LONDON COLLEGE OF VEDIC STUDIES

LONDON COLLEGE OF VEDIC STUDIES LONDON COLLEGE OF VEDIC STUDIES

The London College of Vedic Studies (LCVS) was pleased to offer a wide range of educational courses, seminars and workshops, including a number of free online seminars during the lockdown, aimed at providing spiritual guidance and inspiring newcomers on the journey of self-discovery. In 2020, there were 30 courses with a range of international speakers. Below are some of the highlights from 2020:

Bhakti Sastri Certificate Ceremony

During the Gaura Purnima festival, which took place just before the lockdown, LCVS arranged a certificate ceremony in the Temple Room for the Bhakti Sastri graduates from the 2018-19 cohort. ISKCONLondon’s Head Pujari, Murli Manohara dasa, who is one of the Bhakti Sastri teachers, presented the students with their certificate. A total of 11 students graduated.

Online Courses

To keep the community spiritually inspired during the lockdown, LCVS introduced for the first time, free online courses between April and August. The online courses took place via Zoom and Facebook Live and helped many people who were unable to leave their homes due to the lockdown to reconnect to spiritual classes and Vedic wisdom. The sessions were wellreceived and had participants from far and wide.

Watch the free seminars on the LCVS YouTube page:

http://bit.ly/lcvs-youtube

Free Yoga Classes on Instagram

In August, LCVS introduced free live yoga classes on Saturday mornings with qualified yoga teachers, Amanda Teeha and Sophie Georgiou. Both yoga teachers are ISKCON-London community members and are in Bhava Bhakti devi dasi’s mentorship group.

Self-Study Courses Launched on Udemy

In November, LCVS launched three self-study online courses on the Udemy website - Introductory Mrdanga Drum course, Home Deity Worship course, and How to

Worship Tulasi at Home course. Students can study from the comfort of their own home and in their own time with these pre-recorded classes. Over 60 students from over 14 countries signed up to these courses by the end of December showing a great amount of interest. More courses are planned for 2021 including a Harmonium course. The launch was possible due to the hard work of Krishna Lila dasa and Jai Nitai dasa in creating the videos and promotional material.

View the LCVS Udemy courses: http://bit.ly/lcvs-udemy

Some of the Courses Delivered in 2020

Unlock the Mysteries of the

Bhagavad-Gita with Dayal Mora dasa. An introductory course exploring the Bhagavad-Gita, discussing the soul, karma, reincarnation, and the benefits of bhakti-yoga.

Home Deity Worship with Murli Manohara dasa. Over 65 eager participants took part. As well as from the UK, there were participants from the Netherlands, Portugal, Scotland and the USA.

Overview of the Bhagavad-Gita

with Jai Nitai dasa. Six sessions looking at the key themes and messages within each of the 18 chapters of the Bhagavad-Gita.

Importance, Care and Worship of

Srimati Tulasi Devi with Jaga Mohini devi dasi. Over 70 participants joined from Finland, India, Norway, South Africa and the UK.

Secrets of the Vedic Universe

with Radha Mohan dasa. A detailed look at the Vedic perspective of the Universe, creation in the Vedic texts, and astronomy.

LCVS was pleased to offer for the first time an online Bhakti Sastri course in 2020, attracting 40 participants including from Hungary, India and Lithuania. This year-long course offers an indepth study of four key texts - the Bhagavad-Gita, Sri Isopanisad, The Nectar of Instruction, and The Nectar of Devotion.

LCVS Marketing Material

An important aspect to advertising the LCVS courses is the marketing material. Throughout 2020, all the LCVS posters, social media posts and promotional videos have been expertly designed and created by Nelly Guseynova. LCVS is appreciative of all the creative work that has been produced and the support given throughout the year.

“I always struggled to study properly Srila Prabhupada’s books. Therefore I convinced myself to attend the Bhakti Sastri course at LCVS to help me study more. I found the Bhakti Sastri course very interactive and useful in many ways - learning verses, writing essays, discussions and very important association with devotees. It is definitely worth it and a once-ina-lifetime experience.” Visodhani devi dasi

“I attended all three parts of Murli Manohara dasa’s online seminar on ‘How to Improve Your Chanting’. He shared his wisdom, experience and elaborately described aspects of chanting. He gave very useful insights and inspired me. Great investment during the lockdown time, highly recommended!” Maxim Chernetskiy

“At first I thought this might be too advanced for me (the Siksastakam Prayers seminar by Keshav Anand dasa) but after a short while I realised I could understand. I have found this so very helpful. Especially as I really wondered why we chant and have been talking to devotees about prayer. Pure nectar. Can’t thank you enough for this service.” Kelly Hendrick

“This is the first time I have attended one of the LCVS courses and the course has certainly helped me tremendously in my spiritual journey. I was really impressed with the attention Jai Nitai dasa gave to the students. I look forward to learning more and most importantly applying the wisdom to my day-to-day life.” Jay Lakhani

“I can say hand-on-heart that this short course was brilliant. I would recommend the course even to those who are familiar with the Bhagavad-Gita because the teacher Jai Nitai had so many wonderful insights to share about this ancient wisdom that made it relevant to what was going on in my life right now.” Steven James

“The online mrdanga course on Udemy is a wonderful course and well presented by Radha Londonisvara dasa, super easy to learn and understand. It didn’t take me long to pick up the beats basically from scratch. The 6 S’s are great and I keep them in my mind every time I lead kirtan now. I am eagerly waiting for a sequel. Overall I highly recommend this course!” Jasmine Jakubowski