Around 50 kms away from the city of Buenos Aires, Argentina is home to the `City Of Wisdom, Hastinapur’
Spread over 12 acres of land this city is different than the city in Meerut district of India which according to Hindu texts (Mahabharata and Puranas) is described as the capital of the Kuru Kingdom; it has also been mentioned in ancient Jain texts.
The City of Wisdom Hastinapur in Argentina was set up in 1981 by Ms Ada Albrecht who actually introduced the Indian philosophy to the country.
In Argentina’s Hastinapur, the city of wisdom (ciudad de la sabiduria), has dozen Indian gods and an equal number of Argentines. Some reside in authentic temples, while others bask in the fragrance of the flowers from the garden outside.
There are temples dedicated to Lord Ganesh, Lord Krishna, Lord Surya, Lord Narayana and Lord Siva, and other deities.
As it is Hastinapur, there is a temple dedicated to Pandavas as well.
The local people come here for wisdom, religious hymns and spiritual studies and can also gorge on scrumptious vegetarian food.
Gustavo Canzobre, director of the Hastinapur College of Professors told Financial Express Online that the City was founded in 1981 by Professor Ada Albrecht, who was taught in Rishikesh by the monks in 1973 and 1977 and was inspired by the Vedantic Philosophy.
Gustavo Canzobre, director of the Hastinapur College of Professors told Financial Express Online that the City was founded in 1981 by Professor Ada Albrecht, who was taught in Rishikesh by the monks in 1973 and 1977 and was inspired by the Vedantic Philosophy.
Canzobre adds that “Professor Albrecht’s philosophy was to promote and teach the existence of God and the divine spiritual essence of human beings, using Spiritual Universalism as the means". The Foundation has opened 30 branches in other countries including Bolivia, Colombia and Uruguay as well as many more in Argentina itself. In 1982, the Hastinapur Publishing House was created to publish Mystical Books and Scriptures from all over the world, he says.
Although, the books from the West are easy to translate, the Scriptures from the East including India are being translated into Spanish, Canzobre informs. “This year we hope to complete the translation and publishing full version of Mahabharata’s twelve volumes and last year we had translated and published Upanishads,” he added. Other Indian books including the Bhagavad Gita, Bhakthi Sutras,Upanishads, Srimad Bhagvatam and Yoga Sutras have also been translated