Department Heads JAI NITAI DASA Temple President Charity Chairman Member of Management Board South Regional Coordinator Mentor
ACUTYA CHARAN DASA Food for Life Coordinator
BHAVA BHAKTI DEVI DASI Temple Administrator Charity Secretary / Trustee Member of Management Board South Regional Secretary Mentorship System Coordinator Mentor
DEVAKI DEVI DASI ISKCON50 Coordinator (London) Head of Community Development Team Volunteers Coordinator
MURLI MANOHARA DASA Head Pujari Charity Trustee Member of Management Board Chair of New Temple Committee Member of Brahmacari Council Mentor
RAM CHARAN DASA Financial Controller Member of Management Board
THIRU DHAYALAN Member of Management Board Govinda’s Restaurant Manager Kitchen Manager
RADHA RAMAN DASA Charity Trustee Mentor
DHAVAL DATTANI Volunteers Coordinator
GURPAAL DEOL Radha’s Boutique Manager
JAGA MOHINI DEVI DASI ISKCON Educational Services Ladies Ashram Leader
KAPILA MONET Radha Krishna Records Manager
KRISHNA KANTA DEVI DASI Food for Life Coordinator
MAHA NRSINGHA DASA
PRITESH PANDYA Child Protection Officer Community Care Officer (Ombudsman)
RAKESH SHAH
Festivals Coordinator Mentor
Head of Communications
MUKUNDA KISHORE DASA
SANJAYA MADHAVA DASA
Closet Krishna Assistant Manager
London College of Vedic Studies Coordinator
NAAM SANKIRTAN DASA Sankirtana Leader
SYAMANANDA DASA General Manager Govinda’s Restaurant Manager
NANDINI RASIKA DEVI DASI
TITIKSU DASA
Closet Krishna Manager
UK Rathayatra Coordinator
OLGA DOROVKO
Head of Russian Vedic Society
VAYU DASA
Men’s Ashram Leader
CLOSET KRISHNA 3
Table of CONTENTS 5 7 8 10
Update from the Temple President
Govinda’s Restaurant
Festivals
Outreach - Ladies Sanga
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Radha Krishna Records
12
Russian Vedic Society
12
Closet Krishna
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Spiritual Mentorship System
For any comments or queries on this publication, please email newsletter@iskcon.london
UPDATE FROM THE TEMPLE PRESIDENT March was a buzzing month for our Temple President, Jai Nitai dasa. At the onset of the month Jai Nitai dasa was voted to be the ‘Zonal Supervisor’ at the UK Management Council Meeting, held on Saturday 4th March in Manchester.
E
arlier in the month, he performed first outing ceremonies for Bhakta Davide and Bhaktin Abigail’s baby daughter and then for the daughters of two of his mentees, Kanchanabja dasa and Vamsi Dhari dasa.
As the month progressed, he delivered Ethos training to the teachers at Avanti Court on Wednesday 8th March and a couple of days later he gave a talk at the Friday night sanga in Brighton.
O
n Tuesday 21st March, Jai Nitai dasa and Bhava Bhakti devi dasi attended the ‘Westminster South Clergy and Community Interfaith Forum’ held at the Westminster Synagogue. Mark Fields, Minister of Parliament, was one
of the special guests at this Forum where group discussions were conducted on various topics including housing and homelessness, community cohesion, austerity and the use of food banks, and one of the trending issues in the UK - Brexit.
I
n order to mark the official opening of Avanti Court Primary School in East London, a commemorative plaque was unveiled by Srutidharma dasa, Pranabandhu dasa and Jai Nitai dasa who participated in the ceremony to officially invite Sri Sri Gaura Nitai to the school and gave a welcome address to all those invited.
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A 5-STAR YOUTH HOSTEL the Bhakti Centre in Harrow
Jai Nitai dasa and Bhava Bhakti devi dasi were invited to
visit the Bhakti Centre in Harrow, on Thursday 30th March. They were given a tour of the Centre by David Crick, before honouring some of the delicious homemade prasadam freshly made every day and offered to Sri Sri Gaura Nitai.
All the prasadam is cooked purely with organic milk and ghee (not oil) which is prepared in-house by the Bhakti Centre. In addition to the ghee, the Centre makes in-house yoghurt and paneer; and there are plans to make butter from raw milk in the future. Fresh vegetables (no frozen food is used) are cut daily and items normally found in tins/cans are soaked overnight. Bhakti Centre truly fulfils the desire of Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Thakura who wanted to open a Youth Hostel in London.
The project is managed by Radha Kantha dasa with the blessings of Mother Kulangana (a much loved disciple of Srila Prabhupada who will turn 85 years of age this year) and brahmacharis from Bhaktivedanta Manor. Bhakti Centre employs a total of 14 devotees including cooks, cleaners and admin personnel. The Centre opened in 2012 and presently offers accommodation for young men only.
