ISKCON Assam marks 50 years; Governor opens jubilee fest in Guwahati

The International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON) in Assam has begun celebrating 50 years in the state, with Governor Lakshman Prasad Acharya opening its golden jubilee programme in Guwahati on Friday, October 30.

The inauguration took place on the open grounds of Srimanta Sankaradeva Kalakshetra at Panjabari, in the presence of state Health Minister Ashok Singhal. The jubilee is being held together with the ISKCON Assam Namhatta Sanmilan and a Bhakta Mahotsav, a festival for devotees, according to The News Mill and ANI.

What the Governor said

Acharya said the teachings of the Assamese Vaishnava saints Srimanta Sankardev and Madhavdev, together with the spiritual message of ISKCON founder A C Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, could help rid society of immorality, violence and unrest. He praised ISKCON's five decades of work as a contribution to Assam's spiritual and cultural life.

The organisers placed the jubilee in the context of Assam's own Vaishnava tradition, which Sankardev and Madhavdev shaped more than 500 years ago, and of the four rules Prabhupada taught his followers: avoiding illicit sex, intoxication, meat-eating and gambling, along with chanting the Hare Krishna mantra.

Who attended

Guests jointly released a souvenir volume titled "Panchajanya" to mark the anniversary. Those present included ISKCON Governing Body Commissioner Bhaktipurushottam Swami, ISKCON Namhatta director Gouranga Prem Karunashama Swami, Gauhati University Vice-Chancellor Noni Gopal Mahanta, Barpeta Satra Satradhikar Babul Chandra Das Kashyap, BJP Assam general secretary Anup Barman, and monks from ISKCON's headquarters at Mayapur in West Bengal.

Madhav Hari Das of ISKCON Mayapur said the continuous Harinam kirtans being held in Guwahati during the month of Kati had given a new push to the spread of Neo-Vaishnavism across Assam.

What is on the programme

ISKCON Guwahati's media coordinator Sailendra Pandey said the festival includes japa mala (prayer bead) sessions, Vedic dances, recitation of verses from the Bhagavad Gita, Sattriya dance, Borgeet singing and the distribution of prasad. Thousands of devotees from around 25 districts of Assam have gathered at the Kalakshetra for the event, he said.

The organisers have not announced how long the jubilee programme at the Kalakshetra will run, or a full schedule of events.

The Srimanta Sankaradeva Kalakshetra, named after the 15th-16th century saint-reformer, is Guwahati's main cultural complex and hosts many of the city's large festivals and public events. The jubilee coincides with Kati, a month of prayer and lamp-lighting in Assam's rural calendar.