On-Campus Chaplaincy Approved

The University of Maryland, one of America's largest (with an enrollment of over forty thousand), recently granted ISKCON permanent facilities to offer Krsna consciousness on campus. Located in College Park, Maryland, eight miles from Washington, D.C., the university will provide ISKCON with an office in its interdenominational chapel.

The formal confirmation of ISKCON's on-campus ministry stemmed from increasing student interest in Krsna conscious programs at the university. A committee of students, faculty, and administrators examined the Krsna consciousness movement and agreed that ISKCON fulfilled the requirements of the Board of Regents for appointment to a chaplaincy. The committee then voted unanimously to grant ISKCON facilities for its programs on campus.

In a typical week, Gabhira dasa, ISKCON's on-campus representative, gives lectures to various classes, meets with individual students and professors, and organizes seminars on the philosophy of the Bhagavad-gita As It Is. One of his most popular programs is a class in Vedic cooking, held in campus dormitories. Devotees teach the students how to prepare Indian vegetarian food and how to offer the tasty dishes to Lord Krsna with devotion. The classes culminate in feasting for all. "By increasing our lectures, seminars, and free vegetarian feasts," says Gabhira dasa, "we hope to share even more of the Krsna conscious philosophy and way of life with the community."