Krishna Moves Into The British Parliament

[Guest guest]

Krishna Moves Into The British Parliament

 

BY HARI-DHAMA DAS

 

ENGLAND, Sep 27 — All glories to Srila Prabhupada.

 

May this meet you well.

 

At the "Diwali in the House of Commons" 2003 function it dawned upon

us that there should be a "Janmashtami in the House of Commons".

 

This idea came to fruition when recently we celebrated the event in

the House of Commons: (see message from the British Prime Minister

below) KRISHNA JANMASHTAMI MAKES HISTORY IN THE HOUSE OF COMMONS The

Members' Dining Room at the House of Commons, which was transformed

from its usual quaint wall-to-wall wooden panelled decor, to a

traditional Hindu temple, hosted over 300 leaders and

representatives from the British Hindu community on the 7th of

September 2004. In attendance were the deputy Prime Minister,

various Ministers, MPs, Peers, the Indian High Commissioner and the

Mayor of London, participating in the first ever celebration of Lord

Krishna's birth in the House of Commons.

 

Bhakti Vijnana Swami, ISKCON representative from Moscow, noticed 'It

is for the first time that one of the most important Hindu holidays,

Sri Krishna Janmashtami, is being celebrated in the world's oldest

Parliament. And it is for the first time that a Russian-born Hindu

monk is addressing all of you for the occasion. Now I have every

hope that the First Hindu temple in Russia, which we are

constructing, despite all the difficulties we encounter, will soon

receive all of you for a similarly warm Janmashtami celebration as

we enjoy here today' Mr. Tony McNulty MP, who conducted the

programme, remarked, 'This is a historic event in the British

Parliament, which should become an annual event.' Mr. John Prescott

MP, the Deputy Prime Minister, congratulated the Hindu community for

holding the first ever birth of Lord Krishna in the House of Commons

and said, 'I have been to India seven times and have learnt a lot

about India and its culture. I am reminded of the historical ties

between India and Britain with festivities like these'.

 

'Normally one goes to a temple to celebrate the festival of

Janmashtami but today the temple has come to the House of Commons'

said, Mr. Gareth Thomas MP, Minister for Department for

International Development.

 

Mr. Barry Gardiner MP, Minister for Northern Ireland, commented 'two

days ago I was at the Bhaktivedanta Manor and the image of the

child, with the butter, killing the demons has remained with me.

Central demoniac power is that which destroys the innocence in

children. The festival of Janmashtami shows how the demoniac powers

can be overcome'.

 

Mr. Ken Livingstone, the Mayor of London, applauded the Indian

community of London for their great contribution and recognised the

great step taken by the Hindu community to organise the festival of

Janmashtami at the House of Commons.

 

Mr. Peter Luff MP, the Chair of the Conservative Friends of India,

said 'I welcome the celebration of Krishna's birth at the House of

Commons, which has been organised by Tony McNulty, Abhay Lakhani,

ISKCON and NCHT (UK) , for the British Hindu community, which plays

an important role in the fabric of the British society.' Mr. Kamlesh

Sharma, the Indian High Commissioner, acknowledged the importance of

having a spiritual base in society and said 'observance of Krishna

Janmashtami in the House of Commons is a significant event'. He also

added that people of a great nation, Indians, are privileged to live

in another great nation, England.

 

MESSAGE FROM THE PRIME MINISTER: "I am delighted to send my very

best wishes to everyone attending the Janmashtami celebration at the

House of Commons organised by Tony McNulty MP and supported by

ISKCON and the National Council of Hindu Temples.

 

Janmashtami, the birth of Lord Krishna, is a festival that teaches

us the values of family, the importance of justice, and the

significance of faith. As such it is a festival whose values are

shared by all faith traditions.

 

I understand that this is the first time that Janmashtami has been

celebrated in the House of Commons. It is a tribute to the very

positive contribution that the Hindu community has made to all

aspects of life in the UK.

 

Once again, congratulations to everyone involved in this event and I

offer my best wishes and greetings to the Hindu community in Britain

on this joyous occasion." TONY BLAIR.

 

MPs in Attendance: 1) Mr. John Prescott MP, the Deputy Prime

Minister 2) Mr. Stephen Pound MP, Chair of the Labour Friends of

India 3) Mr. Andrew Dismore MP 4) Mr. Rob Morris MP 5) Mr. Tim

Boswell MP 6) Mr. Graham Brady MP 7) Mr. John Randell MP 8) Mr. John

Heppell MP 9) Mr. Steve McCube MP 10) Mr. Peter Luff MP, Chair of

the Conservative Friends of India 11) Mr. Paramjit Singh Gill MP 12)

Mr. Dennis Turner MP 13) Mr. Keith Vaz MP 14) Mr. James Clappison MP

15) Mr. Rudy Vis MP 16) Mr. Ken Purchase MP 17) Mr. Hywel Williams

18) Mr. K. Mountford MP Ministers in Attendance: 19) Mr. McNulty, Minister for Transport 20) Mr. Barry Gardiner MP, Minister

for Northern Ireland 21) Mr. Gareth Thomas, Minister for Development

for International Development 22) Ms. Fiona Mactaggart MP, the

Parliamentary under Secretary in the Home Office with responsibility

for race equality, community policy and civic renew 23) Patricia

Hewitt MP, the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry and

Minister for Women and Equality Peers in Attendance: 24) Lord Navnit

Dholakia 25) Lord Swraj Paul 26) Lord Naren Patel Others dignitories

in Attendance: 27) Mr. Ken Livingstone, the Mayor of London 28) Mr.

Kamlesh Sharma, Indian High Commissioner 29) Mr. Rajat Bagchi,

Minister for Co-ordination, Indian High Commission 30) HG. Praghosa

dasa, GBC ISKCON UK 31) HG. Gauri dasa - TP Bhaktivedanta Manor 32)

HG. Kripa Moya dasa - Bhaktivedanta Manor 33) HG. Sruti-dharma dasa -

Bhaktivedanta Manor 34) HG. Prananbandhu dasa - Bhaktivedanta Manor

35) HG. Mahadyuti dasa - ISKCON Soho Note: Above edited media

release from the NCHT.