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SANKIRTAN
SANKIRTAN SANKIRTAN
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New Sankirtan Co-Leaders
In January, Nama Sankirtan dasa left his role as Sankirtan Leader after seven years leading sankirtan services with great dedication. Temple residents, Syama Kisore dasa and Antoine Bour, were appointed the new Sankirtan Co-Leaders. They took on the service in an unprecedented and challenging year – travel restrictions and social distancing measures meant that they had to think of new ways to distribute books. However, that did not stop their determination.
Book Distribution During the Lockdown
During the lockdown, the men’s ashram arranged Bhagavad-Gita, Srimad-Bhagavatam and Sri Caitanya-Caritamrta online reading sessions. The aim was to use the time to become spiritually strong by taking more shelter of studying Srila Prabhupada’s books. In May, the Sankirtan team organised their first Sankirtan Calling Party. This was inspired by Vaisesika dasa. It is a simple programme which involves calling the contacts the Sankirtan team have made over the years while distributing books. They ask those they call how they are and if they would be interested in receiving a Spiritual Care Package, which includes a meditation kit and a book, and if they would like to make a donation. Contacts were also invited to join online reading sessions to develop a taste for reading Srila Prabhupada’s books. As the easing of lockdown restrictions started, Syama Kisora dasa had the idea to hold kirtan in local parks with a book table and some prasadam, sticking to social distancing guidelines but allowing the public to come and take books if they were interested. The lockdown also gave community members new ideas on how to continue distributing Srila Prabhupada’s books while maintaining social distancing rules. Yamuna, aged five, daughter of Jagannath Sharan dasa and Vrinda Sundari devi dasi, distributed books from afar with a little book table outside her home. Nalini devi dasi distributed books by leaving them in a box outside her home with a note saying ‘Please Help Yourselves: Meditation Books.’
Gita Project
The Gita Project, coordinated by Radha dasi, distributed an incredible 33,600 books in 2020, sponsored by ISKCON-London devotees, to places including care homes, educational institutions, hospitals and prisons.
“There is a lot that goes on behind the scenes of placing books in organisations from the calling, labelling, packing to delivering…The volunteers are selfless devotees, many who haven’t been able to go out but by these services have placed thousands of books in many organisations.” Radha dasi, Gita Project Coordinator
The UK yatra took part in the worldwide ‘Live to Give’ marathon, which aimed to distribute two million Bhagavad-Gita’s before 25th December. The UK Sankirtan Leaders decided that the scores for the 2020 marathon would be counted for the three months of October, November and December. ISKCON-London had set itself a target of distributing 5,500 Bhagavad-Gita’s. Antoine hosted a daily Sankirtan Calling Party from 10.30am to 1.00pm on Zoom with a small but dedicated team. Syama Kisore dasa arranged book tables in Bond Street, Camden, Oxford Circus and Portobello. Individual book distributors were also distributing books in the streets either every day or a few days a week. The team beat their target of 5,500 Bhagavad-Gita’s, distributing over 7,000.
Top 10 Book Distributors During The Marathon:
1. Sankirtan Calling Party 2. Sarada devi dasi 3. Fortunate People Party 4. Vasudeva dasa 5. Bhava Bhakti devi dasi’s Mentee Group 6. Vamsidhari dasa 7. Srila Prabhupada’s Mission Ladies Group 8. Govinda’s Restaurant 9. Vayu dasa 10. Rsi Raya Gauranga dasa
Final Marathon Scores:
Over 13,000 Books Distributed 7 Sets Distributed 14,000 Book Points 50,000 Laxmi Points
The Sankirtan team would like to thank everyone who participated in book distribution throughout the year.
