Dear Śrīla Prabhupāda,
oṁ ajñāna-timirāndhasya jñānāñjana-śalākayā
cakṣur unmīlitaṁ yena tasmai śrī-gurave namaḥ
nama oṁ viṣṇu-pādāya kṛṣṇa-preṣṭhāya bhū-tale
śrīmate bhaktivedānta-svāminn iti nāmine
namas te sārasvate deve gaura-vāṇī-pracāriṇe
nirviśeṣa-śūnyavādi-pāścātya-deśa-tāriṇe
Please accept our humble obeisances. All glories to Your Divine Grace. All glories to Śrī Guru and Gaurāṅga.
We are honored and blessed to be writing this offering on the auspicious and glorious occasion of your Vyāsa-pūjā. This year marks the sixtieth anniversary of your embarking on a journey to fulfill your spiritual master’s instructions to spread the teachings of Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu to the Western countries. You departed India on August 13, 1965, from Calcutta. On September 17, 1965, at age 69, you reached the port of New York. This date has and will be embedded in the hearts of millions of followers of Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu around the world. You traveled aboard the cargo ship Jaladuta for one month. Despite suffering two heart attacks on the ship, you continued on to fulfill your guru’s instructions.
At Boston Harbor, you wrote a heartfelt prayer to Lord Kṛṣṇa you titled Mārkine Bhāgavata-dharma. It wasn’t just a prayer; it was your submissive oral reception, your seeking the blessings of Lord Kṛṣṇa so you would be able to convince the conditioned souls of His message. Your submissive mood of “unfortunate,” “unqualified,” and “the most fallen” teaches us that we are not in control and must take shelter of the holy name of Kṛṣṇa always.
You came with only 40 rupees and a few copies of Sanskrit text in the form of your published books. But you came with deep faith in the message of Lord Kṛṣṇa. In your initial year, you struggled and experienced so much hardship. You lived in a small, windowless room, endured a cold harsh winter. You started the movement by doing kirtan at Thompson Square Park. It was after almost a year of great difficulty that you established the International Society for Krishna Consciousness in July 1966.
In the last ten years of your life, in spite of your advanced age, you circled the globe twelve times on lecture tours that took you to six continents. Despite such a vigorous schedule, you continued to write prolifically, establishing 108 temples, farm communities, and initiating disciples around the world.
At ISKCON Toronto, we take pride that this is one of those 108 temples you established. You visited the temple and stayed. With your blessings, the Toronto temple has excelled in many fields. Here are the highlights and offerings of our different departments.
Temple operations: By your causeless mercy, Śrīla Prabhupāda, the Toronto temple and ashram are blossoming beautifully, with more souls being drawn to kirtan, festivals, Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam classes, and heartfelt outreach. People from all backgrounds come, stay, and gradually find shelter in the chanting of the holy names, just as you envisioned. In such nourishing association, even a newcomer can feel spiritually at home, inspired by the warmth of devotees and the guidance of senior Vaiṣṇavas, whose visits deeply reconnect us to guru and our paramparā. The residents serve tirelessly, caring for the temple as their very own home, and this spirit of Kṛṣṇa’s family is truly moving to witness. Personally, we feel most fortunate to be engaged in this service at New Remuṇā. We are simply trying to be instruments in Mahāprabhu’s service.
Building Improvement Committee: Śrīla Prabhupāda, by your mercy, the Building Improvement Committee has made steady progress in enhancing your temple. The long-awaited elevator is now installed and fully operational, improving accessibility for all. Alongside upgrades to Matchless Gifts and revisiting the lower-level flooring, our attention has now turned upward. A new multipurpose room is being developed on the balcony to support education, meetings, drama practices, and other community activities. In addition, a dedicated pūjārī changing room has been created, along with access to a new outdoor terrace above Govinda’s. Our current major focus is the renovation of the Deity preparation area, where we are installing new closets, organizers, preparation islands, and improved storage to better support daily worship. With your continued blessings, we hope to further expand the balcony area and eventually develop the large attic space for future service and engagement.
