ISKCON Temple in Houston is a Year Old

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HOUSTON: A year ago to this past Sunday, Houston community witnessed the opening of a spectacular new temple by International Society of Krishna Consciousness of Houston (ISKCON of Houston).

ISKCON of Houston, also known as Hare Krishna Dham, is located at 1324 West 34th street in the Heights area, is a haven for spiritual seekers since the late 70’s. From humble beginning, the temple has now blossomed into a cultural and spiritual oasis. In May of 2014, devotees and hundreds of volunteers from the congregation pulled off a spectacular grand opening of this amazing temple. The intricate teak wood hand crafted art work, the beautiful murals and the shining cool marble floors and walls are all a testament to the congregation’s mood of love and devotion to this place of divinity.

Sunday May 17, saw hundreds of devotees and congregation members gathered to celebrate the one year anniversary of the temple opening with various festivities. The grand temple opening last year, which lasted three days, included an interfaith dialogue as one of the highlights, had attracted thousands of visitors. Many devotees from overseas also visited the grand temple opening ceremonies.

The anniversary event was marked by an abhishek or ceremonial bathing of Sri Sri Radha Giridhari Deities with various offerings such as ghee, milk, yogurt, honey and scented water. According to our sacred scripture, Krishna is the Supreme Person and He assumes the form of a Deity in order to accept devotion in any shape or form, as long as it is offered with love in all sincerity. The ISKCON temple is also the home to the resplendent Deities of Sri Sri Radha Nilamadhava, Sri Sri Nitai Caitanya Candra and Sri Sri Nitai Gaura Candra and Sri Giri Govardhan.

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Soulful kirtan or chanting of the Holy names filled the temple room throughout the ceremony and everyone present chanted in deep gratitude for this auspicious occasion. One of the talented youngsters from the community put together a heartwarming video depicting the past and present pictures of Sri Sri Radha Giridhari with the animation video of ‘Little Krishna and Radha’. This brought enlivening smiles all around. A lecture on the importance of Deity worship was presented convincingly by HH Rtadhvaja Swami.

Thereafter a skit was presented on the past time of ‘Sakshi Gopal’ with a voice over narration. The skit revealed how once Lord Gopal became impressed by His young devotee’s devotion agreed to be his witness in his rightful claim to be married!  A much beloved member of the congregation, Janak Maharaj, who is also one of the mentors to the congregation, also rendered a heartfelt poem in praise of the presiding Deities Sri Sri Radha Nilamadhava. The festivities ended with a free ISKCON vegetarian feast.

The serene temple grounds creates an inviting ambience for everyone – young or old to come and escape the high stress of everyday life or to simply come and enjoy a cool summer evening at the temple. If you think you are the type who want to learn more about the connection between mind and matter, or between the body and soul and what connects us all, then ISKCON of Houston may be a worthwhile place to check out. The philosophy is ancient dating back thousands of years and yet you will be amazed as to how relevant it is today as it was centuries ago. The timeless wisdom of the Bhagavad Gita, a cornerstone of the Krishna consciousness philosophy encourages one to go beyond the mundane material and seek out our true spiritual nature of bliss, knowledge and eternity.

For more information on the temple and the Sunday Feasts, Goswami Academy, Sunday school and other various programs, please visit www.iskconhouston.org or come see us:
ISKCON of Houston | 1320 W 34th St., Houston TX 77018 | 713.686.GITA