Many people go to the Hawaiian island of Maui to relax.
There the weather is perfect just about every day of the year: 77 degrees Fahrenheit, with a few puffy clouds floating across a deep blue sky.
I know this because I stayed with some devotee friends in Maui for a week in 1982 to convalesce after breaking my arm.
My friends told me: "We are eager to move away from here because the environment is so nice that we hardly get anything done; nor do we notice the passing of time. We simply coast, year after year."
Krishna's devotees don't like to coast. Rather, they welcome challenges that cause them (nay, that force them) to realize their full dependence on Krishna.
Queen Kunti prayed to Krishna that calamities might continuously befall her family, because such calamities not only forced all her family members to take full shelter of Krishna but also induced Krishna to stay with them in order to protect them.
Although asking for calamities may be a bit extreme for most, every devotee benefits when there are challenges to meet in Krishna's service. We grow when we're tested. Otherwise, the tendency to coast and not grow is strong.
In the early days of ISKCON, Srila Prabhupada instructed one of his top leaders that the duty of managers is to "create fresh challenges so that devotees would be inspired to rise to meet them."
For many years at ISV, we have talked and dreamed about owning a beautiful temple in which to worship the Lord and host His devotees. Such a temple would not only represent the sublime philosophy we teach and follow but would stimulate bhakti in the heart of anyone who passed its threshold.
Now we are on the threshold of realizing our dream, and Krishna is mercifully giving us a push.
Through the entire process of locating and negotiating the purchase of a suitable property, devotees have spent hours, weeks months, and years viewing sites, discussing plans, holding late night conference calls, writing emails, collecting funds, and scheming how to make it all happen.
At times the process has been nerve wracking. At other times, it has been exhilarating. In any case, it has all been in the realm of devotional service.
During our years together at ISV, we have been blessed with ample service. Together we have met many challenges. We've achieved (and smashed) more goals than we can count. We've watched our children grow up in Krishna consciousness. We've lived through disappointments and adversity. And through it all we have not only survived but also grown stronger. And from time to time we've cried in joy to see the progress of our beloved devotees.
Srila Prabhupada coined a phrase to describe this process of meeting the challenges that come as we serve Krishna together. He called it "boiling the milk." And devotees fortunate enough to stay in the pot get to taste something sublimely sweet as the milk thickens.
I see before us now a situation arranged by Krishna. Who else could have led us to the new temple at 1965 Latham Street? And hasn't He arranged this opportunity for us to pull together to complete the project?
Luckily, at ISV we are well practiced at meeting goals. And now we have a chance to use all that we've learned to achieve something that will be forever marked in history: a new temple for Radha and Krishna, in the middle of Silicon Valley, California. Make no mistake. This is big news.
Our immediate target is to raise $300,000 by the end of December 2012, the amount we need to complete the kitchen and remodel the interior so that we can move in. Miraculously, we have already made progress toward this goal. But to meet the deadline in time will require, as usual, a lot of devotees doing a little.
Through our fund raising team, Krishna has revealed an ingenious plan to meet this deadline: build a "Million Dollar Wall." This artfully designed wall will sit just at the entrance of the new temple and will be decorated with a composite of small tiles, each inscribed with a message or name chosen by the donor who purchased the tile.
The overall goal is to sell 500 tiles at $2,000 each, bringing in one million dollars to fully support temple operations and finish the needed refurbishment of the building. Our immediate objective is to find at least 150 sponsors to purchase tiles by December 31, 2012.
On the way home from ISV last night after the Wednesday night class, my two dearest friends, Kesava Bharati Dasa Gosvami and Satyadeva Prabhu, both remarked that the tile fund raising drive is well conceived. And they both expressed their confidence that it will succeed. (This after each of them purchased their own tile during the announcements after the class!)
With this letter, I appeal to you to get involved in the tile fund raising project in whatever capacity you can. ISV has a good name around the world. Many people are eager to see ISV succeed and increase.
Please reach out to everyone you know and give them an opportunity to invest in this shining new temple under Srila Prabhupada's banner, dedicated to the promulgation of Lord Caitanya's divine message for the welfare of every living being.
The Agni Purana says, "By building a temple for the Lord one is freed from all sins. He who has built a temple for Vishnu reaps the great fruit which one gains by celebrating sacrifices every day. By building a temple for the Lord, such a devotee takes his or her family, a hundred generations past and a hundred to come, to the region of Acyuta."
Jaya Sri Sri Radha Madan-mohan, ji jaya!
In humble service,
Vaisesika Dasa
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