Prabhupada
Village, home of the ISKCON Temple of the Holy Name, Festival
of India and the Bhaktivedanta Archives and comprised of 365
acres, is situated in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains
in N. Carolina, 40 miles north of Winston-Salem and 60 miles
north of Greensboro. The area is breathtakingly beautiful
with lush, rolling hills and covered with vast and varied
trees. Snow Creek casually winds its way throughout the property
and the forests abound with wildlife, wild herbs, fruits,
and flowers. One can see every star at night for there are
no street lights (and no sidewalks). As night turns into day,
one can hear the sounds of humming bees and the singing of
various birds.
The village was begun in 1992 when Madhuha dasa purchased
the property (subdivided it and sold parcels of land) with
the aspiration to fulfill the desires of His Divine Grace
A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, the Founder-Acharya of
the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON).
Srila Prabhupada wanted the devotees to live a more self-sufficient
lifestyle while protecting the cows and bulls and to develop
varnasrama, where those in society would work according to
their natural propensities and serve Krishna or God. Srila
Prabhupada also desired that there would be gurukulas (schools)
in the country, where it is more favorable for practicing
Krishna consciousness - away from the passions of city life
– and where the children could be raised and taught
in a natural, healthy environment.
The beginning days of Prabhupada Village tested everyone’s
determination and patience as there was much to be done. Within
a short time, two bright and spacious classrooms manifested
and families began to move to the village. The school grew.
Everyone helped build new dwellings, each of which had its
own architectural flavor. The interior roads were named Prabhupada
Rd., Seeta Dr., Rama Rd., and Krishna Rd., all of which are
on the county maps. The local people have considered Prabhupada
Village an integral part of Stokes County and friendly relations
with the county residents continue to this day, especially
because of all the prasadam (sanctified food) that has been
distributed.
Although desirous of having a magnificent temple on the land
which Madhuha dasa had donated and where one day beautiful
deities could be installed, the devotees in Prabhupada Village
met at one family’s house for programs for the first
six years. In 1997-98, after much planning, the temple blueprints
were drawn up by Vatsal dasa and others and ground was broken
in 1998. Mukunda dasa, who lived in the community with his
family, was a contractor expert in polysteel (block) construction.
The building was framed-in using polysteel blocks, which
were extremely durable and easy to work with - so easy in
fact, that the children helped to build the temple as if they
were putting legos together! The polysteel was then filled
with concrete. A local manufacturer of faux stones volunteered
to custom make and donate the stones for the exterior of the
temple.
In the beginning – and although a challenge –
both the residents and generous donors helped to build the
temple. Programs have gone on since 2005 and although work
on the temple slowed down after some years, it has again picked
up and a lot of the interior work has been done. Those who
visit are awed by the beauty of the project.
Temple of the Holy Name is a member of ISKCON, the International
Society for Krishna Consciousness, and this site, iskconpv.org,
is the official website for the temple. On May 8, 2016, beautiful
4 1/2' Gaura-Nitai Deities (Parama Karuna Nitai Gaurasundara)
were installed in the temple. Please come for a visit! Hare
Krsna.
STATEMENT OF PURPOSE:
The primary objective and purpose
of the TEMPLE OF THE HOLY NAME is to advance, propagate,
and disseminate the universal science of Krishna Consciousness
as taught by His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada,
Founder-Acharya of the International Society for Krishna
Consciousness.
Lord Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, who
is Krishna Himself, appeared on Earth (1486-1534) to reveal
to us the simple and sublime methods of reviving our dormant
relationship with Krishna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead,
as taught in the Bhagavad-gita and Srimad Bhagavatam. Lord
Chaitanya also introduced the Yuga Dharma or the most effective
means of making spiritual advancement in the present age,
which is known as sankirtana, or the congregational chanting
of the Lord's Holy Name. Srila Prabhupada therefore wanted
us to systematically propagate spiritual knowledge to society
at large and to educate all peoples in the techniques of
spiritual life in order to check the imbalance of values
and achieve real unity and peace in the world. We do this
by bringing people to the temple to discuss the revealed
scriptures, to engage in chanting the Holy Name, to worship
the Deity form of Krishna, and to engage in different types
of devotional activities meant for the pleasure of Lord
Sri Krishna. The temple is also quite naturally the epicenter
of profuse distribution of prasadam (delicious, sanctified
foodstuffs) which has been prepared and offered to the Lord
with love and devotion as well as the distribution of transcendental
literatures, which are the basis of our teachings.
Because the TEMPLE OF THE HOLY
NAME is situated in a rural community, we also have the
profound opportunity to teach a simpler, more natural way
of life by growing our own food, protecting and demonstrating
the usefulness of the cows and bulls (oxen), as well as
other important aspects of Vedic culture.
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