives. 

The Saturday evening session was held around a blazing campfire near Gita Nagari’s Yoga Studio. With a full moon rising and cool autumn breezes blowing, the group discussed what their next priorities should be. One decision was to explore ways to coordinate care for ISKCON temple residents (those who choose lives of simplicity and service to Lord Krishna’s temples) in the face of changing needs and government health care policies. 

The professionals present also decided to form an association to be a public voice on diet, health care, animal exploitation, environmental degradation, and other issues where medical expertise can help educate the public on spiritually focused and medically sound solutions. 

One participant summed up the retreat thus, “This was a very inspirational weekend that helped us understand how to be instruments in the Lord’s service by taking better care of the body, mind and the soul.” 

Professionals, as well as students in medical fields, who are interested in the proposed Vaishnava Medical Practitioners Association, or in learning about future conferences, are encouraged to contact Premvilas das, at gulla007@hotmail.com 

World Holy Name Week (WHNW), first established in 2008, is increasing in popularity with forty-three ISKCON Centers worldwide in 2013 and over fifty last year putting on events designed to share, spread and become absorbed in the Holy Name of God. 

This year organizers expect that number to skyrocket as many more join in a special extended WHNW  in honor of the 50th anniversary of ISKCON Founder Srila Prabhupada’s arrival in the USA.

“We’re working closely with the ISKCON 50 Global Team to glorify Srila Prabhupada and the Holy Names,” says WHNW communications secretary Divyanam Das.

World Holy Name Week is running from Parsva Ekadasi on September 24th to the Vedic Calendar date – October 4th -- of Prabhupada’s arrival in Boston on the steamship Jaladuta. (Which differs from the September 17thWestern calendar date)

London

Other holy days during WHNW include the appearance days of Lord Vamanadeva and Srila Bhaktivinode Thakura; the disappearance of the most famed chanter of Krishna’s names Haridas Thakura; and the occasion of Srila Prabhupada’s accepting sannyasa, the renounced order of life.

During the week temples and individuals are invited to participate in a myriad of different ways. They can hold 6-hour, 12-hour, and 24-hour kirtans or multiple-day Kirtan Melas. They can increase public Harinama Sankirtan on the streets, and chanting on beads in temples or at home. They can hold morning Bhagavatam classes emphasizing the importance of the Holy Names. And they can hold interfaith events on the topic of God’s Names, organize public kirtan programs, or set up japa booths encouraging new visitors to take up chanting the Holy Names.

Devotees are invited to get creative. In previous years, ISKCON members in Kiev, Ukraine took part in a Holy Name Retreat to counteract the effects of the war there. In Boston, USA, they chanted at a marijuana rally, wearing “Stay High Forever” t-shirts and encouraging people to find happiness through chanting rather than herbs. ISKCON Toronto in Canada held Harinamas in an open-topped double decker bus around the city. ISKCON Bali in Indonesia held beach Harinamas and offered musical workshops on kirtan instruments.

New Zealand

Meanwhile at ISKCON Pune in India, youth held a “biker Harinam,” traveling to different locations to chant on motorcycles equipped with Holy Name flags and banners. At ISKCON Chowpatty, around 52 congregational devotees chanted an unbelievable 192 rounds of japa on Haridas Thakur’s appearance day – chanting nonstop from 2am until 11pm. And Bhaktivedanta Manor in the UK topped the usual 12 or 24 hours and held a nonstop forty-hour kirtan.

This year, many temples across the world have already committed to daily street kirtans, Holy Name walks called padayatras, japathons of 64 rounds or more, Holy Name seminars, and public kirtan programs.

India, which saw twenty-seven centers participate last year, is heading the charge. But WHNW organizers hope that temples and individuals around the world will rise to the challenge and give India some transcendental competition.

“If the surface of the globe is over-flooded with the chanting of the Hare Krsna mantra, the people of the world will be very, very happy,” writes Srila Prabhupada in his purport to Srimad-Bhagavatam 4.24.11.

Rajasthan, India

“The purpose of World Holy Name Week is to establish Srila Prabhupada as an ambassador of the Holy Names,” says Divyanam Das. “He brought them to the western world not just for a group of people, but for anyone and everyone, regardless of race, nationality or religion. And sharing and spreading the Holy Names is an expression of our gratitude to Srila Prabhupada, as that is what he wanted from all his followers.”

All temples and individual devotees are encouraged to compile text and photo reports of their efforts during World Holy Name Week and to send them to the WHNW team, who will present them in a report to ISKCON’s Governing Body Commission. Please send your reports to worldholynameweek@gmail.com or divyanam.lok@gmail.com.