Devotees at ISKCON London are taking the opportunity to teach the Krishna conscious principles of Bhakti yoga to as many teachers as possible, so that they may in turn pass them on to their students.

Since some religious education is compulsory for all students in the UK up to the age of sixteen, devotees began by training teachers at Westminster in how to teach “Hinduism” to their students.

Italian Teachers get an Introduction to Krishna Consciousness

Then in 2009, devotees connected with ACLE, an Italian association that promotes linguistic education for teachers and students, and organizes an annual trip to London.

“One of their aims during the trip is to experience alternative cultural sites of London, which includes the Hare Krishna temple,” says Jaga Mohini Dasi, who works at ISKCON Educational services along with Italian devotee Akarsini Radhika Dasi.

Around sixty to seventy English teachers from all over Italy visit the ISKCON Soho St. temple in London every year.

“For the majority, it’s their first time stepping into a temple,” Jaga Mohini says. “We gather in the temple room, and those that have no health issues experience sitting on floor mats.”

The teachers are introduced to topics of Hinduism, denominations, lifestyle, meditation, the Bhagavad-gita, the soul, karma, and reincarnation.

Italian teachers gather at ISKCON Soho Street

“Akarsini is Italian, so some of the presentation is spoken in Italian, which they warm to,” Jaga Mohini says. “We find that the most of the teachers are very open, and they are always curious as to why we, both westerners, joined the temple. They also want to hear about how the UK has embraced Hinduism and other religions.”

The visit typically ends with the teachers participating in the afternoon arati service at 4:15pm. Most happily join in the singing and dancing. Afterwards, they all receive a free gift in the form of a sweet offered to Lord Krishna, and a book by ISKCON founder Srila Prabhupada.

“Some teachers also visit the temple boutique and buy japa beads and other spiritual paraphernalia to show to their students when they go back to their schools, along with photos and recordings they take during the presentation,” says Jaga Mohini.

Yoga Teachers Receive a Crash Course in Bhakti Yoga

In 2011, two years after the Italian teachers outreach program began, Sachi Kishore Das—head of outreach at Soho St. temple—wanted to expand ISKCON’s connections with the academic world to yoga teachers.

He began to build a relationship with Yoga London, an organization that offers yoga teacher training courses for a variety of yoga disciplines.

ISKCON devotees were invited by the organization to facilitate a monthly introductory crash course on Bhakti yoga, through an exploration of the Bhagavad-gita.

“The course is offered on a Saturday at our temple, and lasts about three to four hours,” says ISKCON Soho St. president Jai Nitai Das. “Usually anywhere between 15 and 30 aspiring yoga teachers come for each session. Probably around 400 to 500 have taken the course since we began.”

The course is taught through Power Point presentation by Sachi Kishore, a celibate monk who holds a Masters in Theology and Philosophy and recently started his PhD at Oxford.

He is assisted by Youtube celebrity and web outreach expert Bala Nimai Das (Ben Loka), as well as Shivanand Sharma, who holds a degree in Actuarial Science and is also an ISKCON monk.

The group teaches the course in three sections. In the first, entitled “The Bhagavad-gita,” they introduce the Vedic culture and the Vedas. They then present the Bhagavad-gita as both the essence of the Vedas and one of the most accessible and relevant treatises on the subject of yoga.

Next, the devotees show how the Bhagavad-gita is relevant to modern readers from any background, since most people can relate to Arjuna’s existential crisis.

They then explore the five main themes of the Gita—identity, nature, time, action and yoga—in an interactive and informative format, concluding with the natural culmination of it all: Bhakti Yoga.

In Section 2 of the course, the devotees give the aspiring yoga teachers an opportunity to experience and participate in Kirtan, an important feature of Bhakti Yoga.

And finally, in Section 3, attendees get to sample another extremely popular part of Bhakt Yoga: the prasadam feast!

As everyone tucks into the sanctified vegetarian meal prepared by Govinda’s restaurant, the devotees share more in-depth details about Krishna consciousness.

Attendees also get the opportunity to purchase copies of the Bhagavad-gita along with a variety of other books on Krishna consciousness.

Feedback on the course is always positive, with people expressing their gratitude for such a lucid and accessible overview of the ancient text, and a deep sense of its relevance. They also appreciate getting a clearer understanding of the principles of Bhakti Yoga, and a clearer understanding of what the “Hare Krishnas” are all about.

“People have started to attend temple programs and come to the restaurant as a result of the course,” says Jai Nitai. “They have also attended other events we hold, such as Kirtan London.”

Jai Nitai feels that the course provides an important service by giving yoga teachers an understanding of the Bhagavad-gita as Krishna intended it.

“I think it’s very beneficial that people are actually hearing Bhagavad-gita As It Is, as opposed to Bhagavad-gita from other groups, which may give impersonal or speculative perceptions,” he says. “Also, we add the practical aspect by educating people how to apply the teachings of the Bhagavad-gita with kirtan and prasadam.”

The Future Holds a Lot of Scope for Expansion

ISKCON London devotees plan to continue both the yoga and Italian teachers’ outreach programs well into the future.

The Italian program will add a new facet on July 20^th, when sixty students—rather than teachers—from Italy will visit the Soho St. temple for the first time.

Meanwhile devotees are developing stronger relationships with Yoga London, with plans for more expansive follow-up courses for yoga teachers.

“We also hope that teachers will start to connect their students with us if they want to understand or know more about the Bhagavad-gita,” Jai Nitai says. “So there’s quite a lot of scope for expansion.”