ISKCON Mayapur Design Archive
«Temple of Vedic
Planetarium... We will show the Vedic conception of
planetary system within this material world and above the
material world. We are going to exhibit the Vedic culture
throughout the whole world.»
Srila Prabhupada:
Mayapur, February 27, 1976
«I am trying to develop a township in Mayapur spending crores of rupees to give protection against the occasional innundation (flood) and construct a tall planetarium estimated to be 300 feet high.»
Srila Prabhupada, letter 1976
This site shows the design frozen as it was in October 1996. It is being left unchanged as a fascinating insight into the design's evolution.
The external design is quite different now,
although the proportions and harmonies remain the same.
Basically, we are only targeting one kirtan hall for the present, with the option
that future generations may add-on other structures. In fact we are only have the very
first part of the structure in our sights at the moment - the
Planetarium/Entrance building. We intend to start ground preparation for
this in 2001.
You can get the whole story, including a more recent general overview of the Temple design at The Official Mayapur Site.
- Bhagavat Dharma dasa
Today,
Mayapur has dozens of shrines, ashrams and
pilgrimage centres. The national government has
built a guesthouse, and the number of pilgrims
and tourists have increased steadily in the past
25 years. Now, on weekends, it is not uncommon
for 25,000 people to be visiting the area, and on
the major religious festivals, the numbers swell
to 200,000. Each year, the number of
international pilgrims grows.
DEVELOPMENT OF MAYAPUR
"One astounding temple will appear,
from which Lord Gaurasundara's
eternal service will be spread
all over the world."
Lord Nityananda Prabhu
At the end of the 19th century, a visionary magistrate of the British administrative service by the name of Bhaktivinoda Thakura took upon himself the personal mission to locate the original settlement of Mayapur. He studied ancient maps, historical records and texts and took the help of the ancient seers of the area. One night he had a vision of a light shining on a grove of Tulasi trees, particularly sacred to the Vaishnava faith. Bhaktivinoda Thakur invited his spiritual master to confirm that this was, indeed, the actual birthplace of Chaitanya. His teacher, Jagannatha dasa Babji, was then over 120 years old and was so weak and frail that he had to be carried in a basket. Upon arriving at the grove, Jagannatha dasa leapt from the basket crying out Chaitanya’s name.
Bhaktivinoda then personally begged from over 50,000 homes a donation of Rs 1 each to establish the first shrine to Chaitanya at Mayapur. The birth-site is now marked by a replica village hut in which the images of Jagannatha and Shachi sit holding baby Nimai. The original neem tree has long since gone, but a new one has grown in its place. Pilgrims circumambulate it, tie threads, and take the dust from its roots on their heads. This is Yoga-pith - that place which connects the mundane earth to the spiritual world.
Bhaktivinoda’s son, Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati continued to develop Mayapur. He researched further into the history of Nabadwip-dham, "the sacred land of nine islands", in ancient Vedic texts, and uncovered dozens of lost historical places of profound significance to human heritage and understanding.
- Akhandadhi dasa