Madhu Pandit Dasa Bagged Padma Shri on Republic Day

The presentation ceremony of the prestigious Padma Shri was held in the historic Durbar Hall of the Rashtrapati Bhavan at 11:30 am on Tuesday. Continuing the tradition, the Hon’ble President of India Shri Pranab Mukherjee conferred the Padma Shri to Madhu Pandit Dasa, Chairman of The Akshaya Patra Foundation. At the ceremony, illustrious personalities recognised for contributions in varied fields were also present.

Shri Madhu Pandit Dasa was honoured with the recognition for the distinguished service rendered by Akshaya Patra for the children of India. On the occasion, he thanked the Government of India for the recognition. With regard to the honour, he said, “I dedicate this award to Srila Prabhupada, a true visionary who wanted to see a hunger free world. This recognition shall give immense encouragement to the Akshaya Patra team to reach greater heights. It is our humble service of providing nutrition to the government school children through the Akshaya Patra programme. It is an inspiration for me and the entire team at Akshaya Patra to reach out to many more hungry children of this country. Quality food for these children is essential for quality education that will in turn create citizens of great character. Our children are the real asset of our nation.”

Madhu Pandit Dasa designed the first centralised kitchen of Akshaya Patra, to provide mid-day meals to underserved children in the Government schools of Bengaluru rural district during July 2000. Under his inspiring leadership and impeccable commitment, the organisation grew unceasingly towards its mission of feeding ‘5 million children by 2020.’

Akshaya Patra partners with the Ministry of Human Resource Development, Government of India and various State Governments as one of the most admired Public Private Partnerships in education and child welfare. Scientific studies conducted by leading research organisations such as A.C Nielson and Sigma clearly established the positive impact of its mid-day meal programme.

Madhu Pandit Dasa set up a robust Governance Model that has made Akshaya Patra a hallmark of transparency and accountability. This is highlighted by the fact that Akshaya Patra is the only NGO in the country to win the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI) Gold Shield Award for Excellence in Financial Reporting five times in a row and placed in its prestigious Hall of Fame.

Under his leadership, Akshaya Patra has grown from providing 1500 children with mid-day meals to 1.5 million children in 15 years, becoming the world’s largest NGO-run school lunch programme. A Harvard case study, the Foundation has recently served the 2 billionth meal.

Madhu Pandit Dasa has completed his B.Tech in Civil Engineering from IIT-Mumbai in the year 1980. While he was doing his M.Tech course in IIT-Mumbai in 1981, he dedicated himself to the service of humanity by becoming a full-time member of ISKCON. Apart from being the Chairman of Akshaya Patra, he also serves as the President of ISKCON Bangalore and Chairman of Vrindavan Chandrodaya Mandir.

Madhu Pandit Dasa briefs about the speaking tree

 Madhu Pandit Dasa saysVedanta sutra states, `ananda mayo bhysat' ­ the spirit is by nature full of joy. Every soul is a `pleasure being'. In the bodily concept of self, the pleasure being's potential is limited to the trappings of gross and subtle bodies. Stuck in the `well' of paltry pleasures, the soul is unable to experience its full pleasure potential.

Pleasure is commonly known to be sensations derived momentarily at different layers of our self: sensations of gross body through the five senses; sensation of the emotional body , of loving exchanges; pleasures of the intellectual body , cognitive pleasures of discovery and knowledge and sensations of the ego body , pleasures of power, freedom, success and fame.

Outside the realm of sensational pleasure is the existential or `being' pleasure of the self ­ the pleasure of our state of being. For example, the happiness of `love' is different from the sensational pleasure of `loving exchanges' between loved ones. The pleasure of `love' is the continuing sense of belonging of loved ones.Existential pleasures arise from a sense of belonging or possessing a lover, wealth, education and social position.

We normally work to gain access, create and expand situations for sensa tional and existential pleasures.The default paradigm of a layman is that `work' is a burden that must be undertaken in order to enjoy its fruits. There is the other paradigm of a yogi, wherein working itself is pleasure, a pleasure different from sensational and existential pleasures. Such work-pleasure is enjoyed by yogis.

