Dear GBC Members,
Please accept our humble obeisances. All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda. We have had a big breakthrough here, by Śrīla Prabhupāda’s grace, about how to incorporate the current Māyāpura Deities into the Temple of the Vedic Planetarium, without actually making them the Presiding Deities. The Presiding Deities, as described previously in “Līlā-avatāras for the Temple of the Vedic Planetarium,” are proposed to be incarnations with a clear connection to Vedic Cosmology, namely, Lord Varāhadeva, Śrīmatī Bhūmi Devī, and Lord Nṛsiṁhadeva under the Main Dome; and Lord Hayagrīva, and Lord Kūrma under the two Side Domes.
Srī Srī Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa
Let us begin with Srī Srī Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa. The one place in the Planetarium Temple that we did indeed envision their presence was at the top of the Cosmic Chandelier, in Goloka Vṛndāvana. In the video which has been put out about the Cosmic Chandelier, the locations or planets appear to generally have diorama figures. For instance, here is how Goloka Vṛndāvana appears in the Cosmic Chandelier video:
So instead of putting diorama figures in the Goloka Vṛndāvana exhibit — or the “Goloka Vṛndāvana Orb” we can call it — the currently installed Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa Deities can be moved to there.
However, this proposition is not intending that these be the Presiding Deities of the Planetarium Temple. Śrīla Prabhupāda did indeed say that it “is not going to be Kṛṣṇa’s temple” (Conversation — April 19, 1977, Bombay). The Presiding Deities would be the ones on the main temple room floor, Lord Varāha and so on. This kind of situation is not, we believe, actually uncommon already in ISKCON, like for example with Laguna Beach Temple and the Pañca Tattva Deities there, or also with Srī Srī Sita Rāma in D.C. We expect that both those temples do in fact have small Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa Deities, and those small Deities are not the Presiding Deities. So it is the same sort of situation that is being set up here.
It is anticipated that the Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa Deities would receive regular worship at the same time as the āratikas on the main temple floor. As to how that would be achieved, up 100 meters or so, we herein propose that a special Extendable Altar Bridge be constructed for the task. When retracted, it is envisioned that the Altar Bridge would recede or camouflage itself into the surrounding dome interior. And when extended, it is proposed to be made to look like a swan airplane, so that to people looking up from below, it would look somewhat like a swan airplane visiting Goloka Vṛndāvana. Perhaps we can call it the “Swan Altar.” Please note that the mechanism to extend or retract the Swan Altar is envisioned to be a manual mechanism, using gears and pulleys and such. In other words, if there was a power outage, the Swan Altar could still be extended, and the āratika could still take place, or changing of the Deities’ clothes.
This seems like an opportune moment to assure the readers that we have no interest in any pūjārīs plunging spectacularly to their demises a hundred meters below on the lovely marble floors of the main temple room! Furthermore, we have no interest in the Deities plunging spectacularly 100 meters down to be shattered into a thousand pieces on the lovely marble floor either!
Therefore, we shall mention here that the entire setup is anticipated to be very safely engineered. When pūjārīs enter the Goloka Vṛndāvana Orb to change the Deities’ clothes, for example, it is anticipated that the entire setup will be very stable and safe, through the use of titanium cables, high railings, and other such methods.
It is further envisioned that a safety net be installed as well, but as invisibly as possible. If the strands of the net are spaced fairly widely, and placed high enough overhead, and colored similarly to the Main Dome, the strands should hopefully become close to invisible.
As for the actual āratika worship, it is envisioned to be carried out directly from the Swan Altar, or the pūjārīs could also enter the Goloka Vṛndāvana Orb. It could be done either way. With respect to devotees that are coming to attend an āratika, they are envisioned to be on the surrounding balcony up at that level.
Most of the devotees are anticipated to be on the Main Temple Floor, wherever the main kirtan is happening, under the Main Dome, or perhaps under one of the Side Domes, depending on the day. Factually, ISKCON has hundreds of temples where Srī Srī Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa are the main Presiding Deities, and the main program and āratika and everything is carried out in front of those Presiding Deities. Here in Srī Māyāpura Dhāma, though, ISKCON’s International Headquarters, with its most special temple, the Temple of the Vedic Planetarium, the largest Hindu Temple on Earth… things are a little different. Here there is the Vedic Cosmos! And Lord Varāhadeva in the Causal Ocean! And Lord Kūrma in the Ocean of Milk! And Lord Hayagrīva on the Demon Planet of Rasātala!
