temple improvement efforts - followup on recent discussions

[Guest guest]

srImathE rAmAnujAya namah

 

dear devotees,

 

In the past couple of weeks, there has been some

renewed discussion regarding our temples, the

current state of them, and the need to help those

temples in need. The discussions were centered

arounda couple of examples - kapisthalam,

maNdangudi and thiru-k-kUdalUr.

 

There is a group of volunteers who have worked

on this issue for a few years now. I am part

of that group, and hence I am sending this email

to share information regarding our efforts.

 

Sometime ago (in 1999/2000), we started the concept

of "adopt a divyadEsam", where a committment of about

3000 rupees per divyadEsam was sought. With this money

the daily expenses needed to perform thiruvAradhanam,

cook prasAdam, light lamps etc. would be met. With

some money left over, once in two months or so,

vasthrams would be bought for the Lord and thAyAr in

the temple. The funds were routed through a trust in

India to a few temples, and this went on for a while.

Though there were many improvements to be made in this

mode of operation (local involvement etc. was

lacking), this went on for a while.

 

In the past 18 months, we evolved another model that

seems to work better. We have 4 temples under this

project now, and the goal obviously is to expand the

list. The four temples are

 

1. thiru maNi-k-koodam

2. thiru-k-kAvalambAdi

3. thiru arimEya viNNagaram and

4. thiru-k-kUdalUr (Aduthurai-p-perumAL kOvil)

 

The first three are in the thirunAngUr area, and the

last one is near kuMbakONam.

 

The approach we tried was more local. We formed a

comittee and had a local third-party (someone

unconnected with the temple management structure of

the concerned temple, but knowledgeable about temple

affairs) coordinate the effort.

 

First, we tried to find out the key need of these

temples. In thirunAngUr, for a group of 7 temples,

there were only 3 archakas. Obviously, they were not

able to spend enough time in each temple. So, we

arranged for one dedicated person in the three temples

mentioned above. They are performing both the archaka

duty and the paricharaka (helper) duty in the

temple.In thiru-k-kUdalUr, the archaka was already

there for the temple.

 

We then arranged for a monthly steady income for these

archakas. The aim was to make sure that they get

atleast 2000 rupees in steady income every month. In

thirunAngUr, we are funding Rs.1500 per month for each

temple (Rs.500 is given by a trust run by

srI.muralidharan svAmi directly to the archakas; 1000

of the 1500 is given as salary, and another 500 is

given as remuneration for prasAdam distribution), and

in thiru-k-kUdalUr, we provide Rs. 2000 per month as

salary. In return, the temples are kept open for

specified timings every day (usually around 7 - 11 in

the morning and 3:30 - 7:00 or so in the evening) and

the archaka is present at those times at these

temples. Obviously regular thiru-ArAdhanam with

prasAdam is done as per the custom in these temples.

In thiru-k-kUdalUr we also provide a monthly salary to

the watchman (500 rupees).

 

We also arrange prasAdam distribution on some days in

each divyadEsam. The goal is to have local people

involvement in the temple. In thiru-k-kUdalUr, every

saturday, there is a prasAdam that is offered to the

Lord and distributed to the people who come (around

50 - 60 people come and receive prasAdam). In

thirunAngUr, this specific aspect has been less

successful and there is no regularly scheduled day

where it is done.

 

In thiru-k-kUdalUr, the state of the temple is very

dilapidated, and a lot has been written about that.

In the past 6 months, more people than ever have

visited the temple, and devotees have graciously

contributed the following to the temple -

 

1. a set of vessels for thiruArAdhanam and prasAdam

cooking and distribution

2. a nice bench for thirumanjanam

3. multiple sets of vasthrams for perumAL and thAyAr

4. a devotee has promised the archaka to get a pearl

crown for the utsava moorthy

5. additional prasadam distribution on fridays in this

month (tamizh month "Adi")

6. cleaning up of the well

7. funding to buy material required to clean up the

weeds and stray plants all over the temple (outside

prAkAram has been cleaned partially now,.,. inside

needs to be cleaned)

8. 2 very beautiful lamps that are lit daily

9. oil for the lamps whenever devotees visit so far.

10.committment by a devotee to help with the

electricity repairs in the temple.

 

We have set 2 things as a priority for this temple now

 

1. cleaning up of the weeds and plants ON The walls

and the vimAnam

2. patching up the flooring in the temple so that it

does not peel off - this is a temporary measure only

>From a organizational perspective, we have formed a

group called VEDICS in the USA and in India to co-

ordinate these efforts. We do have regular accounts

maintained and receipts and vouchers being issued for

every donation and expense. This keeps things straight

and overboard since there are so many people involved.

 

Some great ideas came up during these discussions.

srI.diwAkar kaNNan has been very gracious to take

leadership on this issue and he called me regarding

these efforts. His idea of having a sponsor for

thiruArAdhanam for each day is wonderful. The cost can

be as little as Rs. 150 per day. This will allow us to

buy flowers, curd, and other essential ingredients for

everyday use. {Even now, for example, due to the lack

of money, the prasAdam being cooked is just plain rice

except for saturdays}. In dollar terms it is around 3

dollars only. A fixed deposit in a post office (as

suggested by srI. diwakar) of about 1700 rupees will

provide a yearly interest of Rs. 150 that can be used

for a day.

 

We are at a stage now where we believe we can expand

the above model to many other temples in need. Though

there are a lot of politics involved and it takes a

long time to set something up that is overboard and

has local involvement, we have seen it work in these

temples.

 

We request everyone to be a part of this effort and

lead us from here to our ultimate goal of making each

and every temple self-sufficient. If you are

interested, you can contact any of the following:

 

1. Mukundan Pattangi danp

2. TCA Venkatesan vtca

3. Diwakar Kannan diwakark

4. Varadhan tavaradhan

 

There are some nascent efforts being done at

kapisthalam in conjunction with other

organizations,but due to the nature of that divyadEsam

and the local setup, it might be months before

anything happens there on a sustainable basis.

 

adiyEn rAmAnuja dAsan,

varadhan

 

 

 

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