What’s Happening in the Dhama
WHAT’S HAPPENING IN THE DHAMA or
COMMUNITY DIALOGUE MINUTES
JUNE 25 2012 under the Lodge
The meeting opened with the introduction of the newest members of the New Vrindaban community, namely Abhinanda das, (the new Temple Commander), Vrindavan das, and Raghunandana das. A few other devotees, who are also fairly new, were introduced, namely Elyssa, Charles, Jacob, Dave, Navadwip, Estefania and Catie.
Board of Directors
To inform everyone who are the Board of Director members, the list is as follows.
Board of INMV (ISKCON New Mathura Vrindaban):
Dayavira das, Varsana Maharaj, Tamohara das, Yamuna dasi, Gopisa das, Yugal Kisor das, Ranaka das, Caitanya Mangala das, Jaya Krsna das, and the newest member is Jaya Krsna#2.
The ECOV Board consists of:
Anuttama das, Caitanya Mangala das, Kripamaya das, Madhava Ghosh das, Ranaka das, and Navin Shyam das (Krsna Priya’s husband).
News
Over the last 6 months, there have been some new and exciting activities that have taken place, namely, on the spiritual side:
-regular harinamas to Wheeling
-evening lectures organized by Nityodita Prabhu
-bhakta training is getting under way by Abhinanda Prabhu
-the CD dept has many preaching programs in progress
And, on the facilities side, the list of upgrades done throughout the temple, Lodge and Palace area are impressive.
-new roof on the lodge and registration cabin
-front porch on temple
-back stairs on temple
-fire hydrant and connection pipe installed in prep for city water
-temple asramas major renovations
-big propane tank renovated
-new gift shop at palace
-lodge reception renovated
-swan boat pond cleaned
-new signage
– Domes and main roof patched at the Palace. Next project at the Palace the upper front stairs.These improvements have been financed by the Capital Investment Fund to which the gas money was allocated. The gas funds are at about $60,000, an amount the board decided to keep as an emergency fund. Please see the attached printout of the Capital Investment Fund usage.
All of these upgrades and renovations have certainly improved the look and health of New Vrindaban to a great extent. There are still opportunities for service, however, some of which are listed below:
-gazebos at the swan boat pond need work
-the ghat needs more attention
-the swan boat house needs work as does:
-the bridge between the 2 ponds, and
-the bridge near Gaur Nitai statues.
Gopal’s Garden Home School Co-op had a very good year, with a high quality of education, committed teachers, and quite a few extracurricular classes, such as art, music, and public speaking. INMV and ECOV (formerly GEETA) funded the school for the 2011 school year. We hope to attract more families with school age children to our community and school.
The final version of the Master Plan will be ready for discussion within 2 months. The land board held two public meetings to discuss the topic of Land Sales vs. Life Estate. The proposal to offer Life Estate at Varsana Lane (around the jewelry shop and the ridge towards East) as well as to sell land at Kestners was accepted by the ISKCON board. Jaya Krsna presented the organizational structure of the ISKCON New Vrindaban and a mission statement.
Discussion
The meeting was then opened for discussion.
At this time, the author of the anonymous letter put out through Jaya Murari’s email last week came forward (Nityodita Prabhu). He expressed that many of his questions were answered during the course of the meeting.
