THE TEMPLE

 

 

The previous temple building (pictured here) was constructed in 1979 by the hands of the New Talavana devotees, with renovations made in 1987.

In 2021, we received a generous donation to begin building a new temple. The previous temple now serves as our community hall.

HOW IT CAME TO BE

Dr. Jagdish Somani was practicing medicine in Pittsburgh for many years and, while living there, he several times visited the Hare Krishna Temple (New Vrindavana) in nearby West Virginia. He was impressed by the standard of temple worship and the sincerity of the devotees in New Vrindavana. Once, while visiting India he went to the ISKCON Mandira in Sri Vrindavana-dhama. While there, he became a Life Member of ISKCON.

Sometime later, Dr Somani retired, and his wife, Nirmala, passed away. Then the pandemic started, and during this period of restricted social activity, he began to think about doing something meaningful with the balance of his life. He accepted a temporary medical assignment in North Carolina and, while there, decided to visit Prabhupada Village, an ISKCON Temple community in the NC foothills. He stayed there for some time and rendered valuable service in that community.

Circumstantially, Dr. Somani decided to visit the ISKCON farm community in Southern Mississippi. Upon arriving in New Talavana, he was attracted to the serene, sub-tropical setting and, of course, the beautiful Deities in the temple. Jagdish came with an open mind and a benevolent heart, inquiring about the needs of the community. The infrastructure was functional but aged. He heard about the need for housing, guest facilities, a new milking barn and a memorial for Srila Prabhupada, who stayed at the farm shortly after it was founded in 1974. The temple staff then informed Jagdish about some of the shortcomings of the current temple building. He became contemplative and did some research. The next morning, he got up and announced, “I want to build a new Temple for Lord Krishna!” He also later informed us that he wanted to build this temple in loving memory of his departed wife, Nirmala.

On December 31, 2021, Dr. Somani opened an account with the temple and deposited seed money to get the project started. He called his friend, Mr. Deva Nagar, who is an accomplished architect, having designed several temples. He informed Mr. Nagar of his desire to build a temple and then began consulting with Sriraga Prabhu, the construction expert in the community, and other devotees about the desired features of the new temple. The architect, Deva Nagar, then began creating preliminary drawings of the project. On September 16, 2021, a ceremony worshiping Goddess Bhumi (Mother Earth) and a cornerstone laying ceremony were performed commemorating the official start of the project!

On March 20, 2022, the construction began, with Dr. Somani assuming the role of Project Director, providing general oversight and taking an active role in fundraising. Sriraga Prabhu was happy to accept the role of Construction Manager, with a small, hand-picked crew of experienced workers.

Four years later, the new temple opened to the public on May 17, 2026 with days of festivities and celebrations commemorating the grand opening. Many hundreds of people attended, and the events were well covered on social media.

Please tell your friends, invite your neighbors, and together we shall make the glories of Sri-Sri Radha-Radhakanta know throughout the state of Mississippi.

Hare Krishna!
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To get involved with future development projects at New Talavana, please contact Dr. Jagdish Somani at: