May to June 2020 ISKCON-London Community Newsletter

1

DEPARTMENTAL CONTACTS

JAI NITAI DASA Temple President Charity Chairman Member of Management Board South Regional Coordinator UK Zonal Supervisor Mentor

BHAVA BHAKTI DEVI DASI Temple Administrator Charity Secretary / Trustee Member of Management Board South Regional Secretary Mentorship System Coordinator Mentor

DAYAL MORA DASA Outreach Coordinator Men’s Ashram Leader Member of Management Board Mentor

MURLI MANOHARA DASA Head Pujari Charity Trustee Member of Management Board Mentor

RSI RAYA GAURANGA DASA Facilities Manager Member of Management Board

THIRUPATI GAURANGA DASA Govinda’s Restaurant Manager Kitchen Manager Member of Management Board

RADHA RAMAN DASA Charity Trustee Mentor

ACUTYA CHARAN DASA Food for Life Coordinator

ADI GOPI DEVI DASI Radha’s Boutique Manager

ANTOINE BOUR Sankirtan Co-Leader

DEVAKI DEVI DASI Community Development Coordinator Volunteers Coordinator

DOYAL CAITANYA DASA Festivals Coordinator Volunteers Coordinator

2

KAPILA MONET Radha Krishna Records Manager

KRISHNA KANTA DEVI DASI Food for Life Coordinator

MAIRIS UŠACKIS Temple Commander

MANJARI GOPIKA DEVI DASI Russian Vedic Society Coordinator

MICHELLE TCHOUKOV Financial Controller

NATASHA MENON Communications Secretary

PADMANABHA NITYANANDA DASA London College of Vedic Studies Coordinator

PRITESH PANDYA Child Protection Officer

PRIYA KUNDA DASA Atma Lounge Manager

SYAMA GAURI DEVI DASI Atma Lounge Manager

SYAMA KISORE DASA Sankirtan Co-Leader

TARUN KRISHNA DASA Krishna’s Cows Coordinator

TITIKSU DASA UK Rathayatra Coordinator

TOTA GOPINATHA DASA Head of IT Data Protection Lead

3

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Temple President’s Activities

6

Communications

10

Community Development

11

Deity Department

14

Festivals

17

Food for Life

18

Krishna’s Cows and Project Grow

20

London College of Vedic Studies

21

London Rathayatra

24

Outreach

26

Regional

28

Sankirtan

30

Spiritual Mentorship System

34

Volunteering

35

Editorial Team: Devaki devi dasi, Padmanabha Nityananda dasa Graphic Designer: Chandra Bellamy Official photographers: David Crick, Harsh Sharma. We also thank other members of the community for their pictures.

Proofreader: Darryl Biggs For any comments or queries on this publication, please email newsletter@iskcon.london 4

“This body belongs to Krishna and therefore we must always keep it in healthy condition to the best of our ability, but if due to some past sinful activities, we are suffering some bodily miseries we should not become discouraged. Devotional service must continue under all circumstances. This material body is actually a bad bargain because it is prone to suffer, but we must make the best use of this bad bargain. That means to always be engaged in the service of Krishna without fail.�

Srila Prabhupada, Letter to Viruha dasa, 19th April 1975 5

TEMPLE PRESIDENT’S ACTIVITIES Highlights from Jai Nitai Dasa’s activities in May and June During May and June, with the lockdown still in place, Jai Nitai dasa engaged in the below activities.

He has also continued helping to cover several Deity services.

MAY Friday 1st Jai Nitai dasa performed an hour of kirtan and bhajans with the temple residents in the Temple Room for Mantra Live Russia. This was streamed live on various social platforms. Jai Nitai dasa was playing bass guitar.

Sunday 17th Started the first in a series of Bhagavad-Gita classes for newcomers arranged by ISKCON South London.

Thursday 21st Gave an outreach talk for an online programme arranged by Bhaktivedanta Manor.

Friday 22nd Attended the UK Management Council online meeting chaired by UK GBC Praghosa dasa. Also took part in kirtan rehearsals and a live online kirtan session with temple residents in the Temple Room for Soul Kirtan, based in Milan, Italy.

Saturday 23rd Hosted an online mentorship meeting with his men’s group.

Sunday 3rd Attended the ISKCON South London Trustees meeting online. In the afternoon he gave an online Sunday Feast talk for the Bhakti Yoga Centre in Crawley.

Saturday 9th Hosted an online mentorship meeting with his men’s group.

Tuesday 12th Hosted an online grihasta (couples) mentorship meeting with Bhava Bhakti devi dasi.

Sunday 24th Gave an online Bhagavad-Gita class, part of a series of talks arranged by ISKCON South London.

Monday 25th Spoke at an online talk arranged by the School of Bhakti.

Tuesday 26th Hosted an online grihasta mentorship meeting with Bhava Bhakti devi dasi.

Saturday 30th Took part in the Sankirtan Calling Party at ISKCON-London, which was inspired by an initiative created by Vaisesika dasa, which involves distributing books by phoning people and organisations. Also gave an online class for ISKCON Wimbledon.

Sunday 31st Attended the ISKCON South London Trustees online meeting. Also gave an online Bhagavad-Gita class, part of a series of talks arranged by ISKCON South London.

6

Temple President’s Activities

JUNE Tuesday 2nd Attended an online interfaith meeting with local leaders from different faiths with Bhava Bhakti devi dasi.

Friday 12th Delivered an online class for the Brighton sanga.

Saturday 13th Took part in the Sankirtan Calling Party at ISKCON-London.

Sunday 14th Attended the ISKCON South London Trustees online meeting. Also gave an online Bhagavad-Gita class, part of a series of talks arranged by ISKCON South London.

Saturday 20th Took part in the Sankirtan Calling Party at ISKCON-London. Also hosted an online mentorship meeting with his men’s group.

