Boise, Idaho, USA

Ayush, Krishna Chaitanya, and Revati perform “The Advent of Lord Krishna” for the Vedic club in Boise.

HKW News Services

BOISE, Idaho, USA-- The Vedic Philosophical and Cultural Society (Vedic PACS), an officially-recognized Boise State University club, fed over 300 students a full meal of prasadam on April 2. The Gupta family, who run a Govinda’s restaurant and ISKCON center in Boise, served the buffet meal to students at a dormitory dining facility. A large Govinda’s sign over the counter reserved for the prasadam and the singing of Hare Krishna told students that it was not an ordinary day at the cafeteria.

At the beginning of this spring semester, the Guptas approached Fine Host, BSU’s catering service, to see if they would be interested in having an Indian meal for the students. “It was all Krishna’s arrangement,” says Aruddha dasi, chief chef and mother of BSU freshman, Gopal Krishna dasa (13) and BSU junior, Ravi dasa (15). “We went not knowing what to expect, but before we had finished giving them our proposal, they were ready to implement the idea. It was quite an endeavor, but the students loved the prasadam. The managers look forward to seeing us cook again.”

Having a club at the university provides devotees at ISKCON Boise access to students that would not be available otherwise. They set up book tables every week in the Student Union. Each semester, ISKCON’s Ganapati Swami speaks at a variety of BSU classes, such as history, sociology, English, art, teacher education, and philosophy. Last year the club held a Festival of India in the Special Events Center. The program consisted of Bharat Natyam dance by Lila dasi and Vishnu-tattva dasa, and an hour-long drama, “The Advent of Lord Krishna,” performed by youth from the Indian congregation. Attended by over 350 people, it was one of the most successful events of the year.

Ravi, president of the Vedic PACS, said, “Students are some of the most receptive people to Krishna consciousness, and a club is one of the best ways engage them.”