DepartmentAL CONTACTS JAI NITAI DASA
RADHA RAMAN DASA
Temple President Charity Chairman Member of Management Board South Regional Coordinator Mentor UK Zonal Supervisor
Charity Trustee Mentor
BHAVA BHAKTI DEVI DASI
ACUTYA CHARAN DASA
Temple Administrator Charity Secretary / Trustee Member of Management Board South Regional Secretary Mentorship System Coordinator Mentor
Food for Life Coordinator
JAGA MOHINI DEVI DASI
Adi Gopi devi dasi
Ladies Ashram Leader ISKCON Educational Services Member of Management Board
Radha’s Boutique Manager
MURLI MANOHARA DASA
Debasmita francis
Head Pujari Charity Trustee Member of Management Board Chair of New Temple Committee Member of Brahmacari Council Mentor
London College of Vedic Studies Coordinator
RAM CHARAN DASA Financial Controller Member of Management Board
DEVAKI DEVI DASI
Head of Community Development Team Volunteers Coordinator
THIRU DHAYALAN
DHAVAL DATTANI
Govinda’s Restaurant Manager Kitchen Manager Member of Management Board
Volunteers Coordinator
KAPILA MONET
NATASHA MENON
Radha Krishna Records Manager
Communications Secretary
KRISHNA KANTA DEVI DASI
OLGA DOROVKO
Food for Life Coordinator
Russian Vedic Society Coordinator
Laurynas Mikalauskas
PRITESH PANDYA
Head of IT
Child Protection Officer
Data Protection Lead
MAHA NRSINGHA DASA
PRIYA KUNDA DASA
Festivals Coordinator
Atma Lounge Manager
MAIRIS UŠACKIS
SYAMA GAURI DEVI DASI
Temple Commander
Atma Lounge Manager
MUKUNDA KISHORE DASA
TITIKSU DASA
Closet Krishna Manager
UK Rathayatra Coordinator
NAma SANKIRTAN DASA Sankirtana Leader
VAYU DASA Men’s Ashram Leader
CLOSET KRISHNA
Table of CONTENTS 2
Department Contacts
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Temple President’s Activities
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Communications
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Community Development Team
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Deity Department
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Festivals
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Food For Life
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Govinda’s Restaurant
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Harinama
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London College of Vedic Studies
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Outreach
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Radha’s Boutique
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Regional
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Russian Vedic Society
30
Sankirtan
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Volunteering
Graphic Designer: Chandra Bellamy Editorial Team: Devaki devi dasi Neha Bhatt
For any comments or queries on this publication, please email newsletter@iskcon.london
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communications O
n Friday 14th December, the High Commission of India invited London MPs, Councillors and community leaders for an interaction with the newly appointed High Commissioner, H.E. Mrs. Ruchi Ghanashyam. Natasha Menon attended the event held at The India House as a representative of ISKCON-London, the only representative present from ISKCON UK. She had the opportunity to briefly introduce our work and our upcoming 50th Anniversary. The High Commissioner appeared very favourable to supporting community initiatives.
Diwali greetings from the Prime Minister and the leader of the opposition
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Community development team ISKCON-London’s 49th Anniversary Celebration Event
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Sunday 4th November 2018
n Sunday 4th November, devotees gathered at University College London’s Logan Hall in central London to celebrate the 49th Anniversary of the Installation of Sri Sri Radha-Londonisvara. As this year’s celebration was during the most holy month of Kartik, it was themed “Two Fingers Too Short?”, inspired by the Damodara pastime of Lord Krishna and Mother Yashoda, where Lord Krishna is tied by the rope of His mother’s love which is “two fingers too short” – representing the need for both Lord Krishna’s mercy and our own endeavour in our spiritual lives. The event showcased an array of performances and gave insight into what continues to awaken and inspire generations of bhakti yogis. It was a spiritually uplifting theatre production that left the audience at the edge of their seats and entertained throughout. As well as the main show, children were kept entertained in a dedicated activity room with a magician, colouring, puzzles, play-dough, face painting and mehndi. There was also a bazaar with stalls selling various merchandise including ISKCON-London and 50th Anniversary branded items, altar items, and items made from Deity maha. The Sankirtan department encouraged devotees to sign up for the upcoming Srila Prabhupada December Book Marathon and London College of Vedic Studies, the educational arm of ISKCON-London, was also present creating awareness of courses offered.
