Celebrating Diwali "Hare Krishna" Style - Tonight!

Tonight (Sunday, October 30, 2011), Toronto’s Hare Krishna Temple will celebrate Diwali in grand, kirtan fashion.  Festivities during tonight's Sunday Feast will feature a special “kirtan-themed” presentation.  It will be a spectacular festival that will provide a feast for the eyes, body, mind and soul!

The program will begin at 6pm and be an extended program (vegetarian feast served at 8:30pm).  We hope you can join us for these special festivities!  The schedule will be as follows (subject to change):

6:00pm to 6:25pm - Kirtan (Arati)
6:25pm to 6:35pm - Singing of Damodarastakam
6:35pm to 6:40pm  - Welcome & Announcements
6:40pm to 7:20pm - Class by HH Bhakti Vasudeva Swami
7:20pm to 8:00pm - Special Nama-Yajna Kirtan
8:00pm to 8:30pm - Kirtan (Arati)
8:30pm to 9:00pm - Vegetarian Feast (Prasadam)

Srila Prabhupada's Disappearance Day - Saturday, October 29, 2011 - 12pm to 4pm

Saturday, October 29th will mark the day we commemorate Srila Prabhupada's passing from this world, also known as Srila Prabhupada's Disappearance Day.  Festivities will begin at noon and will feature memories of Srila Prabhupada by our dear Srila Prabhupada disciples and amazingly sweet kirtan!

It will be a special day as Toronto's Hare Krishna temple will welcome HH Bhakti Vasudeva Swami, HH Bhaktimarga Swami, various Srila Prabhupada disciples and kirtan superstars Gaura das (Montreal, QC) and Amala Kirtan das (Dallas, TX).

Festivities will begin at 12pm and continue to 4pm.  A special invitation goes out to your and your family to join us for what promises to be a VERY special afternoon, dedicated to Srila Prabhupada!

Check out this wonderful video of Amala Kirtan das from his "Yoga Bliss Kirtan Tour" in Australia last year:

Come Celebrate Govardhana Puja the "Sweet Hill Festival" - October 27, 2011

Tonight marks one of the biggest festivals of the year for Toronto's Hare Krishna community!  Govardhana Puja, also known as the "Sweet Hill Festival" marks the occasion when Lord Krishna lifted an entire hill like an umbrella to protect the residents of his village from torrential thunderstorms sent by the angered demigod, Indra (read more by clicking here).

To celebrate this festival, we build a replica of Govardhana Hill made of various opulent foods, worship Lord Krishna as the lifter of Govardhana Hill, worship the hill as His incarnation, and worship the cows and bulls who are dear to the Lord.  At the end of the festival, the hill of sweets is distributed to the public.

Festivities will kick off at 6pm (sharp!) and will continue until 9pm.  Toronto's Hare Krishna temple will be welcoming HH Bhakti Vasudeva Swami and will be welcome home HH Bhaktimarga Swami!  The schedule for 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 7:30pm - Class

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

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

8:30pm to 8:45pm - Damodarastakam

8:45pm to 9:30pm - Vegetarian Feast (Prasadam) 

Festivals, Programs, Guests and More – Join us at the Hare Krsna Temple!

Happy Diwali from Toronto's Hare Krsna Centre!  The temple will be a buzz of activity in the next five days, so we thought we would share some of the exciting events which you and your family can take part in!


Welcoming HH Bhakti Vasudeva Swami to Toronto!
Toronto's Hare Krishna community is happy to announce that we will be welcoming HH Bhakti Vasudeva Swami for first time to our city!  Maharaj will be arriving today and staying until Monday and will be here for our Govardhana Puja, Srila Prabhupada Disappearance Day and Sunday Diwali celebrations!  He will also be conducting some morning classes.


Govardhana Puja - Thursday, October 27, 2011
Also known as a "Sweet Hill Festival", Govardhana Puja is one of our biggest festivals of the year.  The festival marks the time Krsna lifted Govardhana Hill to protect the citizens of Vrndavana from a torrential rain storm!  Govardhan Puja celebrations at the Hare Krishna temple feature a grand "Govardhana Hill" made entirely of sweets in the middle of the temple room! Please join us for festivities from 6:00pm onwards to celebrate this festival!  You won’t want to miss it!


Honouring Srila Prabhupada’s Passing – Saturday, October 29, 2011 (12pm)
On Saturday, October 29th at 12pm, we will honour Srila Prabhupada’s Disappearance Day.  Marking the date that Srila Prabhupada passed from this world, the temple will be having a wonderful afternoon of kirtan, memories of Srila Prabhupada and more!  Join us from 12pm to 4pm for this special festival.


