ISKCON Pandharpur Youth Festival: Grand Success

[Guest guest]

New! First Time Ever! ISKCON Pandharpur Youth Festival: Grand Success!

 

By Ekalavya Das

 

Pandharpur, Maharashtra, India: January 6 - 7, 2007: Here at ISKCON

Pandharpur, we just had our first Youth Festival. More than two hundred

youths attended from district towns and villages across Maharashtra

including Pandharpur, Jaisingpur, Solapur, Amravati, Pune, Jalgoan, Vita,

Satara, Sangli, Aravade, Alibhag, and Bid. The festival was a co-operative

effort of ISKCON Pandharpur and the ISKCON Maharashtra Preaching Ministry

(IMPM).

 

The two day festival featured a beautiful candle darshan of Sri Sri Radha

Pandharinath, a lecture by His Holiness Lokanath Swami Maharaja on the topic

of New Year's Resolutions, kirtans, video shows, dramas, question and answer

sessions, and a grand finale Mantra Rock Kirtan!

 

Three different Marathi newspapers printed highly favorable articles and

photos. The Pandhari Newspaper's headline translates as follows:

 

"The Colors of the Devotion of Students are Spreading in the Horizon of

Spirituality. - CHANT HARE KRISHNA AND BE HAPPY".

 

The reporter who wrote the following article was so overwhelmed with emotion

that he pledged to do anything he could to bring these festivals to colleges

across Maharashtra.

 

The reporter was lamenting, "I didn't know ISKCON does programs like this.

I thought you people were just chanting Hare Krishna. If I knew it would be

like this, I would have brought my son with me today!"

 

His article in the Sakal Newspaper (Marathi) - (Translated into English by

H.G. Prananath Das) is as follows:

 

Hare Krishna Chants Tumultuous Sound Vibration in ISKCON Pandharpur.

Students are in completely absorbed by the Vibration of Hare Krishna.

 

ISKCON Temple on the bank of Chandrabhaga River: today, so many students

became absorbed in hearing the transcendental sound vibration of Hare

Krishna and lectures. ISKCON has arranged a wonderful Youth Festival in

order that the students can welcome the New Year in a spiritual way.

 

>From different parts of the state, more than 100 students have attended this

program. The International Society for Krishna Consciousness has arranged

questions and answers for students, slide show, spiritual drama, seminar,

and the kirtan of Hare Krishna Maha Mantra with a variety of instruments.

 

The main attraction in this festival was HH Lokanath Swami Maharaja. He is

world famous for preaching Krishna consciousness. "Today's youth generation

in India are blindly following the western culture. And they think that

everything is all right. But they are neglecting the path of devotional

service. Youths are the real strength of the nation. If they take the

proper guidance, and if they follow the principles of Bhagavat religion,

then the wealth of the culture will be maintained."

 

In this program, Ekalavya Prabhu from America and Gaura Krishna Prabhu from

Denmark performed Hare Krishna mantra in a Western style and thus they

captivated all the students. During the questions and answers session,

their answers to the student's questions were based on the scriptures.

Those that participated in this program were completely absorbed in ecstatic

trance. And so many students exclaimed that they received a new direction

in their lives.

 

A nice color photo by Ajit Deshpande of Pandharpur showing the boys dancing

in the kirtan also appeared along with the article. The caption reads:

"The students in the temple of Hare Krishna on the bank of Chandrabhaga

River are completely merged in ecstasy and forget everything else."