Saturday 6th Took part in the Sankirtan Calling Party at ISKCON-London. Also hosted an online mentorship meeting with his men’s group. In the evening he took part with the temple residents in the London Mellows Online Kirtan Festival Weekend, a weekend of kirtans by devotees from across the globe streamed live online.

Sunday 21st Gave an online Bhagavad-Gita class, part of a series of talks arranged by ISKCON South London.

In the afternoon gave the Sunday Feast class in the Temple Room at ISKCON-London.

Sunday 7th Gave an online Bhagavad-Gita class, part of a series of talks arranged by ISKCON South London.

In the afternoon took part in kirtans with the temple residents for London Mellows.

Tuesday 9th Hosted an online grihasta mentorship meeting with Bhava Bhakti devi dasi.

Tuesday 23rd Hosted an online grihasta mentorship meeting with Bhava Bhakti devi dasi.

Wednesday 24th Took part in a video shoot at Trafalgar Square with the Food for Life team and Bhava Bhakti devi dasi for the ‘Bhakti Vision’ vlog. This video blog highlights the services carried out by devotees at ISKCON-London. The vlog is created by Bhava Bhakti devi dasi.

Wednesday 10th Attended the online UK Management Council meeting chaired by UK GBC Praghosa dasa.

Thursday 11th Attended the Temple Leaders Council meeting at ISKCON-London.

7

Temple President’s Activities

Thursday 25th Took part in a health and safety inspection at ISKCON-London in preparation for the temple re-opening day. Also attended the Temple Leaders Council meeting and the online UK Management Council meeting.

Saturday 27th Took part in the Sankirtan Calling Party at ISKCON-London. Also attended the South Regional Leaders online meeting with Bhava Bhakti devi dasi.

Tuesday 30th Facilitated an online meeting with volunteers who will be assisting in the Temple open days.

Sunday 28th Gave an online Bhagavad-Gita class, part of a series of talks arranged by ISKCON South London.

‘SOMEONE OF SOHO’ ART EXHIBITION Jai Nitai dasa and Bhava Bhakti devi dasi were featured in the ‘Someone of Soho’ art exhibition. Jai Nitai dasa’s portrait was displayed on Frith Street as part of artist Richard Piercy’s exhibition which displays portraits in and around the Soho area on the outside of various buildings. Bhava Bhakti devi dasi’s portrait can be found on the official website. The exhibition focuses on people who live and work in Soho, an iconic square mile of central London. The participants were drawn from all walks of Soho life and include artists, electricians, musicians, plumbers, residents, reverends, rock stars, shopkeepers and teachers.

Artist Richard Piercy explained, “I photographed both Jai and Bhava for the project back in 2018. The purpose of the project was and still is to portray people from the many walks of life in the area. I’ve always believed that whilst the urban landscape may change, it’s the people that define its character. The Hare Krishna Temple and its devotees make an important contribution to Soho’s character and I was delighted when Jai and Bhava agreed to take part.”

More details can be found on the link below: www.richardpiercyphotographer. co.uk/someone-of-soho-richard-piercy

8

Temple President’s Activities

9

COMMUNICATIONS HEALING OUR EARTH Jai Nitai dasa led a session on ‘Reconnecting through Mantra’ on Healing Our Earth’s weekly free Yoga and Breathing online session on Sunday 17th May.

IN THE NEWS Project Grow on BBC Local Radio stations - Sunday 3rd May Tarun Krishna dasa, Project Manager for Project Grow, an initiative to engage community members to grow their own vegetables, was interviewed by a series of BBC local radio faith programmes. He spoke about the project in the context of the current crisis and following the Prime Minister’s comments that we’re facing our biggest challenge since World War 2 when people were asked to ‘Dig for Victory!’

Listen here: Radio Kent recording available at 3 hours 8 minutes into the talk. www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/p08b4q87

Jai Nitai dasa on BBC Local Radio’s Hindu Reflections - Saturday 30th May Jai Nitai dasa was invited to share his reflections on the current crisis as part of a series around Hindu teachings and the current pandemic. This series is a part of BBC Local Radio’s Keeping Faith programme which is sharing services and speakers from various faiths during the COVID-19 pandemic as part of the BBC’s ‘Make a Difference’ campaign.

Listen here: www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/p08dnbc9

MY TEMPLE CONNECT Below shows the My Temple Connect App usage over the last six months.

10

Communications

COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT KRISHNA CLUB Although London Rathayatra was sadly cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Krishna Club children were given a fun project of making their own Rath cart for Lord Jagannatha, Lord Baladeva and Subhadra Devi and participating in the festival in their own homes. Alternatively, they could write a letter to Lord Jagannatha.

Below is a letter written by Narahari and Rath carts made by Thanushri (middle) and Tungavidya (right).

SRI SRI RADHA-LONDONISVARA JAPA SANGA The daily japa sanga, which started on Friday 27th March and is facilitated by Devaki devi dasi, has continued to take place every day on Zoom from 6.00pm to 6.40pm. At the start of each session, there are prayers for those who are unwell or who have sadly passed away. This is followed by a short reading about the holy names and then 30 minutes of group japa. Afterwards, devotees share realisations on the sanga’s WhatsApp group.

Devotees find the japa sessions a nourishing part of their daily schedule and many have said how it has helped them improve the quality of their japa.

If you would like to participate, please join the WhatsApp group using the following link: https://bit.ly/esanga-japa

LONDON MELLOWS 2020: A GLOBAL OFFERING OF LOVE FOR SRI SRI RADHA-LONDONISVARA This year our annual kirtan weekend went online due to the pandemic. On Saturday 6th and Sunday 7th June, the London Mellows team organised an amazing and uplifting weekend of kirtans by kirtaneers from across the globe for the pleasure of Their Lordships and the global Vaishnava audience.