Read the full article: https://bit.ly/2Wwz65x - Watch the event highlights here: http://bit.ly/49th-highlights
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Community Development Team
krishna club
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rishna Club, a new Sunday School for children, held three taster sessions during the month of December before the official start in January 2019. It was an opportunity for parents and their children to find out more about the club and for the Krishna Club teachers to prepare for the January start. During Krishna Club, children will: • Chant japa • Learn slokas from Bhagavad-Gita and other scriptures • Make beautiful arts and crafts •Read and bring-to-life stories from Ramayana, Mahabharata and Srimad-Bhagavatam • Participate in dramas • Sing bhajans • And many other fun-filled activities!
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deity department New short film on the Deity Department released at the 49th Anniversary festival
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residing Deities, Sri Sri Radha-Londonisvara, are the first large marble Radha Krishna Deities in ISKCON, installed by Srila Prabhupada himself on 14th December 1969. A short film, commissioned by Murli Manohara dasa, Head Pujari, takes a look at the inclusive model of deity service at ISKCON-London. This film looks at the ways in which different devotees are engaged in this service and how it inspires them. Community members are encouraged to take an active part in a wide range of services to the Deities.
Watch here: https://youtu.be/BpWuAZpQ2Ic
For more information on how to get involved with serving the Deities, please contact volunteers@iskcon.london
49th Anniversary Festival: behind the scenes Darshan
D
uring this year’s Anniversary Festival darshan, Sri Sri Radha-Londonisvara were enjoying Their swinging pastimes amidst fragrant jasmine strands and gorgeous flower garlands. One of the special features of the darshan was the wooden swing that was very precisely made from scratch by Pujari, Satyanarayan dasa, and decorated with flowersand ashimmering velvet cloth backdrop with hanging jasmine strands. To add some additional touches to the darshan for Their Lordships pleasure (and the devotees taking Their darshan) was abeautiful flower crown for Srimati Radharani and a floral turban piece for Krishna.
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Deity Department
pushpa abhishek
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n Anniversary Festival tradition, a glorious Pushpa Abhishek of Their Lordships, was held in the evening which was a gorgeous feast for the eyes of everyone present and those watching online. The preparation for Pushpa Abhishek takes some effort with active involvement by Head Pujari, Murli Manohara dasa, Vimila devi dasi who diligently buys the high-quality flowers, and Paramesvara dasa who is responsible for coordinating the service of plucking the petals, neatly arranging them in buckets, and the transfer of the petals to the altar.
Devaki devi dasi, who is part of the coordination team for the festival darshans, says “We really wanted to do something special to celebrate Sri Sri Radha-Londonisvara’s Anniversary. Various sources reveal that They were Srila Prabhupada’s favourite deities and this inspires us to want to give the best offering on Their Anniversary. Making this year’s darshan manifest was a team effort and appreciation and gratitude goes to all the devotees involved from those ordering and buying the flowers, sponsoring the flowers, making the swing, stitching the backdrop, making the garlands and flower arrangements and decorations, to putting it all up on the altar in the late hours of the evening and in the morning before deity greetings. When a darshan really touches devotees’ hearts, it is so special to witness. Many devotees commented that they found the darshan very beautiful and heart-warming and we saw darshan pictures shared by so many on social media. We hope we can make this festival darshan more and more sweet in the coming years and especially in December 2019 – Sri Sri RadhaLondonisvara’s Golden 50th Anniversary.”
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On the day before the festival, the entire Seminar Room was transformed into “Vrindavana forest” with so many flowers (as can be seen in the pictures). A small team of volunteers worked hard to put the flowers (all 10,000 of them!) into buckets. On the day of the festival, starting from early morning till late afternoon, there was a team of helperscoming together to lovingly pluck petals that would be showered onto the Deities.There was approximately 10,000 flowers to pluck– double the amount compared to last year (due to a kind sponsorship) and the majority which were roses. This special service of plucking flower petals was open to all. It was a wonderful community spirit centred around serving Their Lordships.
