By Karuna Dharini Devi dasi
The place Srila Prabhupada called his “Western world headquarters” remains a vital oasis of Krishna consciousness.
Introduction
The ISKCON Los Angeles New Dvaraka Temple stands as one of the most significant spiritual and cultural landmarks in Southern California, representing over five decades of devotional service and community engagement. Located at 3764 Watseka Avenue, this temple has served as a cornerstone of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness movement in the Western world since its establishment in 1970 by His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Srila Prabhupada.
What makes New Dvaraka truly unique is that Srila Prabhupada spent more time here than at any other Krishna temple in the Western world. Out of the ten years he toured the planet establishing ISKCON, two full years were invested in Los Angeles with his personal managerial supervision, spearheading many lasting projects, translating and publishing books, and offering spiritual protection and guidance. This extraordinary connection demonstrates the special place that New Dvaraka held in Prabhupada’s heart and his strategic vision for spreading Krishna consciousness.
Part One: New Dvaraka Today – A Thriving Spiritual Community
Daily Spiritual Programs and Modern Outreach
Comprehensive Worship Schedule
The heart of New Dvaraka’s spiritual offerings lies in its comprehensive daily worship schedule. Darshan timings begin at 4:30 AM and continue throughout the day: 7:15 AM to 11:20 AM, 12:00 PM to 12:30 PM, 4:30 PM to 5:50 PM, 6:30 PM to 7:00 PM, and 8:00 PM to 8:30 PM.
Every Sunday offers a specially structured program: morning kirtan from 10:00 AM to 12:00 PM, aarti from 12:00 PM to 12:30 PM, philosophical lecture from 12:30 PM to 1:30 PM, prasadam distribution at 1:30 PM, and evening kirtan from 8:00 PM to 8:30 PM. This provides participants with a complete spiritual experience encompassing devotional singing, ceremonial worship, philosophical education, and sanctified meals.
Digital Presence and Modern Communication
The temple has embraced technology to extend its reach beyond physical walls, offering live streaming of events that allows devotees worldwide to participate regardless of location. The website and digital platforms serve as comprehensive resources for learning about Krishna consciousness and staying connected with community activities.
Active communication through email newsletters and SMS updates creates multiple touchpoints for engagement, while the events calendar showcases the variety of spiritual and cultural programs offered throughout the year, including the annual Prabhupada Festival and traditional celebrations like Snana Yatra and the Festival of the Chariots Kirtan Mela.
Govinda’s: The Heart of Community Outreach
Srila Prabhupada was keen on opening Hare Krishna restaurants for the distribution of prasadam, and Govinda’s Buffet of Los Angeles was the first of such vegetarian restaurants, opening in 1982. Today both Govinda’s Gift Shop and Govinda’s Buffet serve as a vital hub of the New Dvaraka community.
The gift shop offers what many consider a superlative storehouse of the best from India, while the buffet serves a fresh daily assortment of prasadam dishes to a continuous flow of visitors. Located upstairs and downstairs in a building adjacent to the temple, Govinda’s has become well-known within the Southern California yoga and health food communities.
Tadit Devi Dasi, wife of temple president Svavasa Dasa, has been the purchaser and manager of Govinda’s for thirty-three years. With a degree in fashion design, her trained eye and dedication to Srila Prabhupada’s sankirtana mission have created a gift shop that has attracted media attention from The Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Weekly, The New York Post, Vogue, Harper’s Bazaar, and many other publications.
The kitchen is under the direction of Jaganivasa Dasa, a 1983 graduate of the Culinary Institute of New York City, who also holds a master’s in herbology and homeopathy. A culinary professional for thirty years who began cooking at age four, Jaganivasa specializes in five varieties of international cuisine and previously owned an intercontinental vegetarian restaurant in Cali, Colombia.
The steady income from both Govinda establishments ensures that teams of missionaries can travel and distribute Prabhupada’s books by the thousands without encumbrance, while also supporting the temple’s opulent worship programs.
Book Distribution: Fulfilling Prabhupada’s Mission
The Bhaktivedanta Book Trust was established in Los Angeles in 1974, and to date, forty-five million books and pamphlets have been distributed in North America. Surprisingly, Prabhupada’s strategy didn’t emphasize commercial sales but rather the one-on-one approach of sincere devotees presenting his literature directly to the public to win people’s hearts.
