by Madhava Smullen
The Vaishnava tradition is famous for its festivals. And within ISKCON, the New Vrindaban community in West Virginia has become one of the most renowned places to celebrate — both because of its rustic beauty, and because of its unique Krishna-centered events.
As New Vrindaban finds a fresh start and rebuilds itself, festivals have been found to be one of the best ways to inspire and bring together devotees, as well as to develop a mutually appreciative relationship with the local public.
The longest running of these festivals, and the most important to Krishna devotees, is, of course, Janmastami, Lord Krishna’s appearance day. First observed in New Vrindaban in 1970, it’s now celebrated on four different days—August 16th, 17th, 23rd, and 30th this year. And it draws 400 devotees and congregation members on each, with 1,000 flooding in for the main event.
People pack into the large temple room, decorated to the rafters with festoons and balloons, to chant and dance before the three shining golden altars and to hear Krishna’s pastimes all day long. They even go on pilgrimage to an area of the community representing the sacred Govardhana Hill, just as they would in the original Vrindaban.
In the evening, Sri Sri Radha-Vrindaban Chandra are bedecked in outfits made entirely from flowers. And as darkness falls, They are seated on a 15-foot swan boat draped in festive lights, and glide out over the water of New Vrindaban’s “Swan Lake” in graceful figure eights.
From the banks, devotees belt out a tumultuous kirtan, as fireworks burst in the night sky. It’s the kind of atmospheric touch that New Vrindaban brings to all its events.
Many of New Vrindaban’s festivals have unique features. The community’s celebration of Lord Nrsimhadeva’s appearance, for instance, brings with it an increased spiritual depth, because New Vrindaban is home to the only full-size Nrsimha Deity in North America.
Sculpted by resident artist Soma Das and installed in 1986, the ferocious Lord with His deep black skin, sharp teeth and nails and golden mane is seven feet tall in height.
Every year (on May 13th in 2014), local devotees and some from across North America come to worship Him with ecstatic kirtans and abhishekas. For them, there’s something undeniably intimate and sweet about bathing the fearsome Deity, Whom they look to for protection.
Lord Nrsimha Janmastami 2013
On a larger scale, meanwhile, is Festival of Inspiration. “It was started by Anuttama and Rukmini Prabhus in 2000,” says New Vrindaban festival organizer Vrindavan Das. “Then Malati Prabhu ran it for 12 years, before training me up and handing it over to me last year.”
The 14th annual FOI will run from May 9th to 11th over Mother’s Day Weekend this year, and is expected to draw 500 to 600 devotees. Twenty-two seminars and workshops on all aspects of Krishna conscious philosophy, arts and culture will be given by Bhakti Marg Swami, Bhakti Vasudeva Swami, Malati Dasi, Vaisesika Das, Srutakirti Das, Hari Sauri Das, Dravida Das and many more.
Presentations at FOI are diverse, offering a Krishna-ized take on such topics as music, marriage, art and photography, travel, yoga, and holistic health. With several seminars on offer at any given time, attendees hop from classroom to classroom, trying to catch their favorite speakers.
Mornings feature themed classes by senior devotees on Srila Prabhupada’s pastimes or other inspirational topics. And evenings are full of the best spiritual entertainment for every taste – there’s bhajans, rock music, Bharat Natyam dancing, dramas, stand-up comedy and much more.
Lawn Bhajans. FOI 2013
“Festival of Inspiration is perfect for devotees — they get wonderful association with peers and senior devotees, high quality presentations, and of course quality prasadam!” says Vrindavan.
Just as beloved by devotees are the appearance and disappearance days of ISKCON’s founder Srila Prabhupada, to be held on August 18th and October 27th this year. On both days, there are two programs – one in the temple, and one at Prabhupada’s Palace of Gold.
Devotees congregate for over three hours in each location to hear about Srila Prabhupada from senior devotees like Malati Dasi, and many who helped build the palace for their beloved guru with their own hands, like Varshana Swami, Gaura Shakti Das, Nityodita Das, and Soma Das.
“Prabhupada spent quite some time here at New Vrindaban,” says Vrindavan Das. “So as they recount their memories you can hear how each devotee has a personal relationship with him and how he touched each of them in an exceptional way. It’s very, very moving to hear them speak.”
