Gita Mela 2017 begins! (Album of photos)
The winter holidays from Christmas till the New Year attracts lakhs of people every year from across India to the ISKCON Chandradaya Temple, Mayapur, the spiritual headquarters of the institution. During this time all the guesthouses, lodges and hotels are stuffed and every road leading to Mayapur is seen bustling with tourists and revellers. To reach out to this huge bunch of people with an aim to inculcate spiritual values among people and thereby promote peace, harmony and well-being, the devotees of International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON) is organising Gita Mela from 23rd December to 2nd January at its Mayapur campus informed Laxmi Govinda Das, in-charge of Gita preaching.
During this Mela, copies of ‘Bhagavad- Gita As It is’ published in more than 50 languages will be showcased. Teachings of the Bhagavad Gita will also be demonstrated by using slide shows, diorama, and videos. An online Gita Quiz is being planned to attract the youth. Further, a dedicated team of devotees will be holding interactive seminars, mock situations to practically exhibit that the teachings laid down in Bhagavad Gita by Sri Krishna more than 5000 years back are very much relevant in modern times and how they could be practiced in daily real life situations. A massive stage has been set up with lighting all around the temple campus so that every evening there will be congregational chanting, dancing and singing of melodious kirtans. This will be followed by cultural programmes presented by the foreign devotees depicting the pastimes (lila) of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu and Sri Krishna. To give the Mela a carnival feel multiple stalls have been set up which will distribute varieties of mouth watering MahaPrasadam from South Indian dishes, traditional Bengali cuisines to authentic Italian delicacies and large variety of delicious bakery items.
Jivanatha Prabhu, co-ordinator of campus preaching, says that,'Our goal this year is to get as many of our guests who visit Sri Dham Mayapur to understand the importance of Bhagavad Gita As It Is . We want everyone to be convinced they NEED to have Srila Prabhupada’s Bhagavad Gita along with the rest of his books. Gita Mela features a wide range of entertaining booths with a large stage for lectures and performances.’
Find them here: https://goo.gl/1uBq29