Dhira Lalita Dasa heads up a traveling team who go from concert to concert every summer and campus to campus in fall and spring, distributing Bhagavad-gitas, Srimad-Bhagavatams, and other books to young people. “Every day is an adventure,” he explains. “Recently I was distributing Bhagavad-gitas at Orange Coast College, and a professor asked me into his classroom to speak on it. The students were very interested and asked how to start a bhakti-yoga club!”
Bhrigupati Dasa, who has been a distributor for forty-five years, serves as the go-to person for vehicles, permits, distribution spots, book supply, and other necessities. “We have quite a few new devotees who have imbibed the spirit of book distribution,” he says. “Gauranga Prema was out manning a book table for three hundred and ten days last year. It’s really great to be living in a temple where there is so much support for distributing Srila Prabhupada’s books.”
Youth Outreach and University Programs
Hari Bhakti Dasa opened “the Mantra House” in his apartment half a block from the temple, where every Thursday night between forty and a hundred youth gather to chant, do hatha yoga, and ask questions. The program later moved to a full-size house organized by Atulya Bhakti Devi Dasi, with the Hare Krishna maha-mantra painted in large bold letters on the wall.
The temple’s outreach extends to major universities. The dean of the University of Southern California met with temple president Svavasa to discuss what the devotees could offer students, resulting in Svavasa receiving a pastoral position with the faculty. This provides New Dvaraka Youth Outreach with meeting rooms at USC and campus sponsorship of food-distribution programs. The temple also hosts Bhakti Club programs at UCLA and Long Beach State University.
Nama Hatta: Building Community Connections
In the Southern California area, fifty-two initiated devotees – preachers, pujaris, cooks, administrators – share a common beginning: all were inspired by the Los Angeles temple’s Nama Hatta program. Originally encouraged by Caru Dasa for ISKCON Life Members to hold Krishna conscious programs in their homes, the programs increased to three or four a week at forty-five households throughout southern California through the efforts of Pavaka Devi Dasi and Nirantara Dasa.
These Nama Hatta members, primarily people with years of professional status, have offered their services in ISKCON as administrators, preachers, managers, accountants, editors, writers, doctors, and teachers, creating a strong foundation of qualified devotees serving the mission.
Festivals and Cultural Celebrations
New Dvaraka celebrates twenty-two festivals every year, with Sri Sri Rukmini-Dvarakadhisha presiding with effulgent, beaming smiles. During festival celebrations, devotees stand transfixed before the deities, who appear in beautiful new outfits decorated in a style that is bold and regal, merciful and magnificent.
The temple hosts several unique festivals: Rukmini Dvadashi (the appearance day of Sri Rukmini), the marriage of Tulasi and Salagrama-shila, and the festival of Sri Sri Radha-Govinda, held on the anniversary of the 1986 passing of Their worshiper Gauri Devi Dasi.
The annual Rathayatra festival remains a high priority, with the 2018 celebration attended by thirty thousand guests. Mahanta Dasa, who has served the festival since it began, managed the free-feast booth that served eight thousand plates of prasadam. As he explains, “The Nectar of Devotion tells us that anyone who comes out to the street and just happens to see Lord Jagannatha riding on His cart becomes a resident of Vaikuntha.”
The Bhagavad-gita Museum: Living Books
In 1971, Srila Prabhupada asked disciples to go to India to learn diorama doll making, saying dioramas would become “living books.” Bharadvaja Dasa headed the ensemble of sculptors for New Dvaraka’s museum. By 1977, the full set of clay dolls were completed and on display, with Ameyatma Dasa building a computer to create what would later be known as animatronics.
Hari Bhakta Dasa currently directs and hosts museum tours. A civil engineer from Iran, he provides technical support and brought the museum into social media. “It brings many people to the temple who might otherwise never come,” he says. “Some are curious artists; some are from the Hollywood production scene. Thousands of Atlas Obscura members have toured the museum.” Under his management, attendance has more than quadrupled in recent years.
The latest museum news is that Bharadraja and Adi deva prabhus, the original creators of the museum under Srila Prabhupada’s direct guidance, are currently beginning a two-year long complete renovation of the Bhagavad-Gita Museum. They prefer to call it the F.A.T.E Museum. This will include rejuvenating the hundred or so original straw and clay dolls with patching and fine painting, a modernized lighting and running system on specialized computers.