Ashtaprahar Diwali Celebrations – Saturday, October 29, 2011
In conjunction with Toronto's Hare Krishna Temple, the Ashtaprahar Organizing Team is presenting special Diwali Celebrations at the Hindu Sabha Mandir in Brampton, Ontario on the evening of Saturday, October 29th, 2011.  The evening festivities at the Hindu Sabha Mandir will include a great line-up of kirtaneers, delicious prasadam and much more!  A special call goes out to our Hare Krishna community of devotees to check out this event which will be part of a full weekend of activities!


Diwali Celebrations @ Hare Krishna Temple – Sunday, October 30, 2011
Toronto’s Hare Krishna Temple will celebrate Diwali in grand (kirtan fashion) this Sunday with a special “kirtan-themed” presentation.  It will be a spectacular festival that will provide a feast for the eyes, body, mind and soul!  The program will begin at 6pm and be an extended program (vegetarian feast served at 8:30pm).  We hope you can join us for these special festivities!

Welcoming HH Bhakti Vasudeva Swami to Toronto's Hare Krishna Centre!

Toronto's Hare Krishna community is happy to announce that we will be welcoming HH Bhakti Vasudeva Swami for first time to our city!  Maharaj will be joining us until Monday and will be here for our Govardhana Puja, Srila Prabhupada Disappearance Day and Sunday Diwali celebrations!  He will also be conducting some morning classes.

Bhakti Vasudeva Swami, a disciple of HH Bhakti Tirtha Swami, has a master degree in philosophy and education with measure in critical and creative thinking and caring community of enquiry. His work is based out of an African institute affiliated to Montclair State University in New Jersey - USA where he will finish his PHD soon. His guru wanted him to be amongst scholars and pundits, sharing our spiritual culture in the best way and giving Krishna consciousness in the highest level possible to show academics and scholars of the beauty of our philosophy.

Diwali and Govardhan Puja this Week!

This week will certainly be a special one at Toronto's Hare Krishna temple! On Thursday, October 27th, we will be celebrating Govardhan Puja and on the following Sunday, October 30th, we will celebrate Diwali (actual date for Diwali is Wednesday, October 26th)!

The story of Diwali stems back to ancient times when inhabitants of Ayodhya celebrated the return of Lord Ramachandra. Lord Rama was in exile, away from His kingdom, for many years. The joyful day on which He finally returned is observed as Diwali, or Dipavali (“dipa” means candles, and “vali” means numerous.). We will be celebrating this festival on Sunday during the Sunday Feast.

The day after Diwali is referred to as Annakuta, or Govardhana Puja. On this day the inhabitants of Vrindavan (Lord Krishna’s abode on Earth) would hold a harvest festival in honour of King Indra, the demigod who provided the rains essential for the harvest. One day, however, Lord Krishna wanted to teach Indra a lesson. He convinced the inhabitants of Vrindavan to honor Govardhana Hill instead, whose fertile soil provided the grass upon which the cows and bulls grazed, and to honour the cows and bulls who provided milk and ploughed the lands.

Outraged, Indra retaliated with terrifying thunderstorms. The Supreme Personality of Godhead, Krishna, calmly lifted Govardhana Hill with the little finger of his left hand. For seven days and seven nights the Lord held up Govardhana Hill, providing a giant umbrella to shelter the inhabitants of Vrindavan from the torrential rain.

Govardhan Puja celebrations at the Hare Krishna temple have always been popular and this year will also feature a grand "Govardhana Hill" made entirely of sweets in the middle of the temple room! Please join us for festivities from 6:00pm onwards to celebrate this festival!

We hope to see you and your family at the Hare Krishna temple this week!

Ashtaprahar Diwali Celebrations - Saturday, October 29, 2011 @ Hindu Sabha Mandir

In conjunction with Toronto's Hare Krishna Temple, the Ashtaprahar Organizing Team is presenting special Diwali Celebrations at the Hindu Sabha Mandir in Brampton, Ontario on the evening of Saturday, October 29h, 2011.  Festivities during the weekend will also include afternoon celebrations marking Srila Prabhupada's Disappearance and Sunday evening festivities (at the Hare Krishna Temple).

Saturday evening festivities at the Hindu Sabha Mandir will include a great line-up of kirtaneers, delicious prasadam and much more!  A special call goes out to our Hare Krishna community of devotees to check out this event which will be part of a full weekend of activities!

Deity Darshan: Sunday, October 23, 2011

"Life Without Conflict" Seminar - HG Uttama Sloka Das - Sun, Oct 23rd to Tue, Oct 25th

We've all experienced that feeling of being embroiled in conflict. Whether it is at work, home, school or even the temple, conflict can be a dangerous and tricky thing that can significantly affect our Krsna consciousness and spiritual progress.

