SRI MADHWA SANGHA DELHI : A BRIEF HISTORY OF HOW THIS GREAT SAMSTHANA STARTED:

MODEST BEGINNING : It was way back in 1949 that a handful of spiritual minded residents of Delhi came together & discussed with a feeling of distress the gradual deterioration in the spiritual outlook and moral values in the society and the fear of extinction of knowledge of philosophy and traditional learning from the younger generation, considering all these aspects in mind they were convinced that the capital of the country requires a forum for discussion and propagation of the celebrated vedic values & in particular the teachings of SRI JAGADGURU SRIMAN MADHWACHARYA , which will have a great truthful bearing on the various aspects of everyday life.

Thus was born SRI MADHWA SANGHA, DELHI as a registered body with a noble objective of providing to all spiritual minded residents of this city a forum which would through its activities & services would ultimately uplift the souls from the bondage of samsara & the associated miseries and distress.

Delhi madhwa sangha started its activities on a very modest scale & would celebrate SRI MADHWA NAVMI , SRI RAGHAVENDRA SWAMIGALA ARADHANE & OTHER IMPORTANT EVENTS in the houses of some members with discussions on philosophy , puranas on sri madhwa siddhanta in particular, thus started this great sangha which to date has been a meeting point for all MADHWA’S in the capital city with celebrations round the year .

A TURNING POINT: The first turning point in the history of Madhwa sangha occurred in august ,1954 when the aradhane of rayaru was celebrated on a grand scale with the gracious blessings of SRI SRI SUYAMINDRA TIRTA SWAMIGALU , the then pontiff of MANTRALAYA SRI RAGHAVENDRA SWAMY MATHA who on the request of the president & members of MADHWA SANGHA blessed the sangha with SRI MULA MRITTIKA of SRI RAGHAVENDRA SWAMIGALU , A BIG PHOTO & PHALE MANTRAKSHATA & deputed Vidyaratna Sri Raghavendra s. Panchamukhi , a learned scholar of the mutt to give discourses on dwaita vedanta, rayara mahatmya & to guide the sangha here.Delhi madhwa sangha is highly indebted to srigalu for his gracious blessings.

Another special event which is continuing till date also is the special Ashtotthara being held by devotees every 2nd sunday of the month which was started way back in august 1954.

TOWARDS ITS OWN DEVASTHANA : The sangha was anxiously in search of a suitable, plot of land on which it could house its LORD UDUPI KRISHNA . It was only in July 1967 to be more precise on the eve of SRI RAYARA ARADHANA that a small piece of plot measuring 1117 sq.yards in SAFDARJUNG DEVELOPMENT AREA ( A-2 / 117 ) was allotted to MADHWA SANGHA by Delhi Development Authority ( or DDA as it is known ) for the construction of the much cherished temple & annexe buildings. The sangha has placed on record its gratitude & appreciation of the help it received from SRI S.V.KRISHNAMURTHY RAO, the then deputy speaker of the lok sabha & SRI JAYASUKHLAL HATHI, the then minister of state of home affairs & also an important role by one of our well wishers SRI.A.V.VENKATASUBBAN in getting the land allotted to the sangha.

There were many incidents / obstacles in the path of the construction of this bhavya mandira but one small but significant incident in the history of the sangha which we will mention was when DDA threatened to issue a notice of withdrawal of the plot if the sangha failed to pay the last instalment of RS 3421.50 / within the stipulated time frame. The madhwa sangha which today boasts of a bhavya mandira , a decent balance in funds & maintaining day to day running costs was in a crisis of sorts at that time at its inability to pay off a small amount as rs 3421.50 being the last instalment , but by the Anugraha of SRI HARI VAYU GURUGALU the then treasurer of the sangha SRI P.V.VENKATA RAO came forward & raised an over draft on his personal account & make this amount available to the sangha as an interest free loan to avert this crisis, we are greatly indebted to Sri Venkata Rao for his selfless service . The sangha has on its record a number of such sacrifices, selfless service & dedication on the part of many members whom we greatly value & appreciate.

