Bhakti Vriksha groups gather from across north-west London During the first week of October Bhakti Vriksha groups came together for their first Vyuha event post lockdown, at Bhaktivedanta Manor’s Haveli. Around 110 devotees attended in person from across north-west London and 40 online to celebrate their members’ journey and appreciate their commitment to Srila Prabhupada and Bhaktivedanta Manor. Amongst other activities, each group was given 10 minutes to put on a performance which included kirtan, drama, children singing, presentation on essence of Bhagavad Gita and recitation of selected verses from Bhagavad Gita. One of the highlights of the event was...

Krishna Conscious Societies at the Freshers Krishna Conscious Societies (KCSOC) has been in contact with thousands of university students around the country at Freshers’ Fayres – an event where university societies erect stalls to promote themselves to new and returning students. KCSOC stands for Krishna Consciousness Society and is the university preaching arm of the Bhaktivedanta Manor youth group Pandava Sena. With societies at over 30 different universities across the country and hundreds of active members, KCSOC has been responsible for bringing Krishna Consciousness to the lives of thousands. At our stalls, we’ve managed to talk to students about deeper...

Team members of the Food For All charity were invited to meet with the Lord Mayor of the City of London William Russell, at his official residence the Mansion House, to receive the Queen’s Award for Voluntary Service. Equivalent to an MBE, the QAVS is the highest award given to local voluntary groups in the UK.  Food For All volunteers were told back in June that they would receive the accolade for “preparing and sharing free, hot, nutritious meals with those who would otherwise go hungry.” The prasadam distribution non-profit has delivered about 1.5 million meals to those in need...

By Narahari Rupa das, Bhaktivedanta Manor’s Head Gardiner: Although the garden staff are busy keeping Bhaktivedanta Manor gardens in top shape all year round, summer time is especially wonderful. This year in particular, it has been a real pleasure to see guests return, and enjoy walking around the gardens and finding peaceful spots to connect spiritually and chant Japa.  As the UK came out of lockdown we were able to invite our volunteers back, and we had many fun seva days, tidying up various areas around the Manor grounds. We are thankful to the wonderful members of the community who...

On Radhastami, the birth of Srimati Radharani devotees who attended the morning program both physical and online witnessed an enchanting pastime of Radha and Krishna’s loving exchange. The drama was based on Srila Raghunath dasa Goswami’s “The Pearl Pastime”. Devotees stated how they very much enjoyed the sweet pastime and got in the mood of the festival. The skit was organised by Jaya Krsna das who wants to try and make children perform on all special days in the Vaishnava calendar. As is respectful and appropriate, all of the forms of Radha and Krishna on the cakes offered on the...

50th Anniversary of George Harrison’s My Sweet Lord It is now 50 years since George Harrison’s most successful solo single, My Sweet Lord, was released in the UK. The hit was essential in popularizing the Hare Krishna Maha Mantra into the mainstream. BBC Radio 4’s Sunday Programme host, Vishva Samani, spoke to Shyamasundar Das, the devotee who first introduced the Beatles to the philosophy of Krishna Consciousness and enabled it to find a place on George Harrison’s biggest hit. From BBC Radio 4 interview: “George Harrison wanted to know the absolute, no half measures… he wanted it all,” recalls 79-year-old Shyamasundar...

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi releases a special coin to commemorative the life of Srila Prabhupada 1st September 2021, New Delhi: The Honourable Prime Minister of India Shri Narendra Modi inaugurated the 125th Birth Anniversary of ISKCON’s Founder Srila A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada and released a Rs 125 Commemorative Coin in his honour via video conferencing.  Speaking in the presence of 600 ISKCON temples and devotees from more than 60 countries, Modi praised Srila Prabhupada’s tireless effort to share the teachings of Lord Krishna, Bhagavad Gita and the Indian culture with the world.  His message was screened live at Bhaktivedanta...

The Manor’ charity wing The Lotus Trust raises £185,000 to help Covid victims in India Earlier this year India experienced an enormous spike in COVID 19 cases and deaths. The Lotus Trust, the welfare arm of Bhaktivedanta Manor  has been working with the ISKCON Temple in Delhi. The money raised by Lotus trust allowed a university premise to be converted into a COVID nursing care center and provided the COVID care facilities free of cost to all comers. – Dr Sanjiv Agarwal (Sundaranand das) a consultant Urologist at Imperial College and Director of the Lotus Trust said “With donations received, they have treated about 1800 patients in over an hundreds beds and the...