In 1972, Srila Prabhupada laid the foundation stone of the Sri Sri Radha Rasabihari temple at Hare Krishna Land, Juhu, Mumbai. The temple opened in 1978 and has become a must-visit pilgrim center with thousands of pilgrims streaming in daily.

On 3 December 2003, the Heaven on Earth project was inaugurated at Sri Sri Radha Rasabihari Temple, Juhu, Mumbai, within the premises of Hare Krishna Land. The Heaven on Earth project is a Vedic educational and cultural complex as inspired by Srila Prabhupada.

The inauguration: Those present included Gopal Krishna Goswami (left), Srimati Rajshree Birla (center), and Sridhar Swami.

At the inauguration, Gopal Krishna Maharaja described Srila Prabhupada as a pure devotee of the Lord whose only purpose was to spread the message of Krishna. Maharaja then invited devotees and guests to participate in the Heaven on Earth project in whichever way possible. Prominent citizens of Mumbai said it was their privilege to be part of the Sri Sri Radha Rasabihari Temple expansion, which is a project very dear to Srila Prabhupada.

Amongst the guests present were Srimati Rajshree Birla (Birla Group), Shri Venugopal Dhoot (Videocon Group), Shri D.B. Gupta (Lupin Group), and Shri Hrishikesh Mafatlal (Mafatlal Group).

As part of the inauguration ceremony, a yajna was performed and devotees and guests initiated the construction by digging on a plot of ground.

Heaven on Earth will house a center for Vedic education, a mass feeding hall, a multimedia and audio animatronics theatre, a spiritual boutique, a guesthouse, a Vedic samskara hall, Govinda's Restaurant, and an underground car parking facility.

Parijata devi dasi
Mumbai

© dipika.org December 17, 2003