SAMADHI BULLETIN VRNDAVANA

[Guest guest]

BULLETIN FROM VRNDAVANA SAMADHI

25 YEARS IN SEPARATION

 

Dear Prabhu's and Maharaja's,

Please accept my humble obeisances All glories to Srila Prabhupada.

NEW MANAGEMENT

By some fluke of Divine Arrangement, I have been looking after the

maintenance of Srila Prabhupada's Samadhi in Vrndavana since April. By your

blessings, I am happily absorbed in this wonderful service. And there is so

much to do.

 

FINALLY REPAIRED

We fixed the leaks in the Samadhi Museum coming from the gurukula

bathrooms and the ones from the roof. You will all be happy to know that we

are now installing almost invisible netting to solve the pigeon problem. And

we think we have actually mouse-proofed the altar room. The sound system

has been up-graded.

 

DETAILS OF ON-GOING PROJECTS

Now that the leaks are fixed, the walls in the Museum must be

redone, and a few exhibits replaced. We would like to fit captions on all

the exhibits in English and Hindi so all the visitors can learn who Srila

Prabhupada is.

Badly needed fans must be fitted high up in both the Samadhi and the

Museum, to avoid having those unsightly and slightly dangerous humungous

industrial stand-up fans.

Behind those beautiful teak carved cupboards on the altar, all the

frames and wood backings have been thoroughly consumed by termites and must

be replaced.

For reasons known only to the previous construction crew, Prabhupada

is still looking at the two14' x 3' columns of blobs of raw, unfinished RCC

from the inside of the altar to the left and right of those big doors (when

they are closed for his prasad and rest). There is supposed to be black

polished granite to cover the bare raw stuff. (Because it is unseen from

the outside, I only noticed it when I was invited inside to check out the

mouse situation.)

We are looking at about $10,000 for all these above

accumulatedlittle items.

Some of the marble fixtures, ornaments, slabs, etc. have finally

shown some signs of loosening and even falling out of the ceilings and

parapets from overhead. By some wonderful miracle, none of the falling

ornaments have hit anyone on the head yet. Soon, I will get a crew to

thoroughly examine the structure and re-fix whatever is loose, stone by

stone. This little exercise could cost around $5,000, and must be done all

year round for the next 10,000 years. This includes replacement of missing

pieces, which is minimal this year.

Our simple yearly maintenance, cleaning and puja costs are around

$7-10,000. So this would mean a consistent increase in yearly maintenance.

 

YET TO BE COMPLETED

There happens to be other unfinished business, which must be

sponsored separately: the brass panels illustrating Srila Prabhupada's

activities with various devotees, to go where the two large paintings were

installed temporarily on the back walls of the Samadhi. These beautiful

brass panels will be sculpted and cast by Bhaktisiddhanta prabhu, and will

cost $10,000 each.

 

SUBSCRIBERS AND WELL-WISHERS

On the bright side, Pranada devi dasi and company in Alachua kindly

donates approximately $7,000 for the thorough polishing of the beautiful

white marble of the entire Samadhi, inside and out when required. Food for

Life polishes the Museum side. About 30 devotees are committed to donating

$108 every year, and a few give smaller donations. Our yearly Hundi

donations are around $2,000, and this all totals about $5,000-- not really

quite enough for the barest annual day-to-day maintenance.

Previously, Acyuta prabhu saw the urgency of setting up a Fixed

Deposit for Srila Prabhupada's Samadhi Maintenance Fund in Vrndavana. So

far we have around $20,000 in fixed deposit, major donors being H.H.Giriraj

Swami, Parthasarathi das (Spain), Chandi dasi and others. Only the interest

is used towards daily maintenance. (So far this means we have available

$2,000+$5,000=$7,000 for the yearly day to day maintenance.)

 

WHAT YOU CAN DO

To generate the interest (average 10%) we need every year, and

considering what I now know about the expenses, it is fair to say that a

fixed deposit of a base capital of $150,000-200,000 is an absolute necessity

for the Samadhi Maintenance Fund. To build buildings and monuments is in

the mode of passion. To maintain is in the mode of goodness. Srila

Prabhupada always smiled upon the maintenance mode.

Anyone who has been touched in any way by Srila Prabhupada can at

least afford a commitment of some annual token amount (like $108) to this

Samadhi Maintenance Fund. But this year, it has become more apparent that

the upkeep is steadily more demanding, and we need a lot more, a lot faster

that we ever thought we would. Interest from ten donations of $10,000 for

this Samadhi Maintenance fixed deposit would take care of the normal upkeep

plus the surprise major repairs this year, adding to the compounded interest

for the future. That is a tall order for those of you who are brave enough.

Interest from an additional 50 donations of $1000 added to this fixed

deposit would cover most of the hidden costs of future major repairs. The

other commitments of $108 steadily given each year will add to the interest,

and probably take care of inflation and/or variegation in the interest

rates. YOUR DONATIONS TO THE SAMADHI MAINTENANCE FUND WILL NOT BE GOING

DOWN SOME DEEP DARK HOLE... THEY WILL PERPETUALLY INCREASE AND SERVE SRILA

PRABHUPADA EVERY DAY BY THE INTEREST.

You can also adopt a special project, as listed above, and make a

separate donation to cover the costs.

Srila Prabhupada touched our lives in the most amazing ways, and

worldwide, devotees are sincerely reciprocating in their deepest dedication

to his divine mood and mission. Srila Prabhupada built a house in which

everyone could live. We have designed a good plan to maintain his Samadhi

by this ennuity. Srila Prabhupada's Disappearance is being celebrated as 25

years in separation This year. So I am putting out an appeal.

 

HOW TO DO IT

If you will kindly consider donating to this Vrndavana Samadhi

Maintenance Fund, or to some specific project of the Samadhi, contact me

please (parvati.acbsp (AT) pamho (DOT) net). I will let you know the easiest and

least complicated way to send your donation, and will be very happy to

answer any other questions you may have. There is probably one of our

reliable representatives near you who can carry your generous donations

directly to Vrndavana.

International money orders, bank drafts (made out to ISKCON, account

# 321, SBI, Pratap Bazaar, Vrndavana, U.P.) or cash SENT BY HAND will reach

here more reliably than something sent through the mail. Drafts made in

rupees may be made out to ISKCON ac/#208, ISKCON Ext. Counter, Vrndavan.

CONTACT ME at parvati.acbsp (AT) pamho (DOT) net when you send your donation, so I can

do something in case there is a delay. To insure appropriate handling,

address your envelope to Samadhi Maintenance Fund, attention Parvati devi

dasi WITH A COVERING LETTER (mentioning the purpose of the donation and your

name and address, so proper receipts can be sent). If you want to send

money by Western Union and don't mind losing the wiring fee, that is okay

too. I can let you know the nearest agent before you send it, PLEASE do not,

do not, do not send personal checks. The amount of time these take to

clear, and the bank fees involved, will make for an arduous and

inconceivably lengthy task before it reaches the account.

 

Hope to see everyone for Kartika. I beg to remain your servant,

 

Parvati devi dasi

parvati.acbsp (AT) pamho (DOT) net

And PLEASE POST this announcement on your temple notice board for others to

read. Thanks.