Tag: sda

Awakening the Soul: HG Sriman Sankarshan Das Adhikari & HG Srimati Vishnupriya Mataji’s 2026 Ontario Tour

Looking for a profound spiritual reset this summer? This June, the International Society for Krishna Consciousness welcomes renowned teachers HG Sankarshan Das Adhikari and HG Vishnupriya Mataji for their highly anticipated 2026 Canada Tour across Ontario. From a 1960s counter-culture rock musician who shared stages with the Grateful Dead to a global spiritual guide, Sankarshan Das Adhikari—alongside Gurumata Vishnupriya Mataji—delivers a timeless, practical formula for world peace. Whether you are in Ottawa, the GTA, or downtown Toronto, explore our breakdown of their full lecture schedule, exclusive media archives, and free online courses to awaken your soul.

If you’ve been looking for a spiritual reset, some profound wisdom, or simply a community of warm, like-minded souls to chant and connect with, your calendar is about to get beautifully busy.

This June, the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON) is hosting a highly anticipated lecture series featuring HG Sankarshan Das Adhikari and HG Vishnupriya Mataji. Whether you are a seasoned practitioner or just curious about the path of self-realization, this tour offers a rare opportunity to hear timeless spiritual truths delivered with deep realization, clarity, and practical wisdom.

Meet the Speakers

HG Sankarshan Das Adhikari (Srila Gurudeva)

Srila Gurudeva His Grace Sriman Sankarshan Das Adhikari
Srila Gurudeva His Grace Sriman Sankarshan Das Adhikari

Before anchoring his life in spiritual education, Sankarshan Das was a popular singer-songwriter rooted in the counter-cultural era of the 1960s. He shared stages with musical legends like Jefferson Airplane and the Grateful Dead, and became an instant sensation on the University of Texas campus in 1970 with his daily concerts at the George Washington statue and his stint as a house musician. His deepest desire through his music has always been to spark off a spiritual revolution for bringing perfect peace and happiness to the entire world.

In pursuit of that global peace and his own spiritual perfection, he underwent a period of deep prayer, soul-searching, and inquiry. This journey eventually led him to the feet of one of the greatest spiritual masters in history: His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, the Founder-Acharya of ISKCON, who blessed him with perfect knowledge of the Absolute Truth and the formula to successfully bring perfect peace and happiness to the entire world population.

Today, from his home base in Austin, Texas, he regularly circles the globe out of love and compassion to enlighten human society in the most sublime peace formula. Online, he has successfully conducted a self-realization e-course for over 25 years, teaching this process of complete spiritual perfection to more than 55,000 students worldwide (http://www.joincourse.com), available in many languages. Fueled by ancient scriptural predictions of a total spiritual awakening of human society, his mission is to bring that transformation to life.

He is the author of many books, including the latest Divine Love Memoir: How I Discovered the Most Secret of All Secrets.

Explore more of his spiritual teachings, music, and media archives:

HG Vishnupriya Mataji (Srimati Gurumata)

Gurumata Her Grace Vishnupriya Mataji
Gurumata Her Grace Vishnupriya Mataji

Practicing simple spirituality for over five decades, Her Grace Vishnupriya Devi Dasi often assists and accompanies Sankarshan Das Adhikari in his world deliverance mission. To students and disciples around the globe, she is affectionately known as “Gurumata”.

Though she plays a pivotal role in guiding and helping countless souls, Gurumata genuinely prefers to remain in the background. She is celebrated for her unique ability to elegantly and simply cut through all kinds of nonsense to strike directly at the root cause of all problems. As a master of practical spirituality, she is exceptionally expert at helping souls practically adopt a high spiritual standard gradually and sustainably.

To help you plan your attendance, we have broken down the tour schedule into three distinct levels of detail—ranging from the grand province-wide overview to a hyper-local deep dive.

1. The Macro View: The Full Ontario & Ottawa Kickoff

Best for: Anyone living in Ontario who wants to see the entire tour path at a glance, or those located in the capital region looking for the opening events.

Awaken the Soul 2026 Ontario Sriman Sankarshan Das Adhikari & Vishnupriya Mataji
Awaken the Soul 2026 Ontario Sriman Sankarshan Das Adhikari & Vishnupriya Mataji

The tour kicks off in the nation’s capital before making its way down to the Greater Toronto Area. If you are trying to coordinate travel or see which weekend dates fit your schedule best, this complete regional roadmap has you covered.

Ottawa & Russell Highlights (June 5 – June 7)

  • The Launch: The tour begins on Friday, June 5th at 7:00 PM at ISKCON Ottawa with an uplifting Evening Temple Program.
  • Early Risers: Catch an intimate, deeply philosophical Srimad Bhagavatam class on Saturday morning, June 6th at 6:00 AM.
  • Sunday Double-Feature: On June 7th, you can choose between a midday Sunday Feast in Russell (12:00 PM) or an afternoon Sunday Feast Class back at ISKCON Ottawa (3:30 PM).

