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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Community Development Team
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Deity Department
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Festivals
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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
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Sankirtan
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Spiritual Mentorship System
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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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Temple President’s Activities
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Community development team Annual Volunteers Dinner 2018
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The Inner Gardener – Growing our creeper of devotional service Saturday 22nd September 2018
n Saturday 22nd September, ISKCON-London’s Annual Volunteers Dinner took place at Conway Hall. It coincided with Bhaktivinoda Thakur’s Appearance Day. The theme was “The Inner Gardener: Growing our creeper of devotional service”. As guests entered, they were treated to welcome snacks and refreshments. The stage show included: • A beautiful rendition of two Bhaktivinoda Thakur bhajans, led by Gopibhava devi dasi and Shyam dasa • A moving drama which fitted the theme of the event, directed by Syamananda dasa • An interactive meditation and exercise on growing our devotional creeper, facilitated by Syamananda dasa, which resulted in attendees building a tree of prayers on one of the walls. These prayers, written on paper leaves, were offered to Their Lordships on the altar the next day to invoke Their blessings • An ecstatic kirtan that got everyone dancing This was followed by a sumptuous South Indian feast.
Volunteers were gifted with a set of two books containing a selection of Srimad Bhagavatam verses from Cantos 1 to 12 presented in a beautiful box adorning a picture of Sri Sri Radha-Londonisvara and a personal message.
Some feedback from attendees: “Great interactive session, chance to network with volunteers, great drama” “This kind of programme should happen again and again to boost up our devotional life” “Enjoyed every second, minute and hour of everything. Well done to all the devotees who worked behind the scenes for this event” “Whole programme was outstanding, drama was excellent…The event was excellent. I feel grateful and honoured to be part of this sanga”
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Community Development Team
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deity department pujari sanga
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n Tuesday 11th September, Murli Manohara dasa, Head Pujari, organised a Pujari Sanga. The topic was “Bhoga Offerings”. There was an insightful presentation and discussion was on why we offer bhoga, how do we know if Krishna accepts our offering, and how to offer bhoga on the altar.
An enchanting Sharad Purnima festival leaves devotees mesmerised in London ISKCON-London Communications
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n the evening of 24th October, devotees from across London gathered at the Radha-Krishna Temple in Central London to celebrate Sharad Purnima, the beautiful full moon night of the autumn season. Sharad Purnima, which takes place on the eve of the month of Kartik, commemorates Lord Krishna performing a beautiful dance called Rasa Lila with His dearmost devotees, the gopis – the cowherd damsels of Vrindavana.
The evening started with a talk on observing the auspicious month of Kartik by resident monk, Dayal Mora dasa. Visiting kirtaneer from ISKCON Leicester, Caitanya Cintamani devi dasi, then led Damodarastakam prayers, followed by beautiful kirtans led by various kirtaneers which created much anticipation in the lead-up to the special, candle-lit 9.00pm evening darshan of Their Lordships. As the curtains opened, devotees relished a breathtaking night darshan of the presiding deities, Sri Sri Radha-Londonisvara, Sri Sri Jagannatha, Baladeva and Subhadra Devi, Sri Giri-Govardhana and Sri Sri GauraNitai. They were offered an elegant and gorgeous new outfit designed by community member, Vamsivata dasa.
Adorned with fresh flower garlands and glittering ornaments, to accentuate the darshan, Sri Sri RadhaLondonisvara were also joined by four of Their prominent gopis, painted by Vamsivata dasa. The altar was completely lit with ghee lamps and decorated with flowers bringing an ambience of the starlit, full moon night of Vrindavana to London. The enchanting atmosphere was surcharged with melodious kirtans as devotees were absorbed in this special darshan of the first large marble Radha Krishna deities in ISKCON, personally installed by Srila Prabhupada himself in 1969. Behind the scenes Vamsivata dasa, who designed the new deity outfit, graduated in BA Fine Arts at the University of the Arts London in 2015. He has been serving at ISKCONLondon since 2012, engaged in various services in the Deity Department including using his artistic ability in making opulent garlands, outfit design and painting. Earlier this year, he joined the men’s ashram. He takes us behind the scenes of the festival preparations. Where did the inspiration to offer a new outfit on Sharad Purnima come from? Murli Manohara dasa, Head Pujari, and Anantacarya dasa, chief organiser of the Sharad Purnima festival at ISKCON-London, had expressed their desire for a new outfit specially made for this occasion. Work on this outfit – according to the very first sketches I made – began in February 2017.