But if any devotee is terribly missing Srī Srī Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa, never fear! Go thou to the highest level of the Main Dome, and there at the highest level of the Vedic Cosmos lies Goloka Vṛndāvana, complete with installed Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa Deities! Beautiful āratikas are held daily at the regular times, from the Swan Altar, the kirtan echoing up from the main temple floor below. It is a very unique setting for Srī Srī Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa, unlike any other in all of ISKCON, or any other in the entire world!
In fact, this whole business of suspending the heavy Deities so high up, and then performing āratikas via a Swan Altar will probably turn into a huge visitor attraction… which is great! Those Māyāpura Hotels must be kept full! Perhaps even more hotels may be needed!
Here, then, is a way that the current Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa Deities could be incorporated into the Planetarium Temple Plan, without being the Presiding Deities. This plan adheres to the principle that this highly unusual temple should also have unusual Presiding Deities, preferably ones that can be directly linked to some non-Earth location in the Vedic Cosmos.
Pañca Tattva
Moving forward to Pañca Tattva, it is herein proposed that they can be moved to an ideal viewing spot under the Main Dome, with the other Ācāryas in the Sampradāya. It has been previously described how 15 Past Ācāryas are envisioned to be installed around the edge of the Main Domes, taking darsana of the Līlā Avatāras. So Pañca Tattva can also take a spot on the edge of the Main Dome.
It appears to us that the most ideal spot for Pañca Tattva would be approximately 15 degrees or so to the left or right, depending on which side Lord Varāha is on. Lord Caitanya was known to be a great devotee of Lord Varāhadeva, as related in Caitanya Caritāmṛta. With a position of 15 degrees or so, Lord Caitanya and His Associates would have the best view of Lord Varāhadeva and all the Deities, while also not being positioned so that devotees’ feet are always pointing at them when bowing down to the Main Deities.
Actually, we can give an initial plan right now for how the Deities can be arranged, so that readers can picture it nicely. To start, having Śrīmatī Bhūmi Devī in the middle makes a certain sense, since she is the one female. Then, as far as left or right, the right (of the Deities) is, we believe, generally considered the superior placement (which would be on the left side of people entering the Temple). As to which Deity, Lord Varāha or Lord Nṛsiṁha, should be in the superior rightward place in this context of Vedic Cosmology, the answer appears very clear: definitely Lord Varāhadeva. It is Lord Varāha that has the very strong connection to Vedic Cosmology, since His līlā took place in a non-Earth location, the Garbhodaka Ocean, and then He also flew through the Vedic Cosmos to return Mother Earth. With Lord Nṛsiṁha, we have found nothing at all to do with Vedic Cosmology in His known līlās. The best we can do is mention Hari-varṣa, a special division of the spiritual world said to be ruled by Lord Nṛsiṁhadeva. So Lord Varāha is the one that is very, very on-concept for the Planetarium Temple. Therefore, we can say for now that Lord Varāha will be to the right, and Lord Nṛsiṁha to the left.
Moving forward, on the other side, Lord Nṛsiṁha’s side, Śrīla Prabhupāda’s mūrti could go, again approximately 15 degrees or so around the outer edge of the Main Dome. And then further Ācāryas can be installed further out, say at 17 degrees, 19 degrees, and so on. We think arguments can also be made for placing Śrīla Prabhupāda under Lord Hayagrīva’s or Lord Kūrma’s Dome, but we assume all the devotees will want to see his murti under the Central Dome. So here is the other place of honor, for Śrīla Prabhupāda, 15 degrees to the right as one enters, with the finest view of Lord Nṛsiṁha.
It is also envisioned that at least one of the Ācāryas should be installed in each of the Side Domes, in the temples of Lord Kūrma and Lord Hayagrīva, taking darśana of those particular Līlā-avatāras. So that readers can picture the entire tableau very nicely, we can present here a quick initial plan for where to put some of the recent Ācāryas in the Sampradāya, based upon the work of the respective Ācāryas, or from what is known about their lives.
