This year over 4,000 people attended the event, also dubbed Festival of Colors, on Saturday May 4th. So many turned up, in fact, that offsite parking had to be arranged with buses to shuttle them back and forth.
The ISKCON of D.C. temple in Potomac, Maryland will be one of twelve faith-based organizations to receive grant funding from the Faith-based Facilities Security Operating Grants program.
The attendees concentrated on how they wanted to work together, what resources they needed to better serve their temples and where to find them, and how they wanted the relationship between temple presidents and GBCs to look and feel.
“I chose to take the oath of office with my personal copy of the Bhagavad-gita because its teachings have inspired me to strive to be a servant-leader, dedicating my life in the service of others and to my country,” said Gabbard after the swearing-in ceremony to be a Congresswoman in 2013.
Maha-Mantra Das is a busy family man and software developer in Washington D.C. In his spare time, he and his wife and children have taught about 60,000 people how to chant the Hare Krishna mantra on beads over the last decade.
On May 8, 2018, the Religious Freedom Institute (RFI) held a policy briefing on Capitol Hill with government leaders, academics, and experts on religious freedom issues, including ISKCON’s Minister of Communications, Anuttama Dasa.
Until now, dialogues in Washington D.C. have been held in neutral, non-religious spots such as retreat centers and community halls. But with such deep friendships and trust built up over the years, the dialogue was held last year at a Catholic monastery, and this year – for the very first time – at an ISKCON temple.
On April 25th, twenty officials and staff from the Israeli Embassy, including a representative from its Community Relations office, visited ISKCON of Washington D.C.
After being told it could not buy advertisement space for its annual “Find the perfect gift” Christmas campaign last year, the Catholic Archdiocese of Washington sued the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) for banning religious speech.
Many international religious and political leaders honored the founder International Society for Krishna Consciousness A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada’s achievements and contributions at a special ISKCON 50th Anniversary Gala Event in Washington D.C. on September 13th, 2016. The event took place in the Presidential Ballroom at the Capital Hilton Hotel. Three blocks from the White House, the Ballroom has hosted every president since Harry S. Truman and features a permanent eight-foot presidential seal on its wall. Over 300 people attended the Gala event, seventy-five of them special invitees including religious leaders, religious liberty experts, members of the media, government representatives and political leaders. A video by Karuna Productions.
Keshav Das, 30, an ISKCON of Washington D.C. devotee, won the gold medal at his tri-county Special Olympics meet on Sunday May 21st, competing in the 100-meter track and field. Keshav, who was born with Down Syndrome, had been training for the past year with his coach, and was cheered on by thirteen family members, including father and mother Sachchida and Sharmistha Gupta, and brothers Gopal and Vishal.
A 10-minute video has been released about the prestigious ISKCON50 Gala event that took place in September 2016 at the Hilton Presidential Ballroom, in Washington, D.C. Over 300 people attended the event, seventy-five of them special invitees including religious leaders, religious liberty experts, members of the media, and political leaders. The video presents the highlights of the Gala, including some of the speeches and Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard's leading kirtan.
2016 was a significant year for Indian Americans in politics. Five Indian Americans, a record number, were elected to U.S. Congress. To celebrate the milestone, fellow members of Congress, dignitaries and supporters, including ISKCON, gathered at the Indiaspora Gala on January 3rd in Washington, D.C. The bipartisan event highlighted the increasing significance of the Indian-American community in the country’s political landscape. It also welcomed members of the new administration and allowed new and current members to build relationships and strengthen ties.
“Tulsi shared how the Bhagavad Gita continues to serve as an inspiration in her life, and how grateful she is to the people of Hawaii for allowing her to continue to serve in Congress,” said a statement from her office.
“.. Whether you are Muslim, Christian, Jewish, Hindu, Sikh – these religions are teaching our young people about justice and compassion and honesty.”
The renowned International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON) celebrated the 50th anniversary of its founding by revered spiritual leader A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada with an elaborate black-tie gala in Washington DC late last month. The event brought together scores of religious, academic and political leaders from across the country to celebrate the life of Swami Prabhupada and the influential, global organization his work inspired.
Lincoln Memorial, Washington DC 10/08/2016.
Political pundits last weekend were calling the second presidential debate “the darkest and nastiest in modern history,” full of scandals, personal attacks and insults. And the ongoing drama may be what’s taking over the news lately. But not everyone, even in Washington, is being dragged down by it. On Saturday October 8th, thousands of people from different faiths and backgrounds gathered on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial for a “Chant 4 Change,” trying to bring some light into the darkness.
Already ISKCON communities in Chicago, Houston, Dallas, Alachua, Maine and New York are mobilizing large contingents of devotees to attend what promises to be an historic event this October 8th – Chant 4 Change.Kirtan chanter and organizer Gaura Vani is imploring all devotees from throughout the U.S. and beyond to come en masse and make a powerful statement on a public stage. That statement is that there’s only one way to heal the racism, sexism and terrorism that is currently plaguing the globe – and that is chanting God’s names.