Part Two: The Early Days – From Humble Beginnings to Sacred Headquarters
Starting in Midcity LA, 1968
The story of ISKCON Los Angeles begins in 1967, when ISKCON’s new center in San Francisco’s Haight-Ashbury was drawing crowds during the “summer of love.” The devotees’ activities brought media attention to Srila Prabhupada’s movement, leading to an invitation for Prabhupada and Mukunda Dasa to appear on the Les Crane Show on ABC TV in Hollywood, scheduled for January 17, 1968.
Several of Prabhupada’s disciples had already arrived in LA and rented a storefront building at 2364 Pico Boulevard, in midcity. The new center was furnished with a simple altar – two wooden orange crates covered with madras cloth, topped with a mystical-looking print of smiling Krishna holding a cow. When Prabhupada arrived in Los Angeles the day before the interview, devotees had an apartment waiting for him on Saturn Street, one block from the center.
The Les Crane Show proved a success, seen by millions and generating many new contacts. Sitting under a tree in front of the apartment house on Saturn Street, taking the morning sun along with his massage, Prabhupada gave his three disciples personal, friendly instructions, including the directive to regularly perform public chanting, harinama-sankirtana.
The Hollywood Boulevard Years
To make public chanting easier, the devotees soon moved to a location on busy Hollywood Boulevard, one block from Grauman’s Chinese Theater. The young kirtana leaders led enthusiastic chanting for long hours at this new location, often until 1:00 a.m., while also selling Back to Godhead magazines and incense. One memorable night, Srila Prabhupada arrived by car and parked in front of the kirtana party. The delighted devotees bowed down on the busy Hollywood Boulevard sidewalk, paying loving obeisances to their spiritual master.
Despite gaining popularity through regular Sunday Love Feasts, the devotees were eventually evicted due to complaints about the intense aromas from their kitchen and the sounds of kirtana. Finding themselves on the sidewalk with pots, pans, bedding, and the deities of Jagannatha, Baladeva, and Subhadra in their arms, they accepted a passerby’s offer to use her garage.
For months, the group was scattered across several locations – married couples and single women staying with Dayananda and Nandarani in their home, brahmacharis in a house in Watts, and Srila Prabhupada keeping the Jagannatha deities in his apartment. The devotees’ greatest joy came at the Watts location on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday evenings, when Prabhupada lectured on the Bhagavad-gita and led kirtanas with the mridanga drum.
Prabhupada tolerated this scattered living condition without complaint until one night he asked pointedly, “How long do you expect me to sit in this house? The deities are in my apartment and you are all here. What are you doing?” He looked at each devotee, asking again and again, “What are you doing?” He did not lecture that night.
La Cienega: The Beginning of His “World Headquarters”
Soon after, the devotees found a church for sale with three large adjacent rooms at 1975 La Cienega Boulevard, and the community was able to be together again. Fondly remembering their days at the West Los Angeles La Cienega temple, devotees describe themselves as a happy family, mostly in their twenties, with Srila Prabhupada in the center as their perfect father.
Prabhupada introduced what he called “kitchen religion,” teaching them how to make everything from rice to rasagulas, offering Krishna an amazing array of dishes. When asked “Where is Krishna’s favorite place in the temple?” and receiving no answer, he replied, “In the kitchen.”
The devotees’ dedication was complete. If Prabhupada wanted a pencil, they would shout, “Prabhupada wants a pencil! Prabhupada wants a pencil!” and run to bring it to him. They planted a large rose garden for him in front of his apartment.
It was from this La Cienega location that Prabhupada began calling the center his “world headquarters,” sending devotees in every direction to open more centers and introducing important new aspects of Krishna conscious practice.
The Introduction of Radha-Krishna Worship
The disciples in Los Angeles heard that Prabhupada had taught the devotees in New York how to worship Radha-Krishna deities, and they wanted to start their own worship. Though no Radha-Krishna deities could be found in America, one day eleven-inch brass Radha-Krishna deities arrived in a box, carried by an old friend of Prabhupada’s – a widow from Vrindavan who visited for kirtana at the temple.
On July 16, 1969, Srila Prabhupada installed the deities in the temple. Because his mind was already a throne for Sri Sri Radha-Krishna, he didn’t need an altar for Their worship. But out of his immense compassion, he wanted to give his disciples the opportunity to worship Them directly. They were transferred from the heart of the pure devotee to the temple of the neophyte westerners on the credit of their developing love.
