Bangalore, Dec 30: Chief Minister S M Krishna and Mayor Ramachandrappa will participate in the yagna to be conducted by the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON) on Jan 1, 2000:

This is one of the programmes announced by ISCON president Madhu Pandit Dasa here on Thursday. There are two other programmes - spiritual retreat camps for college students and free mid-day meal scheme.

The programme is the 'Shata Koti Nama Japa Yajna', which is the chanting of one hundred crore holy names of Krishna and Rama for world peace and harmony on the occasion of the dawn of the new millennium.

A special entry has been created in the ISKCON temple leading to the Hari-nama Mantapa for those devotees who wish to participate in the yagna, Dasa said.

"The "devotees' will walk on the 108 steps of the Mantapa chanting the mantra on each step, leading to the temple through the special gateway," he added. Thousands of devotees are expected to take part in the chanting everyday throughout the year, which will add up to the target of chanting l00 crore holy names.

The retreat camps to be inaugurated on Jan 22 is to awaken the real spirit of enquiry among the student community. It will be a two-day residential camp and the course will be handled by competent and trained experts to guide the participants in their "journey of self-discovery".