The Pluralism Project at Harvard University

History

The Phoenix-area Hare Krishna temple (known as the Bhaktivedanta Cultural Center) was first established in 1996 by H.G.Dasarath Prabhu and his wife Sandamini Mataji. The two disciples of of Srila Prabhupada (founder of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness) first settled in Scottsdale but after six months relocated briefly to Tucson, roughly 110 miles to the south. The temple returned to the Valley in January 1996, re-opening first in south Phoenix before eventually moving to the present site in Chandler (in the south central Valley) that same year.

Activities and Schedule

The temple priests oversee daily offering and worship ceremonies (arati) at 5 a.m., 7:30 a.m., 8:30 a.m., 12:30 p.m., 4:30 p.m. and 7 p.m. The temple closes each night at 8 p.m. These services involve sermons, communal chanting and singing, and the distribution of blessed food (prasadam). Guru puja, directed at an image of Srila Prabhupada, occurs daily at 7:30 a.m. Music plays an integral part in the worship rites.

Sunday services are similar to the daily observances and draw larger numbers of worshippers. The temple staff also offer lessons on the Bhagavad Gita and make home visits.

The culture center also includes a Sunday School program that meets each Sunday evening from 5:30 p.m. to 6:45 p.m. The Sri Radha-Madhava Hari Sunday School was started by Indian-American immigrants and is open for students ages 4 to 16. Intended as a way for young Indian-Americans to retain knowledge and interest in Hindu/Vedic culture, religion and values, the sessions include activity classes (such as courses on Vaisnava art, dance, or mrdangam [drum] lessons) and a philosophy class (including study of the Bhagavad Gita and other scriptures).

Description

The temple in Chandler serves a large householder community. The ISKCON mandir (temple) has worked hard to enlarge the temple, set up a library, offer an expanded Sunday school program and provide a cultural center for celebrations and Vedic ceremonies (samskaras). Future plans call for more landscaping, temple expansion, and the opening of a vegetarian restaurant. Members assert that the Valley community is one of the more active centers among ISKCON's North American temples.