About Us

Mayapur Academy is located at ISKCON Mayapur, situated on the banks of the Ganges River, in Mayapur, West Bengal, India.

Mayapur Academy curriculum was developed and managed by ISKCON Deity Worship Ministry to fulfill Śrīla Prabhupāda’s desire for the development of deity worship and brahminical culture in ISKCON. It is a joint educational initiative of the ISKCON Mayapur Deity Department and ISKCON Deity Worship Ministry. Its prime function is to train devotees who aspire to take the role of brāhmaṇas and temple pūjārīs who are capable of fulfilling the needs of ISKCON communities.

By creating an educational institution of excellence in Mayapur to teach brahminical culture, arts and sciences, deity worship, cooking, saṁskāras etc. this vision will be fulfilled.

Mayapur Academy is open to all initiated devotees. Our thanks must go to our growing network of volunteers and well-wishers. Without your support in the form of service and donations, Mayapur Academy would not be where it is today. You too could be part of a team dedicated to raising brahminical consciousness worldwide.

About Us

Mayapur Academy is located at ISKCON Mayapur, situated on the beautiful banks of the Ganges River, in Mayapur, West Bengal, India. It is a joint educational initiative of the Mayapur Deity Department and ISKCON Deity Worship Ministry. Its prime function is to train devotees who aspire to take the role of temple pūjārīs and brāhmaṇas who are capable of fulfilling the needs of ISKCON communities.

Mayapur Academy has been established to fulfill Śrīla Prabhupāda’s desire for the development of deity worship and brahminical culture in ISKCON. By creating an educational institution of excellence in Mayapur to teach brahminical culture, arts and sciences, deity worship, cooking, saṁskāras etc. this vision will be fulfilled.

Mayapur Academy is open to all initiated devotees.Our thanks must go to our growing network of volunteers and well-wishers. Without their support in the form of service and donations, Mayapur Academy would not be where it is today. Remember, you could be part of our team too, raising brahminical consciousness worldwide. Why not volunteer, or help support our project?

Mayapur Academy is open to all initiated devotees.

Our thanks must go to our growing network of volunteers and well-wishers. Without their support in the form of service and donations, Mayapur Academy would not be where it is today. Remember, you could be part of our team too, raising brahminical consciousness worldwide. Why not volunteer, or help support our project?

About Us

History

In 1972, Śrīla Prabhupāda instructed Jananivāsa Prabhu, “to train up pūjārīs“, and Jananivāsa Prabhu has steadfastly worshiped Their Lordships Śrī Śrī Rādhā-Mādhava, and trained others to do the same, for the past 35 years. However he still felt that there was room to improve and expand his service, especially in regards to systematically training larger groups of devotees from around the world.

Following the success of a deity worship course offered during the Mayapur Festival, Jananivāsa Prabhu turned to Nṛsiṁha Kavaca Prabhu and asked, “So when are we opening a school?” From this was born the idea of creating a specialized academy in Mayapur to provide extensive brahminical training.

After years of planning, curriculum development and construction, Mayapur Academy was formally opened on the 7th December 2007. Amongst the guests were His Holiness Jayapatākā Swami and His Holiness Jayādvaita Swami, who both formally cut the opening ribbon together. Jayapatākā Swami praised Mayapur Academy saying, “This is like a dream come true”, adding that, “it was Prabhupāda’s desire that devotees get trained in the pañcarātrika system here in Mayapur’.

Facilities

Mayapur Academy has a unique complement of dedicated teaching facilities. The Academy has classrooms with separate rooms for deity dressing with sets of deities to train in different aspects of deity dressing, a deity kitchen classroom with eight six-gas-burner stoves, a lecture room, and a library with an expanding collection of devotional literature.

The excellent facilities at Mayapur Academy ensure that each student has a clean and structured learning environment to maximize the benefits of learning the brahminical arts.

Mayapur Academy campus is located on the second floor of the Caitanya Bhavan, just a few minutes walk from the Rādhā-Mādhava Temple.

