Digital Celebration of Sri Krishna Janmashtami 2020 will be held on August 11th and 12th, 2020 on ISKCON-Bangalore YouTube channel.
In the current situation of the pandemic in the country, and the uncertainties surrounding the local situation in Bangalore, ISKCON-Bangalore, will be performing the various Sri Krishna Janmashtami related sevas to Their Lordships Sri Sri Radha Krishnachandra in the temple at Hare Krishna Hill. Depending on the prevailing guidelines of the government during Sri Krishna Janmashtami, in the interest of public safety, the devotees, donors, sponsors of the various sevas, and well-wishers will be informed if they will be able to participate in the sevas in the temple, or may have to participate online.
However, to spread the joy and blessings of Sri Krishna Janmashtami among the devotees, they have planned digital celebration of Sri Krishna Janmashtami – a series of activities to be webcast on both the days on the ISKCON-Bangalore YouTube channel. They invite everyone to participate in these activities and celebrations, in the comfort and safety of your homes.
Highlights of the digital celebration:
Nearly 20 hours of programs to be webcast on ISKCON-Bangalore official YouTube channel on the two days of Sri Krishna Janmashtami (Aug 11th and 12th).
Live webcast of Nauka Vihar (boat festival or theppotsava) for Their Lordships Sri Sri Radha Krishnachandra at the crack of dawn.
Live webcast of Grand Abhishek of the Deities of Sri Sri Radha Krishnachandra. The Abhishek will consist of pancha-gavya, pancha-amrita, varieties of aushada (herbal waters), varieties of phala rasas (fruit juices), sandal water, varieties of deepas (lamps), pushpa vrishti (showering of flowers), chaamara seva and Jhulan seva (swing festival).
Music concerts by renowned artistes:
Anup Jalota – an Indian singer, musician and actor best known for his performances in the Hindu devotional music, bhajan, and the Urdu form of poetry, ghazal. He is popularly known as the “Bhajan Samraat” (Emperor of Bhajans).
Anuradha Paudwal – an Indian playback singer who works in Bollywood and the Marathi cinema. She was awarded the Padma Shri, India’s fourth-highest civilian award, by the Government of India in 2017. She is a recipient of the National Film Award and a four-time winner of the Filmfare Award.
Great Granddaughters of MS Subbalakshmi – The ‘Nightingale of India’ MS Subbalakshmi (1916-2004), who was the first musician to be awarded the Bharat Ratna, had accomplished several firsts in the field of music. Taking her legacy forward are her great granddaughters, S Aishwarya and S Saundarya, who are presenting both popular and less-heard renditions of Subbulakshmi’s to the world. The young sisters were invited to perform at Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s residence in October 2017.
Agam – contemporary Carnatic progressive rock band on Krishna songs.Bhajans and kirtans by devotees of ISKCON-Bangalore temple and congregation.
FOLK Band and Aikya Band – the youth empowerment initiatives of ISKCON-Bangalore – sing Krishna songs set to contemporary music.
Panel discussions with eminent persons of the country on various themes:
a) The Inspiring Journey and Message of ISKCON-Bangalore – informal chat with Sri Madhu Pandit Dasa, President of ISKCON-Bangalore and Chairman of Akshaya Patra Foundation along with thought leaders and influencers in the country like Dr Kasturi Rangan, Shri Anupam Kher, Smt Hema Malini.
b) Magic of Little Krishna – Reminiscing the making of the world renowned animated series with the makers of the series.
c) Secrets of ISKCON Kitchens – country’s food experts discuss what makes ISKCON food so delicious!
d) No One Shall Go Hungry – Sri Madhu Pandit Dasa and other visionary leaders of the country discuss the extraordinary vision of Srila Prabhupada (the founder-acharya of ISKCON) that led to the creation of Akshaya Patra program and how hunger and starvation are unacceptable features of a civilized and compassionate society.
e) Krishna Talk with the Leaders of ISKCON-Bangalore – a phone-in event where public can interact and ask questions on the life and message of Lord Sri Krishna.
Classical dance performances by renowned artistes that depict the transcendental pastimes and qualities of Lord Sri Krishna.
a) Rukmini of Radhaa Kalpa fame will perform Bharatanatyam specially for the occasion.
b) More dance groups under discussion.
Message to public by renowned spiritual leaders and mahants of famous Krishna temples of the country on the occasion of Sri Krishna Janmashtami.
Online premiere of two short films on the ancient but timeless stories of Indian heritage.
Also screening of one music and dance video.
Children’s program:
a) Krishna Story telling by expert story tellers.
b) Bhajans and kirtans by children of Basil Woods School (an ISKCON-Bangalore initiative).
Janmastami Celebrations in orphanage: Celebrating Janmastami in “Samarthanam Trust for the Disabled” with gifts, prasadam, music, celeb greetings and many other surprises. Join us to join their happiness
Conversation with Amish Tripathi.
