Deity Darshan: Sunday, May 30, 2010

Mark your calendars for the upcoming weekend!

Summer is a busy time at the Hare Krishna temple with a lot of fun, festivity and activity! The coming weekend is just the beginning of a fun-filled summer at the Hare Krishna temple!

On Saturday, June 5th, senior monk, Devamrita Swami will be giving the morning Srimad Bhagavatam class at 7:30am at the Hare Krishna Temple. Initiated by Srila Prabhupada in January 1974, since the past 35 years he has traveled extensively on every continent of the world sharing his realizations of Krishna Consciousness. He is very well reputed in the academic circles for his insightful presentations on contemporary topics like Spiritual Economics, Sustainability, Yoga of Money etc. However, those of us who have heard him lead kirtan, know that his kirtans can have devotees dancing in pure joy! He is currently based in New Zealand but is a frequent visitor to Toronto and we are very happy to have him give a very special class!

Sunday, June 6th, will be a very special Sunday Feast. Firstly, it is the Youth Sunday! At this very special Sunday Feast, the youth will be cooking and serving prasadam, taking part in aratis etc. If you are interested in helping out with Youth Sunday, please contact our local youth group Pandava Sena for more information. Another main reason by June 6th Sunday Feast will be very special is because we will be enthralled by amazing class and kirtans led by Bada Hari das. Based in Gainesville, Florida, he is a celebrated Kirtan singer who travels internationally presenting seminars on Vaishnava songs and devotional practices. In his previous visits to Toronto, he had the entire temple room dancing in pure joy and had us all looking forward to his next visit!

A lot happening this weekend, so make sure that you will be at the Hare Krishna temple this weekend to get a chance to meet these two amazing monks and listen from them!

No Sunday Feast Recording This Week :(

Due to technical difficulties with the Mic, 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 as many devotees were hoping to catch a recording of the amazing 8pm arati again.

We hope to resolve the problem and to resume with live broadcasts and videos with the upcoming Sunday Feasts!

Doors Open this Weekend!

This weekend the Hare Krishna Centre is participating In Doors Open Toronto. Annually, 150 buildings of architectural, historic, cultural and social significance open their doors to the public for a city-wide celebration. While Toronto's Hare Krishna Temple is open, free of charge, to the public year-round, Doors Open presents an opportunity for the public to learn about the architectural and historical story of our amazing building!

Guided Tours will take place from 10am-5pm on Saturday May 29th and Sunday May 30th. Guided tours of the building highlight the architectural, historical and spiritual history of the building. There are also visual displays of media news clippings and interesting publications related to the building. Kids activities, free snacks and refreshments are provided to the public! Additionally, the regular Sunday programme (Sunday Feast) is open to the public 6:00-8:30pm, including a Free Vegetarian feast served at 7:30pm.

Click here to read about Doors Open 2009 at the Hare Krishna Centre.

Dramatic Nrsimha Caturdasi Festivities!

Nrsimha Caturdasi, was celebrated on Wednesday, May 26th at Toronto's Hare Krishna Temple. Nrsimha Caturdasi celebrates 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.

This Is a very special festival as Lord Nrsimha has a special place in the heart of many spiritualists. Celebrations at the temple began with the 6pm arati, which was followed by an enlivening class by Vrindavan das. Following class the crowd was enthralled by a dramatic presentation on the story of the appearance of Lord Nrsimha. The drama concluded with an ear splitting roar as Lord Nrsimha vanquished Hiranyakashipu!

The next part of the program was the abhiseka of Lord Nrsimha as kirtan reverberated through the temple. As the traditional 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 delectable feast awaited the devotees for the end of the evening.

View the slide show below:

Deity Darshan: Nrsimha Caturdasi, May 26, 2010

Nrsimha Caturdasi Celebrations Tonight!

On Wednesday, May 26th 2010, 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.

The festivities will begin at 6pm and feature an abhisheka (bathing ceremony) of Lord Nrsimha, an enlivening discourse on his appearance as well as amazing kirtan! The schedule for the evening will be as follows:

6:00-6:35pm: Arati and Nrsimha Pranam
6:35-6:40pm: Welcome and Announcements
6:40-7:10pm: Class by Vrindavan Das
7:10-7:30pm: Dramatic Presentation
7:30-8:00pm: Abhiskeka (bathing ceremony)
8:00-8:30pm: Arati
8:30pm: Prasadam (vegetarian feast)
*Subject to change

Deity Darshan: Sunday, May 23, 2010

Sunday Feast Recording - May 16, 2010

The recording for this week's Sunday Feast (Ratha-Yatra Launch Day) 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: Sunday, May 16, 2010

Ratha-Yatra Launch this Sunday!

With summer fast approaching it means the 38th Annual Festival of India (Ratha-Yatra) is around the corner! This Sunday will mark the official launch of this year's festival! The program will begin at 4:30 pm with a Havan (Vedic fire sacrifice) to invoke auspiciousness for this year's Festival of India.

This Sunday oficially marks the countdown of 62 days till year's Festival which is taking place on July 17-18!

Interpersonal Devotee Relationship Seminar - Recording

The recording for the seminar by HG Rohini Priya das 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.

Sunday Feast Recording - May 9, 2010

The recording for this week's Sunday Feast 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: Sunday, May 9, 2010

Interpersonal Devotee Relationships Seminar this Monday!

H.G Rohini Priya Das will be visiting ISKCON Toronto and conducting a seminar this Monday at 6:30pm. The topic of this seminar is "Interpersonal Devotee Relationships".

Rohini Priya Das is known for his vast knowledge & realization, combined with humility and a warm, loving disposition. He graduated as a doctor of Medicine from Prune university and for the last 17 years he has been actively distributing the message of Bhagavad Gita to thousands of Engineering and Medical students as well as other professionals all over India, Mauritius, USA, and Canada. He is currently serving as one of the Vice Presidents at ISKCON Chowpatty, Mumbai.

The seminar is open for all, for more information please contact us. We look forward to seeing you at this seminar!

Bhakti Brhat Bhagavata Swami's Arrives in Toronto Tonight - 8:30pm!

Bhakti Brhat Bhagavata Swami (formerly known as Brhat Mrdanga das) who has been a spiritual guide, friend and teacher for many devotees at ISKCON Toronto accepted the order of sannayasa or renounced order of life recently.

Today, May 4, Bhakti Brhat Bhagavata Swami comes back to Toronto for the first time since his acceptance of the monastic order of life. He has been an inspiration for devotees in Canada for over a decade and we want to make his first visit as a sannayasa to Toronto extremely special!

He arrives today at 8:30pm and an open call goes out to all devotees to come to the temple this evening as we certainly want to greet him in a special way with kirtan, flowers and much more!

Please join us in welcoming Bhakti Brhat Bhagavata Swami tonight!

Sunday Feast Photos - May 2nd 2010

Nine spiritualists accept Harinam Diksha (spiritual vows) from H.H. Bhaktimarga Swami

H.H. Bhaktivaibhava Swami visits to debut the Lost Village!

Deity Darshan: Sunday, May 3, 2010

Sunday Feast Recording - May 2, 2010

The recording for this week's Sunday Feast 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.