Woodstock

POLAND'S WOODSTOCK FESTIVAL AND KRSNA'S VILLAGE OF PEACE 2015

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• published: 05 Aug 2015
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21ST ANNUAL WOODSTOCK FESTIVAL IN POLAND FROM 3OTH JULY TO 01ST AUGUST 2015. ISKCON'S VILLAGE OF PEACE AND HARINAMA KIRTANS. THE HOLY NAMES OF LORD KRISHNA ARE GLORIFIED EVERYWHERE. The great Polish Woodstock Festival is still days away but the entire area is quickly filling up with young people and tents. Our good friend, Chaturatma das, also arrived today. As we walked around the festival grounds we were greeted everywhere with "Hare Krishna!" and a number of warm hugs. Two hundred thousand young people have already arrived for the Woodstock Festival, which begins in two days. Taking advantage of the big crowd we went on Harinama with 250 devotees. A number of them distributed invitations to our Krsna’s Village of Peace. Many people danced with us in ecstasy, relishing the sweet nectar of Krsna’s Holy Names. A number of them followed us back to our village where we had more kirtan. After prasadam we had even more kirtan well into the night! Kirtan is our life and soul and an intricate part of the great Woodstock Festival. Today our ranks swelled to 730 devotees as buses arrived from all over Europe. We held an istagosti where the many services connected to our preaching work at Woodstock were divided up. It’s an exciting time as we begin one of ISKCON’s biggest and most influential festival programs. But as great as it all is, we remember and keep close to our hearts, the fact that we are simply instruments in the hands of Srila Prabhupada and our previous acaryas. Narottam! Srinivas! Syamananda! Please send us your blessings too! You are our heroes in spreading Mahaprabhu’s sankirtan movement! The main organizer of Woodstock, our good friend Jurek Owsiak, opened our village on our big stage, amidst the tumultuous cheers of 8,000 young people. Later he invited us to the main Woodstock stage for the official opening of the festival itself. It was quite a sight looking out at a sea of 500,000 people eagerly waiting for the event to begin. Afterwards we returned to Krsna’s Village of Peace, for our signature activity of endless kirtan as thousands of people wandered around the site enjoying the wonderful world of Krsna consciousness. For 4 days in a row we take Lord Jagannatha on His Ratha Cart through the massive crowds at Woodstock. Not only were the people eager to pull the ropes, but they spontaneously jumped into the kirtan and chanted and danced with us in great ecstasy. Often they outnumbered the devotees. Judging from their blissful faces we can understand that, by the Mercy of Lord, they are experiencing the highest bliss! Preparing prasadam for close to 150,000 people at Woodstock is no small endeavor. But it is all worth it! The children love our food. Today they loved our stage show too. Woodstock is in full swing! All throughout the Woodstock festival Krsna’s Village of Peace was teeming with tens of thousands of people exploring all we had to offer: kirtan, dramas, books, yoga, shops, exhibits and a tent where they could inquire from senior devotees. Our Ratha Yatra Cart traversed the entire Woodstock site numerous times each day. Colorfully dressed, devotees seemed to be chanting and dancing everywhere in ecstasy. Over 150,000 plates of delicious prasadam were distributed. We cooked more than 38 tons of foodstuffs! As the festival drew to a close I meditated on a verse by Srila Prabodhananda Sarasvati: “The fortunate town of Navadwip remains on the earth. The seashore remains. The city of Jagannath Puri remains.The Holy Names of Lord Krsna remain. Alas! I do not see anywhere the same kind of festival of pure love for Lord Hari. O Lord Caitanya! O ocean of mercy! Will I ever see Your transcendental glory again?" [ Sri Caitanya Candramrta, Chapter 12, text 140 ]