The TOVP Story, 1971-2022

Chairman ' s Message

Dear Friends and Well-wishers, Thank you for taking a few minutes to read about an amazing, world-class project, which at this moment is rising in the holy place of Sridham Mayapur in the beautiful district of Nadia, West Bengal. Mayapur is the birthplace of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu - the scheduled incarnation of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Sri Krishna, for this age of Kali. Sri Caitanya appeared over five hundred years ago to inaugurate the yuga-dharma of chanting the Holy Names of God, Hare Krishna, and to freely distribute pure bhakti, love for the Lord. His Divine Grace Srila Prabhupada named the Mayapur Temple complex ‘Sri Mayapur Chandrodaya Mandir - Temple of the Vedic Planetarium (TOVP).’ Chandrodaya means ‘Rising Moon,’ indicating that the moon of Lord Caitanya’s mercy will rise in Mayapur and spread around the world. Srila Prabhupada had a clear vision for the Temple of the Vedic Planetarium, one he often expressed. He wanted a unique Vedic planetarium/temple combination to present the Vedic perspective of life, including a gigantic display of the material and spiritual worlds, which visitors could view from different levels as they walked through the planetarium. He wanted something startling and state-of-the-art to attract people from around the world to Mayapur. This new temple will be the largest Vedic temple built in the last one thousand years, and Srila Prabhupada is the original architect for the project. In his letters and conversations, he clearly outlined its key features, which have served as the prototype for the TOVP.

The most prominent external features of the TOVP will be its three towering domes. The highest and central dome, more than three hundred feet tall and the largest of its kind in the world, will house three sets of Deities. With an overall square footage of 600,000 square feet to the temple, the main temple hall, 1.5 acres in size, is alone capable of holding ten thousand people. The temple superstructure, now completed, was built by Gammon India, one of the largest construction companies in India, under the guidance of Mr. Vibhuti Choudhary, the main consultant. External and internal finishing work is now moving ahead rapidly with the expert guidance of a world leading Project Management Consultancy (PMC), Cushman & Wakefield. As a token of love and immense gratitude for the unfathomable gift of Krishna consciousness that Srila Prabhupada gave to the world, the TOVP Team desires to present this grand temple to him in 2024. Please accept this book as an invitation to join in this incredible journey. By assisting Srila Prabhupada and Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu to build this temple, you will create immeasurable spiritual assets for your family for generations to come. It is the greatest philanthropic effort for the eternal welfare of all humanity. With deep gratitude and sincere best wishes,

Alfred Ford (Ambarisa Dasa), great-grandson of the famous American industrialist Henry Ford, Chairman of the Board for the Temple of the Vedic Planetarium.

Made with FlippingBook - professional solution for displaying marketing and sales documents online