On September 7th, devotees participated in an online Vyasa Puja broadcast from the Matchless Gifts storefront to celebrate His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda. The year’s event was hosted by Candrasekhara Swami with the help of a team of devotees and included offerings from over 20 senior devotees in person and worldwide.

The annual Vyasa Puja held at 26 2nd Avenue began as a yearly in-person gathering organized by Romapada Swami. Later, Candrasekhara Swami became its host and organizer. Having it online means a broader range of devotees can participate from around the world while having Matchless Gifts as the “base of operations” ties it to the historical beginnings of ISKCON. The GBC’s Strategic Planning Team also broadcasted the event on their Mayapur Channel. 

Candrasekhara Swami welcomes devotees (L) Pancharatna Das prepares at Matchless Gifts (R).

“A big thank you goes out to all of our Vyasa Puja speakers that participated in this year’s event,” said Candrasekhara Swami, “I would also like to thank all those who helped make this Vyasa Puja Zoom happen from the administrative and technical side, Gaura Kumar, Yadunatha, Pancaratna, Jagannatha Gopal, Karan, Caitanyananda, Prabhavisnu, Priya Sakha, Toshan Nimai and Anantashesh as well as the garland makers and prasadam cooks.”

You can watch the entire event on YouTube by using the following link. The video is helpfully time-stamped for each speaker in the video slider, and show notes.