A milestone celebration is underway at the Hare Krishna Study Centre in Georgetown as devotees from all across the diaspora commemorate a decade since the establishment of the centre while also reflecting on two decades of the movement’s presence in the city. The five-day festival, hosted by the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON) at its Study Centre on Lot 1 UG Road, brings together devotees from more than 10 countries for what organisers describe as one of the movement’s most significant celebrations in Guyana. Shanta Vigraha Das, a member of ISKCON who travelled from Trinidad and Tobago for the occasion, spoke with this publication about how the anniversary marks several important milestones for the organisation.

“We’re celebrating 10 years since this project was established in Georgetown and 20 years since the project actually started. We have a beautiful five-day programme,” he explained as today marks day five of the celebration. The celebrations also coincide with the 20th anniversary of Georgetown’s annual Ratha Yatra (Festival of Chariots), 50 years of ISKCON’s presence in Guyana, 60 years since the movement was established in New York and Guyana’s 60th independence anniversary. The international nature of the celebration has also brought together devotees from several countries, including Ghana and Nigeria, who travelled to Guyana to participate in the festivities.

One Nigerian devotee, HH Bhakti Vasudeva Swami, explained to this publication that his journey into the Hare Krishna movement began more than four decades ago after searching for answers about inequality and human existence. “I got attracted to these teachings because I had many questions about the differences in human society, why some people are born rich while others are born poor, deaf or blind”, he recalled. He said those questions remained unanswered until he encountered the writings of ISKCON founder AC Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada in 1983.