New Bhaktivedanta College under Construction in Mexico
Cueramaro, Mexico: ISKCON devotees here are using natural brick and plenty of glass to construct a brand new “green” building for their Colegio Bhaktivedanta. “We have just finished building the main classroom, and are planning to start there next summer,” says vice principal Nasiaha-Kapa Dasa.
The college is in session only during the summer, and offers three courses. Bhakti Castra covers the Bhagavad-gita, Upadecamata, Bhakti-rasamata-sindhu and Sri isopanisad, and lasts three months. Pada Padma covers the first and second cantos of Sri mad- Bhagavatam, and is split into two three-month sections over two years. There’s also an introductory course that lasts two weeks, and teaches newcomers to Krishna conscious about the basics of the philosophy and lifestyle.
Festival of Colors in New Vrindavan
Moundsville, West Virginia, USA: New Vrindavan’s third annual Festival of Colors brought out 5,000 participants to “color their lives and throw their worries to the wind!” This was the message that hit home with most all of the festival-goers that day.
“As you can see, the Festival of Colors in Moundsville today was a complete success!” This was the declaration made by Sarafina Brooks, a reporter from the local TV Channel WTOV 9, who appeared on TV covered from head to toe in green powdered chalk.
Princes’ Islands Offer Turkish Devotees the Bhakti Experience
Buyukada, Princes’ Islands: Between September 12 and 15, Turkish devotees and newcomers gathered at the Ashoka Yoga Retreat Center here. Twenty-seven devotees including some visitors from Cyprus and Hungary stayed for the full duration of the event, while daily guests brought attendance to forty-five by Sunday.
“In the beginning I was the only devotee here,” says Nasiaha Kanea Dasa, who organized the event along with his wife Kanaa-mala Devi Dasi and Sri Rama Dasa. “Now there are about twenty devotees living in Turkey. But there is no temple. So we wanted to gather all the devotees in one place and create an atmosphere that would give them the experience of living in a temple.”
50,000 attend Festival das Cores
Sao Paulo, Brazil: Festival das Cores, the Brazilian version of the Holi festival, was celebrated on October 25 at the 545-acre Ibirapuera Park in the center of Sao Paulo. 200,000 people passed through the park, and about 50,000 packed in front of the stage and participated in the event. The festival was organized by Kanea Murari Dasa with his company Verdi, which puts on cultural events and art festivals around the city.
“Blossoming of Vedic Life in Rural Hungary”
Budapest, Hungary: On September 18, a special art exhibition opened at the Cultural Center of the Indian Embassy in Budapest, Hungary. The “Blossoming of Vedic Life in Rural Hungary” exhibition displays over 40 original drawings from ISKCON-guru and author Sivarama Swami’s new book the Nava Vraja Mahima, a monumental work in glorification of New Vraja Dhama (or Krishna-valley), a rural Vaisanava community in Hungary.
US Lawmaker Gifts Gita to Modi
New York City: Influential lawmaker Tulsi Gabbard, the only Hindu member of the US Congress, met Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New York and presented her personal copy of Bhagavad-gita to him, saying it was a gesture to express her love for India.
Flower Festival in Detroit
Detroit, Michigan, USA: On September 21, ISKCON devotees here celebrated its second annual Puspaabhiseka flower festival. Their Lordships Sri Sri Radha Kunjabihari were showered with 25 large baskets of flower petals for over one hour continuously.