What’s the significance of “new” in the “New Vedic Cultural Center”, the ISKCON temple at Pune?
Is their some other old VCC somewhere? Do we refer to the old temple that way? Or is the “new” primarily for ornamental purposes, tapping people’s fascination with newness?
Pune Temple President Radheshyam Prabhu’s answer:
It is called ‘Vedic Cultural Center’ because this center will bring all the benefits meant for the ultimate welfare of humanity through Education, Training and Culture based on the Ancient sacred Vedic texts of India. The whole world is now recognizing the wealth of the Vedas in the modern times.
Since NVCC will cater to the needs of especially educated generation including Children, Youth and Corporates by presenting Seminars and Camps through modern day gadgets, it is called ‘New’, presenting the Ancient Wisdom for the Modern day people in a way relevant to them and appealing to their intelligence as well as practical life.
Often people consider Vedic lifestyle outdated or obsolete due to ignorance; but we present the same logically, scientifically in English language for educated children, youth, corporates who are victims of modern day consumer culture and blinded by material education. It is like Old ‘Caranamrta’ in a ‘NEW’ bottle!
Also there is a big gap between Religious people & Modern day agnostics. (eg) what is future of the grandchildren of traditional religious followers? But ISKCON is presenting philosophy to SAVE the younger generation from wholesale degradation, by presenting the SAME TIME-OLD wisdom of servitorship to Supreme Lord Vitthala, Krishna, Visnu, Rama in a NEW way (dancing, singing, eating prasad, enlivening, enlightening presentations in a ego-friendly atmosphere. {Guru maharaja recently said in Wada that eco-friendly is for the health of the body and ego-friendly is for the soul to take-in spiritual wisdom; thus our temple will present KC in a way to satisfy body-mind-soul}. So NEW Vedic Cultural Center.
When we were coining the name for our ISKCON PUNE I had thought of these things. Thank you for this important question