There was a little more joy in Barrie on Saturday.
Janmashtami is the birth anniversary of Lord Krishna, and is observed worldwide as the Festival of Joy.
This celebration in Barrie took place at General John Hayter Southshore Community Centre.
“This celebration is quite spiritually uplifting to us. It signifies the birth of Krishna,” said Vineet Bhatia, a Barrie resident. “Our spiritual leader gives us guidance to follow the right path to righteousness and to serve others.”
Naina Sharma, local representative of ISKCON (International Society for Krishna Consciousness) Barrie, said the festival’s aim is to bring the community together.
“The beautiful part about these gatherings is it’s not just for Hindus,” she said. “We bring everybody together. This is the Festival of Joy, where we invite joy to the heart.”
Some of the highlights of Saturday’s event were live music and dance performances, book distribution and serving free vegetarian meals during the celebration.
The organization also wants to educate children through lessons on morality and discipline, through yoga and other art forms. It also runs a monthly Food 4 Life initiative to provide food to international students.
“This is the way we bring it to the people so they can experience the real joy,” Sharma said. “The true India is all around spirituality.”
ISKCON Barrie also hosts bimonthly sanga events to raise awareness about traditional Vedic (an ancient Indian religion) culture and serves a free vegetarian feast to the public. The bimonthly sanga happens at Northwest Barrie United Church.
The mantra meditation workshop, also hosted by ISKCON Barrie, includes singing ecstatic traditional music in a group, teachings of Bhagavad Gita and creating awareness for Bhakti yoga.
More information about ISKCON Barrie can be found on Facebook or by joining the WhatsApp group at chat.whatsapp.
