Chicago Sunday Feast April 15, 1977
After a week of dedicated service, everyone looked forward to the Sunday Feast. It was our opportunity to present Krishna Consciousness to the community exactly as we lived it. Every week, the feast program was a major production designed to present Lord Chaitanya’s movement to the public through dancing, chanting, and feasting, utilizing the format Srila Prabhupada had originally inaugurated.
Feast preparation began right after the breakfast cleanup. Breakfast in Chicago was a production in itself; we would begin cooking right after Gurupuja. We served rice, dahl, a wet subji, a dry subji, chapatis, and a sweet. The book distribution teams were well-fed side by side with everyone else. It was the main meal of the day—civil, healthy, and sumptuous.
Uttamasloka dasa
“Fast forward to Chicago. It was the same situation as the other temples I had managed. Everybody was down in the dumps. I mean, breakfast was a piece of wax paper on the floor, with a big slop of porridge, six chickpeas, a couple of wedges of oranges, right? And I'm thinking, no wonder you guys are depressed.
“So I told Vishalaksha (who was the treasurer) - I remember it vividly and I see it in my mind’s eye You walk in the Prasadam room, the far left corner, and we're sitting there. He says, “How are you going to get the temple out of debt? I mean, we're just drowning". I said, “Watch me get the temple out of debt by first spending more money on Prasadam." He said, “What? Aren't you going to cut the budget?" I said, “No, we're going to spend more money on Prasadam and watch what happens.”
That week I went to a local flea market and I found a guy who was selling nice stainless steel plates for a buck each, so I bought 70 of them. Then I went to a restaurant supply store and bought 70 stainless steel bowls, and I got one of those plastic label makers where you click each letter. I put everybody's name on a plate and a bowl and I personally gave it to each devotee. And I had the same plate. As you know, I didn't have some special big silver plate like I was the big shot. I had the same exact plate and bowl. No other temple did that. Just a small gesture like that had a big impact psychologically because it showed that I cared about them and I wanted them to have a higher experience just on a fundamental level of basic utensils.”
“Find a spot, find a role, and then be part of the team. That was the thing in Chicago. It wasn't just me or the book distributors. It was all of us together, because it couldn't have happened the way it did if we weren't all together as a team and a family. And everybody felt that. There was no artificial hierarchy. Everybody made it happen. We needed everybody to participate and we moved as a unit. It's like being in a band. You can't explain it, but when you're doing it and you're experiencing it, you're thinking, oh, yeah, we're on. It's happening. All those things we did musically - nobody did things like that. And they were just natural. It wasn't like we sat and rehearsed for a couple of hours to learn how to do it. It happened organically, and then it just became part of the repertoire.
Look at all the great memories we have. Sadly, so many devotees think back, and they have horror stories. Some good memories too for sure, but unfortunately, the bad stuff taints it. But all of our memories, We had some serious struggles and challenges, but nothing we couldn’t handle. That was overshadowed by all the good stuff. I mean, we can't stop talking about it 50+ years later.”
Gopati dasa
“I would plan a traditionally focused Feast menu, all the while meditating on the best way to present Krishna Consciousness. The foundation of this meditation was executing the wishes of Srila Prabhupada and pleasing Kishora Kishori.
Most of the help arrived at noon and consisted of four or five devotees. Together, we cooked for five hours to create a menu of about twenty dishes. A full spread of subjis, savories, chutneys, raitas, breads, and sweets would be lavishly presented as a buffet in the second-floor dining hall adjacent to the kitchen. (See Feast Book Link)
The feast was always prepared for the pleasure of Kishora Kishori and was consistently offered on time. The Sunday Feast was a direct extension of fulfilling Srila Prabhupada’s wishes.
Everyone in the temple participated. It was exciting to be a part of it, arriving in the temple room right on time for the arati, kirtan, and lecture. It was a beautiful sight to see all of the devotees in their finest dress alongside hundreds of visitors, all dancing and chanting for the pleasure of Kishora Kishori in Their magnificent, grand temple room.
After the thirty-minute lecture, everyone would make their way up the stairs to the large prasadam hall to enjoy the feast. The crowd arrived fresh from a beautiful kirtan and an enlivening lecture that perfectly illustrated what the Krishna Consciousness movement was all about. Now, it was time to complete this spiritually charged, sensual experience and indulge in delicious Krishna Prasadam.
All the devotees would sit with the guests to learn about them, talk about our lifestyle, discuss what they had just experienced, and share the happiness of Krishna consciousness. Uttamasloka set the tone for everyone through his attention to detail, kindness, and wonderful sense of humor.
The feast was always the high point of the week. Much like a theater production, once it concluded, the devotees would reset and prepare for the next show. People could genuinely feel the joy behind it and naturally wanted to be a part of it. Each week the program seemed to grow organically. With minimal outside marketing, our bigger festivals—such as Govardhan Puja and Janmastami—would easily see one to two thousand people show up.
Dancing, chanting, and feasting. It was a great life, centered around the Holy Name and built upon a nourishing foundation of prasadam.”
Recording
Original recording by Gopati dasa (ACBSP)
Equipment Nakamichi 550 with three condenser microphone system
Remastered 2026 by Uttamasloka dasa (ACBSP)