A karma yogi takes pleasure in work itself, irrespective of its outcome. He enjoys living most of his time in the world of activity leading to his dream, rather than dwelling on the dream itself. He is content each moment of his work, with whatever fruit comes by the Will of Providence. He tries to excel in his work every moment, giving each moment his best to attain the fruit. It is the flowing experience of fulfillment of every bit of work. He is focussed on `doing of work' itself without the anxiety of a distant outcome at the end of the work. However, what the karma yogi enjoys is the preliminary kind of work-pleasure. The pinnacle of such pleasure is that of a yogi whose actions combine the principles of karma, jnana and bhakti. He enjoys selfless devoted service as rendered by a part to the Absolute Whole. It springs from spiritual knowledge (of his oneness in quality with the Absolute beyond his body), love and compassion to serve the ignorant and suffering. The causes of such service are in harmony with humankind's dharma or eternal existential purpose. When engaged thus, one's own needs are lovingly taken care of mystically , by the Absolute.

Arjuna agreed to fight the war of Kurukshetra for a larger cause advocated by Krishna. This illustrates highest activity-pleasure of combined karma, jnana and bhakti. He transcended the limited, conditioned urges for sensational pleasure of his senses and mind and acted harmoniously with the holistic wisdom of the Bhagwad Gita received from Krishna. Such actions are performed and relished in the background of the highest spiritual existential joy of service, even if they mean discomfort for the body and mind.Such a mature yogi enjoys becoming just a willing, joyful creative instrument in loving devotional service. The inspiring force behind such works is the Omnipotent Absolute Whole Himself.

The whole lecture is delivered by madhu pandit dasa

Madhu Pandit Dasa Meets Pranab Mukherjee

 Sri Madhu Pandit Dasa, the Chairman and Sri Chanchalapathi Dasa, the President of Vrindavan Chandrodaya Mandir, met with Sri Pranab Mukherjee, the Honourable President of India. During the meeting, Sri Madhu Pandit Dasa briefed the Honourable President about the upcoming world’s tallest temple - Vrindavan Chandrodaya Mandir and various aspects of the project.
 
Sri Pranab Mukherjee was very appreciative of the Vrindavan Chandrodaya Mandir project and efforts of its team. He expressed his heartfelt good wishes for the project and said that he will always support any endeavour to spread the teachings of Lord Krishna. He also congratulated SriMadhu Pandit Dasa for envisioning such a wonderful project to spread the glories of Lord Krishna, following in the footsteps of Srila Prabhupada and Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu.

Vrindavan Chandrodaya Mandir aims to bring about an awakening among Indians and create a nation that is not only full of talent, creativity and energy but also adorned with exalted values and character.  We wish to make a bold statement about the importance of Lord Sri Krishna and His divine mission in the world, using contemporary architectural language. The tall, imposing skyscraper temple should proclaim the status of Vrindavan as one of India’s spiritual capitals. The temple will draw attention of the world’s thinkers, leaders and inquisitive minds to know more about Lord Sri Krishna and His soothing, healing message for the harried world.
 
Madhu Pandit Dasa thanked The President for his support and said “We feel highly honoured and encouraged by the gesture extended by The Honourable President of India, Sri Pranab Mukherjee. Vrindavan Chandrodaya Mandir will not only house a temple for the worship of Lord Sri Krishna, but will also become a centre for disseminating the profound message of the Bhagavad Gita and Srimad Bhagavatam, delivered in a modern context. This project is dedicated to play a larger role in shaping the future of this country.”