We have already placed Pañca Tattva with the best view of Lord Varāha, 15 degrees to the left as one enters the Planetarium Temple; and Śrīla Prabhupāda 15 degrees to the right, with the best view of Lord Nṛsiṁha. Next, we can situate the Six Gosvāmīs. A perhaps little-known fact is that one of the Six Gosvāmīs, Śrīla Jīva Gosvāmī, has explained that the Varāha incarnation has actually descended twice, according to the śāstras, as mentioned by Śrīla Prabhupāda in his purport to Śrīmad Bhāgavatam 3.13.31:
“According to Śrīla Jīva Gosvāmī, the Vedic literatures describe the incarnation of Lord Varāha (Boar) in two different devastations, namely the Cākṣuṣa devastation and the Svāyambhuva devastation.”
Seeing as this is specific work by one of the Six Gosvāmīs, specifically having to do with Lord Varāha, this appears to give us reason enough to place the Six Gosvāmīs taking darśana of Lord Varāha, just to the left of Pañca Tattva.
Moving forward to Śrīla Bhaktivinode Ṭhākura, one small part of his work is that he wrote five prayers specifically dedicated to Lord Nṛsiṁha, which are found in his work Srī Navadvīpa Bhāva Taraṅga. This, then, appears to give us sufficient reason to place Śrīla Bhaktivinode Ṭhākura a bit to the right of Śrīla Prabhupāda, with the two of them having the best seats to take darśana of Lord Nṛsiṁhadeva.
Moving forward to Śrīmad Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī, he was apparently given a special mantra by Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura, a Kūrma Mantra. This, then, appears to provide sufficient reason to place Śrīmad Bhaktisiddhānta taking darśana of Lord Kūrma in the first Side Dome.
And last but not least, with Śrīla Gaurakiśora dāsa Bābājī Mahārāja, we can mention the famous instance of his performing his bhajan in the latrine area. We are not sure if a latrine is quite as awful as the Demon Planet of Rasātala, but they both seem to be viewed as undesirable locations. So perhaps we can use this logic to place Bābājī Mahārāja taking darśana of Lord Hayagrīva in the second Side Dome.
And that is enough for now, just to give the readers some realistic plan to start out with. All three of the Domes are huge, and there is plenty of room to add more Ācāryas. But that will suffice for now as far as placing Ācāryas, just so readers can picture an initial plan nicely.
With respect to worship, we expect that the previous plan was to worship all the Ācāryas on the Main Altar at regular āratika times. Under this new plan, though, worship of all the Ācāryas, including Pañca Tattva, is envisioned to only take place during guru pūja (although we suppose they could be worshipped every āratika as well). But now the altars are more split up, but with some multiples, such as Pañca Tattva and the Six Gosvāmīs. So several pūjas and pūjārīs are envisioned. Devotees can attend whichever guru pūja they wish, or perhaps the guru pūja kirtan party will travel around the three Domes, stopping for a few minutes in front of each Ācārya. On the Appearance Days of the various Ācāryas, doubtless practically all the devotees will be present for the guru pūja of that particular Ācārya, wherever their mūrti may be, under the Main Dome or one of the Side Domes.
This, then, is how the current installed Pañca Tattva Deities can be incorporated into the Planetarium Temple, without actually being the Presiding Deities; and also how some of the recent Ācāryas can be positioned within the Planetarium Temple.
The Aṣṭasakhī Gopīs
It seems to us the obvious place for the Gopīs to go is with Srī Srī Rādhā-Mādhava, in the Goloka Vṛndāvana Orb. The only problem appears to be adding eight larger-than-life, solid, heavy, marble Deities to a hanging contraption one hundred meters up. There are already envisioned to be two larger-than-life, solid, heavy, marble Deities, and their altar setup; and then also the entire Cosmic Chandelier all suspended along the central line. We believe most devotees would agree that looking at other options for the Gopīs is legitimate under these circumstances.
