Deity Darshan: Sunday, February 27, 2011

Special Sunday Feast Tonight - Krsna Kathamrtam Awards Ceremony!

A special invitation goes out to you and your family to join us tonight for our weekly Sunday program this evening which will feature a special presentation that will leave many with melted hearts! Tonight's program will be an extended program, meaning our vegetarian feast will be served after the 8pm kirtan (arati). The program will also feature the presence of HH Bhakti Brhat Bhagavat Swami.

As many of our blog readers may know, there has been a very exciting program taking place in Toronto for the last few months. The BCEC Children's Krsna Kathamrtam program has involved 24 children from our community being personally coached and trained to speak on various spiritual topics. The culmination of the program was an even held yesterday at the temple wherein all the kids presented their speeches to a packed hall!

Tonight's Sunday Feast will feature the official awards ceremony for the program wherein each child will be recognized for their hard work and efforts. We hope you can make it out for the event, starting at 6pm!

Deity Darshan: Sunday, February 20, 2011

Sweet and Intimate Celebrations Mark Lord Nityananda's Advent!

There's something to be said about celebrations marking the appearance (advent) of Lord Nityananda. It's always a sweet and intimate affair! Lord Nityananda appeared as Lord Chaitanya’s principal associate for spreading the congregational chanting of the holy names of the Lord. He especially spread the holy name of the Lord throughout Bengal. He is considered an incarnation of Lord Balarama.

The entire festival was themed on the translation of the seventh verse of the Nityanandastaka, a poetic composition that glorifies Lord Nityananda: "I worship Lord Nityananda, the limitless root of the tree of devotional service. He traveled on every path, dancing, singing the names of Lord Hari, and describing His glories. Without considering His own interests, He was merciful to the people, and He cast upon them His merciful sidelong glance."

Celebrations featured a class by HG Rohini Priya das, focused on the mercy of Lord Nityananda as described in the above quote. This was followed by the singing of a beautiful bhajan, "Nadiya Godrume". As the bhajan was being sung, festival attendees got a chance to come forward and write a message to Lord Nityananda on pieces of paper cut in the shape of leaves. These leaves were then hung from a giant "tree of devotional service", referenced in the quote. Small Deities of Caitanya and Nityananda were then placed on a palanquin and taken around the temple room, "travelling on every path, dancing and singing". The 8pm arati followed with sweet kirtan and a wonderful feast awaited everyone at the end of the evening. Amidst everything, we also officially launched Toronto's Hare Krishna Internet Radio! It was indeed a sweet and intimate festival!

Deity Darshan: Lord Nityananda's Appearance Day (February, 16, 2010)

Temple Clean-Up This Friday! Come Clean Your Hearts by Cleaning Our Beautiful Temple!

The monthly CDM (Ceto Darpanam Marjana) project entails organized cleaning of the temple as a group. This time around, the maha clean-up will feature a special group of Bhakti Vriksha devotees, led by HG Rupanuga das. They will be joining all of us as we get ready to make our temple room shine! A warm invitation goes out to all of you to attend as we encourage you to join these amazing devotees during the clean-up.

Afterwards, we will all sit down over pizza, made by the new "Pizza King" of ISKCON Toronto - Jaya Caitanya, and will able to hear the experiences of Bhakti Vriksha devotees! Everyone is welcome to ask any questions to our dear Rupanuga prabhu who will be there for you!

The schedule will be as follows:

7:00pm to 9:00pm - Maha clean-up of the temple room

9:00pm to 9:30pm - Special pizza party and nectar-filled conversations

Here is a quote by Srila Prabhupada, that hopefully will inspire you:

"Everything within the temple should be kept very, very neat and clean. And the more you keep the temple neat and clean, you will be neat and clean within your heart. And then your understanding will be very easy. We cannot understand Krsna because our heart is piled up with many garbages. That we have to cleanse."

-- Srila Prabhupada Melbourne, May 22, 1975

Please come out and bring your family and friends for this unforgettable experience!

Presenting....Toronto Hare Krishna Internet Radio!!!

It's finally here! Today, on the auspicious occasion of Lord Nityananda's appearance, we officially present to you Toronto's Hare Krishna Internet Radio! You can access the radio by clicking on the player on the right-hand side and you will also be able to see our daily schedule.

We are still working out kinks in the programming, so please bear with us. If you do encounter any problems, send us a quick message using the link in the radio window. We will try to fix it as soon as possible!

We hope you enjoy this new addition to the blog and join us this evening as we celebrate Lord Nityananda's appearance day!

Join Us for Nityananda's Appearance Day this Wednesday!

One of the sweetest festivals of the year falls on Wednesday, February 16th! A warm invitation goes out to you and your family to join us as we celebrate the advent (appearance) of Lord Nityananda this Wednesday evening, starting at 6pm.