Meanwhile the premises of the sangha had moved from one house to another, thanks to the magnanimity & sacrifice of its members . The house of Sri Anandathirta Rao at lady hardinge road, Sri D.B.Raghunatha Rao at pusa road , Sri Bhiman’s house on ludlow castle road were the venues for some time. The photo & Sri Mula Mrittika of Sri Rayaru was also worshipped in the annexe of DR.P.V.Chippalkatti’s house at sri ram institute of industrial research in the university enclave which was also the centre for all the spiritual activities of the sangha till it was shifted to its own premises in 1968. The first phase of the dream of the sangha was realised when an L-shaped small structure with brick & mortar was completed on a portion of its own plot in 1971 to provide the sanctum sanctorum & the service facilities to the devout members of the society at large.

UPS AND DOWNS : In its history of about 3 decades of the sangha till the early 70’s the sangha had periods of complete stagnation in its activities , phases of frustration & agonies which were relieved by moments of achievements & jubiliation , thanks to the excellent teamwork & dedication of its members & support of its well wishers. It also experienced the dealing with Jiwas of different gradations, capabilities, & qualities thus clearly confirming the great truth contained in the principle of JIWA BHEDA & JIWA TARATAMYA PREACHED BY OUR JAGATGURU SRIMAN MADHWACHARYA .

VIJAYADASAMI DIVASA’S SIGNIFICANCE : Also known as Madhwa jayanti divasa when VAYU DEVARU incarnated on this earth as SRI MADHWACHARYARU is very significant for our sangha as it was in the year 1967 on vijayadasami day that the scraping of the earth was effected to symbolise the start of the construction work, in 1969 on this auspicious day that a panchaloha idol of LORD KRISHNA was received as a donation from SRI S.R.RAO to the sangha & finally in 1971 on this day the first phase of the construction activity was started.

FUND RAISING : The sangha recalls with a sense of pride the strides of progress at that time in the efforts in raising funds & enthusing wider participation of its members . A major fund raising campaign was started in 1975 by coming out with an impressive souvenir thus helping to augment the funds of the sangha to a substantial extent. this success infused more confidence & a second major fund raising campaign was launched in 1977 which again helped us with a healthy balance sheet due to the anugraha of SRI HARI VAYU GURUGALU.

LORD KRISHNA’S SOJOURN IN BANGALORE : The last steps leading to the culmination of our own sri krishna mandira was the construction work & creation of the idols & the brundavana. Sivarapattana - a tiny village about 30 kms from bangalore which is a renowned centre for for shilpa kala was chosen for this & the famous silpi sri shankaracharya carried out this holy task.

Dr S.R RAO , the then superintending archaeologist of the southern circle , bangalore who had earlier donated the panchaloha idol of sri krishna also offered to donate the stone idol of lord udupi krishna & provide his expert supervision on the carving of the idols of sri krishna, pranadevaru & the brundavana of sri raghavendra guru sarvabhoumaru.

The idol of udupi krishna was completed in all its exquisite style in 1976 itself while his abode in Delhi - sri krishna mandira was taking shape only in the form of blue prints & designs, so the idol of sri krishna was shifted to the puja room of Dr S.R.RAO in bangalore which itself was built in the chalukyan temple style.target dates for completing the temple was being shifted from 1977 to 78 to 79 & finally to MAY1980. Devout madhwa sangha delhi members became rather restless & they performed japas, homas & parayana of sri rukminisa vijaya to induce lord udupi krishna to reach delhi soon & the lord yielded as he is bhakta paradheena & responded to our call.

SUSPENSE & THE FINAL THRILL : So finally the target date i,e may 1980 implied many tasks to be completed in a short time . construction of the Vimana gopura , a necessary component of a temple before the pratistapana cermony posed a big challenge but what is impossible if the lord himself is pleased ?? Thanks to the excellent masterly workmanship of Sri Ramachandra Sthapathy & his artisans all enjoying a close association with the school of temple architecture at Mahabalipuram - the job was accomplished.