SRILA GURUDEVA'S WORLDWIDE FUNDRAISING DRIVE

[Malini Dasi]

Dear Prabhus, Didis, Worldwide Congregational Members, Treasured Friends and Respected Guests:

All glories to Srila Gurudeva, Srila Prabhupada, Sri Sri Guru and Gauranga, and Sri Sri Radha Vinode Bihaiji.

A very humble and heartfelt dandavats and pranams to you all, as we pray that you are all experiencing all the joy and bliss that Srila Gurudeva has given to us these past few years, and are rapidly experiencing the explosive growths in your bhakti that many are reporting worldwide in coming into contact with His Divine Grace Srila Gurudeva.

It is our great honor today, as we approach the most auspicious month of Kartika, the month of unlimited blessings and Srimati Radharani's overflowing mercy, as well as Damodarastikam, to bring to you an attempt to express our deep appreciation to Srila Gurudeva for all He has done for us, in bringing to you Srila Gurudeva's grand desire to bring back the Los Angeles Venice Beach Temple back to the devotees and back under His lotus feet -- this time to stay.

This has been His Divine Grace's unwavering desire all along, despite certain twists and turns in the road.

It is said that to fulfill the desire of the spiritual master is the life and soul of the disciple, or for the one who wishes to progress in bhakti. All the siddhanta and all the scriptures agree on this, and without it, all the siddhanta and all the scriptures are useless.

To this end, a worldwide fundraising drive is now being launched to achieve this end, with Srila Gurudeva, Himself, spearheading the effort.

His Divine Grace has once again shown His Divine leadership in this regard, having even contributed His own funds to kick start the effort, and has already donated $100,000.00 US of His own funds to spearhead the drive.

The amount in question to reclaim Srila Gurudeva's desired building, free and clear of all encumbrances and liens on the property, is approximately $2.0 million US.

To achieve this sum on behalf of our beloved Srila Gurudeva, a special account has been established at The International Gaudiya Vedanta Society to take in funds for this effort.

The International Gaudiya Vedanta Society is a registered 501c3, federally approved, non-profit, religious, organization, and so all donations are tax deductible, and receipts will be given for all donations.

The account is directly under Srila Gurudeva, and is directly managed by His representatives, The International Gaudiya Vedanta Society Board members.

Outside of seeing His beloved Nabadwipa project being complete, nothing else would bring more joy to Srila Gurudeva than seeing this very special Temple manifest in Venice Beach, California, as it represents His largest self-existing preaching center in the world outside of India, in the heart of the most influential city in the world -- Los Angeles.

$2.0 million US may seem like a huge amount for some, but it really is an insignificant amount next to Srila Gurudeva's shakti. In fact, Srila Gurudeva has really already manifested the building with His desire. It is really already accomplished, and all we have to do is align ourselves with His desire to be a part of and participate in this miracle.

Srila Gurudeva is "Saksad Hari" -- the incarnation of the Supreme Lord Himself as sad-Guru. Therefore, whenever He wants something for the pleasure of serving Sri Sri Radha and Krsna and for the spreading of Mahaprabhu's mission, all atoms and molecules throughout the creation conspire to achieve it. It cannot be stopped. It must be manifested. Because it is His desire, and He holds Their Lordships in the very palms of His hands because of His pure love for Them and because He chants the pure name of the Lord -- the suddha nam.

All Sri Guru and the Lord want us to do is to put forth the intention and the effort, consistently and with unwavering determination, like the undaunted sparrow, who, no matter how gargantuan the task, was undeterred in its desire to retrieve its eggs that had been unceremoniously taken away by the ocean, then Sri Krsna will send His Garuda. Then, and only then.

To this end, we humbly and wholeheartedly appeal to all devotees in this great worldwide sanga of Srila Gurudeva's, to give generously and expeditiously to this project in bringing about its manifestation, for Srila Gurudeva's pleasure, which will bring no end of happiness to our Guru varga.

