Mayapur building and fundraising schedules

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---------- Forwarded Message ----------

 

Abhirama (das) ACBSP (Mayapur Development)

26-May-99 08:43

Cc: Mayapur Foundation [93]

Cc: SMPDC (Mayapur Development) [1099]

Mayapur building and fundraising schedules

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I don't mind the suggestion that we should begin fund raising when the

Temple is built, but it is a mystery as to how we will build without the

money from fund raising. This is a conundrum. First, building a building

like this is like starting a war; you must be prepared to back up what you

start. We need a lot of preperations before we can begin, and we must build

an incredable foundation to support this 'Mother of all Temples' on the

Gangetic alluvial soil.

 

What we will have finished by this year end, is phase B of the architectural

process. This means that the concept design and engineering are complete. We

will know what the building will look like and how it will be built

structurally. Now the design and engineering must go thru stage C and be

perfected in detail. Then we will move into actual development of working or

'site' drawings. These site drawings will have to specify each brick, how

the brick is fired and how strong it must be. The exact details of the

foundation and ground improvements and the rip rap or flood protection.

These drawings will take us until sometime in 2001 to prepare and this only

gives us enough to build the foundation and raw brick structure! I will try

to raise enough to get us to this point between BBT and Bombay, but it will

be hard work.

 

Next, we can actually begin to excavate, compact the soil, and pour the

first layer of the foundation, which is a large 'raft' of concrete, about 3

yards thick. This could be sometime in the secound half of 2001. On top of

this raft we put criss crossing brick archs that will carry the weight down

to the raft and distribute it evenly on it. These brick archs will form the

'catacombs' that can house the archives eventually. Then on top of all this

we can eventually get to the floor of the Temple. This will be sometime in

2002-3, By this point we will have spent another 10 million dollars from

today forward, and we are just at the beginning!!! So we will all be

together and very much engaged for a long time. I believe that this will be

the greatest adventure of our lives and the joy of this incredable

enterprise will raise the spirits of all pious people.

 

I think we may best celebrate the millenium at the Gaura Purnima Festival

this year. It is our real year end and all the devotees will be there. I was

talking to Hari Sauri and Jayapataka Swami today, on the phone, about having

a really different kind of festival, where we try to give all the prasadum

and festivities free to the devotees and guests. A festival where we at

Mayapur really reach out to everyone and embrace them in the spirit of Hari

Nam and Satsunga. We want to erase forever the legacy of our past attitudes

that may not convey a true welcome to one and all! We want to show a new

hope in this dark hour that if we all join arms again in chanting, dancing

and feasting, we can overcome all obstacles! We want to demand ALL the

'leaders' to actually lead us in Kirtans! We were kicking around an idea to

take the devotees out on huge Sankirtans to the ghettos of Calcutta for

Prasad distribution and HariNam! We have a good chance to get donations from

members to fund all this. I am feeling really fired up!!! What do you all

think? ys Abhirama........................................................

 

 

Sounds great, especially

"We want to show a new hope in ths dark hour that if we all join arms again

in chanting, dancing and feasting, we can overcome all obstacles"

May Krsna bless you and us in this endeaver and in your great task of

supervising the construction of the temple in Mayapur, althou I tend to say

that people are more important than buildings.

 

But it seems that ISCKON is learning from its mistakes and doesn,t enforce

the construction of temples of stone and concrete by forgetting also to

nourish and cunstruct moore the "temple of the heart" of its members and

wellwishers.

 

ys Harsi das