Wednesday, May 15, 2013

ISKCON Pune: The New Vedic Cultural Centre (NVCC)

Appeared as the Cover Story in the May 2013 issue of Back To Godhead (India)






Pune: ISKCON’s New Vedic Cultural Centre
From a Rented Bungalow to a Grand Palace

Throughout history, Pune has been one of western India’s most important political centers. It’s the cultural and spiritual capital of the state of Maharashtra. Thirty years ago ISKCON had no presence in Pune, but on February 24, 2013, the honorable President of India inaugurated a gorgeous new ISKCON temple, the New Vedic Cultural Center (NVCC). It will propagate the timeless message of the ancient sacred Vedic texts by providing the supporting culture and education using the newest modern facilities; hence the name NVCC. It is one of the biggest ISKCON temples in the world — the temple property sprawls over 6 acres, and the maximum capacity of the temple hall is 3,000 people. ISKCON is a prominent feature of Pune’s spiritual landscape, and the NVCC could soon become Pune’s most prominent icon. The journey has been long and sometimes hard, but this is not the end. The inauguration of the NVCC marks a new beginning in ISKCON Pune’s history. Perhaps it is a historic moment even for ISKCON at large.

Space Crunch

Thirty years ago, a few devotees from ISKCON’s Juhu temple started visiting Pune. At that time, someone helped them to rent an army colonel’s bungalow at the heart of the city. Thus the Çré Çré Rädhä-Kunjabihäré temple was established in 1982. The temple activities really took off in 1993, when Gopäla Kåñëa Goswami requested Rädhänätha Swami to send a team of devotees from Mumbai to Pune. One of these devotees was Rädheçyäma Däsa, who started serving as the Pune temple president from 1997. He compiled teachings from Çréla Prabhupada’s books into introductory courses on the Bhagavad-gétä and gradually started presenting those courses at colleges. A lot of young men were impressed by his presentations and many joined the temple full time. This youth outreach program has expanded manifold and to this day continues to attract intelligent youth. Meanwhile, Jähnavä Devé Däsé, and later on Jayadeva Däsa and his wife Satyavaté Devé Däsé, started weekly programs at their home. Many of the current leaders in Pune are products of these two home programs. Today, the temple boasts a staggering 150 resident monks. There are also over 4,000 congregation members closely associated with the temple.

Eventually, a time came when the space in the temple could no longer satisfy the needs of the increasing number of devotees and well-wishers. Space was short for the resident devotees; 150 people stayed in three rooms, many sleeping under the sky at night. Space was short to serve the large crowds on festivals; the congregation was growing in size. Space was short to hold grand satsaìga programs when senior devotees, sannyäsés, or disciples of Çréla Prabhupada came; the temple management hired outside facilities. Most importantly, space was short for holding cultural and educational outreach programs for newcomers; the temple was steadily gaining popularity. To serve as the headquarters of the dynamic and expanding activities of ISKCON Pune, a bigger temple was obviously a dire necessity.

Fundraising

Dr. Baman Das Banerjee, an eye surgeon, had been worshipping a gorgeous deity of Lord Bäläjé at his home for 25 years. When he grew old, he wanted to offer this Deity to someone who would worship Him properly. Impressed by its Deity worship standards, he offered the Deity to ISKCON Pune on the condition that a beautiful temple be built for Him. He also donated property worth Rs. 1.25 crore. Devotees bought the first piece of land — 75,000 square feet — with the money obtained by selling this property. Thus, the first funds for the NVCC came from Lord Bäläjé Himself.

At one time Gopäla Kåñëa Goswami noted that only a large temple attracts a large number of people. With this in mind, he set the fundraising goal at Rs. 15 crore. The fundraising committee mobilized the whole congregation to take part in a massive fundraising drive. In 2007, even before the bhümi-püjä (which traditionally marks the start of construction), devotees had raised a whopping Rs. 4 crores. So much money had never ever been raised before for any ISKCON project so early in the process. As time progressed, the vision for the new temple expanded. More land was acquired. By the time of the opening ceremony, the total expenditure for the temple was Rs. 40 crores.

"We had no previous experience of fundraising. We are primarily into training and preaching. However, after a lot of brainstorming we launched the Mark Your Square Feet scheme,” explains Çré Guru Caraëa Däsa, who led the fundraising efforts. With the initial 75,000 square foot property and an initial budget of about 15 crore, the scheme encouraged donors to sponsor the construction of a few square feet of the temple at the rate of Rs. 2,000 per square foot. Due to years of successful outreach programs, the Pune temple had a huge number of devotees and well-wishers. With this support, the Mark Your Square Feet scheme was a triumph.