Madhu Pandit Dasa Intiation in mid day meal program of Akshaya patra

The Akshaya Patra Foundation came into being in the year 2000. A one-man initiative, it started with feeding 1,500 school children in Bangalore and has expanded to feeding over 1.3 million children over 14 years.
That one man whose initiative it was to feed 1,500 children was Sri Madhu Pandit Dasa. Born in Nagercoil, Tamil Nadu,went on to do his B.Tech in Civil Engineering from IIT-Mumbai in the year 1980. When here, he came across books of Srila Prabupada and got inspired to practice Krishna Consciousness. In 1983, he became involved in overseeing the activities of ISKCON, Bangalore and was also responsible for the activities of the Trivandrum temple as president.
Looking out of a window one day in Mayapur, a village near Calcutta, he saw a group of children fighting with street dogs over scraps of food. From this simple, yet heart breaking incident, came the determination that: No one within a ten mile radius of any of the ISKCON temples should go hungry. Little knowing that these were just baby steps towards a bigger goal, ISKCON temples started providing food to hungry children.
As this process continued regularly, children started coming to the temple on their own, before lunch time. On speaking to some of these children one day, Sri Madhu Pandit Dasa learnt that these kids either didn’t go to school or were leaving early in order to make it to the temple for lunch. That’s when he thought of sending food to the schools themselves. And before he really realized it, thanks to his efforts, 1,500 children in schools across Bangalore were receiving lunch from the ISKCON temple every school day.
He only realized the importance of what he was doing when teachers and principals from other schools wrote in, asking ISKCON to feed children at their school too. Applications from a few lakh schools in Bangalore came in, to start the programme at their schools! A disguised compliment was that kids from non-ISKCON supported schools were leaving to join schools benefitting from the temple’s food programme. Hunger was clearly an urgent issue that needed to be addressed!
Feeding children at over a lakh schools required operations that could not be managed from within the temple premises itself. So how could the operations be scaled up? He discussed the idea with prominent personalities whom he was in touch with through the activities of the temple. People like Mr. Mohandas Pai and Mr. Narayan and Sudha Murthy, amongst others. Thanks to their collective efforts, in 2000, The Akshaya Patra Foundation was officially born.
With a large portion of the seed funding coming in from Mr. Narayan and Sudha Murthy, and Sri Madhu Pandit Dasa’s engineering background, the organisation was able to set up state-of-the art kitchens. Sri Madhu Pandit Dasa himself is the brain behind the design of the first centralized & mechanized kitchen.
Providing a meal to children a day may not sound like a very ambitious mission. But the implications are truly massive. In doing so, the organisation addresses two of the most immediate challenges of India – hunger and education. By providing unlimited, wholesome food, they attract children to schools, retain them and then focus on their holistic development.
In 2010, IIT Mumbai honoured Sri Madhu Pandit Dasa with their distinguished alumnus award for his contribution to humanitarian service.

Madhu Pandit Dasa briefs President on Lord Krishna’s tallest temple

MadhuPandit Dasa, Chairman, Akshaya Patra Foundation, recently had the honor of meeting the president of the country Sh. Pranab Mukherjee. The concerned meeting was conducted to discuss Mr. Dasa’s idea of creating Lord Krishna’s tallest temple. Situated in Vrindavan, Vrindavan Chandrodaya Mandir, which will also be world’s tallest temple, will be developed to propagate Lord Krishna’s teachings throughout the world for the world is in a dire need of a spiritual guidance.

The world is dying of incessant sufferings. Greed, ambition and desires are the virtues that have over powered human conscience. In its spree of conquering the world, humans have forgotten the mere basics of life. Peace is a luxury not everyone can afford. And these times have impressed upon a sense of urgency where the world needs to be brought closer to salvation. Lord Krishna and his teachings is the best path to catharsis. And this notion has led to the inception of world’s tallest temple- Vrindavan Chandrodaya Mandir. MadhuPandit Dasa, who is also the Chairman of Vrindavan Chandrodaya Mandir, along with Sri Chanchalapathi Dasa, President of Vrindavan Chandrodaya Mandir met honorable President. He briefed the president about the temple and its objectives.

The views and plans were greatly appreciated by Mr. Mukherjee who even expressed his support for spreading Lord Krishna’s teachings to the world. He also lauded Mr Madhu Pandit for the genesis of such a project. This project aims at spreading awareness in India and all over the world about Lord Krishna and his teachings. The teachings might have been old but bear an all the more relevance in the today’s eon.

This would also encompass spreading the teachings of Bhagwad Gita, the scripture that has often been referred to as the holy grail of worldly truth. The project is aimed at bringing about a spiritual and mental stability in the current scenario that reeks of utter chaos.

Akshay Patra’s Hubballi Kitchen visited by the Nobel Laureate Prof. Muhammad Yunus

The Nobel Laureate, Prof. Muhammad Yunus, Founder of Grameen Bank visited the Hubballi kitchen of Akshaya Patra, a widely known and globally acknowledged nonprofit organization on 7th February 2016. Various renowned dignitaries like Anousheh Ansari, Co-founder, Chairwoman and CEO of Prodea Systems and Dr “Desh” Deshpande of the Deshpande Foundation accompanied Prof. Yunus.

Sridhar Venkat, CEO-Akshaya Patra along with other members of the organization extended a warm welcome to Prof. Yunus and the other visitors. Mr. Venkat acquainted Prof. Yunus about the operations of the NGO and its process of catering to school students in and around Hubballi.