In the current situation of the pandemic in the country, they are planning, in the interest of public safety, how to take the blessings and joy of Sri Krishna Janmashtami to the lakhs of devotees of Krishna all over the world. They have planned a series of online events on August 11th and 12th, 2020.
The world needs positivity and optimism. The human society looks up to leaders and influencers. The virtues you embody and the confidence you radiate is especially relevant to humanity today. They are trying to use the opportunity of Sri Krishsna Janamashtami to convey your thoughts and enthuse people all over the world with hope and new energy.
ISKCON-Bangalore temple on Hare Krishna Hill, Rajajinagar, was inaugurated formally by the then President of India in May 1997. Since then the temple has made stellar contributions to the people of Bangalore city in various fields of religious, spiritual, social and cultural development of the society.
The iconic temple is one of the most visited places of the city, a pride of every citizen of Bangalore. It is an architectural marvel – combining the elements of traditional temple architecture and elements of modern architecture. In the year 2019-20, about 42.8 lakh visitors visited the temple.
The temple has been a centre of learning and dissemination of the message of Lord Sri Krishna and the congregational chanting of the holy names of Lord Sri Krishna: Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare/Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare – for personal and collective wellbeing.
The temple gave birth to the Akshaya Patra mid-day meal program in the year 2000 that is currently serving 18.7 lakh children in 13 states of the country, in partnership with the government of India and various state governments.
The ISKCON-Bangalore temple also housed the world-class animation studio and produced Little Krishna – a 13-episode TV serial which became a prime time show in Nickelodeon TV channel and has millions of views on the YouTube.
The ISKCON-Bangalore has also been a centre for cultural activities. Hosts of music, dance and plays have been performed on several occasions all through the year. The most notable performers from Kalakshetra Foundation, Chennai, Sri Birju Maharaj, Sri Srikanthan, and several others have performed.
ISKCON-Bangalore is also known for the colourful religious festivals all through the year. Thousands of devotees participate and revel in the festivities.
ISKCON-Bangalore also conducts several children’s and youth programs all through the year. The objective is to instill the values and message of Sri Krishna so that their lives are founded on the solid bedrock of spirituality and morality. Such a foundation will guide them in their lives to make right choices and decisions for their personal good and also for the good of their family, society, nation and planet.
ISKCON-Bangalore temple is a landmark in the city and has set a benchmark in temple cleanliness. The temple is also renowned for the tranquil spiritual atmosphere it provides to the millions of visitors. Our beloved former President of India, Sri APJ Abdul Kalam heartily remarked during his visit to ISKCON-Bangalore remarked: “I can feel the spiritual power in this temple.”
The Akshaya Patra Foundation serves mid-day meals as a part of the Government of India’s flagship school feeding programme, the Mid-Day Meal Programme. Our vision is ‘No child in India shall be deprived of education because of hunger.’
They started their school lunch programme in the year 2000 with the feeding of 1,500 children in five schools in Bengaluru, Karnataka. It was our humble attempt to address the issue of classroom hunger in the country and support the health and education of the children by providing them hot, nutritious, and tasty mid-day meals.
The popularity of the initiative prompted many school authorities to write to us asking us to serve mid-day meals in their schools. Over the period, many like-minded individuals and organisations came forward and helped us reach more and more children.
In 2003, the Foundation signed an MoU with the Government of Karnataka for Akshara Dasoha, thus becoming the first organisation to forge a Public-Private Partnership (PPP) with the Government to implement the Mid-Day Meal Scheme.
Since then, they have been working closely with the Government of India and various State Governments, providing children a quality, nutritious, and tasty mid-day meal as an incentive to come to school.
Today, they serve more than 1.8 million children studying in over 19,000 Government schools in 51 locations across 12 states and two union territories of the country. They have cumulatively served over 3.3 million mid-day meals since inception.
They operate 52 centralised kitchens in 12 states and 2 union territories across India. These kitchens prepare meals for approximately 1.8 million school children. The semi-automated kitchens have the capacity to undertake large scale feeding, typically up to 100,000 meals a day whilst ensuring safe handling, preparation, and delivery of the food.
The scale and operational efficiency of centralised kitchens help Akshaya Patra play a crucial role in maximising the impact of the Mid-Day Meal Programme. The approach also works as far as accountability is concerned because thousands of meals are prepared at one location with due adherence to safety and hygiene and the whole process is monitored with due diligence.
Along with the Government (Central and States) and donors (corporate and individual), they have formed a strong system to tirelessly feed children and provide them an incentive to come to school.
In the last four months (March to June 2020), they have served 6.8 crore meals as part of the Covid relief feeding program in about 50 locations in 15 states of the country.