Shilavati Dasi became one of the first to learn deity worship from Prabhupada directly. As she explained, “When I asked him many questions, he said that if I told you all of the regulations regarding deity worship, you would never get out of the shower. You would never be able to do anything. He tried to give us as much as we could handle, but he also knew we were not very capable.”
Each morning, Shilavati offered the mangala-arati to the deities alone, as all other devotees were still sleeping from their late-night sankirtana. Since she couldn’t blow the conchshell that announces the beginning of arati, Yudhishthira Dasa recalls being doused with water every morning at 4:30 a.m. so he would wake up to blow it.
Establishing the Morning Program
Srila Prabhupada eventually stopped the late-night sankirtana and requested all his disciples to attend the daily mangala-arati at 4:30 a.m., with everyone in bed by 10:00 p.m. At the morning Srimad-Bhagavatam class, Prabhupada had the devotees responsively chant the Sanskrit mantras after him, directing that this become the standard in all temples.
A particularly moving moment came when devotees played the popular single “Govinda,” featuring beautiful Sanskrit verses from the Brahma-samhita, which had been recorded in London with George Harrison’s help. When Prabhupada heard it, his body shivered and tears streamed from his eyes. In the silence that followed, devotees chanted softly until Prabhupada repeated the refrain: “govindam adi purusham tam aham bhajami.” Then he asked, “Is everything all right?” The response was a huge roar: “Jaya Srila Prabhupada!”
The Move to Watseka Avenue: Establishing New Dvaraka
A New Temple for a Growing Community
After just one year at La Cienega, there wasn’t enough room for the expanding community. The devotees’ Spiritual Sky Incense business was growing, Back to Godhead distribution was increasing, and the Sunday Love Feast was drawing souls from local areas as well as new centers in Laguna Beach and San Diego.
When Tamal Krishna Dasa and Dayananda Dasa found a big church with a service building and minister’s quarters, Srila Prabhupada negotiated the price with the minister, and it became ISKCON’s most impressive property to date.
On the auspicious occasion of Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura’s appearance day anniversary, the Los Angeles devotees received permission to enter their new temple on Watseka Avenue. Though the rooms hadn’t even been cleaned and the large hall was bare, the devotees brought in Prabhupada’s vyasasana from the old temple, and Prabhupada had them place a large picture of his spiritual master on it.
Standing before his spiritual master, Prabhupada offered arati while some fifty disciples gathered around him, chanting Hare Krishna and dancing in the otherwise empty hall. After the arati, he directed his disciples in offering flowers to the picture of Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati. Then, still standing before the vyasasana, he said he had nothing to offer his spiritual master on this day except his own disciples, and he read aloud all their names.
As Prabhupada gave a short history of his Guru Maharaja and recalled his first meeting with him, he told how Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati had instructed him to teach Krishna consciousness to the English-speaking world. This large new temple, Prabhupada said, had been provided by Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati as a gift for the devotees to use in Krishna’s service. As he spoke about not becoming attached to the opulence but using this wonderful place for preaching, he wept.
The Deities’ Grand Procession
The Spanish-mission–style interior featured an old pulpit with arches, where devotees hung large oil paintings of the disciplic succession and Lord Chaitanya. After many days and nights of preparation, the devotees took the deities on a long procession from La Cienega Boulevard through Cheviot Hills to the new location on Watseka Avenue.
The deities rode in a beautiful palanquin with a canopy to protect Them from the sun. A scene of Vrindavan – cows grazing along the banks of the Yamuna River and a full moon rising – was painted on the cart so that Radha and Krishna would feel at home. Along the way, devotees knocked on doors asking for offerings, saying spontaneously, “We’re taking Radha and Krishna to Their new temple.” Soon the palanquin was overflowing with donated flowers.
Once the deities were placed on the temple altar, Srila Prabhupada directed the devotees to line up on two sides of the temple room – women on one side, men on the other – allowing him to see the deities and the devotees to see both Prabhupada and the deities.
