Uplifting Service
Krishna Lunch has been a University of Florida staple for nearly 40 years but, like many things, coronavirus brought the daily campus tradition to a swift halt. Now, the meals are being distributed to other hungry folk.
After months under lockdown due to the COVID-19 pandemic, some ISKCON temples around the world are gradually starting to reopen in phases, with safety restrictions in place according to their local government recommendations.
Kirtan Fest Global organized the Kirtan Fest India Online for ISKCON India from 10th May - 17th May, and was live streamed on Facebook. The event was so popular that the organizers extended from 7 days to 8 days for a total of 96 hours of Kirtan Fest India Online.
Since the COVID-19 pandemic began in March, ISKCON temples worldwide have been in lockdown, unable to connect with their communities or give spiritual knowledge to newcomers in person, and instead shifting these activities online.
From June 1st, however, the UK government has begun to ease restrictions slightly. On Monday June 1st and Tuesday June 2nd, a maximum of six devotees on each day rode the boat down the Paddington Basin through Wembley.
The Vice Principal of TKG Academy is offering online bhakti courses for teenagers during the COVID-19 pandemic, teaching them The Nectar of Instruction using Srila Prabhupada’s purports and Steven Covey’s 7 Habits of Highly Effective People.
Many devotee parents are often wondering how to meaningfully engage their home-bound children in devotional activities, which is especially relevant during the weeks of school closures. A great remedy could be a book series by Aruddha Dasi, entitled as Srimad Bhagavatam: A Comprehensive Guide for Young Readers.
While devotees in India and around the world cannot visit Mayapur, the TOVP has launched its own talk show, “TOVP Talks” to keep everyone inspired and connected to the project.
The program has delivered talks by some of the most illustrious speakers in the Hare Krishna Movement eight times a week online, providing the kind of experience that would have been hard to find even before the pandemic began.
Temple President Mukhya Dasi cautions that the gradual reopening at ISKCON Alachua is a trial run, and that the temple will continue to monitor Coronavirus cases in the Alachua area, where the rate of positive results from testing is currently low.
During these trying times of the pandemic, for devotees who are not working and stuck at home, ISKCON Nashik, India, is offering a great opportunity to participate in an online Chaitanya Caritamrta contest.
"Standing in queue / Desperately buying toilet paper to wipe away their anxiety / The fear of the uncertain and the unknown / Sticks to them with industrial strength glue"
According to the New York Times, “National lockdowns and social distancing measures are drying up work and incomes and are likely to disrupt agricultural production and supply routes—leaving millions to worry how they will get enough to eat.”
In New Vrindaban, West Virginia, ISKCON’s first rural community which Srila Prabhupada earmarked as an example of sustainability to the world, resident devotees are using the pandemic to push themselves closer to their goal of self-sufficiency.
When Ghanashyam Das first began his chaplaincy service in New York City, little did he know that he would end up on the frontlines of a global pandemic, risking his own health every day to provide spiritual and emotional support for patients dying of Coronavirus.
While the coronavirus is spreading throughout the world, luckily for us, so is kindness. The simple acts of kindness are powerful, cathartic, and could change our lives forever. ISKCON News is calling young artists, aged 3-18, to recognize and capture these little acts of kindness around them and turn them into an artwork.
We’ve seemingly lost our freedom. But when ‘freedom’ means that everything is so available that we become complacent, what’s the benefit? If ‘restriction’ generates an appreciation and gratitude of what we’ve taken for granted all these years, where’s the loss?
The COVID-19 Pandemic is a financial challenge for all ISKCON temples. With their main sources of income such as book distribution, Harinama Sankirtan, in person hundi box donations, preaching programs and more either decreased or halted, many are struggling to make ends meet.
Devotees in the city of Thunder Bay, Ontario in Canada are doing their part to help their local community during the COVID-19 pandemic by feeding prasadam to essential personnel like hospital staff and sanitation workers.
We offer our prayers for the well-being of all those affected by the pandemic. We pray for those souls who have passed away, and for their family members and friends. We also pray for those currently ill and their loved ones. And, we pray for those millions of people who suffer from the financial impact of the coronavirus and who worry for the safety of their families.
Kirtan Space, an online educational effort that started in 2016, has been revamped and will offer a free ten-week foundational kirtan course on Youtube starting May 25th. “During this time, when you may be not working and may be stuck at home, is a good opportunity to learn a new instrument,” says director Balaram Nityananda Das.
"Your merry rides have been thwarted, / Your house has been fenced, / Amazing you are, O mind, / You still don’t wish to be cleansed..."
Devotees from the Five Truths Pancha Tattva Center in Omsk, Siberia organized a Srimad-Bhagavatam online marathon, in which the translations of all 18,000 verses were recited over ten days, from April 10th to 19th. The marathon, which aimed to inspire devotees and benefit the world during the current dark times under a global pandemic, was entitled Spiritual Victory in Seven Days.
Altruism is defined as having a disinterested and selfless concern for the wellbeing of others. The Bhagavad Gita 16.1-3 describes the same, daya bhutesv aloluptvam or being without greed and having mercy towards others. Putting this concern into action not only aids those in difficulty but also eases your own.
“Let us not squander this hour of our pain” (Rilke)
