Pandit Dasa pivotal in protecting ISKCON B'luru

AFTER many years of legal struggle, the Supreme Court's recent decision finally settled a long-standing dispute over the Hare Krishna Hill temple in Bengaluru.

- RISHITA KHANNA @Bengaluru

This temple is one of the important centres of ISKCON (International Society for Krishna Consciousness). At the centre of this fight was Sri Madhu Pandit Dasa, president, ISKCON Bengaluru, who played a key role in protecting the rights of ISKCON Bengaluru and ensuring that the temple remained under the control of local devotees.

ISKCON was started in 1966 by Srila Prabhupada to spread the teachings of Lord Krishna. One of the movement's major centres in India was established on a 6.5-acre piece of land on Hare Krishna Hill in Rajajinagar, Bengaluru. The Karnataka government gave this land in 1988 to the local ISKCON group, which was led by Sri Madhu Pandit Dasa and others. Over the years, they built the temple and developed the area into a spiritual centre where devotees could come to pray.