The event kicked off with a welcome message streamed live from the Temple Room and joyously led by the Temple residents. On both days, live darshan was streamed. Their Lordships and the altar were beautifully decorated in a holy name theme.

11

Community Development

World-renowned kirtaneers performed throughout the event, including Sacinandana Swami and Kadamba Kanana Swami from Europe, and Acyuta Gopi devi dasi, Amala Harinam dasa, Gaura Vani dasa and Nadiya Mani devi dasi from North America. International kirtan groups Kirtan Dubai and Vrindavan 24 Hour Kirtan Mandali also joined in as well as regular contributors to local mantra music projects and festivals including Abishek Singh, Ananda Monet, Caitanya Cintamani devi dasi, Kishori Jani, Radhika Ranjana dasa and Sri Prahlada dasa, many other seasoned kirtan artists and talented performers also came together via the online streaming.

This year’s event was dedicated to the recovery of Rama devi dasi, a Srila Prabhupada disciple and longstanding resident in Sri Mayapur Dhama, who was unwell. She served here as a seamstress for Their Lordships during the early days.

You can watch the playlist here: https://bit.ly/ldnmellows2020-playlist

“On behalf of our London Mellows 2020 team I am ever so grateful to all the wonderful kirtaneers from across the globe for making this year’s offering possible to Sri Sri RadhaLondonisvara. Although it was our first online event everyone was extremely excited knowing that the kirtans were being played live in the Temple to the Deities directly! It was truly a global offering and we cannot wait to see everyone next year!”

Gopibhava devi dasi, Event Organiser

12

Community Development

13

Community Development

DEITY DEPARTMENT Still in lockdown, the temple residents were continuing to cover a number of deity services for Their Lordships.

Community members living outside the temple are deeply missing their services and eagerly waiting for the temple to re-open so they can serve Their Lordships once again.

LORD JAGANNATHA’S MERCY Although Snanayatra and London Rathayatra was sadly cancelled this year, this didn’t stop the pujaris decorating Their Lordships with extra flower garlands and dressing Them beautifully on the days that the festivals would have taken place. Not only these days but the days that Snanayatra and Rathayatra took place in Jagannatha Puri were also observed with opulent darshans! Never wanting to miss an opportunity to serve her beloved Lord Jagannatha, Vimala devi dasi also cooked extra preparations on these days.

LONDON SNANAYATRA DARSHAN Sunday 31st May (day the festival was planned to take place)

14

Deity Department

LONDON RATHAYATRA DARSHAN Sunday 14th June (day the festival was planned to take place)

DARSHAN ON THE DAY OF JAGANNATHA PURI RATHAYATRA Tuesday 23rd June

15

Deity Department

SPOTLIGHT ON A PUJARI with Urjesvari devi dasi

trained you or really inspired you and why?

A: I was in close contact with the Manor devotees as my children were in the Gurukul school there.

Two devotees, Mother Shyamasundari and Mother Rachitambra helped me a lot in my Krishna consciousness and inspired me with their service mood. I was also inspired by the early sanga group in the 80’s with Maha Vishnu Swami and senior Manor devotees.

The Community Newsletter Team caught up with one of ISKCON-London’s Pujaris, Urjesvari devi dasi to learn more about her, how she came to Krishna consciousness and the pujari services she is involved in.

Community Newsletter Team: Hare Krishna Mother Urjesvari! Thank you very much for agreeing to talk to us. Please tell us a bit about yourself, for example where you were born, your family and upbringing?

Q: You have been serving Sri Sri RadhaLondonisvara for many years, in particular, offering mangala arati, dressing, cooking Raja Bhoga (often all in one day!). What keeps you enthusiastic and motivated in your services?

A: It is the mercy of my Gurudeva and devotees that keeps me inspired in the services I do. I really love Lord Krishna and His devotees. The energy that Krishna gives me helps me to serve Their Lordships all the time and I feel bliss every day for the opportunity given to me by Their Lordships and the devotees.

Q: What is your favourite service and why?

Urjesvari devi dasi: I was born in Nairobi, Kenya in 1955. My family’s upbringing was always with Lord Krishna in the centre of our lives. In 1969 we arrived in London where we were fortunate to meet Srila Prabhupada and the devotees at Bury Place.

A: I love all services I do as it gives me bliss and inner peace.

Q: How old were you when you became more serious in Krishna consciousness? And how did it happen?

A: I would like to thank you all for helping me in serving Their Lordships and the devotees and I hope to continue with the services once the world situation is back to normal.

A: I seriously took up Srila Prabhupada’s movement in 1988 when I was 33 years old. I associated with the devotees and helped in distributing books, serving the devotees with whatever was required to be done and especially cooked chapatis for lunch prasadam. The way I got inspired was by hearing from devotees and especially my Gurudeva, Giriraj Swami’s lectures on the Nectar of Devotion.

Q: When did you first start serving in the Deity Department at ISKCON-London? And what services did you start with?

A: I started serving at ISKCON-London in 2002 where I was asked by the devotees if I can cook for Their Lordships which I was very happy to do.

Q: Which devotees have you served with that 16

Q: Anything else you would like to share about your services in the Deity Department?

Q: Thank you!

FESTIVALS NRSIMHA CATURDASI Wednesday 6th May

17

Festivals

FOOD FOR LIFE

An account by Janaki Mehta, a hardworking and enthusiastic volunteer and organising team member of Food for Life The Food for Life team recently marked three and a half months of serving the homeless prasadam, six nights a week, without a single break during the lockdown and COVID-19 pandemic. Each day it still fascinates the team that they have managed to maintain this service with no interruption whilst facing completely unprecedented times.