New Vrindaban also uses some of its festivals to develop healthy relationships with the local community and to attract young American university students to Krishna consciousness. Chief of these is the relatively new Festival of Colors, introduced in 2012.
Vrindavan, who has a B.A. in Marketing, does a blitz of advertising for the event. He sends press releases to eleven newspapers, appears on local TV and radio stations, and speaks at Religion classes at eight different universities in the tri-state area.
It works. From 1,100 in its first year, 6,000 people are expected to attend Festival of Colors on September 13th this year.
Based on the traditional festival Holi, Festival of Colors connects powerfully with the general public because it introduces Krishna consciousness in such a fun, subtle way.
“The Festival of Colors is basically chanting the Hare Krishna maha-mantra for seven hours, but in contemporary music styles such as rock, reggae, and hip-hop,” Vrindavan says. “This year Namrock, the Mayapuris, the Gosh Brothers, Srikalogy and Ananda Groove will be playing.”
Every year, thousands of students dance energetically to the music, calling out Krishna’s names in response to the bands. Every hour, there’s an uproarious countdown, and multicolored dyes are hurled into the air, creating a joyous rainbow cloud against the bright blue sky. When they’re hungry, attendees tuck into delicious prasadam or check out Srila Prabhupada’s books.
This year New Vrindaban devotees will also put on a Festival of Colors in Pittsburgh on April 19th, which is expected to draw a further 5,000 students. There are also plans to expand the event to Athens, Columbus, and other cities.
Since its launch, Festival of Colors has vastly improved devotees’ relationship with Moundsville locals. New Vrindaban residents out shopping often get big smiles and comments like, “Oh you’re from the Hare Krishna temple? I’m coming to Festival of Colors this year!”
The festival is so popular that it inspires many to attend another of New Vrindaban’s biggest events. “Students like chanting at Festival of Colors so much that they come back for more,” says Vrindavan. “Last year, forty-four students joined the devotees at the 24-Hour Kirtan.”
All who do are in for a truly out-of-this-world experience. Up to 800 people gather for the kirtan, which runs non-stop from 8am on Saturday until 8am on Sunday. With prasadam provided so that only small breaks are needed, many chanters go for twenty hours and take a four-hour nap when they’re exhausted. A few very dedicated souls stay up all the way through.
The result is a powerful spiritual energy that fills the room and is felt by all. Devotees close their eyes, rock back and forth, and call out to the Lord like babies to their mothers, sometimes mesmerized by gentle melodies, sometimes pounding drums and jumping high into the air. Afterwards, they return home with what Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu called “the looking glass of the heart” cleansed, and an increased clarity and enthusiasm for their path of devotion.
This year will see two 24 Hour Kirtans – one on the summer solstice from June 21st to 22nd, and one kicking off the month of Kartik from October 11th to 12th. A number of kirtan singers known for their heartfelt devotion will lead the chanting, including Bhakti Charu Swami, Gaura Vani, and the Mayapuris.
24 Hour Kirtan 2013
This year, October’s 24 Hour Kirtan will be followed for the first time by a brand new festival, “Kartik at New Vrindaban,” a weekend event during which devotees will offer hundreds of candles and absorb themselves in the pastimes of Lord Damodar. For those unable to make it to the original Vrindavan in India for Kartik, the festival at New Vrindaban will be a Godsend.
Another planned new event is the Srila Prabhupada Festival. This will see many senior Prabhupada disciples from around the world visiting New Vrindaban to share their memories of the ISKCON founder in the peaceful, rural atmosphere of one of his favorite communities.
“Every festival at New Vrindaban attracts hundreds of pilgrims to the community,” says Vrindavan Das. “And all participants get an opportunity to experience New Vrindaban’s unique atmosphere, thus cultivating appreciation for the holy dhama.”
“We are very happy to invite you to our upcoming festival, the most ecstatic of all, The Festival of Inspiration,” he beams. “It will be held on May 9th-11th. We look forward to serving you!”
The devotees had always done walking harinama's at the Bash, which attracts 100,000 people, but beginning last year we started reserving a pavilion on campus which happens to be the epicenter of all foot traffic for the event.