ROOM ENQUIRIES CAN BE MADE BY CONTACTING DAVID CRICK: EMAIL: krishna.bhakticentre@gmail.com mobile: 07766 888 575
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GOVINDA’S RESTAURANT Leaders from Bhaktivedanta Manor and ISKCON-London met on the evening of Wednesday 1st March to discuss joint initiatives over a sumptuous meal at Govinda’s Restaurant.
Vegetarian/Vegan Restaurant · Indian restaurant Govinda’s Restaurant recently started an advertising campaign on Facebook. Below are some posts
www.facebook.com/govindas.london Govinda’s restaurant takes orders for catering - from classic Indian cooking to Italian.
ENQUIRIES CAN BE MADE to our manager thiru: EMAIL: thiru_govindas@yahoo.com mobile: 07824 443 816
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FESTIVALS GAURA PURNIMA - Appearance of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu
G
aura Purnima is a Gaudiya Vaishnava festival that celebrates the divine appearance of Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu in Navadwipa, India. Gaura Purnima means ‘Golden Full Moon’. The name signifies that Lord Caitanya took birth at the time of the full moon and He blesses everyone with the moonlike rays of His teachings. Lord Caitanya is Lord Krishna Himself appearing as His own devotee who spread the congregation chanting of Holy Name and taught that one can gain enlightenment by chanting Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare, Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare. Usually devotees fast till moonrise on the day of the festival and Ekadasi prasadam is served after moonrise, while regular grain prasadam is served on the following day, which is the start of the New Year for all Gaudiya Vaishnavas.
OUTREACH LADIES SANGA
T
he Ladies sanga guest session with Sarva Mangala devi dasi took place on Thursday 9th March. It was well attended and the ladies really enjoyed the mood and talk of Sarva Mangala devi dasi who
focused on the right attitude for practicing devotional service. She also shared some of her personal experiences with Srila Prabhupada. The team had their first ‘ladies night out’ on Thursday 23rd March which consisted of having dinner and kirtan at Healthy Wealthy in Camden. That session was attended by one of the youngest attendees till date, Bhatkin Abigail’s one month old daughter, Sunayana.
Please see the poster for all the activities in April planned by the Ladies Sanga. All ladies welcome!
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RADHA KRISHNA RECORDS I
t has been a busy time for Radha Krishna Records. The team recently
released a memorable two-disk commemorative album for the event, KIRTAN ON THE THAMES. With over two hours of high quality mixes, it was a great opportunity to hear from some of the best kirtaneers, such as BB Govinda Swami and Agnideva dasa, chanting the Maha Mantra with devotees from London and across the UK. The CD can be purchased at Radha’s Boutique or online at: http://
www.radhakrishnarecords.com/page6.htm Radha Krishna Records has also released its first ever music video, for the melodic single, ‘DAWN OF FREEDOM: OM NAMO BHAGAVATE VASUDEVAYA’ by Ananda Monet. The video has been watched over 30,000 times on Facebook to great reviews, and can be viewed on YouTube at:
https://youtu.be/oGGuJgVn5PI and
purchased on all digital platforms. The single is part of the Mantra Lounge Volume 2 effort which will have tracks from some amazing talent in London: Ananda Monet, Dunya and Kishor Murti, Gandarvika, Govinda Priya, Jahnavi Harrison, Madhva, Madhvi, and Sandipani Muni. The team is working hard with all the devotees and with Jag to produce the album in time for the summer. * Radha Krishna Records is an official ISKCON-London music project which produces high quality devotional music. All our music can be found at our website, in Radha’s Boutique or on all digital services including iTunes, Play, Amazon, Spotify and many more.
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RUSSIAN VEDIC SOCIETY V
rajendra Kumar dasa, member of the Russian Vedic Society
visited the ISKCON London Temple in March when several programs were organised for devotees as well as newcomers. Starting with the “Namahatta Maha Mantra: Embodiment of Krishna”, followed by a well-attended seminar on “Stability and success in spiritual life”, seminars on “Five levels of consciousness” and “Karma and reincarnation” the week was filled with knowledge sharing. Vrajendra Kumar dasa also gave a Srimad Bhagavatam class in the Temple that week. Angira Muni dasa and Kaveri devi dasi will be visiting the Temple in the first week of April and we will have our sixth anniversary celebration in Swiss Church on Saturday 8th April.
closet krishna M
arch was a steady month at Closet Krishna, traditionally quiet as far as retail was concerned.
Through the month we ran a cooking course - The Yoga of food - facilitated by Hema Mukhi devi dasi from Canterbury, who taught a group to cook prasadam. The course was focused not only on the cooking, but on the intention, consciousness, and the offering of the food to Krishna. The course ran for four weekends, and on the final Sunday, the group cooked prasadam for the Sunday Feast, which was attended by approximately 25 people with a talk by Bhakti Prabhava Swami. The Friday program was well attended, and supported through the month. There is more regular participation from devotees as well as new people joining every week.
