By Akruranatha Das
A senior disciple of Srila Prabhupada who prefers to remain anonymous has requested ISKCON of Silicon Valley to auction some of his possessions. He needs to raise money for a medical procedure, and has offered to donate any sales proceeds above the stated minimum bids to ISKCON of Silicon Valley’s “New Temple” project. Among the items being auctioned are: (1) An original set of Srimad Bhagavatams from 1965; (2) A dhoti and gumsha that were worn by Srila Prabhupada; and (3) original artwork by BBT artists. All articles are guaranteed genuine, and the seller will verify the provenance of these precious items to the winning bidders.
A list of items and minimum bids can be seen here: http://www.iskconsiliconvalley.com/auction/
More detailed information about specific articles can be obtained from Akruranatha Das at bernsteinlaw@earthlink.net
Though the website link above indicates the auction will conclude on Lord Nityananda’s Appearance Day, ISV is now considering extending the auction through Guara Purnima. However, no final decision has been taken, so please get your bids in early. The conclusion of the auction will be broadcast via live video, and details will be provided to all bidders.
ISKCON of Silicon Valley’s “New Temple” project is the ISKCON of Silicon Valley community’s relocation from a rented temple/meeting place in San Jose to its new home base at 1965 Latham Street, Mountain View, California 94040, which was purchased by ISV in April of 2012. Since then, a major remodeling/renovation has been under way, which is nearing completion. New bathrooms and a first-class commercial kitchen have been installed in the building, along with new classrooms, pujari room, and storage area with nice new tile and hardwood floors. An entirely new roof has been installed and new HVAC equipment and ductwork has been added. Soon the entire building will be painted and a new altar room will be built for Their Lordships. Although the major construction is nearing completion, a lot more needs to be done to complete the furnishings to make the place ready for Their Lordships’ arrival. Nevertheless, we are hopeful that the task of moving will begin next month and that we will celebrate Gaura Purnima in the New Temple. ISV wishes to thank the many generous donors who have helped make this new step in the history of ISV possible.
The auction of these sacred items will not only help a senior devotee in need, but will also help ISV complete the process of moving into the New Temple and paying off the mortgage. There are many other ways to participate in the New Temple project, such as joining the nearly 200 contributors who have already purchased a tile engraved with their name or message in Krishna’s Million Dollar Tile Wall, to be erected in the garden/patio entrance of the New Temple. Tiles cost $2,000 each, and a total of only 500 tiles will be sold, which means there are just over 300 spaces left on the Wall for your personalized tile. However, for a limited time there is now also an opportunity to bid on some of the precious items being auctioned. Please submit your bids by following the link to the website above.
The auction has been officially rescheduled to conclude on Gaura Purnima, San Jose, California time. It will be telecast live on www.virtualtemple.org and mayapur.tv, and possibly other cites. I will provide further details such as call-in phone number and exact time of the finale.
So far we have bids on Srila Prabhupada’s dhoti and gumsha ($2031), and original set of Bhagavatams ($2,010).
The original artwork (painting and drawings) has not yet received any bids, so someone may well snatch them up for the minimum price on the night of the finale (but please don’t count on it).
For more information please email me at bernsteinlaw@earthlink.net
I intend to post updates here, roughly weekly. Also, I believe there will be updates at http://www.iskconsiliconvalley.com/auction/
Hare Krishna. Your purchase will really help a devotee in a time of need.
By the way, the original portrait of Srila Prabhupada was painted by Puskar in about 1978 and comes with a frame. It is 16″ x 20″. Minimum bid is $2,000.
The original painting of Lord Nityananda instructing Jiva Goswami in Nabadvip Dhama was painted by Muralidhar, and also comes with a frame. It is 15″ x 20″. Minimum bid, $5,000.
Both are very fine paintings by well known BBT artists. Both are true collector’s items.
The pen and ink drawings were done by Ramdas Abhiram, another well-known BBT artist, The whole set is going for a minimum asking price of $1,000.
The countdown for the auction has been extended to Gaura Purnima. Stay tuned for exact instructions on how to participate via telephone.
While we were hoping to celebrate Gaura Purnima in the new temple in Mountain View, some construction/inspection delays have made that impossible. Gaura Purnima will be the last festival we celebrate at 951 Bascom Avenue in San Jose. We will move in to Mountain View temple during the first week of April.
The devotee who is raising money by this auction is Nabadvipa Prabhu. He has already had his surgery and is recuperating nicely. Auction proceeds up to the asking price for each item will go to help pay his medical bills, and anything over that price will go to ISV’s new temple project.
When Parvati inquired from Lord Siva about the highest process of worship in this world, Lord Siva answered that worship of Lord Visnu is the highest. But then he added that even higher than the worship of Lord Visnu is the worship of the tadiya of Lord Visnu. Tadiya means, those things dear to Lord Visnu.
“O Devi, the most exalted system of worship is the worship of Lord Visnu. Greater than that is the worship of tadiya, or anything belonging to Visnu.” (Padma Purana)
In Bhagavatam, Krsna says that His devotees are dearer to Him than His own self.
Similarly, the things used by pure devotees are also dear to Visnu and are most sacred.
Following this principle, when Maharaja Prataparudra, the king of Orissa, upon receiving a garment used by Lord Caitanya, worshipped it as a Deity, accepting it to be non-different from Mahaprabhu.
There are a limited number of sacred articles in this world that were actually used by Srila Prabhupada. Here’s your chance to obtain some of these articles.
Om Tat Sat
You can participate in the auction by going to the following link: http://iskconsiliconvalley.com/auction. The auction is already going on now on line.
The final, winning bids will be decided on Gaura Purnima at ISKCON of Silicon Valley (ISV), Tuesday, March 26, 2013, with a final round of bidding to begin at 9:00 p.m., California time (Pacific Daylight time).
You can participate in the final bidding by visiting ISV in person at 951 S. Bascom Avenue, San Jose, California (this will be our last program at Bascom Avenue before moving to the new Mountain View temple the first week of April).
Or, if you cannot attend in person, just call in and participate via telephone and/or video conference. The phone number to call is (949) 981 4976.
To also watch the live video feed, use this link: http://iskconsiliconvalley.com, or Mayapur.tv (and select Silicon Valley Channel)