CHENNAI: The scenic beach road —ECR just got better, thanks to a new addition this year, the gorgeous ISKCON Chennai temple. To present, promote and preserve spiritual heritage of ancient Indian philosophy and culture to modern Indian and international society, in an easy and appealing way, ISKCON Chennai will be inaugurating the ‘Centre for Spiritual Art and Culture’ on April 26 which includes a temple off ECR at the Hare Krishna land, Sholinganallur. The festivities will start from morning 8.30am and will continue till 2.30pm.

Not only is ISKCON Chennai the largest Radha Krishna temple in Tamil Nadu, it also incorporates unique features that need special mention. The entrance to the temple is marked by the representation of the universe or the bhu-mandala on the marble floor. Be it ancient Vedic puranas or Jain or Buddhist cosmology, the universe is described as series of circular islands surrounding a central pillar called Mount Meru. The design on the floor at the entrance depicts the same universal pattern.

Being conscious of the environment we live in is not something that’s new in a Vedic society. The life like statue of a cow feeding her calf at the portico conveys just that. It aims at reminding Krishna’s guests about all that mother earth provides to sustain her little calves and the visitor’s accountability towards her good care.

Apart from the glamour of the temple, ISKCON has other services to offer as well. These include programmes to present practical values from the Vedic scriptures to people in a way that may be imbibed in a person’s day to day life so as to transform him/her into a person with better insight owing to belief in a higher principle.