Edition 2
September – November 2024
Welcome to the 2nd edition of the Sena Newsletter! We hope you enjoyed seeing what we got up to over the summer and are delighted to share that Edition 1 of the newsletter reached over 750 members of our community!
The past three months have been intense for Sena. School and university projects are in full flow, significantly growing in size since last year, from SNL, to Project X, to KCSOC. The winter marathon, our annual mentorship trip, our Christmas Flagship and much more are all coming up soon!
A message from Pandava Sena’s President, Vishnu Gor
Dear Pandava Sena,
Thank you all for subscribing to our newsletter and staying connected with us! As we mark three months into this term, I am thrilled to share that Pandava Sena is thriving and full of energy.
Our projects are off to a great start, with several new initiatives already in motion. We’re also excited to announce the launch of our upcoming trips, for which the early bird spaces have already sold out.
Despite all the new emerging projects, we can never do enough. If you have any ideas/initiatives – such as selling merch on our website, social media rebrands and PS starter packs (these are some which have already been suggested) – please let us know!
Thank you for your continued support, enthusiasm, and dedication. We’re making a massive impact, and I can’t wait to see what we accomplish in the months ahead.
Your servant,
Vishnu Gor
KCSOC Update
The start of this academic year saw a busy time for KCSOC, the society for university-age students. “Freshers” fairs took place up and down the country, and in total we managed to achieve over 1000 sign ups!
New KCSOCs
We are pleased to announce that brand new KCSOCs have been set up in Oxford, Keele and Nottingham – more to come in the near future! Regular weekly sessions are running smoothly, and provide an engaging, friendly environment to share Krishna Consciousness. Cambridge KCSOC hosted a landmark flagship event with HH Keshava Maharaj which drew over 200 signups, and our Midlands KCOCs combined to host their first ever flagship Kirtan event!
Website
We are also happy to launch the new and revamped KCSOC website! Check it out for a more engaging and user-friendly experience: www.kcsoc.com
Day Retreat
Day Retreat was a fantastic day of immersion for our KCSOC community, where 200 students from KCSOCs around the country came together at the Manor. Radhika Ranjana Prabhu delivered an uplifting mood-setting session, drawing on his own transformative experiences as a student looking for something more.
From here, we split into groups, and took part in fascinating workshops ranging from Cow Care to ‘Debunk a Monk’, Yoga and Art Meditation workshops. Prasadam was nourishing and delicious, and for many, this first deep-dive into the spiritual potency of the Manor was a heartwarming experience. Stimulating conversations were shared which strengthened the bonds of KCSOC communities nationwide, whilst the day offered a mini spiritual recharge amidst a busy term. In true KCSOC fashion, we rounded off the day with a rocking kirtan, which filled the Haveli with energy and raised the roof!
Flagships
An Evening with HG Amarendra Prabhu
September began with an inspiring and unique flagship event, where Amarendra Prabhu led a motivating talk about Srimati Radharani. Taking place in the week before Radhashtami, Amarendra Prabhu led 200 attendees on an enthralling adventure of hearing pastimes which expressed the transcendental bond between Radha and Krishna. Smiles and laughter continued throughout the evening as many pastimes and sutras were shared.
Empower and RISE
Last month’s Empower event was an evening filled with wisdom, laughter and inspiration! The topic of the evening was the life and teachings of Namacharya Srila Haridasa Thakura – Sri Radha Harini Devi Dāsī beautifully highlighted both his humility and resilience. Inspired by this example, together we created personal japa affirmations and also crafted a heartfelt ‘to-be list’ of qualities to nurture within ourselves.
For the first RISE (Boys’ House Programme) of this academic year, Krishna Kirtan Prabhu gave a thought-provoking talk on the glories of the sacred month of Kartik. Drawing on inspiration from a particular personality from scripture, he discussed potential hurdles that might obstruct our steady devotional service and practical solutions to overcome these. Another takeaway was the concept of setting attainable Kartik vrats (vows), and Krishna Kirtan Prabhu shared some valuable insights from his own discussions about Kartik with HH Kadamba Kanana Swami.
New Projects and Initiatives
PSundays
PSundays bring the whole community together and involves spending a few hours every Sunday taking part in service at the Manor. Open to anyone in PS, including alumni, services include gardening, cooking, farming, goshalla and helping to run Krishna Club events.
PS also helped out with two major events at the Manor, when we served guests at the Patrons’ Gathering on 21st September, and then assisted in the car park and with washing up pots after the Govardhan Puja Annakuta ceremony on 2nd November.
Family project
The PS family project is an initiative where each team is assigned a family from our PS alumni. These gatherings offer lovely insights into leading a KC lifestyle, as well as associating over tasty prasadam, amazing kirtans and in general sharing wonderful advice. It’s a great opportunity for our youth to meet the older and experienced seniors within PS.
Dharma Initiative
A collaboration between Pandava Sena and the Bhaktivedanta Manor, the Dharma Initiative project is aimed at driving the next generation to success. Through an exclusive network, it will provide both students and young working professionals a platform to tap into the wealth of knowledge that our hyper-successful patrons can offer.
Collaboration with Patel Samaj
One week after Diwali, the Saurashtra Leuva Patel Samaj hosted a grand Diwali celebration for its 1,000 strong community. The organising committee invited PS to deliver a message based on lessons from the Ramayana. Our presentation began with a brief summary of the Ramayana followed by a video excerpt from HH Radhanath Maharaj. We concluded by talking about Pandava Sena and what we do, inviting the audience to learn more and join us! A significant amount of youth signed up for our regular events as a result.
Sena Trip Launches ✈️
We are excited to announce that both the Senagetaway (16+) and ‘Evolve’ (11-16) summer youth trips have now been launched! Sweden and The Vedanta await… sign up now using the links below.
Sweden Senagetaway (ages 16+): Friday 22nd August – Friday 29th August 2025: bit.ly/saranagati-trip
Evolve Youth Trip (ages 11-16): Monday 28th July – Friday 1st August 2025: bit.ly/evolve25youth
Coming Up
Stay tuned for the much-awaited Mentorship Trip! The crown jewel in PS’s calendar of trips, at our beloved Vedanta in Lincoln… we look forward to seeing many of you there!
Following on from last year’s festivities, we warmly invite you to the Pandava Sena Christmas celebration!
22nd December, 5pm, Avanti House Secondary School. 🎄Sign up now 🎄
And stay tuned for a special PS New Year’s Eve announcement coming soon…
Thank you to the contributors of Sena Newsletter: Edition 2
Vishnu Gor
Laksh Sharma
Krishan Parmar
Jay Patel
Shreya Kumar
Dylan Patel
Sahana Jeyaseelan
Anuj Shah
Raam Gor
Keya Savalia
Deven Patel