2. The Regional Zoom-In: Greater Toronto Area & Surrounding Hubs

Best for: Commuters and residents in the Golden Horseshoe area (Scarborough, Brampton, Mississauga, Waterloo, Burlington, and Toronto) who want to catch a local weekday or weekend program.

If you live in the GTA, you don’t have to drive into downtown Toronto to experience these enlightening discourses. The tour actively moves around the region to bring the wisdom directly to your neighborhood.

His Grace Sankarshan Das Adhikari & Her Grace Srimati Vishnupriya Mataji GTA Tour June 2026

Traveling the GTA Circuit (June 9 – June 14)

  • Mid-Week Wisdom: If you need a spiritual pick-me-up after work, Tuesday and Wednesday evenings feature 6:30 PM programs right in the heart of Toronto.
  • The Scarborough & Brampton Stops: Scarborough residents can attend a specialized Bhagavad-gita class on Friday, June 12th at 6:30 PM. Meanwhile, Brampton will host a lively Sunday Feast Class on June 14th at 12:00 PM.
  • Weekend Road Trips: Heading out of the immediate city? The tour makes special stops at ISKCON Waterloo (Saturday, June 13th at 2:00 PM) and ISKCON Burlington (Saturday, June 13th at 5:30 PM).

3. The Local Deep Dive: The ISKCON Toronto Hub

Best for: Core community members, downtown Toronto residents, or anyone planning to base their attendance out of the flagship Avenue Road temple.

For those who want to focus exclusively on the primary temple residency, this streamlined schedule cuts out the travel noise and zeros in on the five essential programs happening right at the historic ISKCON Toronto headquarters.

His Grace Sriman Sankarshan Das Adhikari & Her Grace Srimati Vishnupriya Mataji June 2026 ISKCON Toronto Programs

Your ISKCON Toronto Cheat-Sheet

If you are planning to visit the main temple, bookmark these exact times:

DateTimeProgram TypeVenue
Tue, June 96:30 PMTuesday SangaISKCON Toronto
Wed, June 106:30 PMTemple ProgramISKCON Toronto
Thu, June 117:30 AMSrimad Bhagavatam ClassISKCON Toronto
Fri, June 127:30 AMSrimad Bhagavatam ClassISKCON Toronto
Sun, June 146:30 PMSunday Feast ClassISKCON Toronto

Venue Address: 243 Avenue Rd, Toronto, ON M5R 2J1

More Info:www.iskcontoronto.com

Can’t Make it in Person? Take the Wisdom Home

If your schedule doesn’t align with the physical tour dates, or if you leave the lectures craving a deeper understanding of the science of the soul, you don’t have to miss out.

You can sign up for The Ultimate Self Realization Course, the free online journey conducted by Sankarshan Das Adhikari that has already transformed the lives of over 34,000 students.

Have Questions About the Tour?

Whether you need directions to a specific venue, want to know more about the festival prasadam (sanctified vegetarian feasting), or have a question about the lecture topics, the organizing team is here to help.

  • Get in touch: Send an email directly to das@dasadas.com with your inquiries, and a local coordinator will get back to you shortly.

Mark your calendars, embrace this message within your heart of hearts, and get ready for an unforgettable week of inspiring classes, soul-stirring kirtan, and uplifting spiritual association!

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Leveraging Jet Lag for Spiritual Growth

Recently returning from a transformative trip to India, I found jet lag to be an unexpected ally in my spiritual journey. Embracing early mornings, I engaged in meditation, reading, and serving Krishna. Instead of viewing jet lag negatively, I was able to leverage it to enhance my devotional practices and enrich my daily routine. What a blessing! Jet lag? Bring it on!

I have recently returned to Toronto from a hectic, exhausting, yet ecstatic trip to Bharat Bhumi, also known as India. I was away for a total of 14 days. Out of those, I got to spend 11 in the holy land.

The privilege of meeting, hearing from, and serving the sincere devotees of Krishna is, as always, a life changing experience.

I visited…

  • Frankfurt
  • Mantralayam
  • Hyderabad
  • Bengaluru
  • Pune
  • Mumbai

With a 10.5 hour time zone difference between Toronto and India, that is just enough to get jet lagged. Jet lag gets a bad rap… because the body clock is set to some other time zone. It wakes up at odd hours. It feels sleepy at odd hours and so on. There’s an entire cottage industry to help people cope with and overcome jet lag.

I even tried this app called “Timeshifter” but it was totally impractical for my lifestyle… for example it contained advice to use caffeine, which I avoid like the plague, and melatonin… It required specific times to go to sleep and wake up. There were also specific times to “see” light and to avoid it. This was almost like trying to hack the body and mind. It didn’t sit right with me. Was it really necessary to “overcome” jet lag? I wondered if jet lag can be leveraged for Krishna, for spiritual growth.

When I was in India, the jet lag was a great asset! I managed to wake up early enough to attend Mangala Arati. I completed my Sadhana. I got by with a short nap for the rest of the day. Early mornings, late nights, and the rest of the time spent in serving Krishna and His devotees, perfect!