Govinda’s Dining: Govinda’s Dining continues to operate in your temple, as per your inspiration, and by your mercy it has now become our top revenue generator, helping to fund outreach efforts and essential renovations. It serves thousands of thalis and traditional preparations, nourishing both body and soul. This year, we carefully expanded the menu to include items like pizza, cake, and a variety of creative drinks and snacks to attract a younger demographic. In this way, Govinda’s is not only sustaining the temple but also becoming a warm and welcoming gathering place where devotees can reconnect and feel at home in your center.
Book distribution: Our book distribution team has been blessed to participate in the global efforts to share your divine books far and wide. By your mercy, during last year’s Bhadra Pūrṇimā campaign, we collectively distributed 410 sets of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, and for the Live to Give campaign, 28,500 Bhagavad-gītās and their equivalents were distributed. For the third year in a row, by your inspiration and blessings, we were able to remit over $100,000 USD to your BBT, and we were recognized among the top-ranking book distribution communities in North America.
Fundraising team: We gratefully acknowledge the strong foundation of the fundraising team built by dedicated devotees like Mother Subuddhi, Rūpa Manohara Prabhu, Keshava Prabhu, and others. The temple continues to benefit from their tireless efforts in cultivating patrons. Today’s team remains committed to your vision of expanding Kṛṣṇa consciousness. We also continue to nurture and serve our dedicated patrons, whose ongoing support is the lifeline of our temple programs and our Ratha-yātrā, through thoughtful care and regular communication. Together, we have achieved meaningful milestones, including the ever-increasing volume of the Ratha-yātrā, completing the long-awaited elevator project, etc. Each success reflects your teachings, guidance, and our shared commitment to work in unity with the team, temple management, board, and GBC.
Sunday Funskool: By your mercy, our Sunday school and virtual Bhagavad-gītā classes are progressing well. Our virtual camp on the twelve mahājanas, featuring yoga, stories, ślokas, kirtan, bhajanas, and creative activities, was well received by children and appreciated by parents. We also continue to serve through our regular virtual saṅgas for children and adults alike during Ekādaśīs and special daily saṅgas during the months of Kārttika and Puruṣottama. Due to severe winter weather, we held virtual classes on Sundays for a short time, but have now resumed in-person sessions. Our annual Gītā contest continues successfully, and it was especially encouraging to see many teens participate and present with deep understanding. On this auspicious day of your divine appearance, we sincerely thank you for engaging us in this service of nurturing young minds. We pray for your continued blessings to stay spiritually motivated and serve these young devotees better.
Education department: In September 2024, a bunch of enthusiastic devotees embarked on a journey to deepen their understanding of śāstra, and in January 2026, these students successfully completed their Bhakti Śāstrī course. Senior congregation members, who’d never taught in this capacity, challenged themselves to facilitate and nurture young minds. The weekly Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam and Caitanya-caritāmṛta readings that commenced a few years ago continue in full swing, and at the beginning of the year we also started biweekly Bhagavad-gītā readings. The focus this year is on education, so, courses like TTC 1 and 2, Vaiṣṇava Etiquette, our very successful Bhagavad-gītā Eighteen-day Review, a new Bhakti Śāstrī batch, and seminars with visiting guests are in the pipeline. Education is the lifeline that connects us to you, the guru-paramparā, and all the way to our dear Lordships. We sincerely pray at your lotus feet that more people awaken to the questions that lie dormant within and dare inquire on topics that you’ve flooded the world with in your books.
Festival team: Festivals at ISKCON Toronto are a beautiful blend of transcendental bliss and behind-the-scenes logistics. From intimate devotee gatherings to large-scale public celebrations such as Janmāṣṭamī and the annual Śrīla Prabhupāda Festival on January 1, each event requires extensive planning and coordination. Despite the challenges, our dedicated team of volunteers across departments comes together with one goal. They work tirelessly to overcome every obstacle so we can offer our community uplifting kirtans, inspiring classes, sumptuous prasādam, and beautiful darshan of Their Lordships. These festivals aren’t just events; they’re offerings of love, made possible by the selfless service of devotees and the generous support of our community.
