Deity Darshan: May 31, 2009

Srimad Bhagavatam Recording - May 31, 2009

The recording of the Srimad Bhagavatam class by HG Vaisesika das can be found by clicking the image below. The next live broadcast will be at the Sunday Feast with the lecture given by HG Vaisesika das.

As a reminder, the recordings from our weekly Sunday live web broadcasts are stored on our ISKCON Toronto Video Archive Blog. We hope to have more recordings of seminars and workshops in the future!

Sankirtan Seminar Recording - May 29, 2009

The recording of the Sankirtan Seminar conducted by HG Vaisesika das can be found by clicking the image below.

As a reminder, the recordings from our weekly Sunday live web broadcasts are stored on our ISKCON Toronto Video Archive Blog. We hope to have more recordings of seminars and workshops in the future!

Seminar with Vaisesika das - LIVE!

As a special treat, the Sankirtan Seminar with HG Vaisesika das will be streamed live on our blog. Simply log onto the blog on Friday, May 29, from 6:30pm to 9:00pm and Saturday May 30, from 7:45am to 9:00am to virtually attend the course.

Of course, we encourage you to come out and attend the course in person to gain the full benefit of group work, on-field book distribution and more!

Festival of India Volunteer Opportunites!

The 37th Annual Festival of India (Ratha-Yatra) is fast approaching! This grand festival provides countless opportunities to serve Lord Jagannatha (Lord Krishna)!  Click here to find out more about volunteer opportunities and to sign up online to help make this festival a huge sucess!  Please enjoy the following quote by Srila Prabhupada:

"Krishna is so very merciful to those who are very humble in their attitude engaged in the service of the Lord. "

(Srila Prabhupada - Letter to Dindayal, February 2, 1970)

Sankirtan Seminar - This Weekend!!!

"The Sankirtana devotees are very dear to Lord Krishna. Because they are doing the field work of book distribution, Krishna has immediately recognized them as true servants. Just like during war time, a farm boy or ordinary clerk who goes to fight for his country on the front, immediately becomes a national hero for his sincere effort. Similarly, Lord Krishna immediately recognizes a preacher of Krishna Consciousness who takes all risks to deliver His message."
(Srila Prabhupada - Letter to Uttamasloka, December 11, 1975)

Today, our lives are decorated with many amazing jewels – loving devotees, the Holy Name of Krishna and most beautiful Deities.  Not long ago, most of us were just lost on the streets of the busy world, preoccupied with our insignificant problems and heading nowhere fast.  

Then one day, perhaps at the corner of some street, someone approached us with a spiritual gift  that would change our lives for forever.  Like windows to the spiritual world, the transcendental literatures translated by Srila Prabhupada have indeed given spirituality to millions of people around the world. In our endeavors to reciprocate with this most precious gift, we find an unparalleled emphasis on sharing the wealth of Krsna Consciousness through process of sharing this knowledge: book distribution!

Contrary to popular belief, distributing Srila Prabhupada's books is not hard and scary . Through proper training and guidance, it can actually become a fun service!  This weekend is your chance to grab the opportunity to start your own journey in the path of sharing Srila Prabhupada's transcendental books. 

Vaisesika das, a senior disciple of Srila Prabhupada, and a veteran book distributor who has inspired devotees all around the world in creating and sustaining book distribution, is coming to Toronto!  Through classroom lectures and on-field training, Vaisesika das will enlighten, encourage and empower us to become the agents of spiritual change by sharing this timeless knowledge.

So whether you are a seasoned veteran, or just an aspiring book distributor, this seminar is for you! Please come, get inspired and inspire others through your desire to share Krsna Consciousness!

The seminar will take place at the Hare Krishna Temple, from May 29th to 30th with timings as follows:

May 29th, 2009 - 6:30pm to 9:00pm (in-class seminar)

May 30th, 2009 - 7:45am to 2:00pm (hit the streets for practical training)

The seminar will have a small cost of $25 to cover student materials and coursework.  To register for this seminar, please fill out the form below (this is the same registration form as the one in the previous blog post; if you already signed up there, we have your registration)!

