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By ISKCON Communications<\/strong><\/p>\n What originated thousands of years ago as one of the world\u2019s most civilized cultures in the world, is still flourishing today in all corners of the globe. The Vedic civilization is an all-encompassing culture, and an integral part of it is arcana, or the method by which to worship the deity form of the Lord. And just as it was outlined in the Pancaratrika Pradipa text, so it is still being practiced today \u2013 a result of the hard work of the ISKCON Deity Worship Ministry.<\/p>\n Deity worship was originally established by Srila Prabhupada as one of the foundations of our movement, and it has continued ever since. 2014 has been a busy year for the Deity Worship Ministry, and its Minister Nrsimha Kavaca Das couldn\u2019t be happier.<\/p>\n Over the past year they have been focusing on collating a booklet about the method of deity worship. This booklet has been out of print since 1999, and after much demand hard work, endeavours are being made to have it completed and ready by Gaura Purnima of 2015.<\/p>\n There has also been a strong focus on developing a network of representatives around the world. And devotees have been coming forward, so that now in United States, United Kingdom, throughout Europe, South America and in South Africa, there are dedicated members who will be assisting the Deity Worship Ministry in helping the temples in their regions to maintain the high standards of Deity Worship.<\/p>\n Since its inception in 2007, the Mayapur Academy has grown in leaps and bounds. Nrsimha Kavaca Das describes how it came out of discussions with Jananivas Das from Mayapur \u2013 that there needed to be a central school where devotees from the world could come and learn about deity worship. Rather than members from the Deity Worship ministry travelling the world to each temple, it would be easier to maintain standards and educate devotees from a central location. And what better place than our capital \u2013 Sri Mayapur Dham! \u201cEvery year more and more devotees are interested in attending \u2013 this year we had to turn people away because we didn\u2019t have the capacity!\u201d explains Nrsimha Kavaca Das. And with a lot more of the courses starting to offer gender-separated classes, it\u2019s very likely that their capacity will double in the years to come.<\/p>\n The Deity Worship Ministry is also developing coursewares for devotees to learn Deity Worship through internet using videos and online classes.<\/p>\n With the enthusiasm from devotees worldwide, and the hard work of those in the Deity Worship Ministry, the future is looking quite promising for ISKCON\u2019s Deity Worship standards across the world.<\/p>\n Visit the website of ISKCON Deity Worship Ministry at www.deityworship.com to stay updated with the Ministry\u2019s activities.<\/p>\n \u2013 Kaisori Sindhu Dasi for ISKCON Communications<\/p>\n
\nThe Mayapur Academy now has a 4-month Diploma course on deity worship in English, and they have recently introduced short courses for Russian and Bengali-speaking devotees. Course subjects cover all aspects of deity worship \u2013 from dressing, cooking, dressmaking, samskaras to daily temple worship.<\/p>\n