ANNUAL REPORT AT GENERAL BODY MEETING 1999
Suman G. Kashyap, Chair, Board of Trustees
-Welcome.
-Introduction of Board members.
On behalf of the Board, I am honored to give this annual report. 1999 was an eventful year for our temple mainly because we celebrated Kumbhabhishekam on June 26th & 27th, thus making our temple complete – more or less. It was a joyous occasion and it was well attended. The community and many volunteers joined efforts in this successful event.
A year ago, the general body asked for a change in the Constitution and voted to change the last date of membership to June. The discussion increased the awareness of being a member and our membership increased–most of it before the deadline. We also made the decision to have more Town Meetings throughout the year in addition to the annual general body meeting. This year there were two Town Meetings, in March and September. Although the attendance was low, it was overall beneficial to keep the direct communication open. I hope the future Board will continue this trend.
Construction Update: After finishing the beautiful Jain mandir room, the Shilpis returned to India in February 1999. There has been no major construction, other than the addition of a small efficiency kitchen for Shastriji in the existing plan. There were several options and we stayed with the minimum.
When I said earlier that the temple is more or less complete, I meant that a few things like Dhwajastambham (flagppole), Balipeetham, and east entrance door have yet to be completed. These are relatively small projects.
A year ago we set goals to
I. Religious Service
Our priests have been busy. This year they have done over 150 private services: various Samskaras, Graha Pravesh, Satyanarayan Puja, etc. They have not only been available to entire mid-Michigan area but also Chicago, New Jersey, and Atlanta. Having two priests provides us this kind of opportunity for community service that only they can provide. We have had many complements on both the priests and the service the temple is providing.
I am very happy to report that our youth group is taking form. Our first meeting was in March'99. We had no classes in the summer & began a more structured curriculum in "Hinduism". We recognize the efforts of Dr. Gossain and Mr. Jaglan along with other parent volunteers. Dr. Grimes was very much liked by our youth. Balvihar for preschool and elementary children, mainly led by parent volunteers, is going well. Thanks to Ruby Ghosh and all the parents.
The First Sunday Puja and Third Sunday Havan are well established and well attended. The Monday evening Shiva Abhishek is another regular event attracting devotees. Thanks to Mr. Anantaraman, who has made an excellent Rudra Puja book for Monday Puja.
Since Maha Prana Prathishta, we have been doing twice-daily pujas every day, with regular Abhishek in the morning as well. Please attend when you can.
All major religious festivals were celebrated. An effort was made to keep the cultural programs short and have more youth involvement; I hope that you have noticed this. We had religious lectures by Swami Bodhananda (twice) and Dr. Hanumante. Special events like Shata Rudrabhisheka and Gayatri Havan were also done. The Sangeetaanjali music programs were also successful.
II. Community Service
Soup kitchen, sponsored by individual devotees under Bharatiya Temple of Lansing and led by Smita Rajadhyaksha and Minesh Mody, has been conducted for three years. It is very much appreciated. Please support this great cause. A bone marrow donor registry drive was led by Dr. Renuka Gera. A clothes drive was also undertaken.
A highlight of the community service this year has been the formation of our Senior Citizen group "Jeevan Jyoti" spearheaded and led by Meena Sharma. Lectures of great interest, Kavi Sammelan & group activities were great. We have a lot to learn from our senior citizens and we hope to continue to do projects of their interest and also combine their meetings with Youth Groups, so that they can share their wisdom and experience . Please give us your ideas.
The Temple has been well represented in the community. We have been invited to various high schools & church groups to talk about Hinduism. Also groups of school children, LCC & MSU students have visited our temple. The temple is recognized as a significant religious institution of the area.
III. Financial Status
Finance committee members have worked very hard along with our CFO Mr. Naga in raising funds for our temple. I will let him present the report right after my talk. All money collected has been going for debt reduction. Many ideas exist for temple expansion, but are on hold until we stop paying a large amount of interest on the loan.
IV. Other Matters
Priest Services: Our two priests are feeling settled. Shastriji got married this year. We will be renewing their contracts. We have recently enrolled both of them with PHP health insurance, which is expensive but needed. Also we are staying on top of changes in Visa rules.
