Your Definitive Guide to a Hare Krishna New Year's Eve!

The following is your detailed guide to ringing in the New Year "Hare Krishna Style"! As we do every year, devotees gather at the temple on New Year's Eve and then head over to City Hall to join the tens of thousands of revelers, ushering in the new year. However, we come armed with our drums, karatalas (cymbals) and voices as well!

Here's all that you need to know about this evening:

8:00pm - Kirtan will begin at the temple.

10:00pm - The kirtan will really pickup by this time!

11:00pm - Bundle up and off to Rosedale station.

11:30pm - We will start chanting in front of Old City Hall (NE corner of Bay & Queen)

12:00am - the kirtan will reach it's peak as fireworks set the sky ablaze!

1:30am (approx) - We'll get back on the subway and make our way back to the temple for hot ginger tea and snacks!

Some tips to keep in mind for this evening:

• Come early to the temple - enjoy the kirtan and association of devotees before we head out to City Hall.
• Dress warmly - it will be chilly, so dress in layers!
• Don't worry about weather - whether it be snow, rain, hail or sleet, we will usher in the new year with kirtan!
• Bring your voices - don't forget to chant with all of your hearts!

To get a glimpse into what it's like to party with us, "Hare Krishna Style" on New Year's Eve, check out this video footage from our 2008-09 New Year's Eve kirtan!

What are YOU doing this New Year's Eve?

As most people leave a regular Sunday Feast, many remark about how it resembles a spiritual 'explosion' - full of energy, singing and dancing to your heart's content! So why not combine our spiritually-charged singing and dancing with one of the year's BIGGEST parties at City Hall?

Ring in the New Year "Hare Krsna" style as we make our way from the Hare Krsna Temple to City Hall, doing what we do best - KIRTAN! Dress warmly as we will be doing plenty of walking, dancing and singing!

We will be leaving the temple at approximately 10:30pm and be arriving back at the temple at 2:30am. More details and a map of our route will be posted shortly.

Again, if you do not have any plans for New Year's Eve (or even if you do!), come join us for an experience like no other!

ISKCON News Features a Story About Local Devotees

ISKCON News has written a beautiful article about a local Toronto devotee family! The article features the story of Bhaktimati devi dasi and her family. It is a heart-warming story of how a few quiet devotees in Russia performed amazing acts of kindness and service during a time of need. Click here to read the article!

Deity Darshan: Sunday, December 26, 2010

Join Our 2nd Annual "Holiday Kirtan" Party Tomorrow Night!

The holiday season is upon us and there is a festive mood in the air. The Toronto Hare Krishna temple would like to warmly invite you for a fun evening of kirtan, bhajans, games, prasadam and more! Taking place on Christmas Day (Dec 25th), the Holiday Kirtan will kick off with the 6:00pm kirtan and will be followed by a fun evening of chanting, activities and prasadam.

The schedule will be as follows (subject to change):

6:00pm to 6:30pm - Arati

6:30pm to 7:30pm - Bhajans

7:30pm to 8:00pm - Movie

8:00pm to 8:30pm - Arati

8:30pm to 9:15pm - Games and Gifts

9:15pm - Prasadam

We hope you and your family can make it out for what will surely be a fun evening at the Hare Krishna temple! See you then!

Deity Darshan: Sunday, December 19, 2010

Photos taken by Rishi Kumar

Next Live Broadcast - Monday at 7:30am EST

Our next live broadcast with Vaisesika das will be on Monday, December 20th at 7:30am EST for morning class. Please tune in at that time and enjoy an amazing class by our special guest!

Monday's class will be entitled, "The Ultimate Encounter – Where Every Word is a Song, Every Step is a Dance (Spiritual World)". We will have a chat window for all online viewers to ask questions during the class. Hare Krishna!

Vaisesika das will also be giving the Sunday feast class tonight as well as leading some of his amazing kirtans!

Gita Jayanti Celebrated at ISKCON Toronto

It was a simple and sweet festival at the temple on Thursday, December 16th as spiritualists gathered to honour the advent of the Bhagavad-gita. Over five thousand years ago, Lord Krishna spoke the Bhagavad-gita to Arjuna, discussing the fundamental principles of life.

The Gita lucidly explains the nature of consciousness, the self and the universe. It contains both the essence of India's spiritual wisdom and the answers to questions that have been posed by philosophers for centuries.

An intimate setting was created and over a three hour span, the Sanksrit verses of the Gita were collectively read by the assembled group. Sometimes, the simplest festivals can be the sweetest!

Get Ready for a "Whirlwind Visit" by Vaisesika das!