Deity Department “What a blissful and wonderful day it was to serve the Lord with all His devotees.It was also a service opportunity for my four-year old daughter who was eagerly filling buckets with flower petals to shower our dear Lordships with.It was an opportunity for all ages to be involved in a simple service. I realised that in ISKCON-London, the opportunities to serve are “I spent most of the 49th Anniversary engaged in
endless!” Gayathri Jayanathan
preparing flowers for the Pushpa Abhishek ceremony in the evening. It was lovely to spend time doing such a nice service with devotees and for the pleasure of Their Lordships. There was a strong feeling of community and friendship with devotees and a transcendental smell of flowers everywhere. The devotees looked beautiful and it was clear that They were very pleased. I felt very fortunate to be part of such a wonderful community on such a special day.” Channah Mace
“I am so grateful for this delightful opportunity. Plucking the rose petals, so gentle, beautiful, fragrant, soft, was like coming in contact with the energies of Srimati Radharani. I could spend a lifetime serving this way...This experience echoed my first recent encounter with preparing flowers for the garlands at Krishna Balarama Mandir in Vrindavana. When I heard about this service opportunity, I followed my heart to the Temple. The service has been so wellorganised and clearly instructed. Thank you, all the beautiful souls, who I met at this “petal festival” in the Seminar Room.” Natasha Minchenko “By the mercy of the Most Beautiful Lordships, Sri Sri Radha-Londonisvara, I got the opportunity to serve Them by taking part in Pushpa Abhishek seva where me and many other devotees got the chance to pluck flower petals. It was an amazing experience because I got the first opportunity to serve Them in a way other than kirtan and I really enjoyed it. During the service I got to know some of the devotees that usually pass by just to say “Hare Krishna” or those I haven’t had time to talk to for long time. At that time, I also fully felt the spirit of our temple community. Many devotees from different countries, backgrounds, age groups and paths of both material and spiritual life came all together with the same goal – to please our beloved Sri Sri Radha-Londonisvara.” Katerina Romiah 13
festivals Govardhana Puja Thursday 8th November
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Festivals
Srila Prabhupada Disappearance Day Sunday 11th November
Film premiere screening at ISKCON-London of the Hare Krishna! film 16
Festivals
49th Anniversary of Sri Sri Radha-Londonisvara Thursday 13th December
“What a blissful and wonderful day it was to serve the Lord with all His devotees….The class by Ranchor dasa on His memories with Srila Prabhupada added a beautiful touch to the day.The evening ended in a colourful note, seeing the smiling faces of our Lordships showered and bathed with flower petals in different colours. It definitely felt like the spiritual abode!” Gayathri
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food for life Update by Tina Savani, Food for Life volunteer, who has been volunteering with Food for Life for many years. Increase in number of volunteers The number of volunteers engaged in Food for Life has grown exponentially in the last year.The team now has many new volunteers travelling from places far afield in order to help with the service. Many volunteers bring in their work colleagues to share the experience and parents sometimes bring in their young children, all walking away feeling a strong sense of fulfilment and satisfaction at having made a small difference to the lives of some of the most vulnerable people in society. The team has gone from having a shortage of volunteers to now having an excess, where many volunteers alternate weeks in order to get the opportunity to engage in the service. The service has always been a great opportunity to attract more people into the Krishna Consciousness movementas some of the more senior devotees speak to potential new volunteers, introduce them to the service, help them to engage in the service, and subsequently inspire and enable them to learn more about the philosophy and devotional practices.
new volunteer coordinator In the last year, the team has acquired a new volunteer coordinator, Himani Gandhi, for three days of the week. She happily takes care of the three evenings in which she ensures there is enough volunteers for the days, that there is an available driver to drive to the distribution point in Lincolns Inn Field, and above all that the service runs smoothly. Likewise, the coordinators for the other three days also do an outstanding job.
Food For Life
New business cards distributed to the homeless Around November 2018, a couple of volunteers from the Friday group, Fawzia Itoo and Panchali Kar, took the initiative to design and put together a Hare Krishna Food for Life business card. Consequently, a 100 of these business cards were printed and given out to homeless people in and around London. These business cards serve to make homeless people (who don’t necessarily congregate at the distribution point) aware of Food for Life and where they can obtainfree hot, nutritious, vegetarian food on a daily basis. These cards were nicely printed with a small photo of baby Krishna at the front, the address of the distribution point, as well as the days and timings of the service.The back of the card has a map of the distribution point together with directions on how to reach there. The team found this initiative to be extremely useful for the homeless. They hope to print another batch in the coming months and distribute them widely as and when required.