Bhaktivinoda Öhäkura, a great spiritual master in the Gauòéya Vaiñëava disciplic succession, had once gone door to door to collect funds for constructing the beautiful Yogapéöha temple at the birth place Lord Çré Caitanya Mahäprabhu. He wanted as many people as possible to get a chance to serve the Lord. Following in his footsteps, about a thousand devotees actively participated in the fundraising activities for the NVCC. It took them six years to raise the Rs. 40 crore. Along the way, about 40,000 Pune citizens got connected to the temple. Touched by the devotees’ sincerity of purpose, many people opened their hearts and donated profusely — both in kindness and in cash. As a result, many of them have also brought some of the principles of Kåñëa consciousness into their lives. The fundraising drive added new stories of heroism to the ISKCON Pune folklore — stories of selflessness, toil, and accomplishment — to inspire devotees for generations to come.

Inauguration by the President of India

The NVCC construction progressed at a steady pace. In one special instance, even animals did their part, undoubtedly inspired by the Lord. Without the devotees’ knowledge, one of the contractors had used substandard material for the false ceiling inside the temple hall. Monkeys came and played on the temple roof. Their running and jumping on the rooftop broke the false ceiling, exposing the contractor’s error. No one had ever seen the monkeys before, and no has ever seen them since. Perhaps they were sent by the Lord. Thus, by the combined efforts of the fundraisers, the donors, the construction crew, the residents of Pune (both human and animal), and the mercy of the Lord, the temple was ready for inauguration on February 23–24, 2013, on the auspicious day of Nityänanda Trayodaçé.


On Gopäla Kåñëa Goswami’s request, the President of India, Çré Pranab Mukherjee, agreed to inaugurate the NVCC. This raised the profile of the inauguration event to great heights. It also added tremendous pressure on the NVCC team, since getting the President to any event is full of uncertainties. But, by the Lord’s mercy, the inauguration went well. The Governor of Maharashtra, K. Shankarnaraya, a minister of Maharashtra, Harshawardhan Patil, the Mayor of Pune, Vaishali Bankar, and Bollywood film star Hema Malini were also present.

In his speech, the President spoke about ISKCON and Çréla Prabhupada in glowing words. His speech was repeatedly broadcast on TV channels and must have increased many people’s appreciation for ISKCON. He said,  “... If anyone notes the progress of the ISKCON movement, he will simply be struck by the enormity of the velocity with which the movement has caught up. If time is ripe for an idea, nothing can stop it. This principle can be applied to Çréla Prabhupada’s movement. ... He dedicated his life to spreading the eternal message of humanity — the teachings of the Bhagavad-gétä, the Çrémad-Bhägavatam, and the Gauòéya Vaiñëava-sampradäya. … We are deeply appreciative of the contributions made by this great movement. This magnificent center in the city of culture will dedicate itself to the cause of humanity not by increasing strife, confrontation, and conflict, but by increasing peace, harmony, love, and compassion.”

Gopäla Kåñëa Goswami reflects, “The President’s visit was a historic event in all of ISKCON and will attract thousands of visitors to this temple. It will enhance preaching to a great degree. Çréla Prabhupäda and Çréla Bhaktisiddhänta Sarasvaté Öhäkura wanted to invite such big prominent leaders in society to draw the attention of the public.”

The previous day, the gorgeous Deities of Their Lordships Çré Çré Rädhä-Våndävanacandra, Çré Çré Gaura-Nitäi, and Çré Çré Jagannätha, Baladeva, and Subhadrä were installed by a spiritually and emotionally surcharged präëa-pratiñöhä ceremony. In this ceremony, senior devotees request Their Lordships to manifest Themselves through the Deities. Accompanied by rousing kértanas and elaborate abhiñeka ceremony (bathing the Lords by water and other auspicious liquids), devotees welcomed the Lords into Their magnificent new home. Many senior devotees, including the GBCs for ISKCON Pune, were present to provide their invaluable association to all present.

Meanwhile, about 40,000 devotees from all over India, and some even from abroad, had come to enthusiastically participate in the inauguration festivities. Also in attendance were a huge number of Pune citizens, for whom a number of stalls were set up to present various aspects of Kåñëa consciousness. The visitors also had the option of hearing talks given by various senior devotees; these talks were aired live on local television.