Jain Murthi: Jain Murthi has been shipped, it will arrive any day, Jain devotees will be conducting Puja every 4th Sunday. Prana Prathishtha is tentatively scheduled for May 27-28, 2000. Volunteers will be needed. Please help in volunteering in any way you can.
Looking ahead/ Goals: Our goals from last year will continue to expand with more and more support from you. The primary goal, however, continues to be to increase religious and spiritual awareness & activity. There are many organizations in the community - ICS, India Club, India Council, student groups, MAPI etc. that are representing India and doing community service & cultural activities in a wonderful way. Temple's objective is to focus on religious aspects. We would try to coordinate with the other organizations in this aspect. Please visit the temple at least once a week for Darshana. Take advantage of the resources of our library. Let the temple be a place where you can forget your worries and experience happiness through Darshana of Gods and Goddesses and attain bliss. The Board will be constantly striving to facilitate in making the environment conducive to that.
With the Board members who have been here for several years, we will plan to write down temple routines, newsletter, priest policies, so that future Board members can carry them on.
The Board has also discussed "Puja sponsorship for a day" program. The details have yet to be worked out. The concept is to have devotees sponsor puja for any day, for example, birthday, anniversary, for their parents etc. The hope is that this will partly meet our operational needs. This is an optional service. As we become debt free we will need a mechanism to meet our operational needs. This serves as an excellent way to generate funds on an on-going basis, in addition to providing special puja for devotees who wish it.
I would only briefly touch on "Aadhar." This is a new organization established a couple of years ago as a crisis support group. It has been suggested to make this under the umbrella of Bharatiya Temple of Lansing community service. Although, it will still be an independently run organization with its own board of directors. Your thoughts are welcome.
The Board has also gone back and forth with the idea of providing a simple prasad at temple.
Finally, what do we need from you? Two things: (a) Get involved; (b) Volunteer. The success of each program, present and future, depends on your interest and involvement. Many of us have great ideas. But we also need dedicated people behind them. When we hear comments such as "Temple should do this" or "Temple should do that," I would like to suggest that you are the Temple. Please bring your ideas and volunteer. With comments from devotees regarding cleanliness, the Board this year had to give in and hire a cleaning agency; that work was previously done by volunteers. So you will also see the price tag attached to it. This is not to say that we do not have very dedicated volunteers. In fact this temple is a live example of volunteerism. Like Dr. Raju, our priest and teacher. There are many temples in America, but only we have Dr. Raju. Please take every opportunity to learn from him. Dr. Narendra Patel for landscaping. Mr. Tirlok Kakar for building and facility management, he took time off work when the kitchen work was going on at the priest house. Mr. Anantaraman is our permanent librarian, temple historian, brochure maker, puja book maker and also helps with priests. Mr. Sandip Shah with his help for the PA system. Mahaveer Khetawat, Rampal Agrawal, Ruby Ghosh and Shashikant Joshi – a very big thank you to all. To those of you who think you do not want to commit to be a volunteer or a Board member because you have young kids, I say: This is the time; be a member, donate your time and money, show your commitment to religious studies, and watch your kids learn from your example.
Today we will be electing three new Board members. On behalf of the Board and community, I would like to thank the three outgoing members. Smita Rajadhyaksha has been an important member of the Board, our Secretary, hard worker and leader of soup kitchen and Aadhar. I am glad that she is running for a second term. Dr. Kulkarni has been on the Board for seven years; he is our priest, priest supervisor, religious advisor, a behind-the-scenes worker, and a pillar of this institution. During Kumbhabhisekam this year, we as a community honored him because this temple was his vision. In fact, the Board has discussed the possibility of having him as a religious advisor. Because, truly speaking, most of us do not know enough about running a religious organization. Mrs. Meena Sharma has served the Board for seven years and needs no introduction. She has conducted monthly Satsangs and most major functions of the temple. Her efforts in organizing Jeevan Jyoti programs have been very much appreciated. It takes a lot of effort to organize such programs. To the outgoing members I say "thank you," and to new members, "welcome aboard." For those of you who are thinking of running for the next election, we need you. I hope that each one of you will feel a personal obligation to come on the Board and serve – which personally has been a life-changing experience for me. Thank you. Hari Om.