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.
BHAKTIVEDANTA ARCHIVES
Mission
The Bhaktivedanta Archives, located in Sandy Ridge, North
Carolina, serves as the official repository for the historical
records of and about His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta
Swami Prabhupada, Founder-Acarya of the International
Society for Krishna Consciousness.
The primary purpose of the Archives is to collect, preserve,
protect, and allow dissemination of his teachings, images,
and life´s works for his students, scholars, and
other interested persons who seek cultural and spiritual
inspiration.
About
The Bhaktivedanta Archives was founded in 1978 as the
official repository for the documents, manuscripts, correspondence,
audio recordings, photographs, films, and other memorabilia
of His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada,
Founder-Acarya of the International Society for Krishna
Consciousness. Since its founding, the Bhaktivedanta Archives
has been dedicated to the preservation and perpetuation
of the teachings and commeratives of the personal life
of His Divine Grace. The Archives has also been committed
to the conservation and preservation as well as to the
publication of over 70 volumes of conversations, lectures,
and other works. Not least among these achievements has
been the creation of audio ministries for distribution
worldwide. The texts of the audio recordings all culminate
in the VedaBase TM, a text retrieval computer program
for both students and scholars.
Perpetuation, however, is the second part of our creed
"to preserve and perpetuate"; it is the conservation
and preservation that has taken priority to ensure the
purity and integrity of the entire collection. In order
to preserve the artifacts, words, images, and teachings
of His Divine Grace, it takes time, talent, and funds.
We are confident we can fulfill the time and talent part;
however, we are very much dependent on the generosity
of well-wishers to complete the preservation (archival)
process.
The Staff
Ekanatha Dasa - Joined ISKCON in Amsterdam
in 1971. He assisted in the development of the Bombay
Project before joining the Bhaktivedanta Archives in 1978,
where he directed the transcribing and cataloging of all
the recorded material. He continues to do this service
and is currently the project leader for the VedaBase TM.
Email: Ekanatha@prabhupada.com
.
Parama-rupa Dasa - Joined ISKCON in
London in 1976 and came to Los Angeles in 1977, where
he founded, with the help of the Bhaktivedanta Book Trust
Press, the Bhaktivedanta Archives. He initially collected
the audio and written materials of Srila Prabhupada from
around the world but now dedicates his time to conserve
and preserve these items. He also produces audio offerings
from the Bhaktivedanta Archives. Email: pr@prabhupada.com
Nitya-trpta devi dasi - Joined ISKCON
in Los Angeles, CA in 1975. She served in the BBT photo
department and later the Bhaktivedanta Archives until
1985. Co-founded Krsna Vision in Italy while working with
NE BBT on ISKCON Interactive and the Gita Interactive.
Worked as a design consultant for the New Delhi exhibitions.
In 2008 she returned to the Archives to complete the image
collection archival work. Email: Nitya@prabhupada.com
http://www.prabhupada.com
http://www.bhaktivedantaarchives.blogspot.com
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