In fact, it seems the service gets better and better each day. The team have had even more volunteers and drivers join the project since April. In addition, there have been even more food donations as the project has gone on. One of the guests remarked “Are you guys really the Hare Krishnas?” When the team responded “yes” he said, “Man, you guys have really stepped up.” Despite all the obstacles it seems the service has really blossomed! Along with the regular serving at Lincoln’s Inn Fields, the team have also managed to serve daily at Trafalgar Square.

The team have been extremely blessed to have the generosity of Food for All, Parasuram dasa and his team in allowing them to use their kitchen, their volunteers as well as any ingredients they might need.

The team have had the incredible ongoing support of Paresh Chhabhadia from Om Gayatri Traders who has gone out of his way to supply mineral water for the homeless. This water supply has literally been lifesaving because many of the water

18

Food For Life

taps which were previously used by the homeless are unavailable due to the pandemic.

Meghrav have regularly supplied the team with an abundance of fresh fruits, which made for a healthy and nutritional supplement to the meals for the homeless. Anand Halai and family of Gradegold Catering have also regularly provided hundreds of fresh packed fruit boxes which look as amazing as they taste.

Viji and family from Selva Food Convenience Store have donated a generous supply of drinks and sweets.

Surplus Food Bank and their team have donated fresh milk, vegetables and fruits. With this the homeless were treated to a refreshing rose milkshake on one of the heatwave days. The Murti family have also been regularly donating muchneeded food items for the homeless in loving memory of Sudesh Murti.

The ISKCON South London team have kindly donated helpful food items and sometimes cooked for the project including many special items like puris and theplas. On Nrsimha Chaturdasi a group from the ISKCON South London temple congregation made a range of special items for the homeless such as pakoras, burfis and more.

The volunteers who regularly serve on the front line deserve ongoing praise and appreciation.

The team which is ever growing consists of the following brave warriors who have quite literally put their life on the line to enable the service to continue running; Acyuta Charan dasa, Ags Decante, Alessandra Ponticelli, Anjali Gupta, Ashish Parmar, Ashwin Gopee, Asmaa, Bella Santousi, Bhavik Shah, Brian Clarke, Charmi Patel, Clement Mawby, Frankie Roberts, Georgina Newton, Gulia Bornoroni, Ivan Bekriev, Jade Lovely, Katerina, Krishna Pallavi, Linda Bawden, Lorane Prevost, Marguerite Jago, Milan Panth, Monica Laxman, Paul Wright, Rahul Singh, Ram Lakshman dasa, Sapna Khodiyara, Sat, Scott Warrington, Shubada Khedkar, Srikanth Chalapathy and Swati Goel.

A blessing has come in the form of an £11,000 grant which Tina Savani successfully managed to obtain from City Bridge Trust.

Though Food for Life is largely a food distribution project, the devotees who regularly serve have developed a deep sense of care and compassion for the homeless and have consequently ensured that the homeless people’s overall health and wellbeing is also taken care of. Sunny Gandhi kindly donated a second batch of hand sanitizers for the homeless in addition to 800 masks for the volunteers’ protection. Claudia Stachelhaus from Food for All arranged hygiene packs which was extremely helpful in light of the fact that many places where the homeless would previously get their sanitation needs met had been closed down due to the pandemic.

Ashish Jagjivan, Panchali Kar, Pritie Arnolda, Sabreena Tarmohamad, Sarla Ghumra and Shreya Lakhani very kindly contributed to the collection of sleeping bags for those that had been continuously requesting one at the serving point or for those who desperately needed one to enable them to have a safe and warm place to sleep at night.

A special thank you to Linda Bawden who made numerous trips to Luton and Greenford to pick up and drop off various food donation items to the temple. She also donated items of clothing and trainers for the homeless and contributed to buying sleeping bags. Scott Warrington took time out of his busy schedule to buy specific items of clothing at the request of some of the more vulnerable homeless people.

19

Food For Life

The service has never had to stop! The need for food and the issue of hunger is a huge problem particularly during these chaotic and unsettling times of the COVID-19 pandemic. However, the team have not allowed any obstacles to stop them from continuing to operate and carry out their duty and service. It is quite miraculous to say the least how things have progressed and really fallen into place from the very early days of the lockdown.

It seems like there has been a direct intervention of Krishna where He has used His devotees as instruments to carry out and execute His plan.

KRISHNA’S COWS AND PROJECT GROW PROJECT GROW Project Grow is a service opportunity for devotees in the community who are interested in gardening which allows them to practice and promote selfsufficiency, simple living and environmentalism as well as grow offerings of love and devotion for Their Lordships.

Flowers grown in the gardens and allotments of Project Grow gardeners have been used for arati, daily worship, decorating the Deities, the Deities’ garlands, and the flower vases on the altar and Srila Prabhupada’s vyasasana.

Pujari cooks have also been using the many fruits, herbs and vegetables grown by Project Grow gardeners in the bhoga (food) offerings for the Deities such as: broccoli, chard, mint, peas, pumpkin, raspberries, rhubarb, strawberries and tomatoes.

Preparing and offering food to the Lord shows Him our devotion and gratitude. Krishna doesn’t need to eat, of course, but He accepts the love with which we offer food to Him. Thank you to the devotees of Project Grow for their amazing heartfelt service to Sri Sri RadhaLondonisvara!

Feeling inspired and want to join the Project Grow team and grow for Sri Sri Radha- Londonisvara? Please contact Taruna Krishna dasa on tkd@iskcon.london

“I smelt one of the roses that had been offered at Mangala arati to Their Lordships and the aroma was so captivating and sweet that I was mesmerised by the loving propensity of bhakti. May Their Lordships bless those who are growing these items with love and devotion and offering them to Them. I am personally very grateful.” Jai Nitai dasa

“It is my ambition that all devotees may remain self-independent by producing vegetables, grains, milk, fruits, flowers, and by weaving their own cloth in handlooms.

