Tuscon’s Iskcon 50 Gala

By Sandamini devi dasi - 19.10 2016

Speech by the Mayor at ISKCON 50 Dinner Event:

Tuscon, Arizona, USA—On Saturday, October 15th, under a brilliant Karttika moon, sixty-plus devotees and VIP guests celebrated ISKCON’s 50th anniversary in the courtyard of Govinda’s Natural Foods Buffet.

The setting couldn’t have been more fitting. For thirty years Govinda’s has served as the temple’s portal to Lord Krsna’s sublime food, music, wisdom, and dear devotees—a spiritual oasis in the Arizona desert—what everyone had come to celebrate.

As a harpist stroked heavenly notes, devotees and guests feasted on Govinda’s prasadam, forging new friendships and renewing old ones, for one thing was clear: practically everyone had been here before, setting the stage for the tributes.

Beaming as she stood at the podium, Temple President Sandamini Devi Dasi thanked everyone for coming, glorified ISKCON’s saintly founder, Srila Prabhupada, for launching scores of spiritual oases around the world, and recounted the evolution of Govinda’s in Tuscon. Then one-by-one, the distinguished guests, grateful for the evening’s banquet, stepped up to speak.

From the Southside Presbyterian Church’s Hunger Relief Outreach, Doug Larsen and Mary Kierzek thanked the temple for bringing Food for life to the city’s homeless, praising the devotees’ punctuality, hospitality, and care in preparing and serving the sanctified food.

From St. Michael’s Episcopal Church, Father Jorge Sotelo said it was his vegetarian diet that brought him to Govinda’s, where the devotees introduced him to Lord Krsna’s teachings. Inspired by the answers to his questions, the pastor accepted Vaisnava initiation and received the name Hamsa Balarama Dasa, all while continuing his Christian ministry.

From the Kadampa Meditation Center, Buddhist nun and teacher Gen Kelsang Lingpur praised the devotees for sharing their love through spiritual food. She

concluded with a Buddhist poem about compassion, her way of commending the devotees’ service to the community.

From the University of Arizona, Professor of Religion and East Asian Studies Alison Jameson similarly praised the devotees for their loving and nonsectarian presentation of Krsna consciousness on campus. Professor Jameson currently serves as the devotees’ Bhakti Yoga Club advisor at the university.

From ISKCON, Initiating Guru Jivananda Prabhu reminded everyone how true love of God is the satisfying remedy for everyone’s ills, and Governing Body Commissioner Nityananda Prabhu challenged the audience to find that love by serving all of God’s children, regardless of caste, color, or creed.

From Tuscon City Hall, Mayor Jonathan Rothschild surprised the devotees by praising the seven purposes for which Srila Prabhupada founded ISKCON, reading each one and exulting in their spirit of loving service. Before becoming mayor, he and his wife had also dined at Govinda’s, whose purifying prasadam inspired his tribute.

As the cooling Karttika moon continued to climb the night sky, Ayush Prabhu, a young devotee musician and university student, led the celebrants in singing Hare Krsna, the best blessing from Govinda’s oasis for Tuscon’s desert dwellers.

*A special thanks to Atula Govinda Prabhu, who worked long and hard to inspire Tuscon’s VIPs to attend ISKCON’s 50th anniversary.

Statement by Governor of Arizona, Douglas Ducey:

Tucson’s Hare Krishna community opts for spiritual living in material world

Hare Krishna devotees remove their shoes as they step into the meditation room each morning.

Outside, birds chirp and a waterfall cascades into a koi pond. It is quiet — for now.

The compound is like another world.

The wail of a conch shell signifies the start of a ceremony and the room fills with music as devotees bow and chant, acknowledging both Krishna, a name for God in Hinduism, and A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, the founder of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON).
Looking back on 50 years

Around the country, Hare Krishna devotees are celebrating the 50th anniversary of the movement, founded in 1966 by Prabhupada in the United States. Earlier this month, Gov. Doug Ducey congratulated the movement on the anniversary.

To celebrate, Tucson’s temple shared a meal Saturday with religious leaders from other faith traditions, a nod to the movement’s desire for people to connect with the spiritual, even through other religions. The mayor also spoke at the gathering.

“Our mission is to re-spiritualize society in a nonsectarian way,” said Atula Govinda Das, a 29-year-old who has lived on site for about four years. His legal name is Aaron Lieberman.

But in 21st-century America, devotees have their work cut out for them.

In a material society prone to over-schedule, many Americans put soul-searching on the back burner — not to mention the rising number of individuals who choose not to identify with any particular religious tradition.

The Hare Krishna movement “comes from within Hindu tradition, and it expresses itself in a unique way with modern society,” said Konden Smith, a visiting professor of religious studies at the University of Arizona. “It’s responding to a global world.”

Lieberman brought up challenges Krishna devotees face, especially in the U.S.

“(Society) wants to acquire fame and wealth and be in control,” Lieberman said. “Krishna Consciousness wants to put spiritual development back in the center of society.”
Tiny Tucson

In the last 50 years, the movement has grown globally and within the United States.

There are about 60 temples nationwide and about 600 around the world, in addition to farms, restaurants and schools, said Anuttama Dasa, the international director of communications for ISKCON and a member of its Governing Body Commission.

The Tucson temple opened in 1987 at 711 E. Blacklidge Drive, followed by the vegetarian restaurant Govinda’s Natural Foods Buffet in 1992.

With about 20 members living on site and a congregation of about 100 showing up for Sunday evening services, Tucson’s community is on the smaller side, said Sandamini Dasi, legally Sharon Cooksey.

In its lifetime, the movement has changed its emphasis to support congregations of devotees that don’t all live on site.

“The lifestyle is different from mainstream America,” said Cooksey, the president of the Tucson temple. “It’s for everybody, but not for everybody deeply.”