Setting the Standard for ISKCON Worldwide
When Srila Prabhupada first saw the new altar, he reached up and touched some silk greenery decorating the top, telling a temple leader, “This isn’t proper. Only real flowers and plants should be offered.” His attention to detail was extraordinary – once he entered the rear of the temple and asked, “What is that in Krishna’s eye?” The devotees discovered that a speck of tilaka from Krishna’s forehead had fallen into His eye.
During this period, a pipe bomb was thrown into the temple through the back door, exploding and cutting some devotees with shrapnel. Srila Prabhupada responded by teaching the devotees Sanskrit prayers to Lord Nrisimhadeva, going over the words several times with the stunned devotees before they sang it together. He remarked that because his movement was growing, the demons were becoming more envious.
In May 1970, Prabhupada sent a letter to all ISKCON centers introducing the morning program: “Now at the present moment I am concentrating my energy in this Los Angeles center which is ideal for all other centers in respect of Deity worship, Arotrika, Kirtan and other necessary paraphernalia… I wish that you may come here at your convenience for a few days and see personally how things are going on.”
This invitation brought devotees from around the world to Los Angeles to study the new standards Prabhupada was setting. Much of his legacy was born from the culture of krishna-bhakti he inspired in LA, including translated and published Vedic scriptures, krishna-lila oil paintings, musical recordings, lectures, museum dioramas, festivals, dramatic performances, films, and the standard-setting worship of Sri Sri Rukmini-Dvarakadhisha.
Conclusion: Still Prabhupada’s Western World Headquarters
As temple president Svavasa Dasa reflects, “Keeping the same temple morning program, with mature devotees guiding younger members, opulent deity worship, book distribution, the Bhagavad-gita Museum tours, weekly bhakti-yoga club meetings at several universities, and harinama singers going out regularly to greet the public, New Dvaraka remains the ‘Western world headquarters’ of ISKCON, as Srila Prabhupada defined it fifty years ago.”
The temple’s location near major transportation routes to UCLA, USC, Hollywood, Beverly Hills, and various tourist attractions brings a wide variety of visitors who express gratitude for the delicious prasadam and peaceful atmosphere. The Venice Beach Rathayatra Festival, now in its forty-second year, continues to attract tens of thousands of people annually.
After over five decades of dedicated service, New Dvaraka has evolved from Srila Prabhupada’s pioneering vision into a thriving spiritual community that continues to serve thousands seeking authentic spiritual experiences. The temple’s multifaceted approach – combining traditional worship with community dining, educational programs, and cultural events – has created a sustainable model for spiritual communities in the Western world.
The legacy of Prabhupada’s extensive presence continues to inspire and guide the temple’s activities, ensuring that the authentic spiritual standards he established remain the foundation of all programs and services. His personal quarters and garden are well-kept, making this certainly a holy tirtha full of transcendental blessings for everyone who visits.
As Prabhupada’s vision of creating a spiritual oasis in the Western world continues to expand its impact on the broader Los Angeles community and beyond, New Dvaraka stands as a remarkable testament to the successful transplantation of ancient Vedic spiritual traditions into the heart of modern American urban life.
New Dwaraka was home to many original projects born from the seeds of the talent and ambition the early disciples offered to their beloved spiritual father. Those seeds sprouted into the strong plants of many traditional programs, thriving with fine, sweet flowers for the pleasure of Lord Krishna.
Govinda’s
Srila Prabhupada was keen on opening Hare Krishna restaurants for the distribution of prasadam, and Govinda’s Buffet of Los Angeles was the first of such vegetarian restaurants, opening in 1982. Today both Govinda’s Gift Shop and Govinda’s Buffet are a vital hub of the New Dwaraka community. Govinda’s Gift Shop offers a superlative storehouse of the best from India, while the Buffet serves out a fresh daily assortment of prasadam dishes to a continuous flow of visitors. The Govindas are situated upstairs and downstairs in a building adjacent to the temple.
At Govinda’s many a newcomer receives a warm greeting.
“So many interesting people come through, and they have a lot of questions about Krishna and the temple,” says Aditi, who works the register and stocks shelves. “I get to give every customer I meet a free copy of one of Srila Prabhupada’s books.”
Govinda’s is staffed by devotees, including householders and single men and women living in the ashrams.
