Tuesday, June 10, 2008

Iskon Temple, New Delhi, India


India Trip Feb 2008, originally uploaded by sunpreet28.

Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada is the founder acharya of the hare krishna movement. Completed in 1998, this is a complex of temples. The International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON) was initially raised as a spiritual society in New York to Propagate the message of the Bhagwad Gita. It was founded by Swami Prabhupada. In India there are 40 ISKCON temples. Contemplating the traditions of the ancient Vaishnava tradition, its philosophy and practice, these spiritual temples have left a mark on all mankind.

ISKCON temples are dedicated to Lord Krishna and were built by the Hare-Rama Hare-Krishna cult followers. These complexes are elegantly built and are few of the largest temple complexes in India. There are beautiful paintings of Russian artists on the different past times of Radha Krishna, Sita, Ram, Laxman, Hanuman and Chaitanya Mahaprabhu. Special programmes like Kirtan, Aarti, Pravachan and Prasadam are held every Sunday.

Some ISKCON Temples In India :

* ISKCON Temple, Delhi
For many this is just a temple, for finding solace, peace and quiet. Sitting amongst Lord Krishna and his devotees with Hare Krishna chants going around is indeed an experience. But for those who are seeking more, there is so much to learn and see, than what meets the eye.

* ISKCON Temple, Bangalore, Karnataka
The ISKCON Temple was built recently by the International Society for Krishna Consciousness. As you climb the granite steps you will encounter three small shrines before the main temple. The three idols of Lord Krishna in the main shrine are made of brass.

* ISKCON Temple, Vrindavan, Uttar Pradesh
It is located within the premises of the Krishna-Baldev Temple in Vrindavan. Beautiful paintings depicting the life of Lord Krishna adorn the galleries leading to the main temple. ISKCON devotees from various parts of the world can be spotted manning the library or ISKCON book stalls and partaking in temple rituals.

* ISKCON Chandradoya Mandir, Mayapur, West Bengal
This is the international headquarters of ISKCON. Surrounded by: a Vedic city, the main Deities are Sri Radha Madhava. The Deities are larger than life-size. There are also eight Gopis, four on each side of Radha-Madhava. Also on the main altar is a small set of Radha-Krishna Deities. On the left altar are Deities of the "Pancha-Tattva-Advaita Acarya", Lord Nityananda, Lord Chaitanya, Gadadhara, and Srivasa Thakur. To the left of this altar is another altar with an impressive Deity of Lord Narasimha.

1 comment:

Bollywood Taste said...

I adore Chai Adda mississauga atmosphere! The street food offerings bring back memories of India, and the tea is quite tasty. It's a fantastic place to spend time with friends.