The Hare Krishna Temple, Boise -- Year 2003 Report
January 2, 2004
Dear Members:
Hare Krishna. All glories
to Srila Prabhupada, whose 108th appearance anniversary we will celebrate in
2004. All glories to Sri Sri Radha-Bankebihari, the presiding Deities of New
Biharvan, Boise.
I would like to review the
highlights of year 2003, and discuss opportunities and challenges for the
coming year. It is your continuing support which has made the past year a
success and which will propel us through the new year. The state of the temple
is very good. In 2003 we continued to focus on Srila Prabhupada’s four maxims:
books are the basis, purity is the force, preaching is the essence and utility
is the principle.
The year started with our 6th
Japathon on January 1, 2003 where collectively 40 congregation members and
devotees chanted 1.37 Million names over an eight hour period
Book Distribution – Except
for the Rasamrita trust that places sets in libraries, the Boise temple led all
the other temples in North America in the category of full sets. Due to the
efforts of Gopal Hari dasa, 12 Srimad Bhagavatam sets and 1 Caitanya Caritamrta
set were distributed. Everyone benefits in the Sankirtan activity. Per capita,
Boise members have more Bhagvatam sets than any other temple in USA. Still,
there is much to do. For the 20 homes in Boise that have Bhagvatam sets there
are at least 200 more that do not have them. And you can help. If you do not
have a set in your home, make it a goal to get one. It is like bringing Krishna
in to your home.
Feasts – For the
first time in the 17year history of the temple every Sunday feast and festival
feast was sponsored. The overflow of sponsors were accommodated in our Friday
Bhagavad Gita Club feasts. The Friday evening Gita Club in its third year
expanded beyond our imagination. 25 regular members show up to seriously study
Krishna’s message. The lectures are also placed on our new Website designed and
operated by Bhakta Srinivas Palakala. Click on to www.boisetemple.org
every morning and start your day right with the darshan of our beautiful Sri
Sri RadhaBankibihari to the singing of Sri Gurvashtakam.
Devotees – All the preaching and prasadam helped us in
getting 4 Bhaktas and Bhaktins – generally we average one initiated devotee per
year, but by Srila Prabhupada’s mercy we
initiated 4 devotees in 2003. One of them, Nimai Murari from Cambodia, was a
student at Washington State University in Pullman and got attached to the nice
friendly atmosphere of the Boise Temple. Besides Nimai (Nim) congratulations to
Tulasi Krishna (Taylor), Lakshmi Priya and Aja Govinda (Ayush) as they dedicate
their lives to Guru and Krishna
New preaching program
at Oregon State Prison (70 miles
from Boise) – 15 regular inmates come to the program. Due to the efforts of
Chandra Prabhu who has been a counselor there for several years, we were
finally able to start a program there. The first few programs reminded us of
the scene that is depicted in the Matchless Gifts video, with young prisoners
in jeans and shirts chanting and dancing to the sounds of the Mahamantra. The
climax was when a one legged and one armed (bandit) prisoner in a wheel chair
got up pushed his wheel chair to the side and for 5 minutes danced around the
room without the help of anyone. He reminded us of the verse: “mükam karoti
väcälam pangum langhayate girim ….”(By the mercy of the spiritual master, even
a dumb person can talk, a lame person can climb mountains.)
Festivals – Another successful Rathayatra as part of 4th
of July Parade. Lord Jagannath wanted to dance. Externally the Ratha got stuck
in an overhanging tree and we went back and forth for twenty minutes trying to
get around it. The video showed something different – nice graceful movements
as if Their Lordships were dancing inside. He held up the parade for a full 20
minutes. The troopers were ready to kick us out when the Lord finally decided
to let the Ratha move. Like last year, the Ratha Yatra would not have taken
place had it not been for the support of all of you and the Thomas brothers.
Another notable activity , thanks to Sachin and Tulasi, for the first time we
had our festive T-shirts. Our contingent in the parade I believe was the
largest and the most colorful.
Festival celebrations
continue to be a core activity of the temple. Every year they get bigger and
better. Bhaktin April’s Sunday school children continue to surprise us with
their plays, songs and music. The garbha dance organized by Prathana and all
participants was an emblem of enthusiasm for Krishna, so were the more than 108
preparations, the rainbow of balloons, flowers, and re-creation of Vrindavan
scene.
Visiting Vaishnavas – The
temple was very fortunate to have several traveling gurus, sannyasis and other
exalted devotees visit us. Gopal Krishna Goswami, Hanuman Swami, Radha Govinda
Maharaj, and devotees from Portland, Alachua,
Salt Lake, Vancouver, and New Vrindavana blessed us with their purifying
Satsanga. It was nice of many of you to open your homes for programs. Besides
devotees visiting us, we also traveled in groups to visit other temples, such
as Los Angeles Ratha Yatra, and Vancouver.
We all came back more purified and enthused.
We had for the first time a
great Thanksgiving feast and Srimad Bhagvatam reading, organized by Hemandra
and Shilpa and for Christmas we had a
pleasant surprise with Hanuman Swami’s Vyasa Puja; a fitting way to end the
year. Almost 60 well wishers showed up on Christmas morning for a very sweet
celebration for our very benevolent and frequent visitor. Hanuman Swami has
been coming to the temple for the past 16 years.
Finances – We had a
strong year; thanks to your generous support, we ended the year with a $500
surplus (unaudited figure). This leaves us with a challenge to collect funds
for the badly needed painting of the temple hall, but no reserve for any
unforeseen expenses. Still, we are confident of your continued support. As I
mentioned in my last year’s report, there are several different ways in which
you can contribute and support the Temple:
3 feast sponsorships during the year
$30
a month tax deductible contribution
3
hours of service in the temple every month
Dresses, Jewlery and Other articles for the Deities
One home program per year.
May Sri Sri Radha
Bankebihari give all of us the strength and inspiration to serve Them more and
more in the new year. Hare Krishna!
Yours in the service of
Srila Prabhupada,
Anantarupa das,
President