By Padasevan Bhakta Das
In the last week of May this year ISKCON was donated a fully functional building located on a 4800 sq. yard campus, on the outskirts of Gurgaon, a sattelite city of Delhi, and home to several major software companies. The property was earlier owned and operated by an NGO called Atma Kalyan Kendra run by its founder Acarya Sudarshan Ji Maharaj.
It is located on a Sohna road, a National Highway, and has two major universities, several deluxe hotels and residential apartments within few minutes drive.
The campus has a spacious hall on front side, which can accommodate about 500 people.
It is now being used as temple hall for Sri Sri Jagganath, Baldev, Subhadra and Sudarshan, of Iskcon Gurgaon. Daily programs such as Managal Arati, Guru Puja and Gaura Arati take place here, just as in other Iskcon temples throughout the world.
At the back of hall is a five storey guesthouse, with about 20 spacious rooms which are now being used as admin. office, brahmachari ashram, prasadam hall and stores.
The Sunday Love Feast has also started at the new centre and last Sunday it organised its first ever youth festival- Umang here on the evening of 26th July, Acharya Sudarshan ji Maharaj was the chief guest on the occassion. It was attended by 456 youngsters from Gurgaon and Delhi.
The festival started with IYF-Delhi (Iskcon Youth Forum) Director HG Sundar Gopal Das, thanking Maharaj ji for his generous donation to the Krsna Consciousness Movement. This was followed by a talk by Maharaj ji. He shared that he was inspired to donate after he read the Bhagvada Gita- As It Is, of Srila Prabhupad, ISKCON’s founder acharya, and after having visited several ISKCON centres around the world. He gifted the IYF Director, a shawl and a Tulasi plant. In exchange, he was given a photoframe of Sri Sri Radha Krishna by HG Sundar Gopal Das.
This was followed by a talk on the topic- Transformation of Heart, by HG Sundar Gopal Das. He talked of the ardent need to take up spiriuality, to combat the rising mental and psychological disorders which are on rise, in spite of better physical comforts in city of Gurgaon, and elsewhere in India. He invited Gurgaon youngsters to join spiritual programs that would start from next week here.
‘Andha Yuga’ or ‘blind age’, was a spectacular drama performed by the HG Ishwarnam Das, a former theater artist, and presently a monk at Iskcon Delhi. he enacted roles of a school kid frustrated with studies, that he finds neither intersting nor relevant to his life, but has to excel in , and a educated young man who can’t find a job after having studied for 20 years. He very expertly portrayed the social ills in society and urged the youngsters to join Iskcon to bring about a social revolution.
The event ended with mantra rock show by HG Radha Rasbehari Das and HG Nambhav Das from Mauritius.
Padasevan Bhakta Das,
Executive Head.
Media and Promotions Deptt.
Iskcon Youth Forum, Delhi
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