One possible solution may be to place the Gopīs in a circle around the highest level of the Main Dome, at the same level as the Goloka Vṛndāvana Orb, in alcoves on the balcony at that level, the same balcony that devotees would come to if they wanted to see Srī Srī Rādhā-Mādhava for the āratika.
A final, perhaps less obvious solution is to move the Gopīs onto the Main Altar, around Śrīmatī Bhūmi Devi, the Personified Earth Goddess, and Consort of Lord Varāhadeva. This arrangement would appear to be bona fide, since the Gopīs, as related in Srīmad Bhāgavatam 10.13.11, did specifically pray to this Goddess, when lamenting the absence of Srī Kṛṣṇa. Under the particular situation here, the addition of the Gopīs to the Main Altar would appear to be justified (because of the concern about suspending so many heavy Deities high up) and bona fide (because of the Bhāgavatam verse). So this is a third option, and an unusual one, which may be a big point in its favor, we think.
So here we have three possible ways that the Aṣṭasakhī Gopīs can be incorporated into the Planetarium Temple: Inside the hanging Goloka Vṛndāvana Orb with Rādhā-Mādhava, or in alcoves spread around the interior of the Main Dome at that same level, or arranged around Śrīmatī Bhūmi Devi on the Main Altar below. The devotees can discuss this and figure out which option seems best.
Lord Jagannātha
Lastly, with respect to Lord Jagannātha, Baladeva, Subhadrā, we do not currently see an obvious way to incorporate them into the Planetarium Temple. But why should the current Main Temple be completely uninhabited? The reasoning that we have given previously, about Śrīdhāma Māyāpura being a very important place of pilgrimage, and that “It has more one large temple, it has two large temples,” still holds, and we believe most devotees would support that reasoning. So that is a separate temple, and there will be its own āratika, and own kirtan as well, for Lord Jagannātha, Baladeva, Subhadrā. That can be the “Jagannātha Temple.” We are sure all the devotees would be pleased with having a large, dedicated, separate Jagannātha Temple.
This completes how the existing Presiding Māyāpura Deities can be incorporated into the Temple of the Vedic Planetarium.
With respect to what we have written previously, about how Śrīla Prabhupāda changed his mind about which Main Deities to install, from what he had told Bhavānanda and Hari Sauri Prabhus, that may not be so important anymore, since all the Deities that were mentioned in Hari Sauri Prabhu’s Transcendental Diary have now been incorporated into the plan, just not as the Presiding Deities.
Lastly, with respect to the devotees there in Māyāpura Dhāma who were objecting to moving the existing Deities into the Planetarium Temple… We are sure that they were not objecting to what we have just described here. Perhaps they were objecting to the existing Deities not being very on-concept for the Planetarium Temple. And of course, once Deities are installed in some temple, they are not really supposed to be moved, at least not without very good reason that is. But if the Deities are being situated to fit in with the Vedic Cosmos concept, we think that may be a very good reason, and an exceptional circumstance that devotees would accept. Srī Srī Rādhā-Mādhava are now being situated in a particular way that is on-concept for the Planetarium Temple, and Pañca Tattva and the Ācāryas are all now linked to specific Avatāras that are certainly on-concept. Therefore, we think there is a fair chance the devotees who were objecting to moving the Deities will now say, “This is different. This plan that has been put out is not what we were objecting to. This plan is different, and we do not have a problem with it.”
Or the plan could remain that all the existing Deities, except Lord Nṛsiṁhadeva, remain in the existing Main Temple. That was the original plan that was put forth in “Līlā Avatāras for the Temple of the Vedic Planetarium.” However, with what we have proposed here, it seems like most of the existing Deities can be legitimately incorporated in various ways. It should be discussed by the GBC and devotees to see which option they think is best.
Thank you for reading. We hope these plans will help to bring consensus among the devotees about which Deities to install in the Planetarium Temple, and how or where to situate them.
And in closing, let us remember what Chanakya Pandita says: “A single excellence overcomes a multitude of blemishes.”
On this sacred day of Karka Saṅkrānti,
In service to Śrīla Prabhupāda and all of the mentioned Deities,
Your worthless dog-like servant,
Aniruddha dās.