Talking about his visit prof. yunus highlighted the noble causes of akshay patra stating that,“This has been a great visit and it is wonderful to see how Akshaya Patra is reaching out to children in a huge way and addressing malnutrition for India’s children.

He further added that, “Akshaya Patra is dealing with the critical issue of malnutrition in a manner so beautifully that nobody can beat it and hence it should further scale up so that more number of children can receive Akshaya Patra’s meals and become physically fit and mentally ready to absorb things around.”

Overwhelmed by the kitchen tour, Anousheh Ansari said, “I was completely blown away looking at the kitchen operation, the attention given to every step of the process and quality control. I walked into the kitchen and the aroma was so appetizing which clearly indicates the great quality of the meals. I cannot think of a better purpose one can dedicate their lives to than serving food to children. The dedication with which the team functions is amazing; working on weekends to make sure that hot meals are served to children is a validation of the wonderful job that you guys are doing. Congratulations!”

The overall excellence of the organization and its commendable services to the society were acknowledged in the form of an award presented to Sridhar Venkat by Prof. Muhammad Yunus and Dr “Desh” Deshpande at the Development Dialogue, 2016 held at the Deshpande Foundation.

Expressing his delight and gratitude Mr. Venkat stated that, “It was an honour to welcome Prof. Muhammad Yunus, Nobel Laureate, Founder of Grameen Bank to Akshaya Patra Hubballi. Prof.  Yunus encouraged Akshaya Patra for the work which we are doing and spent quality time in the early morning hours on 7 February, Sunday. We at Akshaya Patra are thankful to Prof. Yunus and his colleagues for taking out time on a Sunday morning to visit the Akshaya Patra kitchen. This will further encourage us to reach out to a multitude of children and serve them better.”

Akshaya Patra- One of the most effective NGOs

Akshaya Patra, one of the leading non-profit organizations working for the noble cause of eradicating hunger and poverty from India has garnered a great feedback for its impeccable services. The internet is flooded with positive Akshaya Patra reviews which hold a mirror to the power of nutrition and education in transforming the lives of children struggling to survive against all odds.  On an average, the organization provides mid day meals to around 1.4 million children every day. It aims at reaching around 5 million children by the year 2020. With the vision of serving the underprivileged sections of the society, the organization has achieved considerable success in eliminating hunger and poverty and emerged as one of the most effective NGOs.

A review describing the visit to Namma Kiriya Prathamika Shalley, Bengaluru highlights the commendable services of Akshaya Patra. It shows how Akshaya Patra is effective in serving mid-day meals to the students. The hearty laughs & innocent smiles of the students and cheerful environment of Namma Kiriya Prathamika Shalley reflect the success of Akshaya Patra in ensuring the welfare of deprived sections of society.

When asked about the food served by Akshaya Patra, Shirisha, a student of Namma Kiriya Prathamika Shalley stated that, “Akshaya Patra’s food is very tasty and it increases my concentration and helps me remain active in class.”

Vinitha K who is a student of Standard VI said that, ““I love the food that Akshaya Patra is providing us. The food keeps me energetic throughout the day and I can practice my dance lessons without getting tired.”

Akshaya Patra garners positive reviews for its noble services

Due to the major issue of unequal distribution of wealth, the world is divided into two parts: The ‘haves’ and ‘have not’s’. But there are a few organizations which work for the welfare of underprivileged people and ensure them the basic requirements. These non government organizations are usually led and setup by ordinary citizens for the growth and welfare of the society. Akshaya Patra Foundation is one such non-profit organization with the major objective of feeding poor children and ensuring their education.

On an average, the organization provides mid day meals to around 1.4 million children every day.  The organization is lead by Madhu Pandit Dasa who is a devotee of Lord Krishna and looks forward to serving humanity. As per Akshaya Patra Reviews conducted by various organizations, the people working for the organization are effective as well as efficient as in less than five hours they make thousands of Indian flatbread to be served and transported to various schools and educational institutions.

In less than 15 years, Akshaya PatraFoundation has gained considerable success in eliminating hunger and poverty and is considered as one of the most effective NGO. At present the organization reaches around 1.5 million children belonging to the backward areas. By 2020 the organization aims at reaching around 5 million children every day for the development of rural areas and the country as a whole. It focuses on the major and most important social issues and aims at eliminating the ills like child malnourishment, deficiencies of calories and other essential nutrients, child mortality and illiteracy.

