ISKCON Tirunelveli

Sri Sri Krishna Balaram Temple

Today there are more than 650 ISKCON temples and farm communities around the world. ISKCON Hare Krishna temple was started at Tirunelveli in the year 2002. Under the guidance and leadership of the President of ISKCON Madurai, Sri Shankadhari Prabhu, two full-time Brahmachari devotees started preaching activities at Tirunelveli during 2002. It first began in a small rented building at Palayamkottai with Sunday special programs and regular morning programs.

Many well-wishers joined as life members. Very soon one well-wisher offered a big piece of land as donation for building the ISKCON temple. The temple is situated in one of the main arterial routes of Tirunelveli, making it easily accessible to the people of the entire district.

The site was bought in 2003. South Indian Zonal Secretary His Holiness Bhanu Swami Maharaj performed the "Bhoomi Puja" and inaugurated the construction work. In 2005, the first floor was completed and Sri Sri Gaur Nitai Deities were installed. When the temple construction was completed in 2006, the inauguration ceremony was held on 11th January, led by ISKCON GBC and Guru HH Jayapataka Swami Maharaj.

The Presiding Deities are Sri Sri Krishna Balaram, Sri Sri Lakshmi Narasimhadev, and Sri Sri Gaur Nitai.

Book distribution remains the major service of ISKCON Tirunelveli, distributing the books of Srila Prabhupada not only in the city but also in all villages and towns in and around Tirunelveli. In particular, "Bhagavad Gita As It Is" has reached almost every house of Tirunelveli. The temple also conducts yoga and meditation classes in colleges and schools, village preaching programs, Harinam Sankirtan, Prasada Annadan, and special yoga camps for children and families.

ISKCON stands for the International Society for Krishna Consciousness. It is a spiritual organization dedicated to serving the welfare of all people — promoting divine consciousness, ethical values, peace, and harmony regardless of caste, creed, or religion.

ISKCON was established in 1966 in New York by A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada. Today, ISKCON operates over 600 temples and yoga centers worldwide with millions of Krishna devotees, serving communities for over fifty years.

ISKCON's services include mantra meditation training, prasadam (blessed food) distribution, Bhagavad Gita awareness programs, student welfare classes, village development projects, emergency relief work, and interfaith dialogue sessions.

In 1965, at the age of 69, A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada boarded the steamship 'Jaladuta' from Mumbai on his way to the United States. At an age when most people think of retiring, Srila Prabhupada undertook this arduous journey to fulfill the mission of Lord Caitanya and follow the instruction of his spiritual master Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Thakur to carry the message of Bhagavad-gita and Srimad Bhagavatam to the Western world.

After arriving in New York City in September 1965, Srila Prabhupada struggled alone for the first year to establish his Krishna conscious movement. He lived simply, lectured whenever and wherever he got the opportunity and gradually began to attract some small interest in his teaching. In July of 1966, while still working from an obscure storefront on New York City's Lower East Side, Srila Prabhupada nonetheless founded a spiritual society intended for worldwide participation. He called it International Society for Krishna Consciousness or ISKCON for short and thus began the Hare Krishna movement in America.

At the time of incorporation, Srila Prabhupada had not attracted even one committed follower. Undeterred, he enlisted volunteers from among the small group of regular attendees at his evening lectures to act as ISKCON's first trustees. That was then. Today, ISKCON comprises of more than 600 temples worldwide, 40 rural communities and over 100 vegetarian restaurants. It also conducts special projects throughout the world, such as "Food for Life", the only free vegetarian relief program in the world.

ISKCON's teachings are non-sectarian, following the principle of sanatana dharma or eternal religion, which denotes the eternal activity of all living beings — loving devotional service (bhakti-yoga) to the Supreme Personality of Godhead.

The seven purposes of ISKCON, as stated by Srila Prabhupada:

1. To systematically propagate spiritual knowledge to society at large and to educate all people in the techniques of spiritual life in order to check the imbalance of values in life and to achieve real unity and peace in the world.
2. To propagate a consciousness of Krishna, as it is revealed in the Bhagavad-gita and Srimad Bhagavatam.
3. To bring the members of the Society together with each other and nearer to Krishna, the prime entity, thus developing the idea within the members, and humanity at large, that each soul is part and parcel of the quality of Godhead (Krishna).
4. To teach and encourage the sankirtana movement, congregational chanting of the holy name of God, as revealed in the teachings of Lord Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu.
5. To erect for the members and for society at large a holy place of transcendental pastimes dedicated to the Personality of Krishna.
6. To bring the members closer together for the purpose of teaching a simpler, more natural way of life.
7. With a view towards achieving the aforementioned purposes, to publish and distribute periodicals, magazines, books and other writings.