Update: Krishna Castle has now closed and the kitchen has now moved to another location. It is not currently accepting any more Workawayers. You can still volunteer at their sanctuary on the outskirts of London here.
So, have you always wanted to visit a castle? But didn’t want to line up and see the touristic one in London? Would you be willing to walk down a hidden slope to a dark car park, guarded by a half-man half-lion avatar… Then we have something in common! This Workaway in London was with the Hare Krishna, and it was a unique one.
Krishna castle
Krishna Castle, or just the Castle as it is affectionately known, was built to house the Food For All project. Food was made here every day for the homeless, students, and anyone who wanted a hot meal. It is run by ISKCON (International Society for Krishna Consciousness) and they have a temple in Soho. Parashuram is the determined and charismatic “boss” of the project and built the Castle from scratch.
The project is run by Hare Krishna devotees who are already in the kitchen hours before anyone else wakes up. The massive cooking pot is said to be the biggest in Europe and can make food for up to 5,000 people. That’s a lot of people! Several adults could comfortably fit inside it like a hot tub. Not that I could convince anyone to clamber inside, unfortunately…
My partner and I stayed at Krishna Castle for one month as Workawayers. If you haven’t heard of Workaway it’s a website where you go and stay with people all around the world. You work a few hours a day for food and accommodation. It’s an awesome experience and you can get a lot out of it. Great memories and stories are always made! Plus, you get to help people with their projects which is always inspirational to do.
Working at Krishna Castle
Helping others really is one of the best things to do, for yourself and society. Particularly, Hare Krishna devotees devote all of their time to do just this. When they are not waking up at 4:30am to start the day with prayers they are serving the community.
I would wake up at the late hour of 6am (I know, I’m just too lazy) to get ready. My volunteering shifts at the Krishna Castle were Monday-Friday, from 7am to midday. I would be enthusiastically greeted by Achintya.
“Good morning Rachael! How are you?!”
In fact, he says this every morning. It brightens your day to start on a positive note, and seeing Achintya can certainly brighten anyone’s day. It’s also important to him as cooking with positivity and good vibes is transferred in to the food he cooks, so the happier you are the better your food is and the happier the people eating your food. Which makes sense.
The actual work here is rewarding and you really do feel like you are part of something important. As a volunteer there is work to be done, from cutting and preparing food to cleaning and restocking the van. I have never seen and chopped up so many potatoes in my life… Can I add that on to my skill list? Chopping potatoes?
There is also the opportunity to travel out in the van to feed the homeless at several points around central London. Being located within the City of London St Pauls Cathedral is right around the corner and many other wonderful places to explore too. Boredom is not welcome here, thank you very much.
Be part of something different
Being a part of something different, something that you wouldn’t normally do opens your boundaries and gives you more confidence. You are more inclined to say yes to new adventures. Even at Food For All, there are opportunities to discover more about Hare Krishna – talk to the monks, participate in the “extra-curricular” activities like Thoughtful Thursdays, and go to the Temple in Soho. They welcome everyone to at least give it a try. I definitely stuck out like a sore thumb but that was okay! If it all goes wrong then at least it’s a great story! I participated in their morning program and it was a blast, you can read about that here.
Through my incessant questioning, I also found out what the large lion-man thing was and it was Nrsimhadeva; an incarnation of Krishna who appeared to save the great saint Prahlada Maharaja from his evil father Hiranyakasipu. It’s an awesome and gorey story, one you should Google.
A bit of perspective
I wrote this article during the coronavirus pandemic, and what this has highlighted is the importance of looking out for people. Your family, friends, neighbours, and even those you don’t know. It makes you realise that everyone is important, and it has spurred a lot of people into doing more charity work and showing more compassion. Food For All has been inundated with extra volunteers during this time as the food now has to all be individually packed into singular meal containers – up to 5,000 individual meal containers for people. That’s a lot of extra work. But people have been turning up and helping, day after day.
There is a homelessness crisis in London and they are often forgotten about. Compassion is lost sometimes and all we need to do is look closer, to see things, to find that every person is a human being and you can show them kindness. A lot of the time people do want to help but they just don’t know how to. It’s about showing love and kindness to everyone.
What can you do to help?
You don’t have to do something massive to help others. You don’t have to dedicate your whole life to it but every little does help. Can you imagine what the world would be like if everyone just did a little something to help others? Whether that is volunteering for a few hours a week or checking in on your neighbours to see how they’re managing this pandemic. Don’t forget to check in with yourself as well and make sure you’re doing okay! Reach out and speak to people if you need to have a chat.
Lastly, check out ISKCON, the Hare Krishna community in London. Get in touch if you want to start that conversation, let me know how things are going!
