By Yudhistir Govinda Das
On May 28, 2016, ISKCON celebrated the 500th anniversary of Lord Chaitanya’s visit to Vrindavan at the famous Talkatora Indoor Stadium in New Delhi. The program was supported the Indian Government.
The Festival of Inspiration, which was attended by nearly 8,000 people from Delhi-NCR and other parts of India, saw the presence of several senior vaishnavas such as:
HH Gopal Krishna Maharaja
HH Bhanu Maharaja
HH Lokanath Maharaja
HH Navayogendra Maharaja
HG Basu Ghosh Prabhu among many others
The festival was inaugurated by India’s Union Minister for Tourism and Culture Dr Mahesh Sharma. While addressing the audience he praised the contributions of Srila Prabhupada for taking the message of India all around the world and congratulated the devotees for the 50th anniversary of ISKCON. He also spoke with appreciation for Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu’s movement.
The Hon’ble Minister later released a book on Vraja Mandala Parikrama authored by HH Lokanath Maharaja and was presented a memento by ISKCON India Chairman HH Gopal Krishna Maharaja.
The event showcased several presentations by national and international devotee artists who captivated the attention of the audience many of whom were donors and well-wishers of ISKCON.
Participants were treated to the likes of Bhaktivedanta Academy (Mayapur) who chanted mantras for bringing in auspiciousness and was followed by Dasavatar Odisi dance, Shadow Play on Bhagavad Gita by the students of IIT Kharagpur and Kirtan by the Mayapur International Preaching group along with talks by the visiting devotees.
The festival allowed the devotees to introduce Lord Chaitanya and Gaudiya Vaishnavism to many people who didn’t know about these subjects otherwise. The response, in terms of attendance and engagement, has been exceptionally good, beyond the expectations of the devotees.
The photographs of the event can be viewed by accessing the below link:
https://goo.gl/h5Z96j
Thank you.
Your servant,
Yudhistir Govinda Das
PS: Some other dignitaries who had confirmed their participation couldn’t make it due to the last minute celebrations organized by the BJP to celebrate their second anniversary in power.