ISKCON Temple Bangalore

ISKCON Bangalore

Temple at night
ISKCON Bangalore
Location in Bangalore
Name
Proper name Sri Radha Krishnachandra Temple
Geography
Coordinates 13°0′34″N 77°33′3″E / 13.00944°N 77.55083°E / 13.00944; 77.55083Coordinates: 13°0′34″N 77°33′3″E / 13.00944°N 77.55083°E / 13.00944; 77.55083
Country India
State Karnataka
District Bangalore
Location Rajajinagar
Culture
Primary deity Sri Sri Radha Krishna-chandra
Important festivals Janamashtami
Architecture
Architectural styles Hindu temple architecture
Number of temples 3
History and governance
Date built 1997[1][2]
Website ISKCON Bangalore

Sri Radha Krishna Temple ( Kannada - ಶ್ರೀ ರಾಧಾ ಕೃಷ್ಣ ಮಂದಿರ ) has deities of Radha and Krishna located at Rajajinagar, in North Bangalore, Karnataka, India. It is one of the largest ISKCON temples in the world.[3] The temple is a huge cultural complex that was inaugurated in 1997 by Shankar Dayal Sharma. The project was conceived and executed by Madhu Pandit Dasa following the wishes of HDG A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, the Founder-Acarya of ISKCON to promote Vedic culture and spiritual learning.

Hare Krishna Hill

Hare Krishna Hill is the Hill on which this temple is situated.

History

Around 1976, devotees from different parts of India and the world had initiated activities of ISKCON in different parts of South India like Bangalore, Hubli, Madras, etc. Sankirtans in the streets, enrolling Life Members, arranging programs in the houses, and arranging large public programs in pandals were being conducted. In May 1997, Bangalore ISKCON Temple was inaugurated by His Holiness Jayapataka Swami & the ninth president of India - Shankar Dayal Sharma.[2]

Features of the temple

There is a gold-plated dhwaja-stambha (flag post) 17 m (56 ft) high and a gold plated kalash shikara 8.5 m (28 ft) high. There is free distribution of Sri Krishna prasadam to all visitors during the darshana hours.[4]

Shrines (altars)

ISKCON Bangalore has six shrines:

  1. Main shrine is of Radha-Krishna.
  2. Krishna Balrama.
  3. Nitai Gauranga (Chaitanya Mahaprabhu and Nityananda).
  4. Srinivasa Govinda ( also known as Venkateswara ).
  5. Prahlada Narasimha.
  6. Srila Prabhupada.[5]

Darshan Timings

The temple is open from 4:15 am to 5:15 am. The day begins with a grand arati ceremony called mangala-arati followed by worship of Tulasi, Narasimha Arati and Suprabhata Seva for Sri Srinivasa Govinda. The temple again opens at 7:15 am for Shringara Darshana Arati. 5:15 am to 7:15 am: Japa Meditation. The temple remains open till 1:00 pm. In the evening the temple is open from 4:15 pm to 8:20 pm. The evening arati starts at 7:00 pm where devotees sing along with priest.In the main temple the arati is performed by three priests. This arati is followed again by aratis where devotees can be seen dancing to the rhythm of "hare krishna hare rama".

Flourishing Markets

The exit way after the Darshan from the main temple leads through a series of shops that offer books on Sri Krishna in all the possible Indian languages. Various shops which offer astonishing range of merchandise can also been seen giving away bags,pencils,compact discs,rings,cloths and many other things all having a mark or a photo of Sri Krishna.Apart from these things, there are various shops which provide eatables of large varieties including laddoo, cheese cake,samosa,milk shakes,pakoda, etc. The overall view of these markets provide everything that a devotee visiting a temple would need.

Krishna Lila Park @ Vaikunta Hills

ISKCON started a second huge temple called Krishna Lila Park in Kanakpura Road. This is being constructed on 70 acres. It is planned to be complete by 2020. First stage Narasimha Temple is operational and open for visitors for darshan.

Shrines (altars)

  1. Sudarshana
  2. Narasimha, Jagannatha, Baladeva, Subhadra

Festivals

ISKCON Bangalore celebrates festivals that are either related to avatars of Lord Vishnu or with Vedic culture. Main festivals that are celebrated within the temple are:

Social services

ISKCON Bangalore provides free food to those in need.[7] The Akshaya Patra Foundation is one initiative started by members of the temple, which has received praise from United States President Barack Obama for feeding and educating children across India.[8]

The Akshaya Patra Foundation is principally involved in implementing the Mid-Day Meal programme to the children in Government and Government-aided schools across India. It follows a Public-Private Partnership model of operation, and hence has been working in partnership with the Central and State Governments. Since 2003, the Foundation has been implementing the mid-day meal programme under the guidelines of Government of India. Akshaya Patra is currently operating in 19 locations across 9 states of India. It is reaching out to over 9000 Government schools feeding 1.3 million children round the year on all school working days. It is steadily moving towards achieving its goal of feeding 5 million children by 2020.[9]

Gallery

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to ISKCON Temple, Bangalore.

References

  1. ↑ ISKCON Temple Bangalore website, Temple Information
  2. 1 2 ISKCON Temple Bangalore website, Temple History
  3. ↑ Jones, Constance and D. Ryan, James (2007). Encyclopedia of Hinduism. U.S.A.: Facts on File. p. 512. ISBN 0-8160-5458-4.
  4. ↑
  5. ↑ ISKCON Temple Bangalore website, Deities page.
  6. ↑ ISKCON Temple Bangalore Website, Festivals and Events
  7. ↑ Dr. Kumar Singh, Yogesh (2007). Sociological Foundation of Education. New Delhi, India: APH Publishing Corporation. p. 320. ISBN 81-313-0193-1.
  8. ↑ "Obama’s accolade for Akshaya Patra" from Bangalore Mirror, 12-12-2008, hosted on the ISKCON Temple Bangalore website.
  9. ↑
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