FACEBOOK AND INSTAGRAM ACCOUNTS The team has recently launched an Instagram account in order to help publicise and showcase some of the work the Food for Life London team do to serve the homeless. This helps with publicising any fundraising activities as well as showcasing the positive impact Hare Krishna devotees have on society and the community as a whole. It also helps to highlight the humanitarian aspect of the movement in general which may attract potential new volunteers as well as help to inspire a genuine interest in
ISKCON and the work carried out. The Instagram page currently has 45 followers and a number of posts. In addition, the Food for Life team has become a lot more active on the Food for Life Facebook page with a number of posts. The Facebook group was created in July 2007 and currently has over 1,850 members. As with the Instagram account, the Facebook page is an extremely useful tool which has helped promote the work that the volunteers do, attracted new volunteers to the service, and raised more awareness and donations for the cause.
To follow: https://www.instagram.com/harekrishnafoodforlife https://www.facebook.com/harekrishnafoodforlife
Food For Life
Money raised for warm blankets and items of clothing to distribute to the homeless As the colder months started to kick in just before Christmas, some of the homeless people started requesting blankets and clothingitems in order to help keep them warm during the winter months. In order to support these requests, some of the enthusiastic volunteers took on the responsibility of creating a Just Giving page to help raise funds to buy them some warm blankets, jackets, jumpers and gloves. The Just Giving page was created around mid-December and was shared and made viral throughout the community via social media. Just Giving page: https://www.justgiving.com/ crowdfunding/foodforlife10 The team were able to raise ÂŁ854 and used that money to purchase over 200 small blankets, 50 large warm blankets, tens of jackets, jumpers, gloves and hand sanitisers. All these items were swiftly distributed within weeks of being purchased. The homeless people were needless to say very pleased.
Food For Life
fundraising for a new van Over the last six months or so, the team observed that the Food for Life van was tragically coming to the end of its life and the issues with it were becoming increasingly problematic. One of the volunteers, Rajiv Nandha, suggested raising money for a new van with onsite cooking facilities which would ensure the team would not only have a new van but also one where prasadam could be cooked and served whilst it is still hot. Additionally, this van could be utilised as a multipurpose vehicle for various special occasions. In order to implement this idea, a donation campaign was set upon Facebook whereby people could donate directly via this medium. The donation page emphasised that the current Food for Life vehicle had come to the end of its life and urgently needed to be replaced in order to keep the service going. Link: https://www.facebook.com donate/280216736020068/10157396713870649/ Shortly after this donation page was created, a fundraising team consisting of many Food for Life volunteers was established in order to help share and execute ideas and initiatives to raise more funds for a new van. The fundraising target was set at ÂŁ15,000 and it was shortly observed that the donation page on its own would not suffice to reach this goal.
Other ideas brought forward and in the process of implementation include sponsored walks/ runs, a promotional video, posters for marketing, bake sales, applications for grants, and media involvement in order to help publicise the cause. The team anticipate that all these initiatives will fully come into fruition in the next two to three months and will help to achieve the goal for a new van. Leading this fundraising project are Rajiv Nandha and Tina Savani. Food for Life Coordinator, Acyuta Charan dasa, is overlooking the project. The team are due to have a Food for Life sanga on Thursday 31st January at ISKCON-London to specifically discuss the fundraising ideas and to construct a project plan with assigned roles and time plans. Devotees with different expertise such as film making, graphic design and art have also agreed to come on board in order to help materialise the project. The team has managed to raise approximately ÂŁ3,300 to date but still have a long way to go.
If you are inspired to contribute, please visit: https://www.facebook.com/donate/280216736020068/ https://www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/tina-savani
govinda’s restaurant Some feedback from our happy customers who visited Govinda’s Restaurant over November and December. “After some long meetings, what better than grabbing lunch at Govinda’s! If you haven’t tried this place, then I’d definitely recommend it!” Jagannatha Kirtanananda dasa “Lovely staff and nice food.’’ Nina Pancholi
“When you are hungry, it’s the best place to come. Yum yum!’’ Lax Jeshani
“Very positive atmosphere! Good vibes and the food was just fantastic! Will be back.’’ Magdalena Wis
harinama
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Harinam
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london college of vedic studies In november and december, the following courses took place: Saturday 17th November: Akhandadhi dasa delivered a fascinating seminar on “The Atma Paradigm”, linking science to our consciousness Monday19th November to Saturday 24th November: Ayurvedic specialist, Tribhanga dasa, facilitated a repeat workshop on “Ayurveda: The Science of Holistic Wellbeing” as well as holding private consultations The“ISKCON Disciples Course”, facilitated by Jai Nitai dasa, was completed Sankirtan devotees received valuable inspiration on book distribution from Visvambhara dasa just before the Srila Prabhupada Book Marathon in December.