Wonderful NVCC


The campus of the NVCC occupies 6 acres. As soon as one enters the complex, a wide expanse of green lawn meets the eye. Beyond that rises the magnificent Çré Çré Rädhä-Våndävanacandra temple, extending from right to left. The temple has three tall spires similar to the spires of the Jagannätha temple in Puré. The outside walls of the temple, marble and red sandstone, are white and pink. To the left of the lawn is a building in modern style that holds the Brahmacari Ashram for the 150 resident devotees and a prasäda hall for 3,000 people. In the future, this building will also contain other facilities like seminar halls, classrooms, and so on. Also planned for the NVCC complex are a guest house and a Govinda’s restaurant. To the right of the lawn, on top of a hill behind the main temple, is the temple of Lord Bäläjé, reminiscent of Lord Bäläjé’s residence on the Tirumala Hills in Tirupati. It is in the traditional South Indian style, using unpolished gray granite.

The main temple hall is on the first floor. Upon entering, you’re spellbound by beauty. The eyes dart from one feature to another, anxious to take everything in and yet eager to see every tiny detail. The flooring is pure white marble, the same as used in the Taj Mahal. The flooring has multiple inlays — marble patterns using natural sandstone. The biggest inlay is 30 feet in diameter, one of the biggest in all the ISKCON temples in the world. Each flower in those inlays is specially designed. The walls are decorated with gorgeous paintings and murals, one side from gaura-lélä and the other from kåñëa-lélä. Balconies run along both walls. The ceiling has 13 domes. The underside of the biggest dome is painted with Rädhä, Kåñëa, and the añöa-sakhés, while the other 12 domes are painted with images of the mahäjanas, one each. Several peacock-shaped chandeliers from China are suspended from the ceiling. The huge altar area is made using onyx marble, one of the best in the world. It’s known for its delightful translucence and softness. The intricate woodwork near the altar depicts the different incarnations of the Lord. Opposite the altar, at the other end of the hall, is a mürti of Çréla Prabhupäda.

All the lighting for the temple hall, including the chandeliers, is provided by LEDs. This rare setup saves a lot of power. The domes use color-changing LEDs so they can be lit up in different colors to create a variety of moods. The marble keeps the temperature cool inside. A sophisticated system of ventilators and wind turbines installed in the big dome ensures that hot air is sucked out and natural air circulates though the hall. The hall is equipped with the best audio-visual setup, with four projection screens. Aesthetically pleasing sound-diffusing and sound-absorbing material ensures great acoustics. These and many more delightful features make the hall the most welcoming place on earth.

And yet all this beauty cannot match the beauty of the masters of the temple — the Deities. Çré Çré Rädhä-Våndävanacandra and Çré Çré Gaura-Nitäi were carved in Jaipur. The devotees very carefully decided exactly how the Deities should look, researching the prominent features of other ISKCON Deities. For Lord Våndävanacandra, they wanted His face to resemble the face of Lord Mädhava in Mäyäpur and His hands to resemble the hands of Lord Gopénätha at Chowpatty, Mumbai. They wanted Rädhäräëé’s features to be a mix of the features of the Rädhäräëé Deities in ISKCON’s Mäyäpur and Våndävana temples. They wanted Gaura-Nitäi’s hands to resemble those of the Gaura-Nitäi Deities in South Africa. The Jagannätha-Baladeva-Sudhadrä Deities came from Puré. The smiling face of Lord Våndävanacandra and the graceful pose and merciful mood of Gaura-Nitai are enrapturing. The beauty of Their Lordships can’t be described in words, but after seeing Them there is no doubt that nothing and no one can be anywhere near as beautiful as They. The original Supreme Personality of Godhead, Çré Çré Rädhä-Våndävanacandra, resides in the NVCC, eager to bestow His unlimited blessings to the residents of Pune.

A New Beginning


The inauguration of the NVCC marks the beginning of a new chapter in ISKCON Pune’s history. Rädheçyäma Däsa summarizes his vision for the project: “The NVCC will be a flourishing project where children, students, working people, families, senior citizens, all will have friends. They will also have satisfying cultural, educational, religious, and spiritual engagements. The soothing spiritual ambience with state-of-the-art interiors will bring great inner peace, homelike atmosphere, and ever-expanding happiness to all visitors in such a way that nobody will feel like leaving.” Not only will the NVCC continue to expand the current temple activities, it will also venture into new and innovative ways of spreading Kåñëa consciousness. For example, the multipurpose hall at NVCC will be used for dramas, art, music, dance, debates, and so on, all to attract thousands to learn Kåñëa consciousness through entertaining presentations. The NVCC will become a center for training devotees from all parts of the world. It will also start rural outreach programs to take the message to villages around Pune. This is but a glimpse into the future of the NVCC.

The NVCC is an offering of love from the devotees of Pune to Çréla Prabhupäda and Çré Kåñëa. It’s a testament to how the temple residents and the congregation worked together to achieve grand results for Kåñëa. It’s a story of cooperation, perseverance, and faith. At this joyous juncture, pregnant with grand possibilities, let’s all rejoice in this remarkable success story in the glorious mission of Çréla Prabhupäda's ISKCON.

