2016 marks the Fiftieth Anniversary celebration of ISKCON, Srila Prabhupada’s great movement to spread Krishna consciousness throughout the world and bring the teachings of Lord Caitanya and the yuga dharma, chanting of the Hare Krishna mantra, to all the conditioned souls on this planet (and perhaps beyond).
We are extremely fortunate to be living at this most auspicious time in the history of this universe when the Lord appears on Earth to freely distribute love of God, the ultimate attainment in the soul’s spiritual journey, prema pumartho mahan. And Srila Prabhupada was the Lord’s instrument to help complete His mission by creating ISKCON, the house in which the whole world can live.
“I have given you instruction, it will never stop; it will go on. At least for ten thousand years it will go on.”
Srila Prabhupada; July 21, 1976
“My senapati bhakta (Commander in Chief) will come, preach in distant countries and flood the world with the chanting of Hare Krishna.”
Lord Caitanya, Caitanya Mangala
“After 5,000 years My mantra upasaka (worshiper of the holy name) will appear and spread the chanting of the holy name everywhere.”
Lord Krishna, Brahma-vaivarta Purana
We have all been blessed with this great opportunity to go back to Godhead by the mercy of the Lord’s servant and representative, His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada. Our prayers, efforts, and money are insufficient to fulfill our indebtedness to Srila Prabhupada for the gift of ISKCON which he has given to us, but try we must in the mood of humility and gratitude.
The work of spreading Krishna consciousness is far from done; we still have much to do. Foremost is Srila Prabhupada’s last remaining temple project, the Temple of the Vedic Planetarium at ISKCON’s World Headquarters in Sridhama Mayapur. Through his far-reaching and spiritually powerful vision, Srila Prabhupada could see that this unique temple, the fulfillment of many divine prophecies, would be pivotal in the establishment and longevity of the Krishna consciousness movement, and in the dissemination of Krishna consciousness throughout the world. And he gave very specific orders and detailed instructions for its completion.
In order to celebrate the 50th anniversary of ISKCON, as well as to show our combined gratitude to its Founder/Acharya for this wonderful, transcendental gift he has given to us, the TOVP Fundraising Team has created a special Gratitude Coin Program for those who are able to offer a large amount of financial support. Three coins are being provided to these donors; Silver ($11,000), Gold ($108,000), and Platinum ($250,000). The collection/pledges from the available coins, $34 million, along with all other contributions (Golden Brick, Nrsingha Tile, and Square Foot) will be offered to Srila Prabhupada on Gaur Purnima in Sridhama Mayapur in 2016 as our combined guru dakshina to help with the completion of the construction by 2022. To facilitate this, Gratitude Coin donors may pay in installments over the course of several years. Their names will also be included on the Devotional Wall of Fame in the TOVP, and they will be offered various other facilities at Sridhama Mayapur.
During the year 2015 our TOVP Team will be traveling to major ISKCON Temples throughout the world with His Holiness Bhakti Purushottama Maharaja, carrying the holy shoes of Lord Nityananda with us, and appealing to our worldwide congregation to come together and serve His lotus feet by helping to manifest this great temple. We hope every devotee, whatever their position or service, will welcome Lord Nityananda (in the form of His holy shoes) and enthusiastically participate and offer their financial might to help make this a reality. This cooperation will greatly please Srila Prabhupada.
For more information, go to the Seva Opportunities link and make a pledge today for one of the three Gratitude Coins and become part of history in the making by helping to fulfill this remarkable prophecy. You and your family will most certainly be blessed beyond your imagination.
“Now you all together make this Vedic Planetarium very nice, so that people will come and see. From the description in Srimad Bhagavatam you prepare this Vedic Planetarium. My idea is to attract people of the whole world to Mayapur”
Srila Prabhupada