2021 marks the 125th Appearance Anniversary Year of ISKCON Founder/Acharya His Divine A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada.
Over the Easter Weekend from Friday April 14th to Sunday April 16th, hundreds of devotees at ISKCON Auckland celebrated the 45th anniversary of their Deities, Sri Sri Radha-Giridhari, with love and great pomp. The celebrations included a massive and stunningly colorful Harinama on Queen Street in the center of Auckland.
The documentary short “Hare Krishna: 50 Years of Service and Joy,” showcasing the society’s many impressive contributions, released back in February for ISKCON’s 50th anniversary, by now has reached over a hundred thousand people all over the world. The film had over forty thousand viewers on YouTube, and was screened in 28 countries and 51 cities during large public festivals, temple programs, VIP-, interfaith-or educational events attended by various audiences.
ISKCON celebrates both Prabhupada’s leaving Kolkata on a steamship on August 13th, 1965, and his arriving in Boston.
ISKCON’s Padayatra Ministry has been active since its creation in 1991, and padayatras (walking festivals, usually with bullock carts) are still happening today in different parts of the world. The Ministry's goal is to celebrate ISKCON’s 50th birthday with 50 padayatras, starting from March 2014 till the end of 2016.
Intrepid ISKCON Guru and GBC Bhaktimarga Swami, known colloquially as “The Walking Monk,” is planning his next big adventure. The Swami has already trekked across his native Canada three times, and has walked in Ireland, Israel, Guyana, Trinidad, Fiji and Mauritius, promoting spiritual thought and healthy living.
On July 11, 1966, Srila Prabhupada officially registered his International Society for Krishna Consciousness in New York. At the time, he had one small storefront on New York’s Lower East-Side, and a handful of students. Today, there are nearly four hundred ISKCON centers all over the world, and thousands of ISKCON devotees. ISKCON is now gearing up for its 50th anniversary, with plans for celebratory events all over the world throughout 2016.