On Sunday, Oct 23rd (3:30pm-5:30pm), Monday, Oct 24 and Tuesday, Oct 25 (6:30pm-9pm) HG Uttama Sloka das will be conducting a three-day seminar entitled, "Life Without Conflict". With teachings and principles routed in the Bhagavad-Gita, Uttama Sloka das will present various concepts on the idea of spiritually dealing with conflict, including:

• Conflict types and their origin
• Dealing with challenges
• Deriving spiritual and practical benefit from conflicts
• Choosing a positive alternative
• Developing compassion and humility
• Taking higher responsibility

Join us for this three-day seminar which help give practical tools for dealing with conflict in a spiritually sound way. There will be a small fee for the course to cover materials and prasadam.

Register for the seminar by clicking here!

More upcoming events during Kartik!

We hope you have enjoyed the past 10 days of Kartik so far. It has been so blissful with the morning Srimad Bhagavatam classes, daily Bhagavad Gita phone conferences, evening Damodarastakam prayers at the temple and much more! The next 20 days promise to be more exciting with a lot of fun festivals coming up!

Upcoming events are:
Sunday, October 23rd - Special Sunday Feast - Theme: Prasadam
Wednesday, October 26th - Diwali
Thursday, October 27th - Govardhana Puja
Saturday, October 29th - Srila Prabhupada's Disapperance Day (12pm_
Sunday, October 30th - Special Sunday Feast – Theme: Kirtan (Diwali)
Wednesday, November 2nd - Gopastami
Sunday, November 6th - Special Sunday Feast – Theme: Books
Thursday, November 10th - Last Day of Kartik

Stay tuned for more information!

Radha Kunda Appearance Day Tomorrow!

There are many places of pilgrimage for Krishna devotees, especially in India. Devotees visit them to become inspired in their spiritual lives. Devotees of Krishna observe the appearance of Radha Kunda, also known as Bahulashtami. This Thursday, October 20, 2011 the Hare Krishna Centre will be celebrating this auspicious occasion beginning at 6:00pm.

Radha Kunda is a reservoir of water located in Vrindavan, India, where Krishna and Srimati Radharani had Their pastimes. It is mentioned in Sri Isopanishad and other Vedic texts as one of the most sacred places in the universe. Be sure to come out and be transported to this amazing place!

Bhagavad-Gita Crash Course with HG Uttama Sloka das - Wednesday, October 19th

The Hare Krishna temple is excited to welcome HG Uttama Sloka das back to Toronto from October 14th to 26th! A disciple of HH Indradyumna Swami, Uttama Sloka das serves part time as Maharaja's traveling assistant, secretary and translator. Apart from his personal services to Indradyumna Swami, he spends his time conducting educational and training courses covering 20 countries on four continents. He is qualified as a Bhakti Sastri teacher, mediator and counsellor.

Uttama Sloka das has forged some wonderful relationships with devotees in Toronto and, during his 12 day visit, he will be conducting various programs and seminars, like "Life Without Conflict" which will take place later on in the week.

On Wednesday, October 19th, Uttama Sloka das will once again be conducting a "Bhagavad-Gita Crash Course" from 6:30pm to 9:00pm at the temple. If you ever wanted to learn the essentials of the Bhagavad-gita in one power-packed session, then you won't want to miss out on this seminar! The cost for the one-day course will be $15 and will include prasadam. Please register for the seminar by clicking here.

Deity Darshan: Sunday, October 16, 2011

Deity Darshan: Sunday, October 8, 2011

Photos taken by Pranesvari Devi Dasi and Hari Lila Devi Dasi

Kartik-Themed Activities for the Next Month!

As some may already know, the month of Kartik began today. To continue in this spiritual mood, Toronto's Hare Krishna Centre will be hosting a slew of spiritually charged events throughout the next month for those ready to take a devotional challenge!



Damodarastakam Prayers
Every evening, 8:00PM

Damodarastakam is a set of prayers that describes the vivid pastimes of Lord Krishna and when coupled with dimmed lighting and soft accompaniment, it is truly the BEST way to end your evening. Please join us every week night at 8:00PM.

Srimad Bhagvatam Classes
Every morning, 7:30AM

Our mornings are just as enlivening with special spiritual discourses every morning. For Kartik, a wonderful schedule has been put together to highlight this time of the year.

Here is the schedule for the following week:

Wednesday, October 12: HH Bhaktimarga Swami on Surrender
Thursday, October 13: Uttama Ananda Das on Damodar Lila
Friday, October 14: Vrndavana Das on The Qualities of a Devotee
Saturday, October 15: Uttama Sloka Das on Devotee Relationships
Sunday, October 16: Uttama Sloka Das on Understanding the Six Goswamis

Please check back for next week's schedule.

Morning Bhagavad Gita Conference Calls
Every morning, 7:00AM - 7:15AM

Why not start your day by reading from the Bhagavad Gita As It Is with other spiritualists? This is a chance to begin the day on the right note and a chance to bond spiritually with others. The group will be reading from Chapter 8, "Attaining the Supreme".