Tadit Devi Dasi, the wife of temple president Svavasa Dasa, has been the purchaser and manager of Govinda’s for thirty-three years. She holds a degree in fashion design, and her trained eye and chaste dedication to Srila Prabhupada’s sankirtana mission have inspired her to assemble a gift shop that has attracted the media as well as a variety of celebrities from around the world. Govinda’s Gift Shop has appeared in The Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Weekly, The New York Post, Yogi Times, Yoga Journal, Allure, In Style, Harper’s Bazaar, Lucky Magazine, and Vogue.
Tadit’s determined sacrifice to maintain the quality and quantity of goods in the store has served as a dependable financial foundation for the temple and ashrams. The elaborate flower outfits offered to the deities on festival days are sponsored by the Gift Shop, and designed and put together by the women who work there.
Govinda’s Natural Foods Buffet serves a fresh assortment of American and ethnic dishes daily. The peaceful, friendly atmosphere is a famous respite for busy Westsiders.
Govinda’s kitchen is under the direction of Jaganivasa Dasa, a 1983 graduate of the Culinary Institute of New York City. He is also an Ayurvedic medical advisor and holds a masters in herbology and homeopathy from Ashford University in Washington, D.C. A culinary professional for thirty years, Jaganivasa specializes in five varieties of international cuisine.
With his mother as a respected chef, Jaganivasa developed a culinary sense early in life. He began cooking and helping in cooking classes at the age of four. Later Jaganivasa taught culinary art for three years in his native city of Cali, Columbia, where he owned and operated an intercontinental vegetarian restaurant.
Besides supporting the Los Angeles temple’s opulent worship, the steady income from the two Govindas insures that teams of missionaries are able to travel and share Prabhupada’s books by the thousands without any encumbrance.
Book Distribution
For many devotees who feel inspired to distribute Srila Prabhupada’s books, New Dwaraka is the place of choice. The Bhaktivedanta Book Trust was established in Los Angeles in 1974, and to date forty-five million books and pamphlets have been distributed in North America.
Surprisingly, Srila Prabhupada’s strategy for the distribution of his books didn’t include commercial sales, although he had no objection to that method. He was convinced that sincere devotees who presented his literatures directly to the public could win people’s hearts, so he emphasized the one-on-one approach of a missionary in the field.
In Los Angeles, Ānanda Kirtana Dasa heads up a traveling team of brahmacharis who go from concert to concert every summer, and campus to campus in the fall and spring, distributing Bhagavad-gitas, Srimad-Bhagavatams, and other books to young people.
“Every day is an adventure,” he explains. “Recently I was distributing Bhagavad-gitas at Orange Coast College, and a professor asked me into his classroom to speak on it. The students were very interested. They were asking how to start a bhakti-yoga club!”
Bhrigupati Dasa is the go-to person for vehicles, permits, new distribution spots, book supply, bags, carts, tables, and medicine. He has been a distributor for forty-five years, and he knows how important it is to keep the young men who have chosen the missionary life supplied with basic daily needs.
“We have quite a few new devotees who have imbibed the spirit of book distribution,” says Bhrigupati. “I never have to ask them to go out – they just go. Gauranga Prema was out manning a book table for three hundred and ten days last year. Prema Sankirtana did the same. It’s really great to be living in a temple where there is so much support for distributing Srila Prabhupada’s books. We feel the support directly and indirectly.
“Svavasa Prabhu, the temple president, wears two hats – he is also a trustee for Srila Prabhupada’s Bhaktivedanta Book Trust. So we are really fortunate to have his influence. He personally glorifies and encourages all of us, which makes it a lot easier, and a lot more fun too.”
Youth Outreach
Hari Bhakti Dasa opened “the Mantra House” in his apartment a half a block from the temple. Every Thursday night, between forty and a hundred youth descended on the small apartment from all directions to chant, do a little hatha yoga, and ask questions.
Eventually Hari Bhakti relocated the program to a full-size house, that of Atulya Bhakti Devi Dasi, who organizes the programs and does the cooking. The Mantra House has the Hare Krishna maha-mantra painted in large bold letters on the wall at the front of the room, intriguing every visitor to experience the chanting of the holy names of Krishna.
The dean of the University of Southern California met with temple president Svavasa to discuss what the devotees have to offer to students on campus, including literature, clubs, and food distribution. The dean gave Svavasa a pastoral position with the faculty. This gives New Dwaraka Youth Outreach the opportunity for a meeting room at USC as well as campus sponsorship of food-distribution programs. The temple also hosts Bhakti Club programs at the University of California at Los Angeles and Long Beach State University.