Last years event our attention was misdirected. We'd made plans for all sorts of activities like t-shirt painting, sidewalk chalking, henna etc. to be going on in the pavillion. This over endeavor for mundane things (money) was a memorable failure. Thankfully the Holy Name prevailed that day and we had lots of chanting and dancing, but it was clear so much could have and should be done differently.
This year, we focused on beautifully broadcasting the Holy Name, while providing plenty of opportunity for people to take a book, and prasadam. Whats more, we had a huge team of helpers with congregation families, lots of devotees from the Chicago and Detroit temples, even our GBC Malati Mataji was able to come which gave a huge boost of confidence to all the devotees assembled... Of course this program, Prabhupada's program, was a huge success. Read more › 
My advice to you under the circumstances is that at least for one hour you must all go to have Sankirtana outside on the streets or in the park. That is your life and soul, first business. The next business is completing the chanting of 16 rounds every day. The next business is your editing, and if you find extra time, then you can attend the temple ceremonies. Otherwise you can stop these activities, but outdoor kirtana, your editing work and chanting of 16 rounds must be done. Outdoor kirtana must be done, even at the cost of suspending all editorial work. That is your first and foremost business. Temple worship is not so important. If need be, the whole temple can be locked, but the outdoor kirtana cannot be stopped. (Letter to Rayarama dasa / May 17, 1969) 
Regarding your questions about Sankirtana Party, I think you should try to always have Sankirtana going on. All other things are subsidiary. This chanting is our life and soul, so we must arrange our program now so that there will be as much chanting on the streets and at college engagements as possible. On May 12th, we had a very successful engagement at Ohio State University, and over one thousand boys and girls were chanting and dancing along with us. So this policy should be continued as far as possible. (Letter to Satsvarupa dasa / May 14, 1969) 
Sri Krishna-Balaram Mandir is a Gaudiya Vaishnava temple in the holy city of Vrindavan. It is one of the main ISKCON temples in India and internationally. Sri Krishna-Balaram Mandir was built in 1975 on the orders of Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, the founder-acharya of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON). Even today, it is regarded as one of the most popular temples in Vrindavan. Klaus Klostermaier in his book Hinduism: A Short History described it as, "a big and beautiful temple" and "one of the main sights of Vrindavan". 
“We are saying that this Hare Krishna maha-mantra can save everyone, and we are therefore distributing it publicly, free of charge… The devotees are preaching without charge, declaring in the streets, parks, and everywhere. “Here! Here is the Hare Krishna maha-mantra. Come on, take it!” (POP p. 72). Coolangatta is the southernmost suburb of Gold Coast City, Queensland, Australia. 
…the human form of life is a chance to understand, and if one misses this opportunity, he is most unfortunate. The way to get out of illusory māyā is to engage in the topics of Kṛṣṇa. Lord Caitanya advocated a process whereby everyone may remain in his present position without change but simply hear from the proper authoritative sources about Kṛṣṇa. Lord Caitanya advised everyone to spread the word of Kṛṣṇa. He advised, “All of you become spiritual masters. Your duty is simply to talk to whomever you meet of Kṛṣṇa or of the instructions given by Kṛṣṇa.” The International Society for Krishna Consciousness is operating for this purpose. We do not ask anyone to first change his position and then come to us. Instead, we invite everyone to come with us and simply chant Hare Kṛṣṇa, Hare Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa, Hare Hare/ Hare Rāma, Hare Rāma, Rāma Rāma, Hare Hare, because we know that if one simply chants and hears the topics of Kṛṣṇa, one’s life will change; he will see a new light, and his life will be successful. ( from purport to SB 4.7.44) 
New Kulina Gram Dham is a Community of Vaishnava devotees, seekers in the greater Baltimore area. Srila Prabhupada physically came only one time to ISKCON Baltimore and instantly created a holy place of pilgrimage for all Vaishnava devotees of Lord Sri Krishna on July 7th, 1976 at the former old age home turned into a temple.
The physical property of 200 Bloomsbury Avenue, in Catonsville, Maryland is one of the original 108 temples founded by His Divine Grace and one of the now less than 108 Original ISKCON temple properties still carrying on the missionary work of Srila Prabhupada. This point is noteworthy simply because not many of the original ISKCON properties are still in use by ISKCON, whatever the reason behind the change of venue.