When I got back to Toronto, for example this morning, I was up at 2AM. I wondered if I should try to go back to sleep… then I remembered that my Guru and Gurumata usually rise at this hour. They complete their japa, meditation on the Holy Names of Krishna on their beads, well before others rise… and then they can spend their whole day serving others on their spiritual journey.

So I decided to follow in their footsteps. After completing my meditation, I still had time to read, not one but parts of 2 books! Anyone who has a corporate career and a family understands the challenge. Finding quality time to read is incredibly hard. I still had enough time to complete Mangala Arati. Then I performed deity worship before getting an early start to the day!

In this way I will leverage jet lag to serve Krishna. And when the jet lag ends? I will simply go back to my earlier routine to serve Krishna!

Devotee serving Krishna

Jet lag? Bring it on!

Of course, in all success, the credit goes to Guru and Krishna, as long as we are ready to be an instrument!

Now, in case you think that this idea to leverage jet lag in Krishna’s service somehow is mine… it is not.

Srila Rupa Goswami enunciated the principle of “avyartha–kālatvam — being free from wasting time”, this was over 500 years ago…

ক্ষান্তিরব্যর্থকালত্বং বিরক্তির্মানশূন্যতা ।
আশাবন্ধঃ সমুৎকণ্ঠা নামগানে সদা রুচিঃ ॥ ১৮ ॥
আসক্তিস্তদ্‌গুণাখ্যানে প্রীতিস্তদ্বসতিস্থলে ।
ইত্যাদয়োঽনুভাবাঃ স্যু র্জাতভাবাঙ্কুরে জনে ॥ ১৯ ॥


kṣāntir avyartha-kālatvaṁ viraktir māna-śūnyatā
āśā-bandhaḥ samutkaṇṭhā nāma-gāne sadā ruciḥ
āsaktis tad-guṇākhyāne prītis tad-vasati-sthale
ity-ādayo ’nubhāvāḥ syur jāta-bhāvāṅkure jane

“ ‘When the seed of ecstatic emotion for Kṛṣṇa fructifies, the following nine symptoms manifest in one’s behavior: forgiveness, concern that time should not be wasted, detachment, absence of false prestige, hope, eagerness, a taste for chanting the holy name of the Lord, attachment to descriptions of the transcendental qualities of the Lord, and affection for those places where the Lord resides — that is, a temple or a holy place like Vṛndāvana. These are all called anubhāva, subordinate signs of ecstatic emotion. They are visible in a person in whose heart the seed of love of God has begun to fructify.’

https://vedabase.io/en/library/cc/madhya/23/18-19/

My spiritual master has indeed planted the seed of pure devotional service in my heart. However, I cannot claim any success in cultivating devotional service. I am just sincerely trying to practice sadhana bhakti.

And I have examples of great Vaishnavas who travel around the world…

So I brought Prabhupada his breakfast, and then when he was finished I came and took everything out and Prabhupada laid down. So I went back, I said, “Prabhupada’s resting.” So Paramahamsa and I, we laid down. Of course, we fell asleep, we were out, and Prabhupada maybe took 15 minutes or something and he was up. So finally I heard a bell ring. So I went into Prabhupada’s room, and it happened a few times where I would literally try to wake up as I was offering obeisances and exercise my eyes so Prabhupada couldn’t tell that I was sleeping. I sat up, and as soon as I sat up he said, “Why are you sleeping? You’re like dead men. Everyone is awake. The karmis are all at work but not the devotees. No, they’re sleeping.” He said, “They’re sleeping very soundly. Why are you sleeping?” And, of course, when Prabhupada asked why were you doing something wrong, I never had a response because whatever you said, he would just take that apart. So I just said, “Prabhupada, I’m sorry.” “What about Paramahamsa? Why is he sleeping?” He said, “Call him in here.” He goes in and immediately Prabhupada says, “You are a sannyasi. Your business is to minimize bodily demands, minimize sleeping, minimize eating. Why are you sleeping?” Paramahamsa said, “Prabhupada, I have jet lag,” and I thought, “Oh, no!” And Prabhupada said, “Jet lag?” He said, “Well, we just flew from here and done this,” and Prabhupada said, “So I am also flying, I am doing the same thing. I am awake.” Then he said, “All right, go on. Go sleep if you want.“

https://srilaprabhupadalila.org/read/3665 

Srila Prabhupada circled the globe twelve times in less than 10 years… and no one ever recalls a time when he was jet lagged.

Gopal Krishna Goswami, a dear disciple of Srila Prabhupada, traveled from continent to continent. He was always on the altar offering Mangala Arati to the local deities at the temple he was staying at. This was regardless of which time zone he came in from and which time zone he traveled to. I have personally witnessed this, arrived at midnight, 1AM, 2AM, but no, at 4:30am he was on the altar.

My own spiritual master, Srila Sankarshan Das Adhikari, has circled the globe more than 50 times. My Gurumataji Srimati Vishnupriya Devi Dasi has accompanied him. They have never let jet lag stand in the way of their service to Krishna. They are both up early. They chant their rounds and offer their service to Sri Sri Radha Damodar. Then, they follow a full schedule of service all day, working 12-16 hours most days.

So why should I not try to follow in their illustrious footsteps?