The Golden Promise

Appeared in the March 2013 issue of Back To Godhead (India).



The Golden Promise

During this festive season, let us make ourselves fortunate by becoming
a part of the glorious mission of the golden incarnation.




Around 5000 years ago, Lord Çré Kåñëa appeared in Våndävana, near Mathurä City. He established the principles of religion by killing great demons like Kaàsa and by speaking the superlative knowledge of the Bhagavad-gétä. That was in Dväpara-yuga, but the yuga has since changed; we are now in Kali-yuga – the age of rapid decline of spiritual standards. To re-establish the highest religious principles, just around 500 years ago, the Supreme Lord Çré Kåñëa once again descended to this world, this time appearing in Mäyäpur, West Bengal, in His eternal golden form of ÇréCaitanyaMahäprabhu. Çrémad-Bhägavatam(11.5.32) glorifies this most loving avatära of the Lord as follows:

kåñëa-varëaà tviñäkåñëaà
säìgopäìgästra-pärñadam
yajïaiù saìkértana-präyair
yajanti hi su-medhasaù

“In the age of Kali, intelligent persons perform congregational chanting to worship the incarnation of Godhead who constantly sings the names of Kåñëa. Although His complexion is not blackish[His complexion is the color of molten gold and therefore His name is Gauräìga], He is Kåñëa Himself. He is accompanied by His associates, servants, weapons, and confidential companions.”


The Absolute Truth – Subjects and Predicates

But who is Kåñëa? Without understanding this it is not possible to fully appreciate the significance of His descent in the form of Lord Caitanya. Kåñëa, His pastimes, and His teachings are so famous that we can take Him for granted. But Kåñëa is not just one part of our limited reality; He is the Absolute Truth.

The Vedic literature frequently mentions Brahman, Paramätmä, and Bhagavän. These three terms are widely known as the subjects of transcendental understanding. The ultimate aim of all Vedic literature is the Absolute Truth. The Çrémad-Bhägavatam(1.2.11) describes the Absolute Truth as follows:

vadanti tat tattva-vidas
tattvaà yaj jïänamadvayam
brahmetiparamätmeti
bhagavän iti çabdyate

“Learned transcendentalists who know the Absolute Truth say that it is nondual knowledge and is called impersonal Brahman, the localized Paramätmä, and the Personality of Godhead.”

The beginning of spiritual enlightenment is realization of impersonal Brahman. Such realization is effected by gradual negation of material variegation. However, in this realization of the Absolute Truth, spiritual variegation is also absent. This experience is therefore called advaita-väda, or realization of the oneness of the Absolute. The Supersoul in everyone’s heart, which is called the Paramätmä, is the controller of all living entities. He is present everywhere, within the heart of every living entity and within each and every atom as well. Thus by this feature, the Supersoul, the Lord is all-pervading. Mystic yogis realize this feature of the Absolute truth by meditation. The personal aspect of the Absolute Truth, who is complete in every respect, full in all opulences, is known as Bhagavän. Pure devotees of the Lord realize Him to be the Absolute Truth. This realization of the Absolute Truth includes the other two as well. All incarnations of the Absolute Truth, commonly known as incarnations of Viñëu, are the various forms of Bhagavän.

The three subjects – Brahman, Paramätmä,and Bhagavän – are widely discussed in Vedic literature. What is less widely known is that impersonal Brahman is the effulgence of Çré Kåñëa’s transcendental body and that the Paramätmä is only a partial representation of Lord Kåñëa. It is even less widely known that Lord Caitanya is identical with Lord Kåñëa. In Çré Caitanya-caritämåta (Ädi-lélä,chapter 2), Çréla Kåñëadäsa Kaviräja Gosvämé cites conclusive evidence from authoritative Vedic sources to prove the above claims. The Gosvämé likens this analysis to the structure of a sentence. In a sentence, the subject is mentioned first because the reader already knows the subject. And then something pertaining to the subject – known as the predicate – is added to make an informative statement. Since Brahman, Paramätmä, or Bhagavän are well known to students of the Vedas, they are compared to the subject in this analysis. The less known facts mentioned above are compared to predicates.

Kaviräja Gosvämé uses the same logic to further analyze the position of Lord Kåñëa, based on the following verse from Çrémad-Bhägavatam (1.3.28):

ete cäàça-kaläù puàsaù
kåñëas tu bhagavän svayam
indräri-vyäkulaà lokaà
måòayanti yuge yuge

“All these incarnations of Godhead are either plenary portions or parts of the plenary portions of the puruña-avatäras. But Kåñëa is the Supreme Personality of Godhead Himself. In every age He protects the world through His different features when the world is disturbed by the enemies of Indra.”

