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EDINBURGH UNIVERSITY KRISHNA CONSCIOUSNESS SOCIETY

Kirtan Mantra Meditation, Good Karma-free Food and practical skills for a happy life

Learn about us

The Krishna Consciousness Society @ Edinburgh University offers a platform for students to evolve the mind with Kirtan meditation, or "yoga of sound". Coming from the Bhakti tradition, Kirtan is a form of chanting as a group, accompanied by traditional instruments such as harmonium and mrdanga drum. In a world that is demanding, challenging and often overwhelming, Kirtan offers a safe space where everyone can absorb the sound vibrations of the mantra. One can join in with singing and open their hearts, or simply listen to the mantras and go deeper inside as the soul will rise up and start to dance.

Furthermore, we also facilitate Bhagavad-Gita (also called "The Song of God") readings as a group, culminating into a discussion on the philosophy of Bhakti Yoga based on what we have read during the session. Copies of the book are available to borrow. 

Our Philosophy

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Our philosophy, based on the Vedic scriptures Bhagavad-Gita and Srimad Bhagavatam, teaches us that the purpose of life is to develop our dormant love for the Supreme. We are striving to practice Bhakti Yoga, also called the yoga of love and devotion. To act in Krishna Consciousness is to free oneself from the illusion of the body - ultimately, we are not these bodies, but we are spirit souls. Yoga means to connect, and Bhakti means love: this is the yoga that is encouraging us to love and serve others, so that we can learn how to connect with, love and serve Krishna (the Supreme, all-attractive energy). 

It is simple! The process of purifying the heart and soul is an easy process - chanting and hearing. Therefore, we chant the most powerful mantra ("maha-mantra"): Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare, Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare. By chanting this mantra in Kirtan, our consciousness is revived. And when one is factually on the plane of spiritual understanding -surpassing the stages of the senses, mind, and intelligence -one is situated on the transcendental plane.  

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Our great teachers

His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada

At almost seventy years of age, Srila Prabhupada boarded a ship and crossed the world from India to America, arriving in New York in 1965 with his heart filled with a mission: to spread the teachings of Bhakti Yoga in the western world. After a long, tiring journey and two heart attacks while on the ship, Prabhupada reached America and inspired thousands of westerners to delve deep into the philosophy of Krishna Consciousness. 

Srila Prabhupada is regarded as the foremost Vedic scholar, translator and the world's most prominent authority on Bhakti Yoga. Prabhupada translated over eighty volumes of the most  important sacred Bhakti texts, including the Bhagavad-gita—a concise handbook for understanding the purpose and goal of human life—and the multi-volume Srimad Bhagavatam. 

Without Srila Prabhupada, we would not have had access to these teachings, and the gratitude we have for Prabhupada for enlightening us is enormous. We dedicate this society in spreading further his mission and giving to other the gift of Krishna Consciousness. 

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Lord Chaitanya Mahaprabhu

Lord Chaitanya is seen by historians and academics as a God-conscious saint, appearing in India during the 16th century. But to understand the full, spiritual significance of Lord Chaitanya we must delve into the devotional Vedic literature, which boldly asserts that Lord Chaitanya (also known as “Gouranga”, meaning the golden one), is God himself. 


As followers of Lord Chaitanya, we accept the statements of the scriptures, and therefore the fact that Gouranga is Krishna himself, coming as an avatar. Lord Chaitanya’s mission was to generously distribute love of God to the fallen people of our age (the age of Kali, known as that of quarrelling and hypocrisy, an age of deterioration of spiritual values). The most wonderful gift given to us by Gouranga is the chanting of the Hare Krishna mantra (Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare, Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare). People all over the world are participating in Lord Chaitanya’s sankirtana mission of chanting this mantra. 


Chaitanya Mahaprabhu’s mission can be reduced to a few lines from the Vedic literature: 


                                                       harer nama harer nama

                                                      harer namaiva kevalam

                                                     kalau nasty eva nasty eva

                                                       nasty eva gatir anyatha


“In this age of quarrel and hypocrisy, the only means of deliverance is chanting of the Holy Name of Lord Hari. There is no other way, there is no other way, there is no other way.”

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