ISKCON temples need no introduction, and there are plenty of them all over India now. I have visited quite a few of them, and though I have passed by the one at Tirupati on every one of my visits, I have never felt like entering it. Tirupati to me is a city of ancient temples, and they are what attract me, no matter what their condition. I have never been enthusiastic about the newer ones, though I must admit that this one is beautiful! Maybe I should visit this temple next time just to take some photos! Meanwhile, if you want to know more about this temple
Tirupati, not being a big city, has volunteer devotees (seventy brahmacaris), most of them from materially lower-middle income sections of society and not very highly trained or educated backgrounds. This is in contrast to ISKCON Chowpatty where the brahmacaris have higher material educational backgrounds. To have highly qualified devotees like Chowpatty world wide is a difficult thing, so the devotee care model at Tirupati is another option for upcoming temple communities with relatively scarce resources available. These programs at Tirupati have been going on for a long time very smoothly, and both ashramites and congregational devotees are growing in strength and quality. All devotees are happy and the book distribution program remains a top priority.
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