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Deity Department In order to bring more devotees into service of Their Lordships and due to the intricacy of the work required on this outfit, Murli Manohara dasa had the inspiration to open up the outfit for sponsorship. A sponsorship campaign was arranged by Devaki devi dasi who serves in the Deity Department and devotees from the community were really eager to be part of this offering. Finally, in March 2018, the design was taken to the Mayapur Divine Threads outfit workshop – a project of the ISKCON Deity Worship Ministry. Normally all the outfits are made in Vrindavana but this was the first outfit that was made in Mayapur which meant that any profits would go directly back into ISKCON to help fund the Deity Worship Ministry. It was really wonderful to work with them! Ananda-lila devi dasi, who is in charge of the workshop, was very committed to providing the best for Their Lordships. I was so pleased with the work they produced. I felt so grateful and humbled – this could only be the Lord’s mercy.
Purnima outfits are traditionally and predominantly white. I wanted to continue this tradition. Whatever colour and design I added therefore had to be subtle and dainty. The outfit had to sparkle. The Sharad Purnima darshan we do at ISKCON-London is very unique in that the whole altar is only lit by traditional ghee lamps. A sparkling outfit lit by natural light is very enchanting and poetic. With this in mind, we felt inspired to incorporate Swarovski crystals in the outfit! The goal of deity worship is for us to understand that Lord Krishna is a person. My meditation therefore was “how do I make something that will be pleasing for Their Lordships to wear?” Our prime concern is that whatever we do is for Their pleasure and what we relish afterwards is Their prasadam. We try our utmost best to please Lord Krishna’s senses – hrsikena hrsikesa sevanam bhaktir ucyate – and offer Him an outfit befitting His glory. And the beautiful darshan we all relish afterwards is His mercy, His prasadam. Whilst I sketched, painted and researched, I had this one image in my mind: Sri Sri Radha-Londonisvara are holding the outfit in Their lotus hands and looking at every part of it. I had heard from my spiritual mentors that attention to detail is a sign of affection in devotional service. I definitely didn’t have affection but the least I could do is try my best to be attentive to the details. What was the inspiration behind the outfit? The inspiration behind the outfit is the lotus-shaped realm of Vraja. The Yamuna river. The magnificent full moon. The rasa dance arena. Sri Sri RadhaLondonisvara are the Divine Couple of Vraja, the heart of the rasa dance, the King and Queen of the resplendent groves of Vraja, the Absolute Truth.
Tell us a bit about the journey you went through to design the outfit Design is very much informed by the mood we wish to create. As such, design is not simply a matter of putting pencil to paper. It is a meditation. In a small attempt to glorify our dear Sri Sri Radha-Londonisvara, the glory of Their mercy and what They invoke in our hearts, I hope to share here what that meditation was.
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I hoped to be able to convey the sweetness of Vraja, whilst also maintaining a sense of elegance and royalty, which is so unique to Sri Sri RadhaLondonisvara – the Lord and Lady of London! They are so elegant and royal, have such poise and grace. What great fortune we have! By Srila Prabhupada’s grace, we get to serve the Supreme Lord and His divine consort. Srila Prabhupada has said that each and every one of our temples is the spiritual world and all we need is the right consciousness to have such vision. In other words, the Sharad Purnima darshan
Deity Department is not merely a way of commemorating something that has happened in a far distant past. It is the honouring and celebration of an eternal pastime of Sri Sri Radha-Londonisvara that is actually taking place in the present. In fact, they are beckoning us to come and join Them in Their eternal pleasure dance. In the purport to Nitai Pada Kamala bhajan, Srila Prabhupada says, “The aim of this Krishna Consciousness movement is to enable us to approach Radha-Krishna and associate with the Supreme Lord in His sublime pleasure dance.”
