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Temple Information

The International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON) temple in Bangalore city is huge cultural complex that was inaugurated in 1997 to carry out the vision of His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, the Founder-Acarya of ISKCON.

ISKCON Sri Radha Krishna-chandra Mandir, in Bangalore attracts visitors from different parts of the world and it offers a truly commendable experience to visitors and devotees from a spiritual, architectural and general perspective. Sirla Prabhupada’s ISKCON temple is more than a place of rituals.

Temple History

In September 1987, ISKCON Bangalore was operating from a rented house in the city with a handful of devotees. Under the leadership of the Temple President, Sri Madhu Pandit Dasa, ISKCON Bangalore applied for a 7-acre hillock from the Bangalore Development Authority (BDA). The BDA had described it as “karaab land” (waste land) as it was a huge piece of monolithic rock and could not be converted into sites. The BDA sanctioned the land at a cost of Rs. 11 lakhs to be paid in 90 days. With practically no resources in hand, the team of devotees managed to collect the sum partly with the help of some donors and partly through loan. The whole construction was carried out by the ISKCON Construction Department. Between 1990 and 1997 a total of 10 million man-hours were put by 600 skilled craftsmen, 32,000 cubic meters of stone, 131,250 tons of cement and 1,900 tons of steel were used.

How to Reach?

The ISKCON Radha Krishna-chandra Mandir located in Bangalore is known for its cultural and spiritual learning. The temple is known for spreading right kind of values and devotees from all around the world visit the temple to offer their prayers and show their devotion. And the devotees and visitors can easily reach this holy shrine as it is well connected to city’s major bus stands, railway stations and Bangalore International Airport. Located in North Bangalore, the temple has thousands of visitors’ every day. There are various cultural events and activities organized from time to time and the influx of devotees and visitors from all parts of world is much more that time. ISKCON, Bangalore offers a truly commendable experience to visitors and devotees from a spiritual, architectural and general perspective.

Spread over seven acres of land amidst beautiful gardens and water fountains, ISKCON houses 5 temples, a multi-vision theatre, the Akshaya Patra mechanized kitchen, an open air auditorium, an organic products outlet, an art and craft outlet, Vedic library, a pure vegetarian & sattvic restaurants ‘Annakutta’ and ‘Higher Taste’, goshala, community halls, administrative offices, guest house for its members and visitors and residential accommodation for devotees.

ISKCON Bangalore to go on Appeal

The divisional bench of the High court of Karnataka has restrained ISKCON Mumbai from dislodging or dismissing Sri Madhu Pandit Dasa and other office bearers of ISKCON Bangalore for 6 weeks. The High Court further observed that there are various yeoman services being rendered from the institution to the society and abrupt changes in the management, employees, missionaries and other members would disrupt the same leading to far reaching consequences. The High Court also observed that other activities, organizations or trusts which are functioning from the Hare Krishna Hill premises are not part of this suit and hence their activities should go on unhindered.

Governance and Admin
Seven Purposes of ISKCON

Srila Prabhupada’s ISKCON does not discriminate its visitors on the basis of religion, color or socio-economic status. ISKCON Bangalore is known for its cultural heritage. It reaches out to all classes of society in all age groups through a series of spiritual, educational and cultural activities. ISKCON is known for its seven purposes. ISKCON was incorporated for the purpose of: (a) To systematically propagate spiritual knowledge to the society at large and to educate all people in the techniques of spiritual life in order to check the imbalance of values in life and to achieve real unity and peace in the world. (b) To propagate a consciousness of Krishna as it is revealed in the Bhagavad-gita and Srimad Bhagavatam. (c) To bring the members of the Society together with each other and nearer to Krishna, the prime entity, and thus to develop the idea, within the members, and humanity, at large, that each soul is part and parcel of the quality of Godhead (Krishna). (d) To teach and encourage the sankirtana movement of congregational chanting of the holy name of God as revealed in the teachings of Lord Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu. (e)To erect for the members, and for the society at large, a holy place of transcendental pastimes, dedicated to the personality of Krishna. (f) To bring the members closer together for the purpose of teaching a simpler and more natural way of life. (g) With a view towards achieving the aforementioned purposes, to publish and distribute periodicals, magazines, books and other writings. LD 8: Certificate of Incorporation of ISKCON, July 13, 1966

Srila Prabhupada’s Instructions

Srila Prabhupada- the Founder-Acarya of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness was a visionary. He was an ambassador from the spiritual world. He appeared in the year 1896.

In 1936, Srila Prabhupada wrote to his spiritual master requesting for any particular service that he could render. In response he received a reply containing the same instruction that he had received in 1922: 'Preach Krishna consciousness to the English speaking world. His spiritual master passed away from this world two weeks later thus leaving these final instructions engraved in Srila Prabhupada's heart. These instructions were to form the focus of Srila Prabhupada's life. In July 1966, Srila Prabhupada established the International Society for Krishna Consciousness — ISKCON. His aim was to use the society to promote Krishna consciousness throughout the world. In 1967, he visited San Francisco and started an ISKCON society there. He then sent his disciples all over the world to spread Chaitanya Mahaprabhu's message and open new centers in Montreal, Boston, London, Berlin, and other cities in North America, India, and Europe. In India, three magnificent temples were initially planned: Vrindavana, the Krishna Balarama temple with all its ancillary facilities; Bombay, a temple with an educational and cultural centre; and in Mayapur, a huge temple with a Vedic planetarium.

In the short time he spent in the West, he preached continuously, established 108 temples, wrote more than sixty volumes of transcendental literature, initiated five thousand disciples, founded the Bhaktivedanta Book Trust, and began a scientific academy (the Bhaktivedanta Institute) and other trusts related to ISKCON. Srila Prabhupada was an extraordinary author, teacher, and saint. He brought to fruition his Guru’s wish to spread Krishna consciousness all over the world through his writing and preaching. His writings comprise many volumes and are the basis of Krishna consciousness for all his disciples and for the public at large.

Governing Body Commission

The International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON) temple in Bangalore city is huge cultural complex that was inaugurated in 1997 to carry out the vision of His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, the Founder-Acarya of ISKCON to promote Vedic culture and spiritual learning. In September 1987, ISKCON Bangalore was operating from a rented house in the city with a handful of devotees. Under the leadership of the Temple President, Sri Madhu Pandit Dasa, now the temple has a proper Governing Body Commission, which felicitates the proper working and management of ISKCON Bangalore.

Activities
Goshala

ISKCON Bangalore’s goshala was started in 1986 with one cow, named Vasundhara, and her calf, Tamala. Since then, over the last 25 years, the herd has increased. Currently there are 25 cows, eight heifers and five calves in the goshala. As the cows age, when they are unable to produce milk, they are moved to ISKCON Bangalore's farm at Mahadevapura in Mandya district where they peacefully spend the rest of their lives, grazing on the fresh grass and the sweet hay that is readily available there. The young bulls are also moved to the farm after they are weaned from their mothers, due to the lack of space to house them on Hare Krishna Hill. There, these energetic animals are trained to plough the fields and carry loads to help in farming activities.

The cows are an integral part of the temple and their upkeep is one of the prime activities. They are housed in a facility behind the temple complex, which is kept immaculately clean by a team of three trained dairymen. They are bathed everyday and during the summer they are bathed twice. They are allowed to roam around freely in a corral everyday so that they can stretch their limbs and get some exercise.