Thursday, August 18, 2011

5,000 devotees expected during Janmashtami


The International Society for Krishna Consciousness will celebrate Janmashtami (Lord Krishna's birth anniversary) on August 22 at Kukatpally and in Secunderabad on August 23.
Dr Sahadeva Dasa, president of ISKCON said the festival will be observed on a grand scale with participation of around 5,000 devotees and 20 international delegates. Pujas and prayers will be followed by devotional dances, dramas, bhajans and other cultural events in the evening. He added Vyas Puja festival will be celebrated at Lalitha Kala Thoranam, Public Gardens from 5.30 p.m on August 23. The chief guests on the occasion will be chief minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy and home minister P Sabitha Indra Reddy.
Meanwhile, Sahadeva Dasa said the the Bhagavad Gita must be given status of the national book because it is a sacred scripture for 85 per cent of the Hindu population. "The Bhagavad Gita's gist is ultimate secularism in a person's social and individual life, so it can be a book of a secular nation," he added.
There are around 1,200 ISKCON centres in 160 countries across the world. India has 120 centres with 12 of them in Andhra Pradesh, including three in the twin cities.

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