Here are the details on how you can join on this great opportunity every morning:

Conference call Dial-in: 647-847-1525 Passcode: 6118889#

For further information, please contact the Sankirtan team at: toronto.sankirtan@gmail.com .


Nectar of Devotion Book Club:
If reading by yourself is more your style, you can join our book club, which will be reading Nectar of Devotion, a book that focuses on the practices of bhakti yoga. By joining, you will receive inspiring quotes every day. Further, to complete the book within a month, everyone is encouraged to read 14 pages a day. So, if you are ready to soak in some knowledge, please email toronto.sankirtan@gmail.com to sign up for daily emails!


We hope that everyone can find an activity that best suits your interests and as a community, we can grow spiritually together during this Kartik month!

Happy Kartik!

Today marks the beginning of a month that is celebrated as an opportunity to dive deeper in our spirituality. This lunar month is known as Kartik and falls during October and November.

This month is described as especially dear to Krishna, and sincere spiritualists keep it sacred through acts of devotion and vows of austerity aimed at increasing their spiritual strength and allowing them to draw closer to Krishna.

At the Hare Krishna temple, every Sunday Feast during this very special month will be highlighted with sublime festivities. Of note, we will collectively sing the Damodarastakam prayers, which celebrate one of Krishna's most endearing pastimes.

Please stay tuned for more information on these wonderful activities and we truly hope you can join us for what will be a spiritually introspective time of the year.

As a special treat, you can view a wonderful animation of the Damodarastakam prayers (complete with lyrics and translation) below:

A Hare Krishna Thanksgiving - Saturday Night!

As Canadians get ready to celebrate Thanksgiving this upcoming weekend by spending time with family and friends, the Hare Krishna temple is warmly inviting our devotee community to join us for our own version of a “Thanksgiving Party” at the temple this Saturday, October 8th from 6pm to 9pm.

Join us for an evening of kirtan, special “Thanksgiving” prasadam and the wonderful association of devotees! There will also be some fun elements of the evening as well, so you won’t want to miss it. The evening will present us with a great opportunity to come together and express our thanks for being part of our beautiful Hare Krishna family. Everyone is welcome!!!

In order to ensure that we make enough prasadam arrangements for everyone, please RSVP for the event by clicking here!

In the News: "Hare Krishna: The Rise in Krishna Consciousness"

This past Summer our 39th Annual Festival of India (Ratha-Yatra) caught the eye of a reporter for the Huffington Post. His article entitled "Hare Krishna: The Rise in Krishna Consciousness" provides a unique perspective on the Festival as well as the Hare Krishnas:

The arrival of the Toronto International Film Festival neatly heralds the end of the summer festival season in the city and Canada as a whole. However glamorous the parade of celebrities on the red carpet may seem, nothing quite compares to the peculiar sight of the Ratha Yatra in Toronto and across the country. Mimicking the original Indian procession in the city of Puri, several devotional floats dedicated to the Hindu God Krishna, also known as Lord Jagannath, roll down the street, accompanied by exuberant crowds extolling a familiar chant:

Hare Krishna Hare Krishna
Krishna Krishna Hare Hare
Hare Rama Hare Rama
Rama Rama Hare Hare

(Read More)

Vaishnavi Sanga - A Spiritual Course for Women!

"Vaishnavi" means a female devotee of Krishna. "Sanga" refers to the spiritual discussions between devotees. Toronto's Hare Krishna temple is very excited to present "Vaishnavi Sanga - A Spiritual Course for Women", scheduled to take place every Friday evening, starting at 6:00pm. The event will take a form of a weekly retreat in our beautiful Hare Krishna Centre!

What a great opportunity to get together and open our hearts while discussing various spiritual topics like exploring the relationship between spiritual master and disciple, learning how to worship Krishna at home or in the temple, learning about matter and spirit (karma, reincarnation, yoga, etc) and many more topics dealing with the philosophy and culture of Krishna Consciousness.

Please feel free to bring your friends and family (women only) who can benefit from this amazing spiritual experience!  Please join us every Friday from 6:00pm – 8:00pm for an exciting experience.

For more information, please contact: Sukhyanti devi dasi

Deity Darshan: Sunday, October 1, 2011

Video: Maha-Mantra Festival Celebrations in Toronto!

Toronto's Hare Krishna community recently celebrated the annual Maha-Mantra Festival.  The festival involved a wide assortment of activities and events that proved to be wonderfully spiritually inspiring!  Check out some of the highlights via the video below:

Video: Maha-Mantra Festival Highlights!

Some video highlights of the recently-celebrated Maha-Mantra festival in Toronto which included chanting on a double-decker bus, harinamas and chanting at a Beatles Festival in Orillia!

Thanksgiving Weekend Celebrations - LIVE!