This simple life is very nice. Simple village life saves time for other engagements like chanting the Hare Krishna Maha Mantra.” Srila Prabhupada, Letter to Tusta Krsna, 23rd August 1976 Krishna’s Cows 20

LONDON COLLEGE OF VEDIC STUDIES ONLINE COURSES During May and June, the London College of Vedic Studies (LCVS) were pleased to arrange a number of free online seminars during the lockdown. There were a range of speakers from India, UK and USA. The speakers spoke on a wide variety of valuable spiritual topics.

The LCVS also arranged two special seminars to mark Nrsimha Caturdasi with guest speakers Jayadvaita Swami and Ranchor dasa. Another special seminar was arranged on Sunday 14th June (which was the planned day for London Rathayatra but was cancelled due to the lockdown) with guest speaker Keshav Anand dasa, who spoke on a special Rathayatra-themed seminar about the beautiful Jagannath-astakam prayers which reveal who is Lord Jagannatha and what is Lord Jagannatha’s mood. Please see below the seminars that took place.

Prayers to Lord Nrsimhadeva to Overcome Material Desires With Jayadvaita Swami

How to Live without Fear – Lord Nrsimhadeva Special Seminar and The Nectar of Instruction Verse 3

With Ranchor dasa

Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakur – The Seventh Goswami

How to Improve your Chanting Part 2 and 3

With Rupa Vilasa dasa

With Murli Manohara dasa

Lord Caitanya’s Siksastakam Prayers and Jagannatha Rathayatra Special Seminar

The Morning Programme Prayers Part 1 and 2

With Keshav Anand dasa

With Nama Sankirtana dasa

You can watch these seminars on the LCVS YouTube page: 21 https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC_aAtIgCSUOnlDhKnresZyA

Divine and Demoniac Natures Part 1 and 2

With Mahatma dasa

Emotional Security and Mr Solution (Relationships Seminar) Part 1 and 2

With Chaitanya Jivan dasa

ONLINE COURSES FEEDBACK “I attended all three parts of Murli Manohara dasa’s seminar on ‘How to Improve Your Chanting’. He shared his stories, wisdom, experience and elaborately described different aspects of chanting. He gave very useful insights and inspired me. Great investment during the lockdown time, highly recommended!” Maxim Chernetskiy, London “I truly enjoyed the programme with Ranchor Prime. It was timely to attend a seminar about Lord Nrsimhadeva considering the current situation that the entire world is in.

Ranchor Prabhu’s presentation was the perfect reminder of the sweetness of the Lord... His love and protection. The combination of chanting verses with the harmonium and sharing his experiences and realisations was precious. I hope that there will be more programmes with Ranchor Prime in the future.” Tiffany Cooper, Pennsylvania, USA “Hare Krishna Ranchor Prabhu, thank you so much for your kind, encouraging and mature association.”

Tribhangananda dasa, UK

“Thank you Nama Sankirtan Prabhu, well-paced and detailed presentation. Many thanks from Australia!”

Mina Manning, Australia

“At first I thought this might be too advanced for me (the Siksastakam Prayers seminar by Keshav Anand dasa) but after a short while I realised I could understand. I have found this so very helpful. Especially as I really wondered why we chant and have been talking to devotees about prayer. Pure Nectar. Can’t thank you enough for this service.” Kelly Hendrick, London “This session is very useful to understand the topic. Keshav Anand Prabhuji has explained so well, very grateful for his time. It’s a long session and he gave us his time so very grateful and thank you for organising this LCVS.” Divya Gaurangi devi dasi, UK “Thank you so much for such a wonderful class Ranchor Prabhu! Truly humbled and grateful to have your association on here today. Looking forward to more of your talks soon. Thank you so much and thank you LCVS team for organising this!” Himani Gandhi, London

“Thank you so much Chaitanya Jivan Prabhu - we both really enjoyed your seminar and would love a Part Two!”

Reni Vadgama, UK

Subscribe to the London College of Vedic Studies newsletter: www.iskcon.london/lcvs/signup 22 www.facebook.com/londoncvs www.instagram.com/londoncvs

23

LONDON RATHAYATRA GETTING READY FOR 2021

By Titiksu dasa, London Rathayatra Coordinator Nearly all of the 200 Rathayatra’s around the world including London have been unfortunately cancelled due to the Coronavirus.

This is the first time there has not been a London Rathayatra since it was started in 1969.

maintenance. Restoring worn paintwork, replacing cracked or broken timbers and making new canopies.

We built the current chariots of Lord Jagannatha and Lord Baladeva in 2004. I was fortunate enough to have been invited to help build what is now Lady Subhadra’s chariot in 1982. This was used for all three Deities until we got permission for two more in 2004.

The London chariots are not only used in London but are used throughout the summer at Rathayatra’s in Belfast, Birmingham, Brighton, Cardiff, Dublin, Leicester, and also abroad in Budapest and Paris.

All these Rathayatra’s have been cancelled this year.

As you can imagine, the chariots get a lot of wear.

Myself and a small team of devotees are taking advantage of this downtime to do much-needed Lord Jagannatha’s chariot has now done ten Rathayatra’s nearly every year since 2004. That’s almost 160 in total! As well as building chariots for Lord Jagannatha and Lord Baladeva in 2004,

24 London Rathayatra

we also rebuilt the 1982 chariot in 2006, which is now Lady Subhadra’s.

Of course, all this maintenance work requires funds and we want to use the best quality materials for the Lord. The chariots are kept at our dedicated storage and workshop facility in Hatfield just north of London.

We also have our own truck which is 15 years old and needs replacing. Many parts are wearing out and it no longer complies with London emission regulations.

