Siva Ratri Celebrations this Sunday!

This Sunday, February 14, 2009, Toronto's Hare Krishna Temple will be celebrating Siva Ratri.

Siva Ratri literally translates as “the Night of Lord Siva,” the actual date of Siva Ratri is Friday, February 12. Lord Siva is described as the “the greatest Vaishnava (devotee of Lord Krishna)." As such this week's Sunday "Love" Feast will be dedicated to honouring Lord Siva.

The tentative schedule (subject to change) is as follows:

6:00pm to 6:30pm - Arati
6:30pm to 6:40pm - Welcome and Announcements
6:40pm to 7:30pm - Class about Lord Siva by Rupanuga das
7:30pm to 7:50pm - Abhisheka (bathing ceremony) for Lord Siva
7:45pm to 8:00pm - Arati for Lord Siva
8:00pm to 8:30pm - Arati
8:30pm - Vegetarian Feast (Prasadam)

A Visit to Hamilton's Hindu Samaj Temple

On Sunday, February 7th, 2010, the Hare Krishna temple's kirtan-yoga band, Gaura-Shakti was invited to lead kirtan at the Hamilton Hindu Samaj Temple during their weekly Sunday program. With instruments in tow, the group trekked down the QEW and found a community of devotees that not only opened their temple, but also their hearts to the sweet sounds of Krishna-kirtan. Check out this video of Gaura-Shakti opening their Sunday program by chanting Narasimha-Pranama (prayers to Lord Narasimhadeva).

Deity Darshan: Sunday February 7, 2010

Sunday Feast Recordings - February 7, 2010

The Sunday Feast recording can be viewed by clicking the image below. As a reminder, the recordings from our weekly live web broadcasts are stored on our ISKCON Toronto Video Archive Blog.

Bon Voyage to Our Dearest Ajamila das!

If Toronto's Hare Krishna Centre is known for one thing, it's the thumping sounds of kirtan that seemingly pour from the windows and doors of our beautiful building.

Over the last 20 years, Toronto's foremost kirtan "songbird" has been our dear Ajamila das! Be it his sweet bhajans or midnight kirtans on festivals like Janmastami (Lord Krishna's birthday), his inimitable style has made Toronto kirtans famous around the world!

It is with heavy hearts that we announce that Ajamila prabhu will be heading to India for almost a year! He may return for a visit or two, but we would like to wish him a fond farewell. As a special treat, Ajamila das will be leading both the 6pm and 8pm aratis tomorrow during the Sunday "Love" Feast. Make sure you're there!

Special Sunday Feast with Kratu das

This Sunday, Kratu das, a special guest will be speaking at our weekly Sunday "Love" Feast. Kratu das joined the Hare Krishna movement in 1970. It was right here in Toronto, in 1976, that he met Srila Prabhupada, and took initiation from him.

Since then, he has been traveling extensively around the world and sharing his realizations about bhakti-yoga. This Sunday, he will be giving the class at our Sunday Feast. We encourage you to come out to hear from Kratu das at the Sunday Feast!

Toronto's Sankirtan Success-Story Continues!

Earlier this year, we shared the amazing Toronto Sankirtan Story with our blog readers. "Sankirtan" is the art of sharing one's bhakti (Krishna consciousness) by hitting the streets and being friendly ambassadors of goodwill by sharing books, cookies and a smile! It was by the inspiration of Vaisesika das, that Toronto saw a sankirtan-explosion!

Recently, the World Sankirtan Newsletter (WSN) featured scores from Hare Krishna Centres all around the world from 2009. We are please to share that, for the first time since the inception of WSN in 1982, ISKCON Toronto crossed the 10,000 book-point mark, becoming the only Canadian temple to make it to the Top 10 in North America.

Furthermore, for just the month of December, wherein temples around the world have "December Book Marathons", we earned 3,575 book-points, a whopping 541% increase from last year, securing the top position in Canada and 4th amongst all North American Temples!

We like to thank you all for being a part of this and helping us share bhakti and becoming friendly ambassadors of goodwill!

Flashback Photo Time Again!

We recently found a whole slew of old photos from the early days in Toronto on Facebook, courtesy of Ugresa das! So we couldn't resist the urge to grab one and post another flashback photo. Can you see any recognizable faces in this photo from this picture? There are two devotees here who you will always see around our temple!

Appearance Anniversary of Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Thakura

Wednesday, February 3rd, marks the appearance anniversary of Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Thakura, one of the foremost teachers of bhakti in the Hare Krishna tradition. On this day we fast till noon in his honour.

Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Thakura (1874–1936), is the spiritual master of A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada. He was extremely intelligent and excelled in math, astronomy, Sanskrit, and other languages. The University of Calcutta offered him a chair, but he declined so that he could dedicate his life to continuing the spiritual work of his father, Bhaktivinoda Thakura. Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati met with scholars, educators, and other leaders. He established 64 temples and wrote more than 108 essays and books, striving to present Bhakti as a theistic science.

He asked his disciple A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada to go to the West to teach Krishna consciousness. Srila Prabhupada went to New York in 1965 and carried on his spiritual master’s mission on a grand scale through the International Society of Krishna Consciousness.

Food for Life Hits the Streets!

With big smiles and warm coats, enthusiastic devotees hit the streets to distribute both hot vegetarian meals and the sweet sounds of kirtan to the homeless of the city. The first monthly Food for Life program of 2010 welcomed many new faces. Check out some of the highlights below.

Sunday Feast Recordings - January 31, 2010

The Sunday Feast recording can be viewed by clicking the image below. As a reminder, the recordings from our weekly live web broadcasts are stored on our ISKCON Toronto Video Archive Blog.