By Kishori Rani Devi Dasi
From September 25–29, 2026, the 10th annual GitaFest will bring devotees together at New Vrindaban, West Virginia, for a five-day retreat centered on the theme “Guru and Disciple.” Organized by the Bhagavad-gita Institute, this year’s festival will focus on understanding the role of the spiritual master and deepening devotees’ relationship with ISKCON Founder-Acharya A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Srila Prabhupada. The program will include seminars, questions and answers, japa meditation, kirtans, an initiation ceremony, Gita Game sessions, and visits to places connected with Srila Prabhupada’s history in New Vrindaban.
A central part of the retreat will be sessions with Mahatma Das, who joined ISKCON in 1969 and had personal association with Srila Prabhupada. Reflecting on those years, Mahatma has explained that when devotees ask him what Srila Prabhupada was like, he prefers not simply to describe what Srila Prabhupada said or did. He tries to convey what happened within the hearts of the young devotees who came into Srila Prabhupada’s presence.
Mahatma has described how Srila Prabhupada’s presence transformed and uplifted his disciples, inspiring young men and women to dedicate their lives to devotional service. Looking back, he has emphasized that what remained especially powerful was not only the words they heard, but the experience of Srila Prabhupada’s association and the transformation it produced within them.
This experience has remained central to Mahatma’s service. In a Vyasa-puja offering to Srila Prabhupada, he reflected that whatever ability he has to influence others spiritually comes through the mercy and teachings he received from Srila Prabhupada. He expressed his desire to embody what Srila Prabhupada taught and to transmit that inspiration to others. At GitaFest, through personal memories, teachings, and questions and answers, he will help participants explore how the inspiration Srila Prabhupada’s disciples received can continue to be passed to new generations.
Read more: https://iskconnews.org/10th-annual-gitafest-to-explore-the-living-bond-of-guru-and-disciple/
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