With this unwavering faith, and unshakable belief, in the inevitability of Srila Gurudeva's desire to manifest, please, therefore, kindly make your Checks, Cashier's Checks, Money Orders, Cash Donations or Electronic Wire Transfers, out to The International Gaudiya Vedanta Society, and place "LOS ANGELES VENICE BEACH TEMPLE" in the memo line of your Check, Cashier’s Check, Money Order, Electronic Wire Transfer form or the outside of your donation envelope, and kindly expedite them to The International Gaudiya Vedanta Society at the address and/or wiring directions given below. And, like the sparrow, no amount is too small. And, for that matter, no amount is too big either.

After sending in your generous donations, please then kindly send an e-mail to [e-mail], [e-mail] and [e-mail] with the amount of your donation, the form of payment, the date sent, the manner in which it was sent, along with your name, address, phone number, and e-mail address, so we can track your payment and send you out a tax deductible receipt expeditiously.

Soon we intend to also have a special website up with additional payment options as well for contributors to choose from, which should be forthcoming.

There is a saying that, "As America, so goes the world," which Srila Prabhupada recognized early on, in embarking on his worldwide preaching strategy that, "If the West became Krsna Consciousness, the world will follow".

When the apostle Paul wanted to make Christianity a worldwide religion, he went to Rome. And Los Angeles, make no mistake, is the Rome of today. It even has a Coliseum. It is the cultural capital of the world, from where all culture comes.

It is the epicenter of Kali's kingdom -- where all movies, television, radio, music, magazines, fashion, publishing, and thought are created and disseminated throughout the world. It is a distribution hub, and the world's undisputed media center. Having a strong base in Los Angeles or headquarters in Los Angeles is critical to launching a worldwide movement, which is what Srila Prabhupada discovered early on, and why He chose to establish His worldwide western headquarters there. Srila Gurudeva wants the same, having discovered the same influence of this worldwide media center and its impact on the world, and we now have the opportunity to become a part of that vision in this effort to establish Srila Gurudeva's largest self-existing preaching center there outside of India.

We all thank you in advance from the bottom of our hearts in seeing the very need for such a centre in the very heart of Kali's Kingdom for Mahaprabhu's mission, in helping us with your generous and faith-filled donations in seeing this very special Temple manifest there.

We all look forward to receiving your kind and generous donations in the most expeditious time possible, which will be shown to Srila Gurudeva personally for His individual blessing to all who helped make this dream of Srila Gurudeva's and our Guru varga possible.

It is our goal to have the entire building paid for before Srila Gurudeva arrives for the Los Angeles festival in May 2010.

We, at The International Gaudiya Vedanta Society, look forward to uniting the whole worldwide sanga behind this effort, in receiving your generosity, energy and collective vision in seeing this necessary dream of Srila Gurudeva’s become a reality in the quickest time possible.

Your humble servants aspiring for the service of Srila Gurudeva, Hari and all vaisnavas,


The International Gaudiya Vedanta Society



THE INTERNATIONAL GAUDIYA VEDANTA SOCIETY (IGVS)
PAYMENT INFORMATION FOR THE
"LOS ANGELES VENICE BEACH TEMPLE":


INTERNATIONAL BANK WIRING DIRECTIONS:

BANK NAME: Wells Fargo Bank
BANK ADDRESS: Marina Del Rey, California
ACCOUNT NAME: IGVS
SWIFT CODE: WFBIUS6S
BANK ROUTING NUMBER: 121000248
ACCOUNT NUMBER: 5307786714

DOMESTIC (US) BANK WIRING DIRECTIONS:

BANK NAME: Wells Fargo Bank
BANK ADDRESS: Marina Del Rey, California
ACCOUNT NAME: IGVS
BANK ROUTING NUMBER: 121000248
ACCOUNT NUMBER: 5307786714

MAIL IN ADDRESS FOR ALL OTHER DONATIONS:

IGVS
305 ROSE AVENUE
VENICE, CA 90291 USA


Gaura premanande! Hari Hari Bol!