Vaiṣṇavas Care team: On this most auspicious occasion of your Vyāsa-pūjā day, dearest Śrīla Prabhupāda, we, from Vaiṣṇavas Care, bow our heads in deep gratitude for the matchless gift you gave to the world. By your compassion, countless souls, who longed for spiritual shelter and dignity, have found their true identity as beloved servants of Śrī Kṛṣṇa. Śrīla Prabhupāda, your vision was not limited by time, place, or circumstance. You uplifted all, teaching us that every devotee, regardless of background or situation, is a vital part of Lord Caitanya’s saṅkīrtana movement. Your instructions empower Vaiṣṇavas to serve with strength, grace, and unwavering faith. With your blessings and your disciple Her Grace Saṅgīta Mātājī’s guidance, we serve the Vaiṣṇavas in our community who are going through health challenges. We visit the devotees who are in need of association at hospitals, nursing homes, and residences with prasādam, and spend time reading your books, Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta, and Śrīmad Bhagavad-gītā. We chant with them and keep a recording of you chanting playing until they leave their bodies in Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Though this is a difficult and emotional sevā, we are able to carry on this service with your blessings. We humbly beg at your lotus feet on this auspicious day, that you please empower us to continue this legacy of Vaiṣṇava care eternally, without which we are simply hopeless.
Bhakti Academy: Bhakti Academy humbly offers this report from 2025 to March/April 2026. With your mercy, we were able to host eighty residents in the ashram, offering young people shelter, training, and spiritual association. Twelve devotees took steps toward deeper commitment through harināma initiation. In book distribution, your transcendental mission continued through the distribution of 2,048 books. By your blessings, $35,945.95 in lakṣmī was collected in support of preaching and service. Through eight outreach initiatives – including Divine Dialogues, Bhakti Yoga Studio, Bhakti Yoga Club, Meditation Party, saṅkīrtana, Bhajana Evenings, and Saturday Love Feasts, we were able to connect with many seekers. Internally, six in-house programs – including daily morning programs, group Bhagavad-gītā readings, skill-building sessions, Living Bhakti sessions, study time together, and iṣṭagoṣṭhīs – helped nourish the devotional growth of residents. May we continue to hold tightly to your dhoti so that you may guide us back to Godhead, where we can eternally serve together under your loving care.
Deity Worship department: The head pūjārīs are tirelessly serving at the lotus feet of Kṣīra-cora-Gopīnātha whether it be raining, snowing, or severely cold – they are always there serving. They dress the Deities beautifully, with care and love. Many visitors come to take darshan of the Deities daily. This summer the Deity room will undergo renovation, with new cabinets, drawers, and closets to store the Deities’ paraphernalia.
Prasādam distribution: The temple kitchen is tirelessly cooking daily prasādam for hundreds of visitors to Govinda’s restaurant. On festivals, the kitchen cooks prasādam for eight hundred visitors, and on Janmāṣṭamī 2025, we distributed prasādam to close to twenty thousand visitors. Our Sunday Love feast is distributing prasādam weekly to close to a thousand visitors. With your blessings, our in-house prasādam distribution is going well.
The temple council and board members are touched and humbled by witnessing all the departments serving cooperatively for your pleasure. We seek your blessings that we continue to serve the devotees, visitors, and newcomers with love and compassion, and expand our preaching, book and prasādam distribution, and the transcendental sound vibration of the holy name of Kṛṣṇa: Hare Kṛṣṇa Hare Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa Hare Hare / Hare Rāma Hare Rāma, Rāma Rāma Hare Hare.
Forever, your fallen and aspiring servants of the temple council,
On behalf of all the devotees at New Remuṇā Dhāma