Lord Nityananda (also known as Nityananda Prabhu, Nitai, Nityananda Balarama) appeared as Lord Chaitanya’s principal associate for spreading the congregational chanting of the holy names of the Lord. He especially spread the holy name of the Lord throughout Bengal. He is considered an incarnation of Lord Balarama.

This festival is a special one for ISKCON Toronto and often features very sweet, intimate and spiritually-soaked festivities! We are very excited to announce that joining us for the festival will be HG Rohini Priya das who has been visiting Toronto since last week.

The whole festival will be based on the translation of the seventh verse of the Nityanandastaka, "I worship Lord Nityananda, the limitless root of the tree of devotional service. He traveled on every path, dancing, singing the names of Lord Hari, and describing His glories. Without considering His own interests, He was merciful to the people, and He cast upon them His merciful sidelong glance."

Devotees are encouraged to come to the program wearing the colour blue, the colour commonly associated with Lord Nityananda! The program will be as follows (subject to change):

6:00pm to 6:30pm - Kirtan (Arati)

6:30pm to 6:40pm - Welcome & Announcements

6:40pm to 7:25pm - Class by HG Rohini Priya das

7:25pm to 7:30pm - Launch of Toronto Krishna Internet Radio

7:30pm to 8:00pm - Special Audience-Interactive Presentation

8:00pm to 8:30pm - Kirtan (Arati)

8:30pm - Vegetarian Feast (Prasadam)

"Winning Over Inner Space" - A Mind-Opening Seminar by Rohini Priya das

A special seminar, conducted by Rohini Priya das, will be held on the evening of Tuesday, February 15th, 2011 from 7pm to 9pm at the Toronto Hare Krishna temple. Rohini Priya das graduated as a doctor of Medicine from Mumbai university and decided to dedicate his life to the practice of sharing bhakti-yoga.

For the last 15 years he has not only been practicing Krishna consciousness but has been actively distributing the message of the Bhagavad-gita to thousands of engineering , medical students and other professionals all over India. He is currently serving as the Vice President at ISKCON Chowpatty in Mumbai.

The seminar will be focused on "Winning Over Inner Space" and will be focused on, among other things:

• Taking a closer look at the world around us.
• Three life-defining questions
• 10 key lessons

The seminar is free to attend, but RSVPs are requested. Please click here to officially register for the seminar.

Lord Varaha's Appearance Day

Tomorrow, February 15th marks the appearance anniversary of Varaha avatar (Lord Krishna's boar incarnation). As described in the Srimad Bhagavatam, Lord Krishna assumed this form of a gigantic boar to lift the drowning planet Earth from the cosmic ocean with his tusks.

A demonic personality had thrown the planet Earth from her orbit into this ocean but the Lord came, as a boar, and saved the Earth.

More information about the appearance of Varaha avatar can be found here; below is a summary of the pastime written by Urmila devi dasi:

“In Vedic cosmology, planets are conscious persons. The planet Earth once fell into the universal water when demonic persons disturbed her orbit by drilling for oil and upsetting her balance. Celestial beings, called devas, who control the universe in service to Krishna, wanted Earth to be rescued.

Responding to their desire, the Lord came to save her. He assumed the form of a splendid, gigantic boar (Varaha), dove to the bottom of the universal ocean, picked up Earth, and gently carried her on His tusks to the water’s surface. As He did so, a great demon challenged Him.

Lord Varaha then carefully placed fearful Earth on the water and gave her the ability to float. A fight between the Lord and the demon ensued within the great ocean. After defeating the demon, Lord Varaha returned to the spiritual sky.”

Deity Darshan: Sunday, February 13, 2011

Appearance Day of Advaita Acharya

Thursday, February 10th, marks the appearance anniversary of Advaita Acharya, one of the foremost teachers of bhakti in the Hare Krishna tradition. On this day we fast till noon in his honour. In honour of this occasion, HH Bhaktimarga Swami will be holding a small program at the Temple at 12pm.

Advaita Acharya appeared some sixty years before Lord Chaitanya’s own advent, over 500 years ago. It was Advaita Acharya who asked Lord Chaitanya to descend. Before Lord Chaitanya’s advent, Advaitacharya had already begun chanting Krishna’s names in the streets with devotees and discussing scriptures on devotional service to Krishna. Advaita Acharya’s name indicates that He is nondifferent (advaita) from Lord Hari (Krishna), and He is called acharya (spiritual master) because He taught bhakti.

Join Us for an Inspiring and Dramatic Sunday Feast This Weekend!

We all love our Sunday Feasts. The chanting, drumming, dancing and feasting are all mainstays of our weekly program and provide a great way to inspire ourselves for the week ahead.