And although unforeseen circumstances came up and plans changed up until the last minute, the mood was to offer something nice for Their Lordships no matter what. Satya Narayan dasa and Madhvi devi dasi, two very senior and loving devotees in our community, were instrumental in the setting up. Always having a cool head, practical, focused and always eager to serve, they were steadiness personified.
And how do we do that? In the purport to the Gauranga Bolite Habe bhajan, Srila Prabhupada clarifies, “Simply by appreciating Lord Caitanya’s movement one can immediately enter into or understand Radha-Krishna’s eternal pastimes.”
What great fortune we have! By Srila Prabhupada’s grace, we can offer to Sri Sri Radha Krishna nice outfits, we can offer Them enchanting decorations, garlands and beautiful kirtan of Their holy names on the occasion of Their Saradiya Rasayatra.
What were your reflections on the darshan?
About Mayapur Divine Threads: Mayapur Divine Threads, a project of the ISKCON Deity Worship Ministry, make custom-madedeity dresses and paraphernalia. Located on the campus of ISKCON Mayapur, the team of devotees and workers are dedicated to providing the best custom-made devotional items for Temple and home deities. Unique in that they are not a private business, proceeds stay within ISKCON and benefits Srila Prabhupada and his mission. See website for more details: https://www.mayapurdivinethreads.com/
And not to forget our dear Head Pujari, Murli Manohara dasa, who encourages us to always offer our best to Sri Sri Radha-Londonisvara.
Drooping strands of fresh flowers complementing the flowery vines on the backdrop, the crystal humming birds flying overhead, glittering in the moonlight, the hanging ghee lamps, painted gopis who surround the Divine Couple in different dancing poses, and (not to miss!) the iridescent pink bird perched on Sri Radha’s hand – all of these elements seemed to expand from this very beautiful quote from one of HH Sivarama Swami’s books: “Sri Krishna is the supreme deity of rasa and Radhika is the supreme goddess of love.Together, Radha Krishna are the worshipped and all the gopis of Vraja are Their worshippers.” Devaki devi dasi and Anantacarya dasa were two of the main persons behind the decorations. With enthusiasm and determination that I can only marvel at, they gave their whole hearts to this darshan. Months before Sharad Purnima, we discussed and planned.
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festivals Janmastami Monday 3rd September
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Festivals
Srila Prabhupada Vyasa Puja Tuesday 4th September
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Festivals
radhastami Monday 17th September
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govinda’s restaurant O
n Tuesday 16th October, Murali Sharma, Bollywood actor, and his wife Ashwini Kalsekar, Indian TV show actress, visited Govinda’s Restaurant. They were served prasadam and a Govinda’s staff member gifted them a copy of the Bhagavad-Gita and Chant and be Happy books.
