By Pavni Gaurangi
The ISKCON Janpath temple in Ludhiana, a beautiful palace for Sri Sri Radha Gopinath, was joyfully inaugurated October 23rd-24th after 15 years of challenges.
The Beginning
Ludhiana is the largest city in the Indian state of Punjab, not only famous for its hosiery and cycle industries but also for its deep religious sentiment. Evidence of this was the 2007 donation to ISKCON of a 4.25-acre space with the hopes a grand temple could be built on the land. Donors included Shri Mahinder Goyal, Shri Mahesh Goyal, Shri Jagdeep Singhal, and Shri Vinay Singhal.
Putting together the pieces of a puzzle
Turning the dream into a reality took work, as there were a lot of obstacles that occurred. However, the first was a strange challenge. The shape of the donated land was unusual, making it difficult to construct a well-connected temple complex. Rather than letting this situation discourage them, by Krishna’s mercy, the devotees who led this project thought of a unique idea to fix this issue – land exchange! The idea was simple yet intelligent: rearranging the Temple’s proposed location with a piece of land next to it, creating a proper space for construction. Once devotees accomplished this, the deity of Ananta Sesa was installed on the auspicious occasion of Akshaya Tritiya in 2012.
Heartbreak
The Temple’s construction began, and His Holiness Bhakti Rakshak Gokulanand Maharaja guided the project team led by HG Rakshanath Das, alongside his brothers HG Acintya Tattva Das and HG Vishnu Gaura Das. They dedicated extensive time and effort, being present at the Temple’s construction site, ensuring every detail was handled. However, to everyone’s shock, the project suddenly stopped when the Temple’s roofs sank around nine inches.
Climbing the mountain, yet again
After extensive analysis, structural faults were discovered by the builders. The plans were revised despite a lot of construction already having been completed. Retrofitting was incorporated, and the project was back on track.
Read more: https://iskconnews.org/15-year-saga-led-to-a-palace-for-radha-gopinath-in-ludhiana/
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