I am humbly appealing to you for your help. This is a rare opportunity to serve Their Lordships Lord Jagannatha, Lord Baladeva and Lady Subhadra by making an offering to the Lord’s chariots.

To make your gift, please visit www.rathayatra.co.uk/ donate or send a cheque made payable to ‘ISKCON Ltd’ to: ISKCON Rathayatra, 1 Watford Road, Radlett WD7 8LA For further information, please email Titiksu dasa at titiksu@rathayatra.co.uk

RATHAYATRA MEMORY Titiksu dasa shares an interesting story about London Rathayatra regarding how permission to use three chariots came about: In the year 2000, I was asked to manage the London Rathayatra festival. Previously from 1984, I had been looking after the chariot. We started fundraising for the festival that year and to our surprise we more than covered the expenses. The next year the same thing happened, and the next. I was beginning to wonder, “What does Jagannatha want? He’s sending all this money.” The next year, the Department of Culture, Media and Sport held a consultation meeting for all the users of Trafalgar Square. They unveiled a model of the Square with the top section joined to the National Gallery by a terrace. I thought to myself that this would be an ideal place for three chariots. Previously the square was an island with four lanes of traffic on all sides and we had to put the chariot next to Nelson’s Column where there would be no room for three chariots.

The next thing that happened was the police asked us to come for a meeting to discuss how many chariots we would be having. “How many chariots?” This was very strange. Usually we had to approach them. For the previous three years I had been joking with the police inspector about having three chariots on the plea that it would make the procession more manageable. Of course, it wouldn’t. But that was the running joke. And every year the inspector would say “No. There is too much chaos with one chariot. I will never give permission for three chariots.” So, myself and my 25 London Rathayatra

good friend Parama Karuna dasa went to meet with the inspector. He asked, “How many chariots are you having this year?” I said, “Well, one.” He replied, as if it was his own idea, “I think you should have three because it will make the procession more manageable.” We nearly fell off our chairs. So, Lord Jagannatha set up the whole thing. He sent the funds, arranged for Trafalgar Square to be changed to accommodate three chariots and changed the mind of the inspector!

OUTREACH In May the Outreach Department continued carrying out its outreach programme online. Dayal Mora dasa has been running a six-day Bhagavad-Gita study group every morning at 11.00am on the ISKCON-London Facebook page. Syama Kisora dasa and Antoine have been reading and discussing live Srimad-Bhagavatam at 1.15pm and Caitanya-Caritamrita at 5.30pm.

On Friday 1st of May, six temple residents including Temple President, Jai Nitai dasa (who played bass guitar) performed a one-hour session of kirtan and bhajans which was streamed by Mantra Live Russia on various social platforms. The same devotees were then requested to lead a similar live kirtan session for Soul Kirtan (based in Milan, Italy) on the 22nd of May. The video of the performance can be found on the Bhakti Yoga London Facebook page.

On Sunday 31st May after the lockdown rules were relaxed, allowing people to spend more time outdoors, the Outreach team organised the first sit-down kirtan outside in Soho Square Park to which many Wisdom Wednesday’s followers took part, keeping the required distance from one another.

To stay updated on all newcomer events, follow the Facebook page, Bhakti Yoga London:

www.facebook.com/bhaktiyogalondon

27

REGIONAL The following regional areas have regular Krishna Conscious programmes taking place which are supported by ISKCON-London: Folkestone (Atma Lounge), Crawley (Bhakti Yoga Centre), Brighton, Canterbury, Margate, North Kent and Wimbledon. The contact details for each centre can be found at the bottom of this section if you would like to get involved.

ATMA LOUNGE During May the Atma Lounge team were making full use of online facilities, such as Zoom meetings, during the lockdown. They were organising the following online programmes: Ramayana reading four days of the week at 11.00am Bhagavad-Gita study group on Thursdays at 5.00pm Sunday Feast programme at 12.30pm The prasadam delivery service was continuing with Jasmine on peddle power and Seb on his electric skateboard. Syama Gauri devi dasi has also been posting her guided meditations on Facebook.

The Secrets of India Gift Shop reopened on Wednesday 17th June. The team are following all the government guidelines for non-essential retail and were very happy to welcome back old friends and new to the gift shop.

In June the Atma Lounge team took advantage of the sunny weather and the easing of lockdown restrictions by taking kirtan out to the park! On Saturday 13th June they visited the Brock Hill Country Park, with devotees taking turns to lead kirtan followed by a sumptuous picnic! The vegetarian cafe onsite is run by a devotee named Geraldine, selling prasadam sandwiches, cakes, drinks and ice-cream to the public. You will also find Srila Prabhupada’s books in the window too! The cafe is hoping to open further soon to allow cooked food and indoor seating.

28 Regional

ISKCON BRIGHTON ISKCON Brighton have been continuing their weekly Friday programmes with online classes from 7.30pm to 9.00pm. They have had the following guest speakers: Maha Vishnu Swami, Dayananda Swami and Bhakti Prabhava Swami. The online classes are proving popular with at least thirty people attending on some occasions. The devotees have also been going on harinama to local places since the lockdown restrictions have been lifted.

ATMA LOUNGE

BHAKTI YOGA CENTRE

www.atmalounge.com

www.facebook.com/byc2013

info@atmalounge.com

info@iskconcrawley.co.uk

CANTERBURY www.harekrishnacanterbury.com harekrishnacanterbury@gmail.com

NORTH KENT northkentsanga@gmail.com

MARGATE www.facebook.com/meditate.margate

29

BRIGHTON www.harekrishnabrighton.com

WIMBLEDON www.facebook.com/iskcon.wimbledon wimbledon@iskcon.london www.instagram.com/iskcon.wimbledon

SANKIRTAN

During May, the Sankirtan team continued with their different online reading programmes of BhagavadGita, Srimad-Bhagavatam and Caitanya-Caritamrita.