harinama
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Harinam
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london college of vedic studies In september and october, the following courses took place: Friday 7th September: Murli Manohara dasa delivered an intriguing seminar on “24 Gurus” Sunday 9th September: Visiting speaker, Raghunatha dasa, provided valuable insights on how to choose a healthy diet and lifestyle for overall wellbeing in the course, “A Healthy Diet for a Healthier Lifestyle” Saturday 22nd September: Visiting guest, Devaki devi dasi, Founder of the Institute for Spiritual Culture in Sridhama Mayapur, India, provided valuable insights on male - female natures and relationships, along with practical tips on how to improve our interactions with the opposite gender in the course, “Being in Harmony with the Opposite Gender” Saturday 13th October and 20th October: Murli Manohara dasa led a two-day workshop on “Home Deity Worship”, teaching the practices, rituals and values of carrying out deity worship at home Saturday 27th October, 3rd November and 10th November: Jai Nitai dasa started the first of a threepart “ISKCON Disciples Course”
Student Testimonials I had the opportunity to participate in a seminar about marriage and relationships. I have attended many seminars on this topic but this seminar was so well-structured that I was attentive until the very end! The seminar was very interactive and we could ask questions straight away. The speakers were very knowledgeable and gave excellent insights and guidance on creating and sustaining a happy married life. - Emily Recently attended “A Healthy Diet for a Healthier Lifestyle” seminar – cannot fault it at all! I felt so nourished by the seminar, never heard anyone explain things like this speaker had done. He’s the first person to have inspired me to make permanent changes to my diet. The course was well-organised, professional and there was a lovely spiritual environment during the seminar. Will be attending more! - Sharan 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 September and October, Ladies Sanga offered a variety of sessions. SESSIONS IN SEPTEMBER:
SESSIONS IN OCTOBER:
On Thursday 6th September, Narada, Ladies Sanga Co-ordinator, led Bhagavad-Gita reading and discussion. There were a few newcomers who joined the session
On Thursday 4th October, Ladies Sanga had a night out at Healthy Wealthy devotee restaurant. Although it was a small gathering, the ladies had fun and they also bid farewell to Sowmya who had become a regular attendee of the sanga but is returning to India
On Thursday 13th September, Ladies Sanga had a very enjoyable session with Sarasvati devi dasi who shared her journey on becoming a devotee. The sanga also included discussion on Srimati Radharani in honour of Radhastami. After prasadam, there was more kirtan On Thursday 20th September, the team invited Ragalekha devi dasi as their guest speaker who shared her experience of motherhood in Krishna Consciousness On Thursday 27th September, Hanel spoke about “Fearlessness in Krishna Consciousness”. Newcomers to the session asked many curious questions with the desire to understand more about Krishna Consciousness
On Thursday 18th October, Jaga Mohini devi dasi shared anecdotes from her two month-long services to Malati devi dasi, Srila Prabhupada disciple, in the US, and from her meetings with other Srila Prabhupada disciples On Friday 19th October, Ladies Sanga organised an altar service to Sri Sri Gaura-Nitai and Keli Vrindavan devi dasi’s Giriraja shila. Copies of ISKCON Osaka’s album, Mantra Meditation, were also available (https://iskconosaka.bandcamp.com/releases) – Narada helped with the sound mixes for the album and Keli Vrindavan devi dasi supported the project. On Thursday 25th October, Ladies Sanga entered the month of Kartik by discussing the sweet pastimes of Lord Damodara. Kancana-beli devi dasi, guest speaker for the session, introduced the Damodarastakam prayers to attendees. This was followed by Gaura Arati and the offering of ghee candles
Ladies Sanga takes place every Thursday evening in the Seminar Room. All ladies welcome. 21
radha’s boutique
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regional ISKCON Canterbury On Monday 24th September, devotees based in and around Canterbury distributed an impressive 2,700 books in two days to students at the University of Kent’s Fresher’s Fair. Around 4,000 invitations to local programmes and 400 prasadam lollipops were also distributed. 10 students were inspired to take part in the book and prasadam distribution and they all had lots of fun whilst serving in a mood of co-operation. It was also inspiring to see people queuing at the stall to receive Srila Prabhupada’s books. The team packed up earlier than anticipated as they ran out of books! The team have already made a target to distribute 5,000 books next year! The following Monday, devotees organised their first university programme of the year facilitated by Temple brahmacari, Dayal Mora dasa. 30 people attended and 60 people honoured prasadam.
RUSSIAN VEDIC SOCIETY Every Sunday, members of the Russian Vedic Society gather together to study their favourite Vedic scriptures. Texts from the Bhagavad-Gita and The Science of Self-Realisation were the focus of their discussions over the last couple of months. On Sunday 28th October, the Russian Vedic Society devotees helped to cook the Sunday Feast. Liutauras and his team of experienced assistants served all those who came to honour the Sunday Feast prasadam.
