Bhaktivedanta Manor
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Bhaktivedanta Manor is a Gaudiya Vaishnava temple based in Aldenham, near Watford, run by the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (popularly known as ISKCON or the Hare Krishnas). It is ISKCON's largest property in the UK, and purported to be the largest Radha-Krishna temple in Europe in terms of numbers of visitors.
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[edit] History
The Manor was donated to ISKCON's founder, A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada in 1973 by the late Beatle, George Harrison, who had a close relationship to Prabhupada, meeting and staying with him on several occasions. It was formerly called Piggott's Manor. "Bhaktivedanta" is Sanskrit for "devotion-Vedanta".
In 1994 there was a famous campaign to keep the temple open against the wishes of local government involving a protest of some 36,000 people. [1]
A nearby road, which was earlier an unnamed track across a park, is now named Dharam Marg, which is Hindi for "the way of truth".
[edit] Inside the temple
Bhaktivedanta Manor is focused around a highly decorated shrine which houses deity forms of Radha and Krishna, called Radha Gokulananda and also Sita and Rama, with Rama's brother Lakshman and servant Hanuman.
The rest of the property comprises a modern devotional (bhakti) theatre, a shop and bakery, a farm with working oxen, college facilities, ashram and a primary school. It is often used as a venue for Vaishnava religious festivals, and general open days and also for civil weddings.
[edit] See also
[edit] Footnotes
- ^ See Manor Campaign
[edit] External links
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