Rockefeller Dedicates Murals

Governor Jay Rockefeller of West Virginia stands with Mark Arian, also known as Muralidhar dasa (a spiritual name given during his years as a Hare Kṛṣṇa devotee), in front of one of two twenty-foot historical murals Muralidhar painted for the Wheeling Civic Center. The murals were officially dedicated by Governor Rockefeller on June 22, 1981.

The Wheeling newspaper noted that the Ohio Valley is fortunate to have an individual of his caliber.

Muralidhar served as artistic director for the nearby Palace of Gold, the Hare Kṛṣṇa movement's memorial to His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda.

Numerous articles have featured the Palace of Gold in prominent outlets such as The New York Times and The Washington Post. Muralidhar donated the $5,000 fee he received for each Wheeling mural to the Palace project.