Mr. Jag Mohan, a Minister from the Indian Embassy, cuts the ceremonial ribbon with Hanumatpresaka Swami. 

Sunday, September 1st, ISKCON of Richmond, located in the heart of Virginia, USA, celebrated its grand temple opening with a commemorative yajna, kirtan, cultural performances, and encouraging talks from devotees from all over the country. 

There has been a strong ISKCON initiative in Richmond for over a decade. It was incorporated in 2012 under the guidance of former GBC member Bir Krishna Goswami and now Anuttama Dasa, the current GBC leader. ISKCON Richmond holds a unique place as Virginia’s first and only registered ISKCON center, under the expert guidance of Radhika Ramana Das and the leadership of Divyanam Das, who has been the Temple President since its inception. 

The current ISKCON Richmond property, where the devotees celebrated the temple opening, is located in Montpelier, Hanover County, only about a 20-minute drive from Richmond center. The site includes 20 acres of lush green farmland with a beautiful farmhouse. The temple building is designed in a yoga studio style, and there’s a huge cow barn, a beautiful garden area with outdoor seating, and a children’s play area.

The community acquired the site in November 2021, on Srila Prabhupada’s most holy Disappearance Day. Since then, the devotees have been working hard on the construction and renovation work and tirelessly engaging with the county officials to ensure the establishment received adequate permissions to conduct regular programs and open the facility for its congregation and the people of Richmond. After receiving all required permissions and permits, the community celebrated the much-awaited opening on September 1st.

The event not only celebrated the wonderful occasion of this temple opening but also honored the visiting guests who were kind enough to offer their guidance and blessings over the years of building this temple community and site. Guests included Hanumatpresaka Swami, Ananta-Rupa Das, and Radhika Ramana Das, who lived near the Richmond community with his family for several years prior and was one of the pioneers of this project.

Many other devotees also visited from Atlanta, Florida, Georgia, West Virginia, and Peru to commemorate this Vedic function in Richmond. Further, ISKCON Richmond received special guest Mr. Jag Mohan, the Minister in Charge (Community & Personnel) from the Indian Embassy, who gave intentional words to the community, paying homage to the Vedic traditions being celebrated. Many other dignitaries and local leaders from the Richmond area were in attendance.

The event started with guests being welcomed in a traditional Vedic way by offering garlands to each individual and their family members. Hanumatpresaka Swami, Anantarupa Das, Radhika Ramana Das, and Divyanam Das each delivered kind, inspiring words to the Richmond devotees and guests who traveled some distance for this occasion. They spoke on the temple community’s dedication and the strength necessary to continue expanding upon ISKCON Founder-Acarya Srila Prabhupada’s mission. 

Hanumatpresaka Swami stated, “Richmond community is like a mango seed, which I very much see growing into a big mango tree like ISKCON Houston.” 

Hanumatpresaka Swami’s disciple and longtime senior mentor to the Richmond community, Radhika Ramana Das, similarly compared the growth of a community to the rapid nature of a wildfire. He remarked, “In Utah and the surrounding area, it is a dry climate prone to wildfires in the summer. These wildfires spread quickly because of the terrain. Similarly, due to the communal efforts of Richmond congregation, this Yatra has grown like a wildfire.”

Divyanam Das stated, “On this day, ISKCON of Richmond can be seen to have grown from five to fifty families, from fifty to twenty-five hundred guests on Janmashtami, from a Bhakti Vriksha to a 20 acre urban farm Temple community. But instead of just numbers, it is truly a journey of compassion, mercy, and guidance of so many senior devotees, disciples, and representatives of Srila Prabhupada.” He further named and expressed gratitude to many senior devotees who visited us in Richmond. He also mentioned that “It’s been also the journey of sacrifice, selfless service, hard work, the dedication of so many devotees from this yatra.” He concluded by thanking all the devotees who were instruments in the making of ISKCON of Richmond.

The program then moved into cultural festivities by the students of ISKCON Richmond’s Sunday school. The Sandipani Muni School has been an integral part of ISKCON Richmond since 2016, with a strong teacher base through the years. Students in the school performed a beautiful dance presentation and a traditional mridanga performance. The students in the dance presentation performed a wonderful depiction of Lord Krishna, Srimati Radharani, and the Visakha-Sakhis. Everyone was extremely proud of the students for their performance, especially Hanumatpresaka Swami.

Following the performance, the program moved into a traditional Vedic fire yagya to inaugurate the much-anticipated cow barn. The barn was commemorated by Hanumatpresaka Swami and Mr. Jag Mohan, both seated close to the pujaris, the officiators of the fire yagya, and offered grains and other paraphernalia to bless the establishment. 

After the fire sacrifice, hundreds of devotees enjoyed the unforgettable prasadam of Sri Radha Shyam Sundar, a large feast featuring 16 different menu items. Devotees honored the prasadam in association with each other, appreciating the intentionality of the items, such as Srila Prabhupada’s favorite kachoris.

Near the end of prasadam, Hanumatpresaka Swami graciously planted a flower tree planned by the Richmond devotees to plant a seed of forever growth in the Richmond temple community. 

The program did not end there, but it continued through the evening, with splendid hours of kirtan and katha with Radhika Ramana Das. Devotees meditated on bhajans reminiscent of ISKCON’s acharyas and the divine couple, Sri Sri Radha and Krishna.

In this way, the Richmond ISKCON community had the magnificent opportunity to serve fellow devotees who traveled far and wide for the monumental opening of the ISKCON Richmond temple, as well as honor the esteemed senior devotees who came to bless the Richmond devotees and new temple so that all can continue to serve in Srila Prabhupada’s mission.

To learn more about the community, please visit their website.