Cooking for Krishna - Episode Five

The ISKCON Toronto Blog is happy to present Episode Five of Cooking for Krishna. Cooking for Krishna is a regular video series which shows how to create sumptuous vegetarian items! Once made, these preparations are lovingly offered to Lord Krishna and become "prasadam", or sanctified food!

In this fifth episode, Vrndavana Vinodini devi dasi shows us how to make tantalizing vegetable stir-fry, served with rice!

As always, we hope you enjoy our fifth episode of Cooking for Krishna. Feel free to share your comments with your thoughts, feedback and suggestions for this episode! You can also re-visit Episodes 1, 2, 3 and 4 of Cooking for Krishna where we made Winter Soup, Spring Rolls, Vegan Brownies and Vegetable Cutlets respectively. Hare Krishna!

Flashback Photo - 1988

This photo was taken in 1988 as part of a series for a student documentary on The Hare Krishna Temple. Can you recognise this always-smiling member of our community?  Leave a comment with your guess!  We'll reveal the answer in a few days!

Doors Open... Rather, "Hearts Open" Toronto!

Doors Open Toronto celebrated its 10th anniversary and, for the the fifth straight year, Toronto's Hare Krishna Temple took part in the weekend-long festivities!

One weekend, once a year, Doors Open Toronto involves 175 buildings of architectural, historic, cultural and social significance opening their doors to the public for a city-wide celebration.

The program allows visitors free access to properties that are either not usually open to the public, or would normally charge an entrance fee. Many locations have organized guided tours, displays and activities to enrich the visitor experience.

While Toronto's Hare Krishna Temple is open, free of charge, to the public year-round, Doors Open presented an opportunity for the public to learn about the architectural and historical story of our amazing building!

Over 500 guests visited the temple over two days and were offered guided tours of the building, a glimpse into the Hare Krishna tradition and also a chance to enjoy some vegetarian pakoras! As part of the literature theme that was the focus of Doors Open this year, the Hare Krishna Temple presented the vast array of books that are part of our tradition for the public.

As visitors arrived to the temple, they were greeted by a volunteer and then taken on a tour that covered the history of the building that goes all the way back to 1896!  Some of the highlights of the history of the building include the fact that it was built in two parts, it was almost completely destroyed by a fire in 1944 and the that the Hare Krishnas have called it home since 1976!

What visitors loved about the building was the blending of east and west!  Upon approaching the building from outside, one sees an old Gothic-style church, but once you get inside the building, you are transported to the ancient east!

While Doors Open Toronto presented an opportunity for the public to learn more about the history of our building and the roots of the Hare Krishna tradition, it also presented an opportunity for members of our community to open their hearts and share the magical past and vibrant present of the Hare Krishna movement!

Sunday Feast Recording - May 24th, 2009

We have finally resolved the problem with our Sunday Feast recordings!

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.

Deity Darshan: May 24, 2009

Food for Life in Action!

This past Saturday, devotees from Toronto and Montreal hit the streets to distribute hot vegetarian meals (prasadam) to the homeless of the city.  In typical jubilant Hare Krishna fashion, they sang and danced as well!  Check out the video of the Food for Life program in action!

(Video Courtesy of Tara and Radha Voskoboynik)

A Sunday Feast with a "Québécois Touch"!

A visit from the youth of ISKCON Montreal left devotees at Toronto's weekly Sunday Feast enamoured by the enthusiasm, creativity and warmth of our fellow devotees from "la belle province" (Quebec).  

It all started months ago, in February, when youth from ISKCON Toronto paid a visit to ISKCON Montreal, home of Sri Sri Radha Manohara.  Amazing bonds were made with the youth of Montreal and this weekend presented another opportunity for the youth of Montreal and Toronto to renew acquaintances and forge deeper bonds!

