Content-Length: 8777 Content-Type: text/html; charset=UTF-8 Hare Krishna - Planetarium: Prabhupada's Desire - Hare Krishna
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The Temple of the Vedic Planetarium
Srila Prabhupada's desire


In 1971, His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, the Founder-Acarya of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness, wanted to obtain land in Sridhama Mayapur. While he anxiously waited in the Calcutta ISKCON temple, his representatives were in Mayapur negotiating with the local farmers to purchase a small plot of land alongside the road built in the 1930s by his spiritual master, Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Goswami Thakur. After they obtained the land, a humble, traditional straw hut with a grass roof was quickly built, and Srila Prabhupada came there to worship Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu.

Being inspired to do something for the satisfaction of the Lord, and being fully aware of the visions and predictions of the previous acaryas, Srila Prabhupada quickly started to develop a plan for ISKCON's World Headquarters in Mayapur, along with a wonderful monument to Lord Caitanya. Although that original plan was limited in its scope owing to the size of the land that ISKCON had at the time, it was still a good start and the basis upon which the project would soon grow.

By 1974, the first solid building, a guesthouse, was completed. By 1975, Srila Prabhupada was developing the theme around a temple to be called the "Temple of the Vedic Planetarium." This temple was to house a wonderful exhibition of the universe as it is understood and revealed through the Vedic tradition, specifically as it is found in the Fifth Canto of the Srimad-Bhagavatam and other Vedic texts. He further wanted established within this building many hundreds of exhibits that would educate the people of the world in the scientific nature and advanced knowledge of the Vedic literature.

Around the Temple of the Vedic Planetarium a town would gradually be built. Devotees from India and around the world would come and reside in the deeply spiritual atmosphere of Sri Mayapur dhama and serve in the temple. This holy place would then be transformed into the center of the preaching of the mission of Lord Caitanya throughout the world. It would be the lighthouse beaconing transcendental knowledge and the natural renunciation of material things that arises from the practice of Krishna consciousness.

This temple has been the desire of the entire disciplic succession. Therefore Prabhupada wanted one of the three main altars within the temple to be dedicated to the worship of the Brahma-Madhva-Gaudiya Sampradaya. As the culmination of their desire for the welfare of the world, the Panca-tattva, the five forms of the Absolute Truth -- Lord Caitanya, Lord Nityananda, Sri Advaita, Sri Gadadhara, and Sri Srivasa Thakur -- and the forms of Sri Sri Radha-Madhava would be worshiped on the other two altars. The seven planets, suspended from the high sikhara (dome) above the Deities, would revolve in their orbits, marking Krishna's position as the source and shelter of all the planets in the universe.

The Temple of the Vedic Planetarium was to represent the form of the universe through the design and architecture of its structure.


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