Akshaya Patra garners positive reviews for its noble services

Due to the major issue of unequal distribution of wealth, the world is divided into two parts: The ‘haves’ and ‘have not’s’. But there are a few organizations which work for the welfare of underprivileged people and ensure them the basic requirements. These non government organizations are usually led and setup by ordinary citizens for the growth and welfare of the society. Akshaya Patra Foundation is one such non-profit organization with the major objective of feeding poor children and ensuring their education.

On an average, the organization provides mid day meals to around 1.4 million children every day.  The organization is lead by Madhu Pandit Dasa who is a devotee of Lord Krishna and looks forward to serving humanity. As per Akshaya Patra Reviews conducted by various organizations, the people working for the organization are effective as well as efficient as in less than five hours they make thousands of Indian flatbread to be served and transported to various schools and educational institutions.

In less than 15 years, Akshaya Patra Foundation has gained considerable success in eliminating hunger and poverty and is considered as one of the most effective NGO. At present the organization reaches around 1.5 million children belonging to the backward areas. By 2020 the organization aims at reaching around 5 million children every day for the development of rural areas and the country as a whole. It focuses on the major and most important social issues and aims at eliminating the ills like child malnourishment, deficiencies of calories and other essential nutrients, child mortality and illiteracy.

Be a partner in madhu pandit dasa’s vision for health and education

Akshaya Patra Foundation with its chairman as Madhu Pandit Dasa has been established with a vision to provide food to children The organization has been working hard for this purpose and helping it have been various partners.
Akshaya Patra has partnered with Swiggy which is a food ordering and delivery company. The two organizations came together this Independence day with a common initiative of ‘Freedom from Hunger’ which aims to free children from hunger and illiteracy. With this partnership, the two organizations expect to raise funds enough to feed 200 children for a year.
CashKaro.com , India’s No.1 Cashback and Coupon site has also partnered with Akshaya Patra Foundation. Earn cashback on more than 500 brands and donate some or all of your cashback for this noble cause via CashKaro.com
Another company with which Akshaya has partnered is GOOD FOOD FOR GOOD, a Toronto based social enterprise. This company has been donating a meal for every single sale they make.
Jackfruit365 was created to make Jackfruit available to the public throughout the year. The objective was to bring down the wastage of the highly nutritious fruit and substitute for the fibre deficiency in a normal person’s average diet. JackFruit365 has partnered with Akshaya Patra and would contribute to in three ways - for every pack sold, the JackFruit365 team would donate a sponsorship fee for 5 mid-day meals; request their partners (restaurants and corporate cafeterias) for every meal they serve with JackFruit365 to donate for one midday meal; and finally, request all their well-wishers to donate generously to Akshaya Patra and help bring poor children to schools.
Kavita Vision has chosen to support Akshaya Patra by donating by 1% of each online sale from its ventures Radhavallabh.com and Krishnastores.com towards the mid-day meal programme.
MyCopie, a stationary brand for students, has partnered with Akshaya Patra to do their bit to feed hungry children across India. To accomplish this, for every notebook sold, MyCopie is donating a part of their revenue to the Foundation, so that children do not have to forego their education due to lack of food.
PriceBurp.com, Saavn, Tweet2Health and many other companies have partnered with Akshaya Patra Foundation to help strengthen the drive that has been initiated to feed children and keep them healthy and facilitate their education.​

Akshaya Patra inaugurates phase-2 of its Mangalore Kitchen

Moving ahead with its aim of feeding school children, Akshaya Patra recently launched the Phase-2 of the Mangalore Kitchen of Akshaya Patra Foundation on June 17, Tuesday. The NGO is helping students realize their dreams by making their foundations strong. Many grow to become doctors, engineers, sports personalities, and what not.

The inauguration ceremony was held at Urwa Market at Mangalore. It was attended by District in-charge Minister B. Ramanatha Rai, Moideen Bava MLA, Karunya Sagar Dasa, President of the Akshaya Patra Foundation, Mangalore, ISKCON office bearers, school teachers and some other officials.

District in-charge Minister B. Ramanatha Rai delivered an address to the audience and was all praise for the immense work and support of Akshaya Patra Foundation towards school children. He praised the mid-day meal scheme of the government and the important role the NGO is playing in making it a reality.