With a packed long weekend full of activities, the Sunday Feast really seemed to captured the mood and spirit of the amazing atmosphere that was present over the course of the weekend.  Beginning with the 6:00pm arati led by Montreal devotees, the Sunday Feast was then turned over to HH Bhaktimarga Swami and HG Brhat Mrdanga das who eloquently spoke about the importance of spiritual knowledge.  Fittingly enough, the next part of the program was the official graduation ceremony for the students of the recently-completed Bhakti Sastri educational program.

The youth of ISKCON Montreal then once again took centre stage and presented a delightful drama entitled, "Hanumana Meets Lord Rama".  The assembled gathering of devotees were thrilled by the performance and erupted into a huge round of applause in appreciation for the Montreal youth!

HH Bhaktimarga Swami then got everyones sweat glands working into overdrive as he led a wild and rocking kirtan that had even the most bashful of devotees stepping lightly and dancing.  Surrounded by the Montreal youth, Maharaj closed the evening with a bang.

For those who may not know, "la belle province" simply translates to mean "the beautiful province", which is a nickname for the province of Quebec.  Devotees who attended Toronto's Sunday Feast surely would agree that this description is even more appropriate as they got a flavour of Montreal's beautiful devotees!

Deity Darshan: May 17, 2009

No Sunday Feast Recording this week!

Due to technical dificulties we were unable to record our live broadcast of the Sunday Feast and so we are unable to post a recording this week. We apologize for any inconvenience.

However, we do have the recording of the morning program with the devotees from Montreal featuring a special Srimad Bhagavatam class by HG Brhat Mrdanga das. Please click here to view the class!

We will resume with live broadcasts and videos with the upcoming Sunday Feasts!

Spend Your Long Weekend with Us!

Whenever there is a long weekend on the calendar, you can almost surely expect three days packed with lots of fun activities at the Hare Krishna Temple! This upcoming weekend carries on this fun tradition and we hope you can join us for some of the many activities scheduled to take place.

The weekend will kick off with a special youth morning program on Saturday, May 16, 2009. All youth are invited to come out for a very sweet and intimate experience at the temple, early in the morning while most of Toronto is still asleep! The youth morning program will be extra special as youth from ISKCON Montreal will be joining us! The morning program consists of arati, japa time, an interactive Srimad Bhagavatam class by HG Brhat Mrdanga das, kirtan, and of course breakfast. The morning program begins early in the morning, at 4:30am!

Saturday will also feature a special food for life initiative! Devotees will gather in the temple in the morning and will cook hot vegetarian meals (prasadam) and then hit the streets to distribute them to the homeless of Toronto. There will also be an exciting harinama (chanting on the streets) taking place afterwards so be ready for some fun!

On Sunday, devotees from ISKCON Toronto as well as the visiting devotees from Montreal will be participating in the 17th Annual Astaprahar: 24-hour non-stop chanting of the maha mantra at the Bharat Sevashram Sangha: 2107 Codlin Crescent (Albion & Steeles) Toronton ON. Phone: (416) 679-0967. The program begins at 9:00am and the kirtan will be kicked off by Bhaktimarga Swami of ISKCON Toronto at 10:00am and will continue till 10:00am on Monday.

This week's Sunday Feast will have some special treats and will feature a class by HG Brhat Mrdanga das, a graduation ceremony for the recently completed Bhakti Sastri program and a special drama being presented by the youth of ISKCON Montreal!

On Monday, Victoria day, all devotees are invited to come out and join the youth for the first Seva day of summer! On Seva days, devotees get together and help clean the temple. The Seva day this Monday will begin at 2 pm. For more information about Seva day, please contact psenatoronto@gmail.com.

So with all that is happening this weekend, a warm and friendly invitation goes out to one and all to spend your long weekend with the Hare Krishna Temple!

Sankirtan Orientation Seminar Coming Soon!

His Grace Vaisesika Dasa, a disciple of His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, based out Bay Area California will be coming to Toronto, New Remuna Dhama at the end of this month, specifically to conduct a fabulous orientation and educational session on how to do effective Book Distribution & Sankirtan.

Vaisesika Prabhu is a well-known champion book distributor for North America and has very kindly agreed to pass those skills onto all the devotees in GTA .

