By Bhakta George Shihundu
Despite the chilling cold and rainy weather of Nairobi, a large group of more than 250 devotees assembled at the Sri Sri Radha Banke Bihari Mandir to commemorate the ISKCON’s golden jubilee. Amongst them were HH Bhakti Narasimha Swami(South Africa), HG Akhandadhi Prabhu(UK), ISKCON Nairobi Vice President Rukuma Prabhu,HG Manasi Ganga Mataji, and 90 jubilant students that celebrated attaining a Certificate of Ethics and Morality after a year-long course on Vaishnava philosophy. The programme is run by the Hare Krishna Training Center, part of ISKCON Nairobi. The goal is to introduce students to the ageless wisdom of Vedic philosophy and practice of Krishna Consciousness. The centre seeks to further A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Srila Prabhupada’s mission of preaching to all people around the world. The centre also seeks to establish a large pool of devotees by targeting mostly young students from local universities who have an interest in understanding their purpose in life. By offering character building courses, students are not only introduced to the need to live an ethically astute and morally sound life as young adults, but are also introduced to the unwavering practice of Krishna Consciousness that is a much needed weapon against the vagaries of society in an increasingly volatile East African region struggling with poverty, Islamic fundamentalism, corruption, and ethnically motivated conflict and violence. Perhaps the pure love for Krishna and the peace that comes with it could not have come in handy. It is akin to the 60s when Prabhupada gave the hippies the Krishna Conscious “drug” for self-realization.