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SPIRITUAL MENTORSHIP SYSTEM
Here’s what some of the members from the Spiritual Mentorship System have to say about their experiences with their mentors, their spiritual growth, sadhana regulations and gaining perspectives. SIMA MEHTA
“ I have been in the mentorship for the last three years. We (my husband and I) knew that we couldn’t have moved forward in spiritual life practicing Krishna Consciousness without the help, encouragement and guidance from the devotees who have been practicing Krishna Consciousness for a long time. We are encouraged, motivated and guided as well as given individual support to highlight issues and problems that slow our spiritual progress. Our mentors also help, guide and support to regulate our sadhana and devotional service by regular monitoring of our sadhana charts. We have read about the theory of Krishna Consciousness philosophy, but it gives us immense satisfaction to see the theory ‘in action’.” Sima Mehta and her husband, Yogesh, are in Satya Narayan dasa’s and Madhvi devi dasi’s mentorship group. Amanda Teeha
“ I have been in the mentorship system for just over a year. At first it was just to see what joining a mentee group was about, but after one meeting I wanted to spend more time serving with these ladies, getting involved in projects and not to mention improve my sadhana! I have received some great advice, mercy and friendship from all the ladies, especially my mentor. I also know that there will always be so much laughter when we all meet up. The drama recording which we put together for the Maha Sanga as a mentee group was an enchanting experience. Dressing up like a hotdog (vegan one) during the December Marathon and placing Srila Prabhupada’s books in prisons was not one Marathon to remember!’’ Amanda is in Bhava Bhakti devi dasi’s mentee group Radha Govinda dasa
“ I’ve been in the mentorship system for just over four years. I joined because I used to be in the Pandava Sena in my younger days and was missing those days where we got together, read, chanted and enjoyed prasadam. I wanted to associate with devotees and learn from them. One thing I definitely understood is associating with like-minded people will only improve your life for the better, especially if they are devotees. We all serve Their Lordships Sri Sri Radha Londonisvara together, and best of all I have a dear friend in my mentor Jai Nitai dasa, with whom I can share anything. I must highlight that helping and assisting with the ISKCONLondon Annual Mentorship Retreats, which is a wonderful service, building relationships and serving each other. Also, this March when I received harinam dikhsa from His Holiness Radhanath Swami, where he said “today I get to put him on Prabhupada’s airplane’’ - that moment made me feel spiritually revitalised for on this day my spiritual master accepted me into a lineage which dates back all the way to Lord Krishna Himself.’’ Radha Govinda dasa is in Jai Nitai dasa’s mentorship group.
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On Sunday 26th March, the following devotees in our Spiritual Mentorship System took initiation from HH Radhanath Swami at Bhaktivedanta Manor.
1ST INITIATION Bhakta Ravi His new name is Ranchor Krishna dasa (he is in the men’s group run by Jai Nitai dasa) Bhakta Rishi His new name is Radha Govinda dasa (he is in the men’s group run by Jai Nitai dasa) Bhaktin Tara 1st initiation from HH Radhanath Swami (she is in the grihastha mentee group run by Satya Narayan dasa and Madhvi devi dasi)
2ND INITIATION Naam Sankirtan dasa (he is in Jai Nitai dasa’s men’s group) Nimai Candra dasa (he is in Jai Nitai dasa’s men’s group) Paramesvara dasa (he is in Hari Kirtan dasa’s men’s group)
DAILY SCHEDULE ARATI TIMES 04:30 05:00 07:00 08:00 12:30 16:15 19:00 21:00
Mangal arati Tulasi arati Deity greeting Dhoopa arati Raj Bhoga arati Dhoopa arati Sundara arati Sayana arati
These are times when items are offered for the pleasure of the Deities.
DARSHAN TIMES
CLASS TIMES
04:30 to 05:00 07:00 to 07:30 08:00 to 11:45 12:30 to 13:00 16:15 to 18:30 19:00 to 19:30 21:00 to 21:30
07:30 Srimad Bhagavatam / Caitanya Caritamrta 13:00 Introductory talk * 18:00 Bhagavad Gita *
These are times when the curtains are open and the Deities can be seen.
* Excluding Sundays
LUNCH PROGRAMM E - MONDAY TO SATURDAY 13:00 to 14:00 Introductory talk and lunch. SUNDAY FEAST PROGRAMME 15:30 to 19:30 Includes arati, introductory talk and feast.
HARE KRISHNA HARE KRISHNA KRISHNA KRISHNA HARE HARE HARE RAMA HARE RAMA RAMA RAMA HARE HARE
newsletter@iskcon.london
International Society for Krishna Consciousness Founder-Acharya: His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Srila Prabhupada ISKCON-LONDON Radha-Krishna Temple 10 Soho Street London W1D 3DL
CONTACT: T: +44 (0)20 7437 3662 E : info@iskcon-london.org W: www.iskcon.london
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