Nama Hatta
In the Southern California area there are fifty-two initiated devotees – preachers, pujaris, cooks, administrators – who share a beginning in their spiritual practice: all were inspired by the Los Angeles temple’s Nama Hatta program.
Originally Caru Dasa encouraged ISKCON Life Members to hold Krishna conscious programs in their homes. As the years went by, and due to the efforts of Pavaka Devi Dasi and Nirantara Dasa, the programs increased to three or four a week at forty-five households throughout southern California.
Nirantara recalls:
> When I started, there was a great demand, and sometimes I was doing two programs a day. Families would attend other families’ programs, and so we built up a core group. I soon realized there was no way I was going to impress them with my knowledge of krishna-lila. Many already knew a lot about Krishna, but they wanted to know more about Prabhupada and Lord Chaitanya. So that was my first focus. Also, Krishna prompted me to connect with the children and teenagers because getting them interested meant I would automatically get the adults interested. I made the programs about them rather than me.
These Nama Hatta members, being primarily people with years of professional status, have offered their services in ISKCON as administrators, preachers, managers, accountants, editors, writers, doctors and teachers.
New Dwaraka Festivals
Besides Rathayatra [see the sidebar “Rathayatra Is Deity Worship”], New Dwaraka celebrates twenty-one other festivals every year, and Sri Sri Rukmini-Dvarakadhisha preside with effulgent, beaming smiles, expanding into the hearts of all who attend. During festival celebrations devotees stand transfixed before the deities, who appear in beautiful new outfits decorated in a style that is bold and regal, merciful and magnificent.
New Dwaraka has several unique festivals: Rukmini Dvadashi (the appearance day of Sri Rukmini), the marriage of Tulasi and Salagrama-shila, and the festival of Sri Sri Radha-Govinda, held on the anniversary of the 1986 passing of Their worshiper Gauri Devi Dasi, a beloved longtime resident of New Dwaraka. Sri Sri Radha-Govinda are the household deities of Svavasa and Tadit.
The author wishes to thank Purushottama Kshetra Dasa for his kind assistance with this article, especially for writing the section on the Bhagavad Gita Museum and interviewing Svavasa Dasa.
Extra Content
“Rathayatra Is Deity Worship”
Srila Prabhupada could not attend the first Rathayatra celebration in Los Angeles in 1977 because he was in England at the time and too ill to travel, but when shown photos of the new chariots, he said, “We have never seen such carts!”
The Rathayatra festival is a high priority for the devotees of New Dwaraka. Mahanta Dasa, a disciple of Srila Prabhupada and a special servant of the LA Rathayatra, is one of the happiest and most persevering devotees you will find.
“When I joined here,” says Mahanta, who started serving in New Dwaraka the year the festival was introduced, “the community was bigger. There were many, many disciples of Srila Prabhupada, and many flourishing projects started by him and his disciples. The worship of Sri Sri Rukmini-Dvarakadhisha and, of course, our big Rathayatra have really been maintained very nicely. I like working for Govinda’s Buffet because I know it does a big service maintaining what Prabhupada gave us here.”
In August of 2018 New Dwaraka held its forty-second annual chariot festival, attended by thirty thousand guests. Mahanta managed the free-feast booth, which served eight thousand plates of prasadam.
“For me,” he says, “staying fixed in Krishna consciousness is all about the association of devotees, my Rathayatra service, helping with Govinda’s Buffet and Juice Bar since 1986, and my deity worship. I dress the temple Gaura-Nitai deities.
“I really like to take shelter of my deity worship. I went to Hawaii for two years, but when I returned to help with Rathayatra, Gaura-Nitai gave me back my service to Them. They took me back.
“The Rathayatra festival is deity worship too. People ask me, ‘Why do you spend so much time after Rathayatra washing buckets, trays, and lids? You could just hire someone.’ I tell them that when I first arrived in New Dwaraka, Prabhupada’s disciples told me that taking care of Rathayatra paraphernalia is just like massaging the lotus feet of the Lord.”
Ratna Bhushana Dasa, another steady servant of the Rathayatra, concurs.
“The carts, the tents, the stoves, the trailers and trucks – we are told they are all part of the Lord’s own body,” he says.
