February 14th, 2010
Reporting by Sraddhadevi Dasi
On February 14th, all members of ISKCON's Governing Commission
attending the Annual General Meeting in Mayapur, India assembled in the
center of a construction zone. It was the construction zone of the
long-awaited Temple of Vedic Planetarium (TOVP), a massive and impressive
temple dedicated to displaying the Vedic view of the spiritual and material
worlds.
The TOVP will become the new home to Sri Sri Radha Madhava, Sri
Pancha Tattva, and Sri Narasimhadeva, the Deities of ISKCON Mayapur.
According to Srila Prabhupada's desire, however, the TOVP will also house a
functioning planetarium, exhibit halls, a library, and classrooms dedicated
to the research of and education on Vedic cosmology and science.
Construction of the temple officially began this year. The grounds
of ISKCON Mayapur's campus that extends from Srila Prabhupada's Bhajan Kutir
to the Chakra Building to the edge of the Conch and Lotus Buildings have
been cleared and are now home to two lofty pile drivers. To create the
foundation for such a massive structure, 2,600 tubes will be hammered sixty
feet into the ground. The tubes are then filled with concrete and reinforced
with stainless steel rods. To insure the longevity of the building, six
million dollars of the TOVP budget will be spent on stainless steel.
February 14th marked the Temple of the Vedic Planetarium's
inauguration ceremony, and thus the entire GBC body was asked to
participate.
A simple pandal was set up for the ceremony in the center of the
TOVP's footprint, now outlined in chalk. GBC members were seated in two rows
as Hari Sauri Prabhu introduced Niranjan Babu, the Vastu expert and Vastu
consultant for the TOVP project. Niranjan Babu is considered one of the
leading Vastu experts in India. He is also the son of famed astrologer BV
Raman and is the chief editor and publisher of the Astrological eMagazine.
Hari Sauri Prabhu explained that while the construction team is
building the physical foundation of the temple, Niranjan Babu is helping to
establish the metaphysical foundation of the TOVP. To create this
metaphysical foundation, nine holes were prepared within the marked
footprint of the temple. Four marking the cardinal directions, four the
intermediate directions, and one in the center. Likewise, nine square copper
plates, one for each hole, with Vastu markings on top were also made ready
before the ceremony.
As kirtan began under the shade of the pandal, GBC members and
members from the TOVP team were individually invited to help place a
specific copper plate into each hole. Crowds of devotees ran to one location
after another as the plates were successively placed, and everyone
enthusiastically chanted the Hare Krishna Maha-mantra as each plate went
into the ground.
The inauguration ceremony concluded with an opulent feast, sponsored
by the TOVP team and served out in Gada prasadam hall to all of the devotees
in Mayapur. For more information on the Temple of the Vedic Planetarium
project, please visit www.tovp.org.
attending the Annual General Meeting in Mayapur, India assembled in the
center of a construction zone. It was the construction zone of the
long-awaited Temple of Vedic Planetarium (TOVP), a massive and impressive
temple dedicated to displaying the Vedic view of the spiritual and material
worlds.
The TOVP will become the new home to Sri Sri Radha Madhava, Sri
Pancha Tattva, and Sri Narasimhadeva, the Deities of ISKCON Mayapur.
According to Srila Prabhupada's desire, however, the TOVP will also house a
functioning planetarium, exhibit halls, a library, and classrooms dedicated
to the research of and education on Vedic cosmology and science.
Construction of the temple officially began this year. The grounds
of ISKCON Mayapur's campus that extends from Srila Prabhupada's Bhajan Kutir
to the Chakra Building to the edge of the Conch and Lotus Buildings have
been cleared and are now home to two lofty pile drivers. To create the
foundation for such a massive structure, 2,600 tubes will be hammered sixty
feet into the ground. The tubes are then filled with concrete and reinforced
with stainless steel rods. To insure the longevity of the building, six
million dollars of the TOVP budget will be spent on stainless steel.
February 14th marked the Temple of the Vedic Planetarium's
inauguration ceremony, and thus the entire GBC body was asked to
participate.
A simple pandal was set up for the ceremony in the center of the
TOVP's footprint, now outlined in chalk. GBC members were seated in two rows
as Hari Sauri Prabhu introduced Niranjan Babu, the Vastu expert and Vastu
consultant for the TOVP project. Niranjan Babu is considered one of the
leading Vastu experts in India. He is also the son of famed astrologer BV
Raman and is the chief editor and publisher of the Astrological eMagazine.
Hari Sauri Prabhu explained that while the construction team is
building the physical foundation of the temple, Niranjan Babu is helping to
establish the metaphysical foundation of the TOVP. To create this
metaphysical foundation, nine holes were prepared within the marked
footprint of the temple. Four marking the cardinal directions, four the
intermediate directions, and one in the center. Likewise, nine square copper
plates, one for each hole, with Vastu markings on top were also made ready
before the ceremony.
As kirtan began under the shade of the pandal, GBC members and
members from the TOVP team were individually invited to help place a
specific copper plate into each hole. Crowds of devotees ran to one location
after another as the plates were successively placed, and everyone
enthusiastically chanted the Hare Krishna Maha-mantra as each plate went
into the ground.
The inauguration ceremony concluded with an opulent feast, sponsored
by the TOVP team and served out in Gada prasadam hall to all of the devotees
in Mayapur. For more information on the Temple of the Vedic Planetarium
project, please visit www.tovp.org.
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