The ISKCON Ministry of Education is delighted to announce this year’s “Books Are The Basis” week. This global celebration will be held from September 18th to 24th to commemorate the significance of Srila Prabhupada’s arrival in America.

In the spring of 2020, the GBC Body passed a resolution encouraging all ISKCON centres to emphasize the importance of reading Srila Prabhupada’s books during this week. We invite all temples and communities worldwide to highlight the value of reading through lectures, addresses, and discussions.

This year, we will host various panel discussions featuring leaders and senior devotees who will share ways to inspire a culture of reading Srila Prabhupada’s books. Srila Prabhupada himself emphasized that promoting this culture is a crucial responsibility of leaders:

“GBC member means they will see that in every temple these books are very thoroughly being read and discussed and understood and applied in practical life.” — Letter to Haṁsadūta, June 22, 1972

ISKCON leaders are encouraged to inspire devotees by organizing lectures and seminars on how and why to read Srila Prabhupada’s books regularly. The primary goals of the “Books Are The Basis” initiative are to make Srila Prabhupada’s books the most widely read spiritual literature globally and significantly increase the time devotees spend daily reading his works.

Click here to watch a short video from Tapana Mishra Das about this project.

To celebrate this week locally, we suggest the following steps:

Create Awareness:
Share the “Books Are The Basis” posters and videos with everyone in your community.

Organize Events:
Host lectures, seminars, workshops, reading sessions, panel discussions, interviews, and group discussions focusing on the importance of reading Srila Prabhupada’s books.

Showcase Your Activities:
Update your events at iskconeducation.org so we can share your activities with the global community and inspire others.

The ISKCON Ministry of Education has developed various engaging resources to assist you in organizing events, whether for small groups or larger audiences. These materials are available at any time on our website.

We are grateful for your participation and eagerly look forward to hearing about your events. Every soul inspired during “Books Are The Basis” week will significantly impact our collective spiritual journey.

Stay connected with the ISKCON Ministry of Education for more updates and resources by visiting our website, or joining us on Telegram and WhatsApp.