Canada & USA, Homages ISKCON Centers, VP2026
Dear Śrīla Prabhupāda,
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 at your divine lotus feet. All glories to you and to Śrī Śrī Rādhā-Baṅkebihārī, the presiding Deities of Boise.
On Your Divine Grace’s most auspicious 130th Vyāsa-pūjā day, at New Biharvana in Boise we are reflecting upon three anniversaries:
- Sixty years since the establishing of ISKCON
- Fifty years since your disappearance from this planet
- Forty years since we opened the Boise temple
60, 50, 40
In your biography, Śrīla Prabhupāda-līlāmṛta, Satsvarūpa Mahārāja quotes you as you set foot in New York City, in September 1965: “I did not know whether to turn left or right.”
Now sixty years later, one can go to any corner of the world and walk left or right – nay, in any of the ten directions – and one will bump into a devotee quietly walking with a beadbag in his hand, kaṇṭhī-mālā on his neck, and tilaka on his forehead. Or perhaps he’ll have a bright yellow Bhagavad-gītā As It Is in hand, beseeching unfortunate souls to take one. Or maybe your ears will catch the singing of the Hare Kṛṣṇa mahā-mantra. I have personally experienced all of these in my travels throughout the world.
Thanks to your determination and conviction, in sixty years Hare Kṛṣṇa has permeated the entire world:
pṛthivīte āche yata nagarādi grāma
sarvatra pracāra haibe more nāma
In every town and village, the chanting of My name will be heard.
Lord Caitanya predicted it, Lord Nityānanda predicted it, the preceding ācāryas wanted it, and then you, empowered by your guru, Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Gosvāmī, fulfilled it. During the last two years, in my travels to the End of the World Route at the southern tip of Chile, next to Antarctica, I was amazed to see Lord Jagannātha-Baladeva-Subhadrā being worshiped and devotees holding their first Ratha-yātrā. Going north, near the Arctic Circle in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, devotees are almost finished building a four-story temple. In the foothills of the Himalayas in Nepal, devotees are distributing books as far north as Muktinath, the place where people go to get liberation.
Ten years after you left us fifty years ago, you had established the yuga-dharma under the ISKCON banner, where the oldest religion had become the newest religion; the eternal sanātana-dharma has been rebranded as ISKCON. From 108 temples now, there are more than 1,008 temples, farm communities, Govinda’s restaurants, and countless bhakti-vṛkṣas. By the time you had left us, you had inspired many of your disciples, who inspired the second-generation devotees. The result of such inspiration is the Śrī Śrī Rādhā-Baṅkebihārī temple in Boise, Idaho.
In Boise, we are now celebrating forty years of the birth of this temple. It is a very small offering to Your Divine Grace, a small cog in the wheels of the giant ISKCON ratha. With your permission and for your pleasure, on behalf of the devotees in Boise, I would like to present to you our salient contributions to ISKCON.
The temple started as a preaching center in 1986 in a 600-square-foot family room under the guidance of four of your exalted disciples: His Holiness Gaṇapati Swami, His Holiness Gopal Krishna Goswami, His Holiness Hanumāt Preṣaka Swami, and His Holiness Badrinārāyaṇa Swami.
Śrī Śrī Rādhā-Baṅkebihārī is the only Baṅkebihārī in ISKCON in the Western hemisphere. Based on Their pastimes in Boise, They are nondifferent from Baṅkebihārī in Vrindavan and the Deity you installed in Nairobi. The temple ceiling is the only ceiling in ISKCON temples that has the entire spiritual sky and material sky painted on it, as depicted on the cover of the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, Canto 1.
We celebrated the first Holi in ISKCON in the US in 1987. Your exalted disciple, Cāru Prabhu, picked up on the idea and made it a worldwide phenomenon.
We held our first twenty-four-hour kirtan in ISKCON in the US in the 1990s – an idea picked up from another of your exalted disciples, His Holiness Hanumāt Preṣaka Swami, who had held a twenty-four-hour kirtan in Nashville and then it spread elsewhere.
We conducted the first New Year’s Japathon in Boise, chanting 300,000 names on New Year’s Day, which again was picked up as an annual activity on New Year’s Day in many temples, including Salt Lake City and Naperville, Illinois. Over the years we have now collectively chanted over one million names on New Year’s Day.
