The temple was elaborately decorated and flowers were strung in garlands, made into bouquets and petals were scattered on the altar.

Gifts of money, fruit, flowers and foodstuffs poured into the temple as devotees came to seek the blessings of Lord Krishna.

Mr Carter, much to the delight of the audience, took part in the ancient ritual of bathing Deities of Krishna and His consort Radharani. Mr Carter said he was very happy to be back at the temple and that he had really enjoyed the food. Two auctions raised over $10,000 towards reducing the Temple’s $1-million debt. The first to fall under the hammer was a painting of Krishna and the fruit seller. On reaching the target a copy measuring 4.1 metres by 2.8 metres will be painted on a wall in the main temple hall by artist Dina Bandhu from Ukraine. The second painting was of Lord Jagannatha, an incarnation of Krishna, His brother Baladeva and sister Subhadra.

Auctioned on Srila Prabhupada’s appearance day were decorated cakes which boosted the funds raised by over $1,000. The evening’s festivities ended with a midnight candle-lit worship in the packed temple. The altar was

lit only by candles in the darkened temple room, and through the haze of frankincense the Deities could be seen dressed in fine silks and jewels. The atmosphere was joyful as devotees chanted and danced. Hundreds of guests were then served a tasty vegetarian feast.