Session includes Presentation, Orientation and On-field Training.  The seminar will start on Friday May 29th (evening) and continue all day on Sat May 30th.  More details to follow.

Space is limited, so please register asap.  You can register by filling out the form below:

A Special "Food For Life" this Saturday!

Please join us this Saturday, May 16th for another ISKCON Toronto Food for Life event. There will be devotees visiting from ISKCON Montreal who will be taking part in the distribution of wonderful, hot vegetarian meals (prasadam).

Here is the official schedule:
11:30am - Cut-up and Cooking
12:30pm - Packaging
1:30pm - Prasadam Distribution + Special HARINAM!
4:00pm - Arrive Back at temple

Looking forward to seeing you this Saturday! if you would like any more information, please feel free to email ffltoronto @ hotmail.com.

No Sunday Feast Recording This Week!

Due to technical dificulties we were unable to record our live broadcast of the Sunday Feast and so we are unable to post a recording this week. We apologize for any inconvenience.
We will resume with live broadcasts and videos with the upcoming Sunday Feasts!

Deity Darshan: May 10, 2009

*Special thanks to Taruni Voskoboynik for this week's pictures

Roaring Celebrations for Lord Nrsimha!

Although falling on a Thursday evening, Nrsimha Caturdasi celebrations at Toronto's Hare Krishna Temple brought over 100 devotees as an evening dazzled with kirtan, class and ancient tradition awaited all.

Nrsimha Caturdasi celebrated the appearance of Lord Nrsimhadeva, Lord Krishna’s half-man and half-lion incarnation.  When King Hiranyakashipu tormented his youngest son Prahlada, a pure devotee of the Lord, Lord Krishna burst out of a palace column as Nrsimhadeva to protect His devotee.

Celebrations at the temple began with a beautiful kirtan led by Yajna Gauranga das and, as devotees arrived, the atmosphere became surcharged with the powerful sounds of kirtan.  Devotees then collectively recited the Nrsimha Kavaca Stotram.

After some brief announcments, the Hare Krishna Temple warmly welcomed HG Brhat Mrdanga das to give class on this very auspicious day.  Devotees were completely immersed in Brhat Mrdanga prabhu's incredible class in which he gave some amazing little-known insights into the story of the appearance of Lord Nrsimhadeva!

From there, our loving pujari department conducted an abhiseka of Lord Nrsimhadeva as kirtan reverberated through the temple.  As the ancient tradional bathing ceremony took place, assembled devotees got the opportunity to fan the Deity of Lord Nrsimha.

The kirtan continued past 8:00pm as the arati took place and a delictable feast awaited the devotees for the end of the evening.

With a spine-tingling class by HG Brhat Mrdanga das setting the tone for the evening, it was yet another successful festival at Toronto's Hare Krishna Temple that had the glories of Lord Nrsimhadeva being called out to one and all!

View Photo Gallery of Festival Below:

Lord Nrsimha's Appearance Day Celebrations

On Thursday, May 7th 2009, Toronto's Hare Krishna temple will be celebrating Nrsimha Caturdasi. This is the appearance day of Lord Nrsimhadeva, Krishna’s half-man half-lion incarnation. Lord Nrsimhadeva appeared in order to deliver the saintly child Prahlada from the persecutions of his father, Hiranyakashipu.

This year festivities will feature enlivening classes by special guest HG Brhat Mrdanga das. There will also be a special Sunday Feast on May 10th to celebrate this festival!

Schedule for Thursday May 7th 2009 (subject to change):

6:00pm - Arati
6:30pm - Class by HG Brhat Mrdanga das
7:30pm - Abhisheka and reading of Nrsimha Kavacha Mantras
8:00pm - Arati
8:30pm - Prasadam (Free Vegetarian Feast)

Although festivities fall on a Thursday evening, we would like to extend a very warm invitation to you and your family to join us as we celebrate this wonderful festival! Also, be sure to attend the special Sunday Feast on May 10th for more festivities!

Sunday Feast Recording - Sunday, May 3rd

Today's 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.

Deity Darshan: May 3, 2009