Sri Madhu Pandit Dasa, Chairman, the Akshaya Patra Foundation said that the foundation started the Akshaya Patra meal programme with feeding 1500 children in Bangalore. The foundation thought that the maximum they could feed would not be more than 30000 children. But today they are feeding 15 lakh children, which he stated is unbelievable for them. This shows the potency of the programme and its scalability, he said.

Sri Madhu Pandit Dasa emphasized that the Akshaya Patra meal has the potential to break the recurring cycle of poverty and promote self-sustainability. Many children have got engineering and medical seats and some got placed in software companies as well.

Meet Madhu Pandit Dasa, Who Has Been Giving Free Mid-Day Meals To School Children For 15 Yrs

Its 12 noon at the government school in DJ Halli, northeast Bengaluru. Hundreds of little faces are fixed on the van that has carried their lunch. For 15 years, every afternoon, the Bengaluru headquartered Akshaya Patra Foundation (APF) has been bringing smiles on faces of 1.4 million children.

indoamerican

And in a few weeks, it will serve its two billionth meal.

APF, founded by IITian Madhu PanditDasa who was conferred the Padma Shri last month, is the world’s largest school lunch

“I still remember the day when I took the first meal to a government school. The children loved it. I did not believe that we would go with the food the next day. But for 15 years now, we have been able to sustain,” Dasa said. From ensuring that no child in India shall be deprived of education because of hunger, the scheme has won many accolades for its transparency, hygiene and tech savvy delivery of cooked meals.

iskconbangalore

Says APF CEO Shridhar Venkat: “Growth has not been a challenge but sustainably growing is a challenge. Every time we start a kitchen, children come with a hope that they will get a good meal every day. Ensuring food safety especially at the school level which is the last mile and on a daily basis is a challenge. The road ahead is to implement innovative ideas in operations, fundraising and sourcing. We also would like to freely share our learnings with any organisation or an individual who wants to work on alleviating hunger amongst children.”

Akshaya Patra Foundation

APF trustee T V Mohandas Pai told TOI: “I think the reason for our success has been how different competencies which are mutually inclusive and collectively exclusive have come together to fight hunger among children.”

PM Narendra Modi has congratulated the foundation for the milestone. “I am happy to learn that the foundation will complete 15 years of serving midday meal to schoolchildren and will serve its second billionth meal soon. These milestones and efforts inspire many to serve children,” he said.

Madhu Pandit Dasa-At A Glance

Madhu Pandit Dasa was born in 1956 in Trivandrum.An IIT Alumnus ,he completed B.Tech in Civil Engineering from IIT-Mumbai in 1980. Madhu Pandit Dasa serves as the President ofISKCON Banglore. ,Chairman of the Akshaya patra Foundation and Chairman of Vrindavan Chandrodaya Mandir.He joined the Akshaya Patra Foundation in July 2000. He joined the foundation in order to serve the underpriviledged children by providing mid-day meals at Governemnt chools of Bengaluru Rural District.
He also gave the foundation a working governance model,where transparency and accountability are the core values.Akshaya patra has become one of the few trustworthy NGO by following these values.Under his guidence, Akshaya Patra has been awarded the Institute of Chartered Accountant Gold Shield Award for Excellence in Financial Reporting.
Madhu pandit Dasa took the teaching from Srila Prabhupada,the founder -Acharya Iskcon . He got inspiration from Srila Prabhupada.
Madhu Pandit Dasa has been rewarded Padma Shri Award on 67 Republic Day by the Government of India.

Madhu Pandit Dasa conceives the 300 crore & 210-metre-high project, Chandrodaya Mandir

Chandrodaya Mandir, the Rs. 300 crore and 210-metre-high project by the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON) was conceived by Madhu Pandit Dasa, Chairman of Akshaya Patra Foundation. The International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON) was applauded by the President Pranab Mukherjee for undertaking the construction of this project. The temple would be three times taller than the Qutub Minar. Madhu Pandit Dasa stated that the construction of this temple will enhance the beauty of Vrindavan. It will be a marvel gracing the city and help in making Vrindavan a hub of religious tourism. The foundation stone of the temple was laid on March 16 and it is expected to be completed in five years.  The project supports the welfare programmes for the widows of vrindavan and the restoration of important sites of Braj.

