On Tuesday, August 15, 2017, ISKCON Baroda observed the auspicious appearance day of Lord Krishna, Krishna Janmastami, in the usual grand manner.
The Sri Sri Radha Shyamsundar Mandir was elaborately decorated with flowers. More than four hundred banana trees were erected throughout the temple and temple compound. Also there were festoons and flags installed at various
places in the temple compound.
All in all, the scene was grand!
As anticipated, thousands of citizens of Baroda flocked to ISKCON Baroda for darshan of the Deities on the auspicious day. We feel that up to two hundred thousand citizens of Baroda visited ISKCON Baroda on Janmastami day!
The Chief Minister of Gujarat, Sri Vijay Rupani, along with his wife, came to have darshan just after 8 AM, upon the invitation of Baroda Mayor Bharatbhai Dangar. The CM was at Baroda all day to observe the Indian Independence day functions. Besides the Mayor, Baroda MP Ranjanben Bhatt, MLAs Saurabh Patel and Jitubhai Sukhadia, Vuda Chairman Narayanbhai Patel, Opposition leader in the Baroda Municipal Corporation, Chandrakant (Battu)
Srivastav, and a number of Municipal Councillors, BJP, Congress party, and RSS leaders were also present during the CM’s visit.
Various booths for book distribution, as well as to highlight various ISKCON Baroda educational and outreach programs were erected on the North side of the temple compound road.
Kirtan and bhajans were performed by various devotees throughout the day and into the night in the temple room. The midnight abhishek of Sri Sri Radha Shyamsundar was another highlight of the days activities. Huge crowds
thronged up till two in the morning to see the abhishek and the arati thereafter.
Banana, peda, and pinjiri prasad was distributed free to all the visitors on the exit route to the outside the North side entrance of the temple.
Phalahari prasad was sold in the Govind’s snack bar, and in the Govinda’s restaurant on the upper floor. Various booths sold paraphernalia and packets of peda prasad.
Announcements and kirtan was place over the public address system, and two large video screens where the public could have darshan of the Deities and watch the abhishek and aratis were erected for the benefit of those who
could not fit inside the temple while these functions were in progress.
Groups of volunteers manned the booths, prasad and paraphernalia stalls, and introduced the members of the visiting public to japa, and the Gita learning course being conducted by IYF Baroda.
The next day, on the day of Srila Prabhupada’s Vyasa-puja and Nandotsava, bhandara (full bhojan) prasad was distributed to almost three thousand life patrons, donors, and their families in the afternoon on the open garden lawn behind the temple.
Offerings to Srila Prabhupada were read out and presented by temple devotees, and pushpanjali and arati were offered to Srila Prabhupada long with chappan bhog (at least fifty six items were offered – probably more!).
In the evening a general bhandara was held and a rough estimate was made that more than thirty thousand persons, young, old, rich, poor, and middle class, too full plate meal prasad, i.e. puri, subji, kadi, rice, and halava.
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