Hare Krishna: How Sierra Vista Found Inner Peace

Inner peace is hard to find these days. With so much conflict and uncertainty across the globe, it can seem like there's no answers to live a peaceful, fulfilling life.

Luckily for the residents of Sierra Vista, there's a light in the darkness. Mindful Mondays has become a staple of the community in a short time, but what's inside these meditation retreats?

What's Inside Mindful Mondays?

Every third Monday, at the Sierra Vista Public Library, folks gather for an event known as Mindful Mondays. These start at around 4pm, and run until about 6:30pm.

They start with meditation and chanting, with spiritual leaders leading a call and response of:

Hare Kirshna

Hare Krishna

Krishna Krishna

Hare Hare

Hare Rama

Hare Rama

Rama Rama

Hare Hare

This is meant to invoke a feeling of deep peace and spiritual attunement, meditating while chanting to bring you closer to the spiritual realm. After that, Jivananda Dasa Vanacari from the ISKCON Tucson Temple gives a quick sermon about finding joy, light, and peace in your life, before wrapping things up with a delicious vegetarian Krishna lunch.

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International Society for Krishna Consciousness

These events are hosted by ISKCON, or the International Society for Krishna Consciousness. This is a nonsectarian community that is dedicated to spiritual education and unity. Those who participate in Sierra Vista's Mindful Mondays are from the Tucson Temple, but hail from all over the world, from Chicago, to India, to Bengal, and more.

Mindful Mondays are a small piece of what the temple brings to Southern Arizona, and they will continue to enlighten and teach in Cochise County every third monday of the month.