40th Anniversary celebration of Krishna-Balarama Temple
Vrindavan, UP: About 100,000 visitors and devotees from all over the world took part in Krishna-Balarama Mandir’s week-long 40th anniversary celebrations March 23 and 29. They included 125 disciples of ISKCON Founder SrilaPrabhupada, some of whom helped build the temple back in the 1970s.
A New ISKCON Temple Rising in Vishakhapatnam
Vishakhapatnam, AP: When Cyclone Hudhud raged through the province of Andhra Pradhesh on India’s East Coast on October 12, 2014, it caused serious damage to ISKCON Visakhapatnam, leaving devotees feeling demoralized. But now a grand, new temple is rising from the debris. Construction began on the auspicious day of Gaura-purnima on March 5 this year, and the monumental 67,000 square foot temple is expected to be completed by Nityananda Trayodasi in Feburary 2018.
Mumbai's Maryam Siddiqui wins Bhagvad-gita contest
Mumbai: Twelve-year-old Maryam Siddiqui, a class VI student, won a written competition based on the Bhagavad-gita that was organized by the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON) in January 2015. The 100-mark test with multiple-choice questions evaluated children on their knowledge of the sacred book. "I have always been inquisitive about religions, and I often read up on them during my free time. So when my teacher told me about this contest I thought it would be a good chance to understand what the book is about. My parents too supported my idea of participating in the contest," said Maryam, who received the prize on March 15.
Florida Is “The Rathayatra State”
Florida has come to be known as “The Rathayatra State” with a record-holding one dozen festivals instate already kicking off its celebrations. The first Rathayatra of the year took place on March 21 in St.Augustine, the oldest city in the United States. The next one was in Tallahassee on March 28. This will be followed by Clearwater Beach on May 10; May 23 in Daytona Beach; July 19 in Tampa Bay; August 15 Jacksonville Beach; September 23 at the University of Central Florida in Orlando. A festival in Miami is yet to be confirmed.
Devotees will also bring Lord Jagannatha’s chariot and kirtana to join in on Clearwater Beach’s Centennial Parade on May 27th; the 450th anniversary of the town of St. Augustine on September 8; the Gator Football Team’s homecoming parade in Gainesville in October; and Christmas parades in High Springs and Alachua in December.
Spanish BBT Reprints Bhagavatam, Continues Resurgence
Srila Prabhupada’s masterwork the Srimad- Bhagavatam has been reprinted in Spanish after being out of stock for four years, to the delight of the Spanish-speaking world. For now, the set includes Srimad-Bhagavatam Cantos 1 through 10, which Prabhupada himself translated and commented on, leaving the last two Cantos translated by his disciples for a later edition. The complete Spanish Bhagavatam reprint of all the twelve cantos is planned for around three years from now.
ISKCON’s Unified Commitment to Child Protection
As part of its ongoing efforts for child safety, ISKCON’s North American Child Protection Office will kick off 2016, the year of the society’s 50th anniversary, by holding its first annual “Safe Temple” awards. Every ISKCON temple in the USA and Canada that shows they have followed CPO risk-reducing policies in the year 2015 will be presented with an award in the form of a certificate acknowledging their efforts.