Our visit to the International Society for Krishna Consciousness New Vedic Cultural Centre (ISKCON NVCC) temple in Pune, situated in Kondhwa-Katraj bypass has been a pleasant and enriching experience. ISKCON is known popularly known as the Hare Krishna movement, which is a Gaudiya Vaishnava religious organization. ISKCON came into being to widen the practice of bhakti yoga. Here, the followers or bhaktas dedicate their thoughts and actions on pleasing the Supreme Lord, Lord Krishna. Vaishnavism implies the worship of Lord Vishnu, and Gauḍa refers to the area in which the branch of Vaishnavism was started, in the Gauda region of West Bengal. There are numerous followers of Gaudiya Vaishnavism, who hail from West Bengal and Odisha for the past five hundred years. Since Lord Krishna is depicted as the foundation of all the other avatars of God, thus the followers of ISKCON worship Lord Krishna as the highest form of God.
The ISKCON temple I had a chance to visit was worth visiting by all means. The Vedic culture, the life of Lord Krishna is beautifully depicted using colorful stone carvings. There entire temple has many such paintings that are praise worthy.
The ceiling is beautifully decorated with numerous stories of Lord Krishna. Life of Lord Krishna is well narrated using paintings and carvings. Adjacent to the ISKCON temple lies the Balaji temple which is equally beautiful and worth paying a visit. It is built in the way the traditional South Indian temples are constructed. I had a wonderful experience listening to the bhajan or sermon attempted by children as young as about 12 or so. Though the temple is still under construction, in terms of parking space and so on, it is still worthy enough of a mention. There is ample facility for various kinds of food items, properly arranged in different stalls. They also have a good washroom, which could have been maintained properly and hygienically though. Nevertheless, I had also visited the ISKCON temple situated in Pune –Camp area, but this temple is beautifully constructed and a must visit for all. Hope this review has been helpful.
Image source: Author