A brand new year often beckons us to both start things off with a fresh outlook and approach things with a clean slate. It is no surprise that the annual Srila Prabhupada Festival, held every New Years Day at Toronto’s Hare Krishna Temple, draws such a large crowd. While festivals at ISKCON Toronto almost always result in an absolutely packed temple, our festival on January 1st seems to bring out a few more non-regulars as people look to start their year with a spiritual flavour.
Challenged with the responsibility of delivering a program that would help devotees start the year on the right spiritual note, the Hare Krishna Temple had a program filled with a feast for the eyes, heart and soul.
The program began with the 6:00pm arati, led by Premavati devi dasi. After a brief welcome and announcements, HH Bhaktimarga Swami gave a small class about the importance of the new year and also took the opportunity to thank a few of the many devotees that help make our temple the wonderful spiritual hub that it is!
Following this small talk, the crowd assembled around Srila Prabhupada as Guru-Puja was sung by Asha Latha devi dasi. Devotees then scrambled for good seats as the highlight of the night was next! HH Bhaktimarga Swami presented a drama which debuted during Janmastami 2008. The drama, entitled “The Eighth Boy”, featured new scenes, actors and costumes. The assembled crowd was enthralled as the stage was transformed by the superior direction of Maharaj and the wonderful acting of the cast.
As the drama concluded, the altar doors swung open and a raucous 8:00pm arati was led by Ajamila das. The temple room was packed as devotees clamoured to get a view of Their Lordships Sri Sri Radha Ksira-Chora Gopinatha in Their brilliant red outfits! A feast like no other then awaited the massive crowd as the evening concluded with amazing prasadam that certainly had devotees rubbing their tummies on their way home.
The Hare Krishna Temple and the ISKCON Toronto Blog would like to wish everyone a happy and safe new year and hope that everyone is looking forward to a year of festivals, kirtan and more! Hare Krishna!
Srila Prabhupada Festival Picture Gallery Below
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