We started the homeschooling movement in ISKCON by homeschooling our children based on studying Bhagavad-gītā As It Is and Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. Right from the inception, our focus was on two areas: to raise Kṛṣṇa conscious children by homeschooling them, and to have a truly international congregation. In forty years, forty-two devotees were initiated, of which one third are Westerners. Our latest effort started three years ago, when we started a Thursday evening Kṛṣṇa Lounge program to attract Westerners.
COVID-19 slowed us down quite a bit, but we are rebuilding and rejuvenating now. We need your blessings to venture into our half century of Kṛṣṇa consciousness in Boise.
Seeking drops of your mercy and shade under your divine lotus feet
in the dry parched desert of Idaho,
Your insignificant servant on behalf of the devotees in Boise,
Anantarūpa Dāsa
Canada & USA, Homages ISKCON Centers, VP2026
Dear Śrīla Prabhupāda,
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 you.
We, aspiring to get shelter at your lotus feet, have no qualification to glorify your life, qualities, and pastimes, yet we believe that glorifying an exalted Vaiṣṇava ācārya like you is a way to purify our heart and soul. We pray to the lotus feet of Śrī Śrī Rādhā-Giridhārī, the presiding Deities of ISKCON Brampton, for humility, so we can present our humble offering to you with the right words in the right spirit. Any limitation in our endeavor to glorify you is probably a reflection of limitations and imperfections in our devotional service and limitations in following your instructions as you have given them.
As our ever well-wisher, you endowed us with the greatest gift: the International Society for Krishna Consciousness, ISKCON. Your life and deeds continue to inspire thousands of people to join the Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement every day from all sections of life.
The Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement was introduced by none other than Kṛṣṇa Himself in the form of Caitanya Mahāprabhu. Mahāprabhu made a predication that in every town and village, the chanting of His name will be heard (pṛthivīte āche yata nagarādi-grāma sarvatra pracāra haibe mora nāma). You accepted Mahāprabhu’s instruction as your personal responsibility. Being empowered by Mahāprabhu as his warrior devotee (senāpati-bhakta), at a very advanced age you left your accomplished spiritual life in Vrindavan for America, to spread Kṛṣṇa consciousness.
In your journey as a parivrājakācārya, you endured health issues, physical discomfort, psychological torment and uncountable risks; yet you were fearless and relentless in the face of every adversity and calamity. While you were under no compulsion, you undertook this great spiritual endeavor to make Mahāprabhu’s prediction a reality, and to immerse the whole world in the ocean of the saṅkīrtana movement. Above all, you did so out of your compassion for ordinary conditioned souls like us. You united the whole world through the glorious path of devotional service. We owe you an unrepayable debt of gratitude.
The ISKCON community continues to thrive despite many societal challenges, because the purpose is genuine, and the process is sublime. It is no overstatement to say that human society at large is deriving much-needed spiritual nourishment from the ISKCON movement. It is also not an exaggeration to mention that ISKCON is serving as the modern transformational institution for many ordinary souls, who get solace by following your simple instructions on the devotional path and by taking shelter of your books. You were the touchstone magician who reshaped many ordinary human hearts into pure golden ones.
After your departure from this material world, your mission continues to be the change agent in society. We continue to experience significant spread of the movement both through various traditional methods, such as house congregation programs, outreach preaching, temple programs and creative means of virtual outreach that leverage technology to reach thousands of ordinary souls all over the world who are waiting to follow your instructions.
The ISKCON movement assumes even greater significance in this decade, mired in geopolitical conflicts and forever wars. With global mental health continuing its downward spiral in the aftermath of the pandemic, many are finding a much-needed solace by chanting Hare Kṛṣṇa.
The devotees at ISKCON Brampton feel a deep sense of gratitude and indebtedness for the spiritual treasures you bestowed upon our community. With more than 650 devoted members, the ISKCON Brampton community continues to flourish year by year, driven by the profound sense of purpose you gave us. The following are some lines of sight presented for your pleasure.
Congregation programs: With numerous congregation programs across the Greater Toronto area, ISKCON Brampton is attracting more new devotees by propagating your teachings. Many of these newcomers have made immense progress on the devotional path and are making significant contributions in various initiatives through sincere service.