“The present project will hopefully generate positive spin-offs both for local society and the economy. I am confident that ISKCON will continue to partner both the Central and the State governments in their efforts aimed at social change and reformation,” said Mr. Mukherjee at the Anantha Sthapana Puja on the temple premises at Vrindavan.

The President said the temple would be an architectural marvel seeking to recreate the glory and the times of Lord Shri Krishna. “It shall enable thousands of pilgrims who congregate at Vrindavan every year the opportunity of experiencing new levels of spiritual consciousness. The temple would strive to disseminate the philosophical message of the Bhagavad Gita and Srimad Bhagavatam in an easy to understand and rational manner.” he said.

Madhu Pandit Dasa celebrates Radhashtami at ISKCON temple, Bangalore

True devotees of Lord Krishna not only celebrate Janamashtami with great fervor and vigor, but also religiously wait for the celebrations of Radhashtami. Radhashtami, also known as the appearance day of Srimati Radharani, is celebrated a fortnight after Sri Krishna Janamashtami. Srimati Radharani is revered as the eternal partner of Lord Krishna and is deeply worshipped. For the followers of Gaudiya Vaishnava Sampradaya, Radhashtami is considered to be one of the most important festivals. This year, ISKCON Bangalore celebrated Radhashtami on 21^st September. Present at the celebrations along with hundreds of devotees was Madhu Pandit Dasa, chairman, Akshaya Patra Foundation.

Ancient scriptures read that with the mercy of Srimati Radharani, it becomes easier for one to approach Lord Krishna and enter into a transcendental

By the mercy of Srimati Radharani, one can easily approach Lord Krishna and enter into His transcendental association.

Their Lordships Sri Radha Krishnachandra were gorgeously decorated and offered special services. 108 names of Srimati Radharani were chanted whilst flowers were being offered during Pushpanjali Seva. The deities were also served with 56 types of delicacies.

The evening gleamed in the grand ‘abhisheka’ and worship of Sri Radha Krishnachandra. Their Lordships were anointed with white sesame paste and bathed with panchamrita, panchagavya, fruit juices and herbal extracts. Then, a paste made up of sandal was applied on the idols and the Deities were given a shower bath sieved through flowers, fruits and jewelries placed on a plate. Madhu Pandit Dasa was a part of these rituals and various sevas.

Following this was an elaborate Aarti followed by kalashabhisheka with holy water from 108 kalashas while enchanting Purusha Sukta prayers.

There was a video presentation on different places of pilgrimage in and around Vrindavana and also excerpts from Srila Prabhupada’s lectures on the glories of Srimati Radharani.

Madhu Pandit Dasa Biography

Madhu Pandit Dasa (former name Madhusudan S) was born in 1956 in Nagercoil, India. As a degree student, he was selected by the National Science Talent search program of the country. He completed his B.Tech in Civil Engineering from IIT-Mumbai in the year 1980. During his days in IIT, he became interested in the books of Srila Prabhupada, the founder-acharya of ISKCON. While he was doing his M.Tech course in IIT-Mumbai in 1981, he decided to dedicate himself to the service of Lord Krishna by becoming a full-time missionary member of ISKCON.

In 1994, he initiated an integrated social development project for the benefit of the rural people of Mysore and Mandya districts. A model, prototype organic farm based on natural and earth-friendly farming methods along with an internationally accredited farmer-training center has been setup in the 110-acre land on the banks of river Kaveri in Srirangapatam.

The primary purpose of this is to establish self-sufficient farming communities. The farming techniques employed are traditional and organic to promote pro-environmental agriculture. Hundreds of farmers are deriving inspiration to adopt environmental and soil friendly agricultural methods researched and disseminated scientifically from this model farm. Rural women are trained in this farm in the practices and methods of organic farming. This farm is also supporting hundreds of farmers during the transition from chemical to organic farms. Many neighboring farms have successfully converted into organic farms.

He initiated the Akshaya Patra program to provide mid-day meals to underprivileged children in the Government schools of Bangalore Rural District during July 2000.

Madhu Pandit hopeful about the budget to focus on mid-day meals

Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s budget is being awaited by all as the promise of a ‘Transformational Budget’ has set each one hopeful. The upcoming budget has also inspired aspirations for boosting up the National Programme of Mid Day Meals in schools. The Akshaya Patra Foundation is hopeful about the Mid Day Meal (MDM) scheme as this will enhance the support from the Government and hence more children can be helped across the country.