There is always a special buzz in the air when Toronto's vibrant Hare Krishna community welcomes back our dear friend, Vaisesika das back to our temple. A disciple of Srila Prabhupada, and a mentor to so many of us in Toronto and around the world, we are always looking forward to his visits. From inspiring classes and hitting the streets with spiritual books, to the rip-roaring kirtans, Vaisesika das keeps us all on our spiritual toes!

We are excited to announce some of the programs and events that you and your family are welcome to take part in:

Srimad Bhagavatam Classes - Four-Part Workshop

Fri. December 17th to Mon. December 20th

7:45am to 9:00am (Followed by Breakfast)

Theme - Sadhna Bhakti – A Journey from Matter to Spirit

Fri - "Checkpoint – Where Am I Now?"

Sat - "Intergalactic Travel – Finding the Right Commander (The Real Guru)"

Sun - "Propelling Through - Flushing the Internal Systems (Overcoming Obstacles)"

Mon - "The Ultimate Encounter – Where Every Word is a Song, Every Step is a Dance (Spiritual World)"

Through a series of exclusively picked mantras from Srimad Bhagvatam, the text which is considered to be the ripened fruit of spiritual knowledge, Vaisesika Dasa will explain the process of 'Sadhana Bhakti' that can carry us from material to spiritual existence while still in this body. As an added bonus, Vaisesika Dasa has encouraged attendees to prepare questions in advance and send them to him! Click here to email your questions.

Sankirtan - Hitting the Streets with Spiritual Knowledge

Saturday, December 18th - (times to be posted)

All devotees are welcome to join Vaisesika das as we collectively hit the streets with our beloved spiritual books with the goal of sharing our beautiful spiritual heritage with the public. Stay tuned for more information!

A Night of Kirtan with Vaisesika das

Saturday, December 18th - 6:00pm to 9:00pm

You won't want to miss this opportunity to dive deeper into melodious kirtan with Vaisesika das. We will explore some of the beautiful chants of our Vaisnava tradition and the mood will be certainly be sweet. Join us for what will surely be a very special evening!

Sunday Feast with Vaisesika das

Sunday, December 19th - 6:00pm to 9:00pm

Our weekly Sunday extravaganza will include a special class by Vaisesika das. Toss in some amazing kirtan and mouth-watering vegetarian feast and your Sunday should be booked!

History Channel Discusses Dvaraka

Drutakrama das (Michael Cremo) recently gave an interview for the History Channel`s new show The Ancient Aliens. The clip below shows highlights of the part where Underwater Worlds presented the story of Lord Krishna's sunken city Dvaraka. It's definitely worth watching!

Gita Jayanti Celebrations this Thursday!

Over five thousand years ago, Lord Krishna spoke the Bhagavad-gita to Arjuna, discussing the fundamental principles of life. The Gita lucidly explains the nature of consciousness, the self and the universe. It contains both the essence of India's spiritual wisdom and the answers to questions that have been posed by philosophers for centuries.

Today, that same Bhagavad-gita has been translated to numerous languages and is read by millions of people around the world, revered in academic circles, and studied by spiritualists of all backgrounds.

Thursday, December 16th marks Gita Jayanti, the day when Lord Krishna spoke the Bhagavad-gita to Arjuna. We will be celebrating this occasion by reading the entire Gita in Sanskrit. The reading will begin at 6:00pm and will take aproximately two hours.

We're Looking for Blog Contributors!

As our blog continues to go through an exciting makeover, we are looking for enthusiastic members of our community to contribute regularly to the Toronto Krishna Blog. If you are interested in being part of our team, we'd love to hear from you!

Maybe you have some neat recipes to share, or want to upload videos, or even have some wonderfully crazy idea that we just haven't thought of. Now's your chance to contribute!

If you have some neat idea to bring to the table, or if you just want to join our semi-crazy blog team, please feel free to click here! Hare Krsna!

We're Officially Now on Twitter!

In what was the next logical step for our social media savvy temple, we are now tweeting about all that is happening here at Toronto's Hare Krishna temple. Our Twitter feed is basically linked to our blog, but will also feature some unique "tweets" along the way.

Be sure to follow us on Twitter at www.twitter.com/torontokrishna!

Deity Darshan: Sunday, December 14, 2010

Mayapura Gurukula - Vedic Cooking in Action!

We recently stumbled upon a really neat video clip from a television show called "Tasty Travels in India" which visited the gurukula (school) in ISKCON Mayapura. Featured in the video is HH Bhakti Vidya Purna Swami, walking the viewer through the traditional Vedic ways of cooking that nourish both the body and soul! Feel free to share your comments about the video. Enjoy!

Deity Darshan: Sunday, December 5, 2010

Deity Darshan: Sunday, November 28, 2010

Deity Darshan: Sunday, November 21, 2010