Today is Diwali and tomorrow is Govardhana Puja. In one pastime, Krsna protects His devotees from Lord Indra’s wrath; in the other, Lord Rama protects His devotees from Ravana and is welcomed back to Ayodhya.

Through his Sadbhuja form, Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu revealed Himself as both Lord Krsna and Lord Rama. As with Lord Rama, devotees around the world have been celebrating Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu’s appearance ever since Srila Prabhupada introduced the Krsna Consciousness movement. Since Mayapur is the epicenter of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu’s appearance, Srila Prabhupada wanted to bring the world to Mayapur:

“I have named this Temple Sri Mayapur Candrodaya Mandir, the Rising Moon of Mayapur. Now make it rise, bigger and bigger until it becomes the full moon. And this moonshine will be spread all over the world. All over India they will come to see. From all over the world they will come”

Srila Prabhupada, letter to Brahmananda Maharaja 25-10-1974

By the desire of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu the Temple of the Vedic Planetarium is coming up. If the funding remains strong, by 2014 the Deities of Sri Pancatattva and Sri Sri Radha Madhava will have Their new home.

What will visitors experience when they come and see this wonderous temple?

Climbing the steps to the main entrance to the Temple of the Vedic Planetarium, a visitor will sense the power of the sheer devotion that has envisioned and built such a grand structure. Their sense of proportion will expand; the ten-foot tall chakra atop the main dome appears tiny where it is, more than three hundred feet above where the pilgrim stands.

Passing the ornate main doors, one enter the largest room one may have ever seen—a completely open, circular space more than an acre in size, effulgent with splendid devotional art along its walls. Looking up, one sees hanging from the central dome a scale model of the universe as described in the Vedas, twenty stories long and a hundred feet wide, its stars and planets rotating majestically above everything.

Set just back from the center of the room stands a white marble and gold altar that itself is a large building, 135 feet wide and 50 feet tall. Before the closed altar doors, a talented bhajana party perform devotional music, filling the massive dome with sweet, pleasantly muted sound. As the intriguing fragrance of frankincense drifts from the altar, a conch shell sounds and the massive carved doors open.

On the left altar, sits the guru-parampara , murtis of the five great acaryas whose vision inspired the world wide sankirtan movement and the Temple of the Vedic Planetarium.

The Panca Tattva Deities sit on the central altar. Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu and His principal associates stand, larger than life and radiant as molten gold, They strike graceful poses, inviting the pilgrim to join in blissful dancing and chanting.

As the avatara of Krsna for the Age of Kali, Caitanya Mahaprabhu introduces the visitor to the sublime darsana of Sri Sri Radha-Madhava. Standing before Their third and final altar, one sees Sri Radha serving Her Lord with the help of eight principal gopies, all of whom embody the perfection of loving devotion to Lord Krsna.

Gazing at the incomparably beautiful Lord until His doors close, one offers respects and look around. Wonderfully decorated windows circling the main temple floor beckon the visitor for darsana of the Ganga and the vistas of Sridhama Mayapur. To the right is the towering white and black marble altar in the adjoining domed temple dedicated to Lord Narsimhadeva. To the left is the dome housing the Vedic Science Center and Planetarium. Spiraling above are three terraced display floors, depicting the Brihad-bhagavatamrita’s description of the universe.

There is so much to explore…

This Diwali, one is invited to light a lamp to welcome Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu to ones part of the world and to welcome the world to Mayapur. Please. help build the wonderous temple in Mayapur envisioned by Lord Nityananda, Bhaktivinode Thakur and Srila Prabhupada.

In the coming year, devotees are invited to give whatever they can manage for this Temple. As in their own way each member of Lord Rama’s army helped build a bridge to Lanka, donations of all sizes will build this once-in-many-lifetimes Temple.

Devotees may make a gift for a brick, a dome, a museum floor or even the huge Vedic Cosmology Model. All are welcome.

Join us help bring the acharya’s visions to fruition. As Krsna lifted Govardhan Hill to shelter all the residents of Vrindavana, He will raise this incredible temple to shelter the world in Sridham Mayapur.

To help financially please go to:

http://www.tovp.org/ on the right pane under “Donate” for PayPal donations

or

http://tovp.org/en/donate/bank-details for wire transfer information.

For more details please contact Brajavilasa Das. He is available at brajavilasa.rns@pamho.net or fundraising@tovp.org