A Message From The Chairman

Welcome to the Sri Mayapur Chandrodaya Mandir – Temple of the Vedic Planetarium.

Whether you are already familiar with the project, or are a new visitor, we hope that this site will be informative as well as inspiring.

Sri Mayapur Chandrodaya Mandir – Temple of the Vedic Planetarium, is the world headquarters of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness, founded by His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada. The project is located in Sri Mayapur, West Bengal, India, the birthplace of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu.

Srila Prabhupada, who came to Mayapur with nothing, founded the project in the early 1970’s. Srila Prabhupada initially lived in a simple bhajan kutir for some time, and then, the Lotus Building was built, becoming the first building constructed in ISKCON. Since that time, through the vision of Srila Prabhupada and the hard work of countless devotees, the project has grown to encompass many areas of devotional service, including the beautiful forms of Sri Sri Radha-Madhava and their eight sakhis, Sri Sri Pancha-Tattva, and Sri Sri Prahlada-Nrsimhadeva. Please visit www.mayapur.com for more information.

Srila Prabhupada’s most cherished dream for Sridham Mayapur was his bold vision for the Sri Mayapur Chandrodaya Mandir – Temple of the Vedic Planetarium. He envisioned a beautiful temple, which would bring people from all over the world to the birthplace of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu. He also wanted the temple to be a Vedic Planetarium, which would present the universe according to the Srimad Bhagavatam, the essence of all Vedic literature and Vedantic philosophy. The Vedic Planetarium would directly challenge the accepted modern version of the universe, and establish the legitimacy of the Vedic version, as well as using science to counteract the prevalence of modern atheism. Srila Prabhupada proposed to exhibit the universe in an exposition, which would take the viewer on a journey through the material cosmos to the spiritual world; all according to the descriptions found in Srimad Bhagavatam. Srila Prabhupada wanted these exhibits as well as a beautiful temple housed in a specially built domed building. The temple would also house the Institute of Vedic Cosmology which would continue research into, and discussion of the Vedic account of the universe.

Over the last two years, the Temple of the Vedic Planetarium team has created a vision for the project according to the parameters laid out many years ago by Srila Prabhupada. There have been many devotees involved with this effort, most of whom have dedicated countless hours of service as a labor of love for Srila Prabhupada. We have been inspired by the commitment of these devotees, many of whom are young second generation followers of His Divine Grace. We hope that the vision created here will inspire all who visit to become involved with the project, as it unfolds over the coming years.

Please visit often, as we will try to keep the content fresh and up to date. All of us at the Temple of the Vedic Planetarium team are humbly praying for the blessings of Srila Prabhupada, the previous Acharyas, and all the Vaisnavas. This is a project that has been carried forward for many years by many dedicated devotees. We are hoping that by the mercy of Sri Guru and Sri Gauranga, this monumental effort will soon bear fruit.

Your humble servant,

Ambarisa Das