We are extremely humbled and ecstatic to announce that by the mercy of His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda and by the supreme will of Śrī Śrī Rādhā-Madanmohan, on the 3rd of September, 2021, our Society here in Singapore has been officially renamed from ‘Sri Krishna Mandir’ to ‘International Sri Krishna Mandir’.

We are extremely grateful to the Singapore government for allowing us to have this new name which reflects the international missionary activities being carried out by ISKM temples in various countries.

This event is of great spiritual significance. It may not sound very remarkable to many who have started to know us only recently as they already know us as ISKM or International Sri Krishna Mandir. Well, the answer is we have been unofficially using the ISKM brand name till now. But now, it is the official registered name of our Society. The paperwork has taken almost a full year.

But if you look at it in another way, it took a full 50 years to get to this point! That’s right! It was 1971 when Śrīla Prabhupāda was stopped at the Singapore airport and was not allowed inside the country. The government back then did not have a favorable opinion of the Hare Kṛṣṇa movement for some reason. An attempt to register a Society in the year 1979 by His Grace Sundar Gopāl Prabhu was not successful for the same reason.

But the spiritual force resulting from the unfailing determination of His Grace Sundar Gopāl Prabhu to serve the sacred instructions of ​​Śrīla Prabhupāda eventually bore fruit. In 1997, the Singapore government had kindly awarded him the Society ‘Sri Krishna Mandir’ for him to conduct the preaching mission of Kṛṣṇa consciousness in Singapore. That was indeed a major blessing of Lord Kṛṣṇa through the agency of the Singapore government.

Over the last decade especially, His Grace Sundar Gopāl Prabhu had traveled far and wide to many countries to help establish temples there and guided thousands of devotees. Thanks to his monumental efforts, we now have temples in more than 15 countries. Our movement has truly evolved into an international one. Although there is no legal or financial binding between any of the ISKM centers in the different countries, we have worked with a very strong mutual cooperation just as Śrīla Prabhupāda had wanted his disciples to.

Rewarding all the tireless efforts of His Grace Sundar Gopāl Prabhu, Lord Kṛṣṇa and Śrīla Prabhupāda decided to give him a small but significant birthday gift. Now, His Grace Sundar Gopāl Prabhu’s birthday according to lunar calculation falls on the Ekādaśī after Śrīla Prabhupāda’s Vyāsa-pūjā celebrations.

And so, on the 3rd of September, 2021, on the Ekādaśī after the very important 125th anniversary of Śrīla Prabhupāda’s appearance, exactly 50 years after the incident of Śrīla Prabhupāda not being allowed into Singapore, the pleasant news of the approval of our new name arrived. Our application for a change of name to International Sri Krishna Mandir was approved by the Singapore government.

This important incident has only filled him with renewed transcendental enthusiasm to establish the movement in Singapore on an even more solid footing. He wants to somehow or other establish a permanent temple premises here so that the preaching of Kṛṣṇa consciousness can continue long into the future.

It is with immense gratitude towards His Grace Sundar Gopāl Prabhu that we announce this phenomenal piece of news because without his industrious efforts in establishing Kṛṣṇa consciousness in Singapore, there would be no possibility of our spiritual lives blossoming, and there would be no possibility of an opportunity of service for all the thousands of people who have come in contact with the temple in the last 46 years that he has been preaching here. If not for his honesty in serving Śrīla Prabhupāda’s instructions, so many devotees in all parts of the world would not have been blessed with the shelter of Śrīla Prabhupāda through the Ṛtvik system of initiations.

Let us offer our humble obeisances at the feet of His Grace Sundar Gopāl Prabhu, who is a very dear sincere servant of His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda, and our śikṣā-guru on behalf of Śrīla Prabhupāda. Hare Kṛṣṇa!