“The Nectar of Devotion,” Mahanta Dasa says, “tells us that anyone who comes out to the street and just happens to see Lord Jagannatha riding on His cart becomes a resident of Vaikuntha.”
The Bhagavad-gita Museum
In 1971 Srila Prabhupada asked a few disciples to go to India to learn the art of diorama doll making. He said dioramas would become living books. Bharadvaja Dasa headed up this ensemble of sculptors for New Dwaraka’s FATE museum, as the Bhagavad-gita Museum was originally known. By 1977 the full set of clay dolls were completed and on display. Ameyatma Dasa built a computer to meld the dolls with the multimedia technology of the times. Each of the eleven exhibits came to life. The concepts he helped invent would later come to be known in the industry as animatronics.
Radha-Krishna Dasa currently directs and hosts tours of the museum. He is a soft-spoken devotee from Iran, with degrees in civil engineering. He provides routine technical support for the museum and brought it into the realm of social media as well.
“I enjoy this service,” he says. “It brings many people to the temple who might otherwise never come. Some are curious artists; some are from the Hollywood production scene or social clubs. Thousands of Atlas Obscura members have toured the museum.”
In its inception the museum received rave reviews and attracted many guests to New Dwaraka, as it does now. But over the years, the old technology wore out. The original resplendent-clay dolls that were the genius artistry of Bharadvaja Dasa and many other diligent devotee artists waited in limbo for something better. Purushottama Kshetra Dasa eventually adapted the audio/video displays to a smoother running animatronics-specific program.
“The museum is a great educational tool,” says Radha-Krishna Dasa. “Such a small space packed with so much profound transcendental Bhagavad-gita philosophy.”
Under his management, museum attendance has more than quadrupled in recent years.
Still Prabhupada’s Western World Headquarters
by Svavasa Dasa, New Dwaraka Temple President
Keeping the same temple morning program, with mature devotees guiding younger members, opulent deity worship, book distribution, the Bhagavad-gita Museum tours, weekly bhakti-yoga club meetings at several universities, and harinama singers going out regularly to greet the public, New Dwaraka remains the “Western world headquarters” of ISKCON, as Srila Prabhupada defined it fifty years ago. The temple is situated near major transportation routes to UCLA, USC, Hollywood, Beverly Hills, and various tourist attractions, so we get a wide variety of visitors who appreciate this transcendental place. They express gratitude for the delicious prasadam and peaceful atmosphere. Our Venice Beach Rathayatra Festival, now in its forty-second year, continues to attract tens of thousands of people.
It’s no wonder New Dwaraka holds such charm; when we add up the periods of time our founder-acharya, Srila Prabhupada, spent here, it sums up to two full years. Out of the ten years he toured the planet establishing ISKCON, two of those years he invested in Los Angeles with his personal managerial supervision, spearheading many lasting projects, translating and publishing books, and offering spiritual protection and guidance. Prabhupada’s personal quarters and garden are well kept here. This is certainly a holy tirtha full of transcendental blessings for everyone.
As a temple president, it is a great blessing to work here with many of the same nice devotees for over thirty-four years now. It’s been a great honor for Tadit and me to do this service for Srila Prabhupada. What makes it really worthwhile is the generous support we feel from our congregation. They have lovingly contributed to renovate the deity-paraphernalia room. They have also contributed to protecting the devotees from the possibility of earthquakes by sponsoring the retrofitting of our properties, as well as supporting every festival.
Tadit and I started out at the Denver temple in 1973, and in 1978 we were put in charge of the temple. We had a community of fifty devotees with a small party of book distributors. It was a satisfying beginning, developing relationships with devotees, with the aim of distributing Srila Prabhupada’s books in large quantities.
Tadit and I were then requested to move to Los Angeles, where I was to take the post of temple president. We were really surprised by the enormity of the Los Angeles temple project, but very excited about the possibilities of distributing huge quantities of Srila Prabhupada’s books.
Years have gone by, and after some contemplation, and with the impetus of the devastating 1994 Northridge earthquake, which destroyed the opulent carved onyx columns and arches adorning the temple interior, we began an ambitious, still ongoing program to repair and enhance Sri Sri Rukmini-Dvarakadhisha’s temple facilities. The many enhancements in New Dwaraka are our humble offering on the fiftieth anniversary of Srila Prabhupada’s installation of Sri Sri Rukmini-Dvarakanatha.