The vision of Srila Prabhupada!

7150468256?profile=RESIZE_400xMarch 13, 1972 : Vrindavan

After Prabhupada signed the deed for the Raman Reti land, future site of the Krishna-Balarama temple on March 12, then he immediately prepared to lay a cornerstone.

Kshirodaksayi Vishnu Maharaja : That night, until eleven, we discussed laying the cornerstone. Srila Prabhupada apparently did not sleep. Around one-thirty he woke me up and called me to his room. The electricity was off, and Prabhupada was using his flashlight. He asked if I had made all the arrangements for the ceremony according to his instructions.

On the new property, at three in the afternoon on March 13, a local brahmana under the guidance of Prabhupada started the ceremony by chanting Vedic mantras, and devotees chanted Hare Krishna. A sixteen-foot-deep hole had been dug. Kshirodaksayi went down the hole on a ladder and put the auspicious ingredients in place. In the end everyone threw in the dust of Vrindavana to fill the sanctified pit.

The area was undeveloped and considered unsafe. Local people and even disciples used to tell Prabhupada that although he was planning to spend so much money, no one would go there, because it was so isolated. Undeterred, Prabhupada would say that it was a good location. He had a vision. When land is donated, he said, it is auspicious. He asked his disciple, Surabhi Dasa, a Dutch architect, to design the temple.

Reference: The Mayapur-Vrindavana Festivals with Srila Prabhupada (1972–77) – Lokanath Swami

Source: http://www.dandavats.com/?p=72699

E-mail me when people leave their comments –

You need to be a member of ISKCON Desire Tree | IDT to add comments!

Join ISKCON Desire Tree | IDT