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.
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