On Saturday October 8th, at Washington’s famed Lincoln Memorial, at the site of one of America’s most famous landmarks, an event never seen before on this scale in Washington will take place. Chant4Change will focus on the performances of dozens of musicians, from a variety of religious and spiritual traditions, who will join together for a day and evening of music calling out to the Divine in chant, prayer, and song. To celebrate the event, H.H. the Dalai Lama also sent a message.
Chant4Change: Lincoln Memorial on October 8th, 2016 - “Raise Your Voice.”
Many international religious and political leaders honored ISKCON Founder Srila Prabhupada’s achievements and contributions at a special ISKCON 50th Anniversary Gala Event in Washington D.C. on Tuesday September 13th, 2016. The keynote speaker was U.S. Congresswoman from Hawaii Tulsi Gabbard. Read more about the event at: http://iskconnews.org/religious-and-political-leaders-appreciate-srila-prabhupada-at-iskcon-50-gala-dinner-in-washington-dc,5803/
Over 300 people attended the Gala event, seventy-five of them special VIP invitees including religious leaders, media, government representatives and political leaders.
The capital city of the United States will host two major events over the next month celebrating in style and en masse the 50th Anniversary of ISKCON and the power of chanting God’s names to change the world. On September 13, in the Presidential Ballroom of the Capital Hilton Hotel three hundred people will gather for a formal ISKCON 50 Gala Evening. Picking up right where the Gala ends—with kirtan—on Saturday October 8th, the celebration will move just a mile away to the foot of Washington’s famed Lincoln Memorial.
As many as 10,000 people from multiple faiths and backgrounds are set to sing God’s names together in what could be the biggest chant gathering in American history on October 8th, exactly one month before the U.S. presidential election. Organized by second generation ISKCON devotees, the free event “Chant 4 Change” will take place in Washington D.C. on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial, where Martin Luther King Jr. spoke his famous “I have a dream” speech.
An inspiring video to invite people to Washington DC to the Chant4Change event on October 8th, 2016.
At the temple in Potomac, a suburb of Washington D.C., for example, community members are holding their first 50-hour kirtan.
A statuette of Lord Hanuman is among few items that US President Barack Obama always carries in his pocket and seeks inspiration.
Most significantly for ISKCON members, Vatican Council II redefined how the Catholic Church sees and engages with the non-Catholic religious traditions.
With a profusion of secular “color runs” and “color festivals” everywhere these days, it’s hard to find one that stands out. But Holi D.C., beginning with its conspicuous moniker – it purposely retains the festival’s original spiritual name rather than calling itself “Festival of Colors” – is decidedly unique.
ISKCON Communications Ministry is looking back on decades of gaining support for Prabhupada’s society.
The high-tech museum is four blocks from the U.S. Capitol and three blocks from a global tourism mecca, the Air and Space Museum.
Yoga practitioners are fighting a new sales tax by insisting the activity isn't primarily about fitness. Around the world, its definition can often be rather more flexible, writes Jon Kelly.
Nancy De Luca Stempel (Nandapatni Dasi) the Executive Director of the Learning Community International, a private school “Without Walls” claims her school’s unique learning style is a good fit for ISKCON children.
Drone flight over. A stunning video of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints Temple in Washington DC, USA.
The fifth annual Vaishnava-Muslim Interfaith Dialogue was held on Saturday April 19th this year in the Washington D.C. area. After covering topics such as the name of God and “What do we Love When We Love Our God?” during previous years’ meetings, this year’s focused on peace and peacebuilding within the Vaishnava and Muslim traditions. Twenty participants attended, including professors, scholars and religious leaders.
Anuttama Dasa, the communications director at ISKCON, went on the ABC7 TV show to talk about Holi DC, happening on Saturday, April 5th.
Thousands of marchers braved freezing temperatures in Washington to demand an end to abortion in the USA, with Pope Francis tweeting his support.
First Lady Michelle Obama delivers remarks at a Diwali celebration at the White House. November 5, 2013.
The ISKCON temple in the Washington D.C. suburb of Potomac, Maryland, incorporated some interesting creative as well as managerial ideas in their Janmastami festival this year, to maximize devotion in attendees.
Children in Potomac, Washington D.C. and Hillsborough, North Carolina, USA, have been in for a treat this summer with an Indian Arts Summer Camp that absorbs them in Vaishnava culture and is lots of fun at the same time. Second generation ISKCON devotee Gaurangi-Priya, 34, started the camp six years ago, and runs it with her mother, Kamalini Dasi.
Ten representatives of Vaishnavism, and ten of the Christian faith will meet in Potomac, Maryland, just outside of Washington D.C., this April 13th and 14th for the fifteenth annual Vaishnava Christian Dialogue, on the topic of “The Hidden God.”
A position is open immediately to serve ISKCON as Executive Assistant to the Minister of Communications, Anuttama Dasa. The service will be performed at the ISKCON Communications (IC) offices at the Washington, D.C. temple, in suburban Maryland, USA.