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sankirtan
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spiritual mentorship system Initiation On Saturday 8th September, Thiru Dhayalan, Govinda’s Restaurant Manager, was initiated by HH Maha Vishnu Swami in Brighton. His initiated name is Thirupati Gauranga dasa.
Interview with Bhava Bhakti devi dasi, Spiritual Mentorship System Coordinator, on what exactly happens in a Mentee Meeting Hare Krishna. Can you tell us a bit about what happens in a Mentee Meeting? Sure. The format is supposed to be standard across the board so some kirtan, reading/discussion taken from Srila Prabhupada’s books followed by prasadam is the basic agenda that all mentors should follow. However, how each mentor chooses to deliver that basic agenda is up to them. Personally, I like to keep it light but some profound philosophical aspect as the core so it is not all fun and games, if that makes sense!
Do mentees have to do homework? I don’t ask my mentees to do homework but some mentors do ask their mentees to learn slokas. At times, I assign a topic and one of the mentees prepares a talk and presents at the next meeting. Usually it is just me giving the talk because I talk a lot (!) but I do mix it up sometimes too.
personal desire and not forced and scary. Krishna Consciousness is like coming back to the loving embrace of a dear friend. We all cherish that warmth and tight hug of a friend – that is the impression I want mentees to have of Krishna Consciousness… well I try anyway!
Do you cook for your meetings too? Yes, I cook for my Mentee Meetings as well as my husband’s (Jai Nitai dasa) Mentee Meetings too. I always ask for attendance numbers a few days in advance so I can shop and plan the menu accordingly. I like to try new dishes where possible so it is not always the same items each meeting. Some devotees are gluten or dairy intolerant so I cater for them too. It is a nice feeling to cook and serve the devotees – such a sweet loving exchange.
What if someone does not want to sing or talk? I personally have a rule that no-one is forced to do anything in the meetings that they do not feel comfortable doing, except submit sadhana charts and honour prasadam. The former can be difficult to digest for some but the latter always goes down rather well with everyone! In terms of singing, I always select a singer before the meeting. For me, it must be a natural and
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What do you like about Mentee Meetings? I like all aspects really – the planning of the meetings, creating a menu, seeing the devotees on the day, and always making jokes and laughing together. And then waving them all off at the end of the meeting…I like it all [laughs]!
What challenges do you face?
How often do you meet? All mentors are supposed to arrange mentee meetings twice a month. I meet my ladies’ group on a Friday at 6.00pm. My husband meets his men’s group on a Wednesday at 6.00pm and our joint married couples group meets once a month on a Tuesday at 7.00pm. When the Tuesday meeting falls in the same week as the Wednesday and Friday meeting, then I tend to just merge into some sort of cooking zone – with lists and names and dishes that will be made for all three meetings that week!
Hmmm…I would say it can get challenging when you must chase mentees for a response as to whether they will attend or not – that can be a bit frustrating but to be fair that does not happen often so not something that puts me off the service in anyway. I’m humbled that devotees continue to regularly come to meetings month after month and year after year so I strive to make them as fun and informative as possible. Life is tough – work, home life, society etc. I want my Mentee Meetings to offer some unmotivated happiness amongst it all to set them up until we meet again! You also have to make sure everyone is on the same page when preaching but realistically not everyone is at the same rung of the ladder so preparing a talk and facilitating a group discussion based on this diversity can be a challenge but I see it as a good challenge as it makes me have to study and be conversant with the philosophy more. Overall, I feel Mentee Meetings are an important aspect of sadhu sanga and creating strong spiritual friendships and bonds. It is so rewarding as a mentor to see mentees become close friends outside of the meetings and see them wanting to serve together or travel to retreats together. This is what Krishna Consciousness is all about – loving, caring relationships centred on Sri Sri Radha-Londonisvara.
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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
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