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ISKCON Chicago witnesses two-day Janmashtami celebrations
Over a thousand people from a wide range of backgrounds gathered in Chicago for the two-day festival
Priests performing Abhishek for the dieties / Images - Asian Media USA
The International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON) Chicago, hosted a grand celebration honoring Janmashtami, the day on which Lord Krishna was born. The celebrations extended into the following day to commemorate the appearance day anniversary of Srila Prabhupada, the founding leader of ISKCON.
Over a thousand people from a wide range of backgrounds gathered in Chicago for the two-day festival. Consul General of India Somnath Ghosh and his wife Anindita Ghosh attended the event. Ghosh prayed for the believers "to become better devotees to serve mankind."
Highlighting the significance of the celebrations, one of the notable community member, Bhailal Patel, said, "This is the first temple of Chicago, and it was established in 1972 in Evanston."
In 1972, Srila Prabhupada and his followers brought the first Radha Krishna Deities to the Midwest, and these were Sri Sri Kisora-Kisori. In June of this year, the temple marked its 50th anniversary as a place for worshipping and learning Krishna's teachings.
Beautiful bouquets and jars of flowers adorned the altar. On the right side of the main dieties sat Lord Jagannatha, Baladeva, and Subhadra, while Sri Sri Gaura Nitai occupied the left. There was a swing for Krishna to the right of the altar, and a big simhasana (royal throne) with Srila Prabhupada's image across the temple hall.
Fasting, offering a ritual bath to the deity (called Abhishek), singing kirtan, and reciting passages from the Bhagavad Gita were part of the festivities at the temple. Mangala aarti (a ritual welcoming of the Lord before daybreak), darshan aarti, chanting, theater, and Maha aarti at midnight were the highlights of the event.
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