Student Testimonials «I recently attended the seminar on Ayurveda at the London College of Vedic Studies. Before I went, I had only a basic knowledge at best of the subject and was worried that the seminar might be beyond my understanding. What I found instead was a talk that was aimed at all levels, in language that everyone could understand and a teacher who was willing to spend as much time as needed answering all kinds of questions on the subject. The topics discussed were really interesting and relevant and could easily be applied to my daily life. Lots of people were interested in further Ayurveda seminars and workshops and I will definitely be attending any courses on the subject that are held in the future.» - Channah
Other College of Vedic Studies events in London
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ollege of Vedic Studies has other local arms across the UK. We have included below an event taking place in East London by College of Vedic Studies Redbridge. Address: Avanti Court, Carlton Drive, Ilford IG6 1LU (nearest station is Barkingside - Central line) Contact number: 07931 775 106
Subscribe to the London College of Vedic Studies newsletter: www.iskcon.london/lcvs/signup Like the London College of Vedic Studies Facebook page: www.facebook.com/londoncvs Follow the London College of Vedic Studies Instagram page: www.instagram.com/londoncvs
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outreach Ladies Sanga In the months of November and December, Ladies Sanga offered a variety of sessions. SESSIONS IN NOVEMBER:
SESSIONS IN DECEMBER:
On Thursday 15th November: Jaga Mohini devi dasi led the session. The topic was on the glories of Srila Prabhupada
On Thursday 27th December: The year-end session was celebrated with a three-hour kirtan mela! The group also celebrated Narada’s birthday – they exchanged gifts and everyone was treated to pizzas, cakes and sweets. The chanting during the evening was dedicated to Narada’s father, Luis, who left his body the previous day.
On Thursday 22nd November: Two new comers joined the session. The group went to the Temple Room to offer the last lamp of the Kartik month to the Deities. Following dinner, the sanga continued with a fun-filled kirtan
Ladies Sanga takes place every Thursday evening in the Seminar Room. All ladies welcome. 27
radha’s boutique Radha’s Boutique is now on Instagram! Since Radha’s Boutique published its Instagram page in November 2018, it has been receiving positive response from its followers. The team’s mission is to provide followers with everything they need to practice spirituality – books, meditation kits, music, incense sticks, cookbooks and much more! To follow the page on Instagram, login to www.instagram.com, search for “radhasboutiquelondon” and click “Follow”. Or simply visit this link: https://www.instagram.com/radhasboutiquelondon/
regional Closing of ISKCON Closet Krishna charity shop
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t the end of December, the ISKCON Closet Krishna charity shop in Rochester was closed. Unfortunately, after almost five years, it was not viable to continue financially.
However, Rochester was and continues to be ripe for outreach and many people are responsive. Based on this success, regular meetings will continue at the new Hindu centre in Gravesend as well as home sangas. We thank Mukunda Kishore dasa, Nandini Rasika devi dasi, Anne and Claire who spearheaded, looked after and ran the shop over the last five years.
Final meeting at Closet Krishna in December 28
RUSSIAN VEDIC SOCIETY T
he Russian Vedic Society warmly concluded 2018 in creative association with many devotees and a wider community, and a festive season spark.
On Wednesday 14th November, Premananda Gaura dasa gathered a “nama-hatta” where Prabhavishnu dasa spoke about the pastimes of Lord Caitanya. For the second year in a row, Russian Vedic Society hosted a festive season performance targeted at the families of the wider Russian community in London. The interactive performance called “The Yogic Tales”, which took place on Saturday 15th December, was scripted and staged by the Russian Project “Shkola Zhizni” in collaboration with the Russian Vedic Society. On Sunday 23rd December, Russian Vedic Society gathered to celebrate Gita Jayanti with a recitation of Bhagavad-Gita As It Is as an offering to Lord Krishna.
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sankirtan
Many devotees participated in the December Srila Prabhupada Book Marathon, which was themed “The Only Shelter�
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Sankirtan
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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
community@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
@iskconlondon /iskconlondon