This verse comes at the end of a series of verses that describe the appearance and activities of various incarnations of Bhagavän. This list includes Kåñëa as an incarnation of Bhagavän. Citing the logic pertaining to a subject and its predicate, Kaviräja Gosvämé explains as follows:

“In the same way, all these incarnations were known, but whose incarnations they are was unknown. First the word ete [“these”] establishes the subject [the incarnations]. Then “plenary portions of the puruña-avatäras” follows as the predicate. In the same way, when Kåñëa was first counted among the incarnations, specific knowledge about Him was still unknown. Therefore first the word kåñëa appears as the subject, followed by the predicate, describing Him as the original Personality of Godhead.” (Caitanya-caritämåta, Ädi-lélä 2.80–83)

In this way Kaviräja Gosvämé proves Krishna’s supreme position as the original Personality of Godhead, the source of all incarnations of Bhagavän. Since Lord Chaitanya is directly Lord Krishna Himself, Lord Chaitanya is that same Absolute Truth. Who would not want to be part of His mission?

The Golden Mission

In this age of Kali there is no way of achieving spiritual perfection other than loudly chanting the holy names of Çré Kåñëa in saëkértana. Even though He is all powerful, as Gauräìga the Lord doesn’t kill the demons but rather kills the demonic tendencies present in their hearts by giving them the holy name. Lord Çré Caitanya Mahäprabhu, as the yuga-avatära, appeared in this world for the express purpose of spreading the harinäma-saìkértana movement far and wide, even outside the land of India. The following verse from one of the authoritative biographies of Çré Caitanya Mahäprabhu, Çré Caitanya-bhägavata (Antya 4.126), reveals His golden promise in unambiguous words: påthivéte äche yata nagarädi gräma sarvatra pracära haibe mora näma. “In every town and village of the world, the chanting of My name will be heard.”

Lord Caitanya Mahäprabhu persuaded the highly learned non-devotional scholars like the great Särvabhauma Bhaööäcärya and Prakäçänanda Sarasvaté with His unparalleled scriptural and philosophical acumen. And he persuaded the masses with the all-conquering weapon of the sweet uproarious chanting of the holy name in saëkértana. Be it the philosophy or the holy name, by both methods hearts were transformed, and everyone who came in contact began chanting the holy names of Kåñëa and experienced the divine bliss of love of God. Even the most wretched and infamous evil brothers Jagäi and Mädhäi, who had left no sin uncommitted, weren’t spared by the all-merciful Çré Caitanya. Indeed, after converting even them to superlative Vaiñëavas, Lord Caitanya’s fame knew no bounds.

Çré Caitanya Mahäprabhu appointed one of His most trusted servants to carry out the unprecedented and monumental task of spreading His mission all over the world. His prediction of such a personality is recorded in the Caitanya-maìgala as follows (paraphrased): If sinful people get away by being in distant countries where my personal preaching will not reach, I will send my devotee commander-in-chief (senäpati-bhakta) to deliver them.”

Carrying the divine grace of Lord Gauräìga, to execute His golden promise, His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupäda – the senäpati-bhakta ventured into uncharted territories, outside the safety of his peaceful dwelling in Våndävana, to carry out the mission of the Supreme Lord. In 1965, at the ripe old age of 70, Çréla Prabhupäda found himself alone on the streets of New York with unflinching faith in Çré Caitanya Mahäprabhu’s mercy as his only shelter. But what is impossible for the Lord? In 1966, Çréla Prabhupäda founded the International Society for Kåñëa Consciousness (ISKCON) as the medium through which he would spread Lord Caitanya’s message. He expanded Lord Chiatanya’s mission by bringing harinäma-saìkértana to the streets all over the world. In the short span of twelve years “Hare Kåñëa” became a household word all over the world.Despite his busy schedule, which included opening temples, giving discourses, and managing the world wide movement single handedly, he wrote volumes of authoritative philosophical literature based on the teachings of Lord Chaitanya and His intimate associates.

Even today, as the number of Lord Caitanya’s devotees and well-wishers grows, the mercy of Mahäprabhu continues to reach thousands through the medium of Çréla Prabhupäda’s ISKCON. On this most auspicious occasion of Gaura-pürëimä, the appearance anniversary of Çré Caitanya Mahäprabhu, we look back in amazement at the limitless mercy of Lord Gauräìga, the astounding accomplishments of Çréla Prabhupäda, and the unimaginable potential that this movement holds. The future is golden.