Bhaktivedanta Manor
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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. It stands in 70 acres of grounds, donated by George Harrison. He wanted it to be a "showplace for Krishna consciousness."[1] "A place where people could get a taste of the splendor of devotional service to the Supreme Lord."[2]
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[edit] History
- 12th century: The Abbot of Westminster granted land at Aldenham to a Thomas Picot. [1]
- 13th century: The surrounding land was owned by Lord Picot, and thus the place was named Picot's Manor. [2]
- 1884: A mock-Tudor mansion was built there, replacing a much older real Tudor building.
- 1920's: By now the name had changed to Piggott's Manor.
- 1957 to 1972: Piggott's Manor was used as a nurses' training college run by St Bart's Hospitals [3].
- 1973: The Manor was donated to ISKCON's founder, A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada by the late Beatle, George Harrison, who had a close relationship to Prabhupada, meeting and staying with him on several occasions, and renamed Bhaktivedanta Manor. "Bhaktivedanta" is Sanskrit for "devotion-Vedanta".
- 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. [3]
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
- ^ Lynne Gibson (2002). Modern World Religions: Hinduism - Pupil Book Core (Modern World Religions). Oxford [England]: Heinemann Educational Publishers, p. 7. ISBN 0-435-33619-3.
- ^ Giuliano, Geoffrey (1997). Dark Horse: The Life and Art of George Harrison, rev. ed., New York: Da Capo Press. ISBN 0-306-80747-5.
- ^ See Manor Campaign
[edit] External links
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