Madhu Pandit Dasa, Chairman of the Akshay Patra Foundation, feels that the upcoming budget will push forward the MDM programme. As MDM has become one of the largest programmes all across the world for boosting school children in India, the budget will definitely be decisive about pushing the programme forward.

UN has declared 2015 to be the international year of evaluation of Millennium Development Goals. This has further increased the hopes from the budget that it will focus on bettering and expanding the MDM programme.

The Akshay Patra Foundation operates on the model of Public Private Partnership. So a better support from the Government will help the NGO immensely.

About Akshay Patra Foundation

The foundation was incepted in 2000 and is not-for-profit organization running the mid-day meal programme. The Foundation is working in collaboration with the Central and State Governments and is currently feeding over 1.4 million children across 10,661 Government and Government aided schools in 23 locations, across 10 states of India every day.

Akshaya Patra supports UNICEF’s ‘World’s largest Lesson’

Indian NGO, Akshaya Patra Foundation has lent its support to a campaign started by UNICEF and Global Goals Campaign titled at ‘The world’s largest lesson’. This is a sustainability oriented campaign wherein children in over 100 countries across the world will be taught about new sustainable development goals.

Under this campaign, specifically created lesson materials including an animated film by author and education expert Ken Robinson will be provided to the children. These materials will acquaint kids with the Global Sustainability Goals. A downloadable comic book created by Karl Kesel, Grace Allison and Josh Elder would also be a part of the study material ensemble.

“The World’s Largest Lesson is a fantastic opportunity to tell all children, everywhere what the Global Goals are and how they can play their part to make sure they are achieved,” said Richard Curtis, founder of the campaign.

Anthony Lake, executive director for UNICEF said, “The campaign will do more than teach children about the global goals. It will engage them in the effort to achieve those goals- educating them about the challenges that are shaping their futures and encouraging them to drive change in their own communities.”

Supporting this drive is Akshaya Patra Foundation, which provides midday meal to 1.4 million children every day. Madhu Pandit Dasa, Chairman, Akshaya Patra Foundation said, “ We are proud to be associated with this drive started by UNICEF. Children are the future of the global civilization. By imparting them knowledge about sustainability goals, we are in a way making our future better.”

Bollywood Superstar Hrithik Roshan has been roped in to be India’s brand ambassador for ‘ The world’s largest lesson’. This puts him in the league of other global brand ambassadors for the 

President Pranab Mukherjee meets Sri Madhu Pandit Dasa

Sri Madhu Pandit Dasa, the Chairman and Sri Chanchalapathi Dasa, the President of Vrindavan Chandrodaya Mandir, met with Sri Pranab Mukherjee, the Honourable President of India. During the meeting, Sri Madhu Pandit Dasa briefed the Honourable President about the upcoming world’s tallest temple - Vrindavan Chandrodaya Mandir and various aspects of the project.
 
Sri Pranab Mukherjee was very appreciative of the Vrindavan Chandrodaya Mandir project and efforts of its team. He expressed his heartfelt good wishes for the project and said that he will always support any endeavour to spread the teachings of Lord Krishna. He also congratulated Sri Madhu Pandit Dasa for envisioning such a wonderful project to spread the glories of Lord Krishna, following in the footsteps of Srila Prabhupada and Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu.

Vrindavan Chandrodaya Mandir aims to bring about an awakening among Indians and create a nation that is not only full of talent, creativity and energy but also adorned with exalted values and character.  We wish to make a bold statement about the importance of Lord Sri Krishna and His divine mission in the world, using contemporary architectural language. The tall, imposing skyscraper temple should proclaim the status of Vrindavan as one of India’s spiritual capitals. The temple will draw attention of the world’s thinkers, leaders and inquisitive minds to know more about Lord Sri Krishna and His soothing, healing message for the harried world.
 
Madhu Pandit Dasa thanked The President for his support and said “We feel highly honoured and encouraged by the gesture extended by The Honourable President of India, Sri Pranab Mukherjee. Vrindavan Chandrodaya Mandir will not only house a temple for the worship of Lord Sri Krishna, but will also become a centre for disseminating the profound message of the Bhagavad Gita and Srimad Bhagavatam, delivered in a modern context. This project is dedicated to play a larger role in shaping the future of this country.”