Every once in a while, we have special Sunday Feasts that don't necessarily correlate to any festivals or special events. This will be one of those Sundays! The Toronto Hare Krishna Centre is happy to present an inspiring and dramatic Sunday Feast this weekend.

The program will feature a class by our special visiting guest, Rohini Priya das who will surely leave everyone inspired and charged with bhakti. Following the class, our very own Bhaktimarga Swami will take over and will present a series of small dramas that will delight the crowd with contemporary takes on spirituality! The schedule for Sunday will be as follows:

6:00pm to 6:30pm - Kirtan (Arati)

6:30pm to 6:40pm - Welcome & Announcements

6:40pm to 7:20pm - Class by HG Rohini Priya das

7:20pm to 8:00pm - A Series of Dramas Presented by Bhaktimarga Swami

8:00pm to 8:30pm - Kirtan (Arati)

8:30pm - Free Vegetarian Feast (Prasadam)

We hope to see you and your family this Sunday!

Rohini Priya das Will Be Visiting Toronto's Hare Krishna Community!

We are excited to announce that HG Rohini Priya das will once again be visiting our Toronto Hare Krishna community. Rohini Priya das hails from the famous Sri Sri Radha Gopinatha temple in Chowpatty, Mumbai, India.

Rohini Priya das graduated as a doctor of Medicine from Mumbai university and decided to dedicate his life to the practice of sharing bhakti-yoga. For the last 15 years he has not only been practicing Krishna consciousness but has been actively distributing the message of the Bhagavad-gita to thousands of engineering , medical students and other professionals all over India. He is currently serving as the Vice President at ISKCON Chowpatty in Mumbai.

Admist home programs, festivals at our various GTA temples and more, Rohini Priya das will also be conducting a seminar on Tuesday, February 15th, 2011 from 7pm to 9pm on the topic of "Conquering Inner Space". More information will be coming soon, so stay tuned. Rohini Priya prabhu's schedule will be as follows:

Friday, February 11, 2011 - Home Program

Saturday, February 12, 2011 - Home Program

Sunday, February 13, 2011 - Sunday Programs at ISKCON Scarborough and Toronto

Tuesday, February 15, 2011 - Seminar: "How to Conquer Inner Space" @ ISKCON Toronto

Wednesday, February 16, 2011 - Nityananda's Appearance Day

For more information about Rohini Priya prabhu's visit to Toronto, please feel free to email Anand prabhu.

Flashback Photographs - In Memory of Bhadra Priya devi dasi

We recently came across these photographs of Badra Priya devi dasi from the early days at the Hare Krishna Temple in Toronto.

Please join us tonight for a special kirtan prayer session for her.

Prayers for Bhadra Priya devi dasi

*** UPDATE - Feb 8, 2011 - We have learned that Bhadra Priya devi dasi passed away last night at around 11:00pm EST under very auspicious circumstances. She was surrounded by devotees doing kirtan, led by HG Bada Hari das. Devotees will still be gathering this evening (Feb 8, 2011) to have kirtan and japa to pray for Bhadra Priya devi dasi. We hope you can join us. ***

With heavy hearts, we would like to call for all devotees in our community to pray for Bhadra Priya devi dasi who is in an active state of leaving her body. Bhadra Priya devi dasi joined the Hare Krishna movement in Montreal in the early 1970's and was then part of our Toronto community for many years.

Bhadra Priya prabhu has been dealing with life-threatening cancer for a few years now. It prompted her return to Krsna consciousness after many years of living away from a temple and she is currently in Alachua, Florida, surrounded by devotees. In recent years, she joined us here in Toronto for many festivals, programs and events in our community.

We ask for all devotees of our Toronto Hare Krishna community to pray for her during these final stages of her life. Hare Krishna.

Deity Darshan: Sunday, February 6, 2011

Kirtan by HH Niranjana Swami @ ISKCON Boston

A video of HH Niranjana Swami singing a vintage ISKCON tune from ISKCON Boston! There are rumblings that Maharaj may make a visit to ISKCON Toronto sometime this summer. Keep your fingers crossed!

Just Surrender

We recently came across this beautiful track, "Surrender" performed by the talented Gaura Vani and As Kindered Spirits at a yoga studio in Australia. This is a live rendition of the track from their latest album, "Ten Million Moons".

We hope you like it! (If you don't watch the whole thing, at least watch the solo by Jahnavi at the 5:17 mark!) :-)

In For a Challenge?

As some may know, one of the tenets of the Hare Krishna philosophy is maintaining a vegetarian diet. A challenge started in Britain by AnimalAid, encourages those who are not vegetarians to try it out on Mondays, referring to it as 'Meat-Free Mondays'. Please check out their video below!

Already a vegetarian? Why not encourage a friend? It's not only great for the environment but beneficial for us spiritually too!