Library

Mayapur Academy library has a wide variety of books on Vaisnava philosophy and culture in many languages. Devotees are welcome to come and study these books while visiting Mayapur.

There are also computers available for study or for viewing a selection of devotional videos and other multimedia.

The library is open daily from 10.30am to 1.30pm (except for Sundays).

Please let us know if you have Vaiṣṇava books that you would like to donate – the library is always looking for new resources to better serve the devotees.

Library

Mayapur Academy library has a wide variety of books on Vaisnava philosophy and culture in many languages. Devotees are welcome to come and study these books while visiting Mayapur.There are also computers available for study or for viewing a selection of devotional videos and other multimedia.The library is open daily from 9:30am to 5pm (except for Sundays).Please let us know if you have Vaiṣṇava books that you would like to donate – the library is always looking for new resources to better serve the devotees.

Meet the Team

Jananivāsa Dāsa

Has been worshiping Śrī Śrī Rādhā-Mādhava in Śrīdhāma Māyāpur since 1971. He was instructed by Śrīla Prabhupāda in the worship of deities and was also requested by Śrīla Prabhupāda to teach deity worship. His sincerity and purity are exemplary for the entire Vaiṣṇava community. He is the spiritual head and the inspiration behind Mayapur Academy.

Ānanda Tīrtha Dāsa

Is a member of the management team and the teaching staff. He facilitates the Saṁskāras and Mantra Units. He was trained at the Bhaktivedanta Academy (Mayapur Gurukula). He is also the correspondence secretary for the GBC.

Premanjana Dasa

Is the facilitator for the Brahminical Culture & Ethics Unit and several other units. He is also actively help with the management of Mayapur Academy.

Bhanu Swami

Bhānu Swami was initiated in 1971 by Śrīla Prabhupāda, who personally instructed him in deity worship. Within ISKCON he has become an authority on the topic. He is a scholar in Sanskrit and Bengali, and has translated fifteen significant Gauḍīya Vaiṣṇava works into English. Bhānu Swami has studied a variety of disciplines including astrology. He is a GBC member, spending time in South India and Japan.

Rādhā Sundarī Devī Dāsī

Is the facilitator of the ladies Saṁskāras Unit. Apart from being a busy mother, she is also the secretary for the GBC EC.

Murli Manohara Dasa

Is a senior pujari of Srī Srī Rādhā Londonisvara and a co-facilitator of several courses including the Temple Worship Unit.

Nṛsiṁha Kavaca Dāsa

Is a member of the management and curriculum development team. He co-facilitates several courses, and is the director of Mayapur Academy. He is also the GBC Minister for Deity Worship.

Kṛṣna Kānta Dāsa

Is a co-facilitator of several courses including the Dressing Unit, Festivals Unit and Temple Worship Unit and also helping with the social media. He is a Mayapur Pujari and full-time resident of Mayapur.

Hamsa Avatar Dasa

Is the co-administrator, technical support and co-facilitator of the Cooking Unit.

Ānanda Līlā Devī Dāsī

Is the dean of Mayapur Academy and the facilitator for the Dress Design Unit, the Women’s Cooking and Festivals Unit. She also is a co-facilitator of the Temple Worship Unit. She is also the Artistic Manager of ISKCON Deity Worship Ministry’s Dress Shop in Sridham Mayapur. Ananda Lila devi dasi is a full-time resident of Mayapur.

Kūrma Caitanya Dāsa

Is the facilitator for the dressing course in English/Russian, Bengali and Hindi. He is a Mayapur Pujari and full-time resident of Mayapur.

Hariballabhi Dāsī

Is the administrator and the accountant for Mayapur Academy and Mayapur Divine Threads. She is also the facilitator of the Jewellery Making and the Tulasi Units.

Bimla Prasad Dāsa

Is the facilitator for the Temple Worship Unit, the Brahminical Culture & Ethics Unit, the Gayatri Unit and several other units in Hindi and Bengali.