They finished the reading of Caitanya-Caritamrita Adi Lila on the 1st of June. As the easing of the lockdown restrictions started, Syama Kisora dasa had the idea to have kirtan in local parks with a book table and some prasadam, keeping the right social distance but allowing the public to come and take books if they were interested. This was a great new opportunity to try this new way of sankirtan.

SANKIRTAN CALLING PARTY On Saturday 30th May, the Sankirtan team organised the first Sankirtan Calling Party. This was inspired by an idea by Vaisesika dasa, who is famous for his book distribution ideas. How does it work? It’s a simple programme which involves calling the contacts the Sankirtan team have made over the years while distributing books, people that met a guest greeter at the Temple and those that attend the weekly programmes and Temple open days. While calling them, the Sankirtan team and volunteers will enquire how the person is coping during the lockdown, how their mental health is and how is their spiritual life.

Most people are very appreciative of the call.

During the call the team also ask if the person would be interested in receiving a Spiritual Care Package, which includes a meditation kit and a Chant and Be Happy book. They also ask for a donation that can be made on the ISKCON-London website. It is quite like what the team usually do while out on the streets distributing books but this time they don’t need to go anywhere, they just need to grab their phone and start calling.

The calling takes place at ISKCON-London and online via Zoom every Saturday from 10.30am to 12.30pm.

To volunteer, please email Antoine on: antoine@iskcon.london

30

If you would like to invite the sankirtan team to your own town for book distribution, harinama and a house programme, please email sankirtan@iskcon.london Sankirtan

Britishers used to manage entire countries. Now manage sankirtan and expand unlimitedly.

See the opportunities and adapt to the circumstances. Why not have book tables at all the Food for Life events/places? Low key. Could be good. UK could do a zillion in sponsored books.

Main thing is to reach students and youngish crowd who can take up Krishna consciousness and make a difference. So follow up and build the sankirtan team. No spandex and no attitude, keep sectarianism out. Intelligent people will not buy into small-minded stuff. Many of the bigger cities and areas outside of London and the Manor are underdeveloped in Krishna consciousness. A national strategy helps, till then create a team of infected people and work with them. The church will do its thing, the revolution must go on. So many groups of activists who could be infiltrated and affected with Krishna consciousness.

Have specific programmes tailored for specific audiences. Target/sniper mode, have fun keep in touch, follow up is key and creating seva opportunities so people can experience the sankirtan vibe.”

In the month of June, the Sankirtan team ended the online Caitanya-Caritamrta readings and reduced the Srimad-Bhagavatam reading to twice a week.

The Bhagavad-Gita readings with Dayal Mora dasa are continuing every morning from Monday to Friday on Facebook Live.

The Sankirtan team continued the Sankirtan Calling Party every Saturday from 10.30am to 12.30pm each week with more devotees taking part online.

During May and June, they have distributed six Srimad-Bhagavatam sets and one CaitanyaCaritamrta set. The Gita Project distributed almost a thousand books during the lockdown to care homes and hospitals with the help of Tribhangananda dasa and Radha dasi.

This new way of sankirtan is enlivening all the devotees and the team have received some encouraging words from devotees from around the world including a letter from Navina Nirada dasa from Switzerland, a famous sankirtan leader:

“London has all the opportunities, so whatever you want to do, just do it! Copy success and build your team. There is every demographic in the greater London area. It’s about creating a ‘team first’ mood.

Different people can do different things. A few 31

Sankirtan

When the weather permits, the team have been going out to Hampstead Heath to broadcast the holy name. They put books on display with maha cookies and lollipops and some people are stopping to ask questions or to just sit and join in the chanting.

There are 65 days left to go to Goloka (the Bhadra Campaign), so the Sankirtan team are inviting everyone to help in the matter of placing SrimadBhagavatam sets, the shining sun of knowledge, the cream of the cream of the Vedas in various places. It is available in different languages: Bengali, Gujarati, Hindi, Tamil, and of course English!

For further information, please email Antoine on antoine@iskcon.london For many devotees the lockdown has given them new ideas on how to continue distributing Srila Prabhupada’s books whilst maintaining the social distancing rules. One book distributor, Nalini devi dasi reported: “This young man I met yesterday is a philosophy student from Sydney. He is here because of the lockdown. He said he’s heard of Vedic philosophy and been searching for BhagavadGita for some time! They only cover western philosophy on his course. He was very interesting, serious and learned for his young age. He was super happy to get these “treasures”, so he can start reading while on lockdown. Will keep in touch.”

32 Sankirtan

33

SPIRITUAL MENTORSHIP SYSTEM During lockdown most mentors have continued to have meetings online instead of in person. This allows the mentor to have consistent interaction with the group without losing touch and providing some spiritual stability in these uncertain times.

Bhava Bhakti devi dasi started a book club with her mentee group. They have been reading four pages of the Nectar of Instruction a day and have completed the whole book in one month. Everyone was very enlivened with the daily reading and they have now started to read the Sri Isopanisad.

One group that is meeting in person is the Ladies Ashram mentee group, whom Bhava Bhakti devi dasi is the mentor for, as they have all been isolating together during the lockdown. Some of the meeting highlights from this group are Krishna conscious Pictionary and individual mentee topic talks. It has not been easy for the residents to be locked down in the temple and having to take on a lot more services to cover for the volunteers who are unable to come at present.

Mentorship System: Testimonial from Gopi Candra devi dasi Gopi Candra devi dasi is currently staying in the Ladies Ashram. Her mentor is Bhava Bhakti devi dasi. “ I have been here since June 2019 and my services are mainly in the pujari department. I also cook and clean too. I like to spend time with the ashram residents and my mentor in a more relaxed mood and discuss Krishna consciousness. I’m actually satisfied with the System!”

