BANGALORE, May 2

The journey which began from a modest two-room house in the City about a decade and a half ago has literally reached a landmark. The magnificent ISKCON temple complex situated atop a hillock on West of Chord Road, will be inaugurated by President Shankar Dayal Sharma on May 31.

President of ISKCON, Karnataka, Madhu Pandit Dasa and his 60-member team are a satisfied lot. For, the construction of the temple, which began about six years ago, has been completed on schedule during the birth centenary year of Krishna Consciousness movement's founder Srila Prabhupada.

Built at a cost of Rs 26 crore on a seven-acre piece of land allotted by former chief minister Ramakrishna Hegde, the temple complex boasts of an open amphitheatre , multimedia auditoria, professional-grade recording studios and large, open landscaped gardens apart from the five main temples where the dieties are kept.

ARCHITECTURAL MARVEL: Another gratifying aspect for ISKCON, Karnataka, is the fact that the construction of the project had been carried out under the watchful guidance of an in-house engineering team comprising qualified technicians and headed by Mr Madhu Pandit Dasa, who is himself an IIT product.

"No professional architect would have understood our requirements," said Mr Madhu Pandit Dasa. Thanks to the diligence and commitment of the devotees, we have been able to come out with an "architectural marvel", he claimed.

ISKCON, Karnataka, has been able to establish Srila Prabhupada's ideals fully in the temple complex, he noted with contention. "It is a tribute to Srila Prabhupada." The temple complex built in neo-classical style, has all the ingredients of traditional temple elements, clinically synthesised with modern architectural requirements like reflective glasses, polished stone slabs, etc. "It was a challenge to harmonise modern architecture with the concept of Vaastu. But, I am glad that we have been 95 per cent successful in our venture," he said, despite constraints like the irregular shape of the land.

Several hi-tech structural elements like glass glazings, huge chandeliers, domes and a free, span sankirtan hall amidst acres of terraced gardens adds to the opulence of the complex.

FUNDS: The funds for the project were raised solely through the munificent donations of the Krishna Consciousness Movement followers of Karnataka alone, and from Bangalore in particular, said Mr Madhu Pandit Dasa, taking pains to remove the misconception that the temple's construction was possible through foreign aid. The daily trickle of visitors, which is 2,000 on any normal day, is expected to cross several thousands on festive occasions he added.

There are 2O,OOO life members in Bangalore city alone besides scores of followers, he said, underlining the fact that their patrons come from all castes and communities. "The followers have to abstain from any kind of intoxication, including consuming tea or coffee, gambling, extra-marital sex and non-vegetarian food. Anybody who comes to Krishna Consciousness movement can follow his religion and simultaneously practise the movement's teachings," he noted.

MATHURA CONTROVERSY: On the Mathura imbroglio, he observed that Lord Krishna can be best glorified by following his teachings reverentially. "Following his instructions is a better way of glorifying him than by building monuments", he said, when asked to comment on the controversy surrounding Krishnajanmabhoomi in Mathura.

"Since we are involved with him at a deeper level, we will not lose anything either way. We only consider his teachings precious", he said, making an appeal to all Indians to follow Krishna's teachings in Bhagavad Gita.

Speaking about the movement's popularity the world over, Mr Madhu Pandit Dasa said there were about 600 ISKCON centres all over the globe including 40 in India. Out of 12,000 full-time, totally committed devotees, India accounted for a mere 2,000, he said. "Full-time devotees are not even one per cent of the followers, whose level of commitment varies from person to person."