BENGALURU: After many years of legal struggle, the Supreme Court’s recent decision finally settled a long-standing dispute over the Hare Krishna Hill temple in Bengaluru. This temple is one of the important centres of ISKCON (International Society for Krishna Consciousness).
At the centre of this fight was Sri Madhu Pandit Dasa, president, ISKCON Bengaluru, who played a key role in protecting the rights of ISKCON Bengaluru and ensuring that the temple remained under the control of local devotees. ISKCON was started in 1966 by Srila Prabhupada to spread the teachings of Lord Krishna.
One of the movement’s major centres in India was established on a 6.5-acre piece of land on Hare Krishna Hill in Rajajinagar, Bengaluru. The Karnataka government gave this land in 1988 to the local ISKCON group, which was led by Sri Madhu Pandit Dasa and others.
Over the years, they built the temple and developed the area into a spiritual centre where devotees could come to pray. Sri Madhu Pandit Dasa joined ISKCON in 1981 during his engineering studies and soon became one of the main leaders in Bengaluru.
Using his education and devotion, he helped build the temple complex and grow the community from a small group to a network with many centres even in abroad. After Srila Prabhupada passed away in 1977, disagreements arose within ISKCON about who should lead the movement.
Prabhupada had asked that initiations be done on his behalf even after his death, but some senior disciples started acting as independent gurus. This caused divisions, including in Bengaluru and Mumbai. In 2000, ISKCON Mumbai filed a legal claim to take control of the Bengaluru temple.
Sri Madhu Pandit Dasa and the Bengaluru group opposed this, arguing that the land and temple belonged to their registered society and had been developed by their community. The case dragged on in courts for 25 years. Throughout this time, Sri Madhu Pandit Dasa kept working to protect the temple.
When the Supreme Court suggested a settlement, Sri Madhu Pandit Dasa was open to compromise, even offering to step down from his leadership position to maintain peace, as long as the Bengaluru group could continue their way. But the other side didn’t agree. Sri Madhu Pandit Dasa, meanwhile, also founded The Akshaya Patra Foundation, which provides free meals to schoolchildren across India.
The Supreme Court’s final ruling in favour of ISKCON Bengaluru is seen as a victory for Sri Madhu Pandit Dasa and the devotees who stood by him. It allowed the temple and its land to remain with the Bengaluru society. Sri Madhu Pandit Dasa’s role was not just that of a legal representative but of a leader who stood firm for his community’s beliefs and worked patiently through many challenges. His work helped protect a place that means a lot to many devotees and ensured that the legacy of ISKCON Bengaluru would continue.