Charity to Krishna Consciousness/ ISKCON

Charity to Krishna Consciousness

Your Life-Time Opportunity Most beneficial to your own self in the service of God

Shri Krishna (God) owns everything. There is nobody equal to, let alone greater then Shri Krishna in all the three worlds since time immemorial. Shri Krishna does not need anything from you. If you give to Shri Krishna, then it is to your own merit. People want to see God. But you should do something that God sees you. There are millions of devotees throughout the world who are already giving all their lives and efforts and resources to Shri Krishna consciousness. But, if you give anything to Shri Krishna consciousness (God consciousness), then it is the best thing that you could do for your own self, in this world and the next world as well, both in life and thereafter. If you offer anything to Shri Krishna with love and devotion, Shri Krishna returns it a thousand times back to you. Shri Krishna-conscious charity is also the highest Dharma activity that you can do. Giving to Shri Krishna consciousness is also the highest welfare activity that you can do for the entire human civilization. The following are some examples of people who gave to Shri Krishna and Shri Krishna reciprocated/ rewarded them by giving them eternal respectability and glory. Had the following people not given to Shri Krishna-consciousness, then Shri Krishna-consciousness would not have been affected, but these great souls would never have got the great goodwill that they enjoy that they got by giving to Shri Krishna consciousness. So, giving charity to Shri Krishna consciousness only goes to your own merit:

1. Canakya Pandit: The diplomatic enclave in New Delhi is named Chanakyapuri in honour of Chanakya. Canakya Pandit starts his Niti-Sastra by paying Homage to Lord Sri-Visnu and glorifies Vaisnavas. Lord Sri-Visnu blessed him by making his niti-sastra immemorial and even the most sophisticated place in Delhi is named after him, i.e. CanakyaPuri where all the emb***ies and high commission of many countries are located.

2. King Akbar – built four temples for Sri Sri Radha Govindaji in Vrindavana: King Akbar is respected as a great saintly king and he is as much respected for his intelligent warfare skills as he is respected for being a saint and building four temples for Sri Sri Radha Govindaji. After Emperor Akbar’s visit to Vridavan in the year 1570, he gave permission for four temples to be built by the Gaudya Vaisnavas, which were Madana-mohana, Govindaji, Gopinatha and Jugal Kisore.

3. George Harrison and Hinduja Group of Companies: The famous Beatle singer George Harrison gifted a twenty acre land at Watford, London to Hare Krishna movement for the purpose of building a temple several years back. His name is permanently glorified with Bhaktivedanta Manor Temple built on that land. Hinduja Group of companies maintains the running expenses of that temple and it adds tremendously to the prestige of the Hniduja Group being ***ociated with the Bhaktivedanta Manor.

4. His Divine Grace Jagat Guru A. C. Bhakti Vedanta Swami Srila Prabhupada: Revered and respected as Jagat-guru and savior of whole world, Srila Prabhupada, a great devotee of Lord Krishna, wrote many books which are most widely distributed worldwide. Many years after his p***ing away, he is still worshipped in 600 temples throughout the world by more than 50,000 devotees every day.

5. Birla group of companies: Laxmi – Narayana temples: Birla industrialists have built six temples all over India for Sri Sri Lakshmi Narayana (Sri Vishna – Sri Krishna) and these temples are also known as Birla-Mandirs and are visited by thousands of devotees everyday. This is the highest honour that any business person can expect to get ever.

6. Mahatma Gandhi, National Father of India: Gandhiji became Mahatma by reading Bhagavad Gita daily throughout his lifetime. It is stated in Gita Mahtmaya that reading Bhagavad Gita is even more purifying than water of the holiest river Ganges

7. King Asoka The Great – built Sarnath Temple: King Asoka is respected as Asoka the great and Asoka Chakra is imbibed even in the Indian National Flag.

8. The King Solomon Temple in Jerusalem: The King Solomon Temple in Jerusalem: The Lord commanded of King Solomon: “He will build me a House, and I will establish his (Solomon’s) throne forever”.

9. King Indrayumna built the temple of Jagannath: The master of the world is at Jagannathpuri, also known as Puri. King Indrayumna observed fast onto death at Mount Neela, later he performed a horse sacrifice and built the magnificent temple for Lord Vishnu at Jagannath Puri. According to the legend, Indrayumna, the king of Malava in Sata Yuga was a great devotee of Vishnu and built Jagannath Temple. Indradyumna got Visvakarma the architect of Gods, to build a magnificent temple to house the idols and Vishnu himself appeared in the guise of a carpenter to make the idols on condition that he was to be left undisturbed until he finished the work.

10. Maharaja Man Singh built Sri Sri Radha Govindaji Mandir: Built in 1590 by Maharaja Man Singh for the original Govindaji deity discovered by Srila Rupa Goswami. Govindaji was removed from this temple and reinstalled in Jaipur when the Muslim Emperor Aurangzeb destroyed part of the temple in 1670.

11. Wealthy Seth family of Mathura built Rangaji Temple - This South Indian style temple was built by the wealthy Seth family of Mathura in the year 1851, and is dedicated to Lord Ranganatha or Rangaji, a form of Lord Vishnu lying down on the Sesa Naga (celestial serpent).

12. Vijayanagara king Krishna Deva Raya (AD 1509-1529) built Krishna temple at Hampi: One of the largest temple complexes in Hampi is the Krishna temple, built by the Vijayanagara king Krishna Deva Raya (AD 1509-1529) for the consecration of the image of Balakrishna brought by him from Udayagiri after his victorious campaign in Orissa.


13. Mathura Krishna Balram Mandir - Built by the International Society for Shri Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON), it is one of the most beautiful temples in Vrindavan. The principal deities of this temple are Krishna, his brother Balram and Radha (Krishna’s consort).

14. Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj- “Is there a greater hero, a greater saint, a greater bhakta and a greater king than Shivaji?”

15. Ganga King Narasimha Deva built Sun Temple at Konark: This temple was built in 1278 CE by the Ganga King Narasimha Deva. Konarak is a Sun Temple in Orissa. It is a beautiful temple almost in ruins and getting buried in the sand.

16. King Suryavarman II built Angkor Wat Temple: a temple dedicated to the Hindu god Vishnu by, who reigned between 1131 and 1150. It was constructed over a period of 30 years and is world famous for its beauty and splendor.

17. Chola emperors Rajaraja-I built Rajarajeswaram Temple in Thanjavur: The greatest of (985 A.D - 1012 A.D) the son of Sundara Chola (Parantakaa-II) and Vanavanmahadevi built this magnificent temple Brihadisvaram at Thanjavur - the capital of Chola dynasty. Later during Nayak kings rule, the subramaniyar temple was built inside the temple.

18. Tirumala: All the great dynasties of rulers of the southern peninsula have paid homage to Lord Sri Venkateswara in this ancient shrine. The Pallavas of Kancheepuram (9th century ad), the Cholas of Thanjavur (a century later), the Pandyas of Madurai, and the kings and chieftains of Vijaynagar (14th-15th century ad) were devotees of this shrine.

19. King Krishnadevaraya built Tirupati temple. It was during the rule of the Vijaynagar dynasty that the contributions to the temple increased. Krishnadevaraya had statues of himself and his consorts installed at the portals of the temple, and these statues can be seen to this day. There is also a statue of Venkatapati Raya in the main temple.

20. The Maratha general, Raghoji Bhonsle visited the temple and set up a permanent endowment for the conduct of worship in the temple. He also presented valuable jewels to the Lord, including a large emerald that is still preserved in a box named after the general. Among the later rulers who have endowed large amounts are the rulers of Mysore and Gadwal.