ISKCON Temple, Hare Rama Hare Krishna Temple, Delhi

Delhi, Delhi, Delhi

Located on the Hare Krishna Hills, in the East of Kailash area of New Delhi, the ISKCON Temple, also known as the Hare Rama Hare Krishna Temple, is a shrine dedicated to Lord Krishna. It was established in the year 1998 by Achyut Kanvinde. The temple complex is also a centre for learning Vedic sciences.The ISKCON temple is a spiritual institution founded in 1966 in New York by A.C Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada. Its core beliefs are based on 5,000-year-old Hindu scriptures, particularly the Bhagavad Gita.

Legend

Srila Prabhupada was born Abhay Charan De on September 1, 1896 to a pious Hindu family in Calcutta. As a youth growing up in British-controlled India, Abhay became involved with Mahatma Gandhi's civil disobedience movement to secure independence for his nation. It was, however, a 1922 meeting with a prominent scholar and religious leader, Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati, which proved most influential on Abhay's future calling. Srila Bhaktisiddhanta was a leader in the Gaudiya Vaishnava denomination, a monotheistic tradition within the broad Hindu culture, and asked Abhay to bring the teachings of Lord Krishna to the English-speaking world. Abhay became a disciple of Srila Bhaktisiddhanta in 1933, and resolved to carry out his mentor's request. Abhay, later known by the honorific A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, spent the next 32 years preparing for his journey west.

Architecture

The ISKCON temple is an exquisite construction adorned with classical stonework on the outside and pristine artwork on the inside. The main shrine of the ISKCON Temple gives way to three shrines that are located under the three spires, each of which is 90 feet tall. These are dedicated to Radha-Krishna, Sita-Ram and Guara-Nitai respectively. While the outer surface of the temple has detailed artwork, the inner sanctum has kaleidoscopic mosaics depicting the various phases of Krishna's life. Located on the perimeter of these shrines is the parikrama compound, where pictures of different ISKCON temples are exhibited as well as many images of Radha - Krishna are adorned on the complex. The temple museum has a number of paintings and objects on display for the devotees. The outer complex is embellished with intricate carvings and designs and has many shops and beautiful fountains adding to the spirituality of this shrine. The steps of the temple have various halls that lead to further ends of the temple, where other deities adorn the temple space.The temple also houses a museum which organizes multimedia shows exhibiting great epics such as Ramayana and Mahabharata.

Darsan Info

Temple timings : 4:30 AM to 9:00 PM. However, the main altar remains closed from 01:00 PM to 4:00 PM

Darsan Dresscode

Wear need and good clothes and avoid shorts for men

Famous Festival

Gaura Purnima, Rama Navami, Sri Krishna Janmastami, Radhastami, and Govardhan Puja

Culture

Delhi is the traditional and present day capital of India. Delhi stands in a triangle formed by the river Yamuna in the east and spurs from the Aravali range in the west and south. Delhi is not only the largest commercial centre in Northern India, but also the largest centre of small industries.