Since it was established, the ISKCON Ministry of Education’s aim has been to provide Krishna conscious education of high quality to everyone through temples, educational institutions and various global initiatives. 

Last year, in February 2019, the Ministry held its first annual symposium in Mayapur, West Bengal. Entitled “Viplavah,” meaning “Revolutionary,” the event was focused on revolutionizing, or revitalizing education in ISKCON, and drew over 150 educators from eighteen countries.  

With people around the world in lockdown due to the COVID-19 pandemic, however, the second annual Viplavah symposium will be held virtually on the Zoom video-conferencing platform. 

The ISKCON Ministry of Education in North America is inviting interested devotees to join the event, which will be run from June 4^th to 7^th and will be entitled “Viplavah 2020 NA – Sastric Sammelan.” 

The symposium will see educators from around the globe share some of the invaluable insights they’ve acquired through years of practice. It will be geared towards improving the value and quality of sastric education in ISKCON, maintaining the standards of current centers, finding ways to increase ISKCON’s presence and grow in an organic way, and enabling value-based Sastric education for everyone from kids to elders.

The symposium will begin on Zoom at 7:00pm CST on Thursday June 4^th with an intro by Balimardana Das, the Ministry’s Regional Secretary in North America, and an evening session until 9:00pm. On June 5^th and 6^th, there will be both a morning session from 8:00 to 10:00am, and an evening one from 7:00 to 9:00pm.  

The event will end on June 7^th, with a session starting at 8:00am and concluding at 9:45am. The closing ceremony will be led by Minister of Education Sesa Das and Hanumatpresaka Swami, a Ministry of Education Executive Committee Member. 

The symposium will include morning Bhagavatam classes by Hanumatpresaka Swami and Sesa Das, as well as by Gauranga-darshan Das, Dean of the Bhaktivedanta Vidyapitha at ISKCON Govardhan Eco Village (GEV).  

During the event Gauranga-darshan will make a presentation on the Bhaktivedanta Vidyapitha, which offers scriptural study courses; Gandharva Das will talk about Latin America’s Sastric Educational Standards and Best Practices; Ram-giridhari Das will speak on North American Ministry Conference Evolution and Growth; and Harivamsa Das will discuss the Lean educational framework.  

Elsewhere Balimardana Das will speak on Ministry Governance and Reporting, and Atul Krishna Das of Mayapur Institute on the Ministry’s four types of diplomas. 

There will also be plenary sessions with Sesa Das, Ministry of Education Executive Director Tapan Misra Das, Yadunandana Swami, Principal of Instituto De Estudios Bhaktivedanta in New Vraja Mandala, Spain, and Gopala Hari Das.  

Finally there will be roundtable discussions and questions and answers with North American educators like Nilamani, Radha-Krishna, Srivas-Pandit, Hari-Lila, Syama-Prasa, Gandharva, and Prema Tarangini.

At the end of the June 7^th concluding session, the date and theme for the next Viplavah Symposium in 2021 will be announced. 

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Register in advance for the Symposium here:
https://zoom.us/meeting/register/tJcldu-srTkvHdKP5OlzNIfk9OsDWhlqRfPT

After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.