Bhagavad-gita Museum
Established | 1977 |
---|---|
Location | 3764 Watseka Ave., Los Angeles, California |
Coordinates | 34°01′31″N 118°23′50″W / 34.025332°N 118.397112°W |
Type | Art museum |
Owner | International Society for Krishna Consciousness |
Website | bgmuseum |
The Bhagavad-gita Museum, officially the Diorama-museum of Bhagavad-gita,[1] also known as the First American Transcendental Exhibition (FATE), is a multimedia art museum located in West Los Angeles, California. Established in 1977, it is dedicated to illustrating the philosophy of Bhagavad-gita and is owned and operated by the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON).
History
The Bhagavad-gita Museum was inspired by a diorama exhibit developed by Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati in the mid 1930s, consisting of dozens of dioramas dedicated to the philosophy of Krishna consciousness. In 1973 Sarasvati's student A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, the founder of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON), also known as the Hare Krishna movement, sent a group of disciples from the New York temple to Mayapur, India, to study the art of diorama doll making.[2] After fifteen months of studying the team returned and the construction of the dolls in the Los Angeles site began, the museum finally opening in 1977.[2] The museum is located in West Los Angeles near the border of Culver City, where a sizable Hare Krishna population resides.[3]
For the time, the museum was quite sophisticated: a computer was specially designed to synchronize the exhibition which included lighting, a
Exhibits
The exhibit consists of eleven dioramas. The almost life-sized
- "Introduction — Prabhupada and the Bhagavad-gita"
- "Setting the Stage"
- "Changing Bodies"
- "The Precarious Condition of the Living Entity"
- "Choices on the Path of Life"
- "Equal Vision of the Sages"
- "Krishna's Transcendental Manifestations"
- "God's Universal Form"
- "The Ocean of Birth and Death"
- "Lord Chaitanya's Sankirtan Festival"
- "Goloka — The Spiritual Realm"
Other amenities
The museum is adjacent to a restaurant serving vegetarian cuisine, and has a gift shop.[3][5]
Reception
In 1977, the year of its opening, the museum received media attention due to a photograph by
The museum was featured by
References
- ^ "Diorama-museum of Bhagavad-gita Home Page". Diorama-museum of Bhagavad-gita. ISKCON. Retrieved 9 February 2018.
- ^ a b c d "F.A.T.E. – the First American Theistic Exibition [sic] – Back To Godhead". Back to Godhead. 12 (7): 16–23. July 1, 1977. Retrieved 8 February 2018.
- ^ CBS Los Angeles. Archived from the originalon 11 March 2018. Retrieved 8 February 2018.
- ^ a b c "History of the Museum". Diorama-museum of Bhagavad-gita. ISKCON. 12 May 2017. Archived from the original on 4 February 2018. Retrieved 8 February 2018.
- ^ a b c d Ridenour, Al (8 July 2001). "Hare Rama, Diorama". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 8 February 2018.
- ^ a b Alfvegren, Skylaire (October 7–11, 2011). "Best Donation-Only Path to Enlightenment: Bhagavad-gita Museum | Best of L.A. 2011: Your Key to the City". LA Weekly. Vol. 33, no. 48. Retrieved 8 February 2018.
- ^ "Dioramas". Diorama-museum of Bhagavad-gita. ISKCON. 13 May 2017. Retrieved 8 February 2018.
- ISBN 9780252065668.
- ^ "Jayapataka Swami gets Indian citizenship". Back to Godhead. Vol. 14, no. 1. January 1979. Retrieved 9 February 2018.
- L.A. Weekly. Retrieved 8 February 2018.
- ^ "Obscura Day 2015: Bhagavad-gita Museum". Atlas Obscura. Archived from the original on 11 March 2018. Retrieved 9 February 2018.
- CBS Los Angeles. 12 February 2017. Retrieved 9 February 2018.