Book distribution: Book Distribution has been one of the most telling successes of ISKCON Brampton in recent years. In 2025, ISKCON Brampton was able to distribute a total of 13,000 books, which includes 71 Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam sets, 2,567 copies of Bhagavad-gītā As It Is, and more than 10,000 copies of other big and small books. This accomplishment was only made possible by your mercy and determination, coupled with the enthusiasm of a few sincere devotees.
Temple programs and festivals: The weekly Sunday Feast at ISKCON Brampton consistently draws an average of 200 devotees and serves as a pillar of our community. In 2025, the temple successfully organized ten major festivals. Notably, Ratha-yātrā and Janmāṣṭamī attracted massive crowds, blending devotional fervor with cultural fanfare and resulting in the distribution of 5,000 and 2,000 plates of prasādam, respectively.
Sunday school: A hallmark of ISKCON Brampton, our Sunday school is making steady progress, with 75 students currently enrolled. By imparting essential spiritual education, the program continues to build a strong devotional foundation for our young children.
Adult education: The year 2025 marked a pivotal moment for the Adult Education department at ISKCON Brampton. By expanding our curriculum, this department attracted approximately 70 students across established programs like Vaiṣṇava Etiquette, Bhakti Śāstrī, Bhagavad-gītā Fundamentals, and the ISKCON Disciples Course. ISKCON Brampton is proud to announce that four students have successfully completed the rigorous Bhakti Śāstrī course. Furthermore, new offerings like Tulasī Care and Parenting have drawn many curious participants who seek practical spiritual training. 2026 is already following the same encouraging trend we experienced in 2025.
Teen education: ISKCON Brampton’s Teen Education program emphasizes experiential learning, blending spiritual knowledge with practical application through innovative projects. In 2025, 20 students participated in the Bhakti Śāstrī Teens program, engaging in highly interactive, hands-on learning. As part of the curriculum, they completed two student-led projects, taking full responsibility for planning and execution. The NOD Project involved organizing an interactive workshop with rotating sessions on Vaiṣṇava etiquette, Deity worship and cleanliness, book distribution, and the benefits of prasādam. In the Śrī Īśopaniṣad Project, students applied philosophical teachings to real service roles, demonstrating principles such as selfless service, duty without attachment, and respect for all.
Youth program: ISKCON Brampton’s youth group is a closely connected and emerging community of young leaders poised to serve as future torchbearers. Throughout 2025, the Youth Group worked diligently behind the scenes to lead and support several outreach initiatives, including organizing a family day kirtan that fostered a spiritually enriching, community-centered environment, and actively contributed to the success of our 13th Annual Festival of Chariots, serving in multiple areas. In parallel, the group maintained consistent engagement in temple activities and service opportunities, strengthening a culture of responsibility, collaboration, and deeper devotional connection among its members.
Śrīla Prabhupāda, in the purport to verse 1.2.6 of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, you define dharma as the living being’s sustenance of existence by aligning one’s activities with one’s eternal relationship with the Supreme Lord, Śrī Kṛṣṇa. While we sincerely try to live by this guiding principle, we often find ourselves falling short of the standards you set. Despite our efforts to uphold and preserve what you so mercifully gave us, we recognize our limitations in expanding your movement with the dedication and boldness it truly deserves. At times, we take shelter in our comfort zones, supported by excuses that hold us back from striving further.
We understand that your ISKCON movement is now more relevant than ever, especially in a world increasingly affected by conflict, suffering, and uncertainty. Humanity stands in need of hope – the hope of returning back home, back to Godhead, beyond the despair of material existence. In these challenging times, we humbly beg for your special mercy – that we may remain firmly rooted in Kṛṣṇa consciousness and protected from influences that may divert us from the path of devotional service.
Please bless us with strong spiritual character and a genuine missionary spirit, so that together we may contribute, in our own small way, toward uplifting the world. Kindly grant us unwavering conviction in Kṛṣṇa’s protection – avaśya rākṣibe kṛṣṇa viśvāsa pālana – under all circumstances.
Above all, we pray for the strength to live simply on your remnants and to sincerely serve by spreading Kṛṣṇa consciousness with humility and devotion.
Your menial servants at ISKCON Brampton