34 Spiritual Mentorship System

VOLUNTEERING INTERVIEW WITH JHULAN LILA DEVI DASI

The Community Newsletter team had a chat with Jhulan Lila devi dasi, sankirtan devotee and one of the current residents in the ladies ashram at ISKCON-London, to talk about her experiences in Krishna consciousness, the lockdown and the ladies ashram sankirtan activities.

Community Newsletter team: Hare Krishna, thank you for speaking to us. For people that do not know you, where are you from and how long have you been staying in the ladies ashram at ISKCON-London?

Jhulan Lila devi dasi: I was born in Switzerland but am originally from Sri Lanka. I have been staying in the ladies ashram at ISKCON-London for two years now.

Q: How did you come into contact with ISKCON and Krishna consciousness?

A: I came into contact with ISKCON through a very dear devotee. I always remember, without the mercy of this devotee I wouldn’t be in Krishna consciousness today. The most profound contact afterwards for me with Krishna consciousness was definitely Srila Prabhupada in his glorious Srimad Bhagavad-Gita and Srimad Bhagavatam, which changed my whole life systematically.

35

Q: That’s really interesting. How have you been coping during the lockdown and any realisations you want to share about the lockdown?

A: I have been coping during the lockdown surprisingly well. There were very intense, purifying times and there were wonderful and very ecstatic times. I never experienced so much depth in the relationships with the Deities and the other Vaishnavis before, here in the temple. It brought intimacy and gratefulness to Their Lordships to a next level. This lockdown allows us to have time to restrospect and reflect on ourseleves and where we are at in our spiritual lives. So, while we are walking through our own internal journeys of Krishna consciousness this lockdown brings us also closer to the journeys of other devotees through sharing and discussing Krishna consciousness with each other.

I realised how deeply and personally Krishna takes care of every single soul with so much compassion and mercy, how careful and affectionate He reciprocates with each of our desires and challenges to bring us closer to Him That inspired me to care more personally and individually with other devotees according to their nature and character and in this way assist and serve Radha-Londonisvara’s will and desires.

Krishna says in Bhagavad-Gita 9.22 “But those who always worship Me with exclusive devotion, meditating on My transcendental form, to them I carry what they lack, and I preserve what they have.”

In this way all the devotees who meditate upon our Lordships in their hearts, who are missing Them greatly, will surely be carried back to the lotus feet of Radha-Londonisvara.

Q: Since May as the lockdown rules have been a little relaxed, for example allowing people to visit parks more often, what have the ladies ashram been doing?

A: The Srila Prabhupada’s Mission Group of the Ladies Ashram is going to the park twice a week for three hours to do harinama and book distribution with social distancing.

Q: It must have been nice to get outside again!

How have you found this new way of book distribution? And what kind of response did you have from the public?

A: To be outside has relaxed and opened our minds and helped us to not constantly be absorbed in ourselves but also share the mercy of the holy names with others. It was unusual for the first time for us since all the streets were just dead and empty like a background scenery of a movie. Oxford Street where I used to stop people for book distribution, hundreds of people in masses were just gone! We could hear the birds singing, the air was fresh and the few people in the parks were more peaceful and relaxed. That’s why our book distribution changed in a way, instead of approaching people. They were already sitting in the parks or walking and were more open to talking to us, since they were locked down as well for a long time and a lot of them felt lonely and had a need to speak. The response of the public is definitely more open-minded for spiritual topics with more appreciation.

Restaurant kitchen after cooking breakfast and lunch some days. On Saturdays we participate in the Sankirtan Calling Party for two hours and twice a week we are reading from the Nectar of Instruction.

Every day I try to give pleasure to our Lordships by singing Gaura Arati to them and once a week we have our mentee meetings.

Q: Wow, that’s a lot of services the ladies ashram is involved in! Finally, I wanted to find out what inspires you about the ISKCON-London community?

A: What inspires me the most about the ISKCONLondon community is the unity of their dedication to Radha-Londonisvara although from so many different backgrounds they are all coming together to serve Radha-Londonisvara and in this way we share the same mood. It’s like a big family centred around Radha-Londonisvara, the very core manifestation of Srila Prabhupada´s heart and soul.

Q: Thank you very much for speaking to us!

Q: It sounds like the perfect time to distribute books to the public! What other activities are the ladies ashram involved in?

A: Besides our usual services in the Pujari department (for example making garlands, fruits transfer, raj bhoga transfer, laundry, preparing bathing trays, changing the Deities bed sheets, dressing Srila Prabhupada, cleaning the pujari fridge) and cleaning the Ladies Ashram every day, we also clean Govinda’s

WANT TO GET INVOLVED? 36 volunteers@iskcon.london /

Volunteering vacancies: www.iskcon.london/volunteer

37

38

39

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 Greetings Dhoopa Arati Raj Bhoga Arati Dhoopa Arati Sundara Arati Sayana Arati

These are times when items are offered for the pleasure of Their Lordships.

ISKCON-London Radha-Krishna Temple 10 Soho Street London W1D 3DL

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 * * Excluding Sunday’s

LUNCH PROGRAMME (Monday to Saturday) 13:00 to 14:00 Introductory talk and lunch.

These are times when the curtains are open and Their Lordships can be seen.

+44 (0)20 7437 3662

@iskconlondon

info@iskcon.london

/iskconlondon

www.iskcon.london

/iskconlondon

SUNDAY FEAST PROGRAMME 15:30 to 19:30 Includes arati, introductory talk and feast.

Download My Temple Connect app. Available on Android and Apple devices

Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare INTERNATIONAL SOCIETY FOR KRISHNA CONSCIOUSNESS FOUNDER-ACHARYA: HIS DIVINE GRACE A.C. BHAKTIVEDANTA SWAMI SRILA PRABHUPADA