Himalayan Connections

1) Last Monday from my office window I noticed a sole Indian gentleman circling the temple verandah on foot. He had apparently tried entering from the upstairs, but that door is often stuck in winter due to cold expansion.

His name was Vikram K. visiting from North Carolina. He had heard about this temple from Daya Vira, president of the temple in Hillsborough. Daya Vira had visited here during the India Fest last September to learn what he could about hosting such major events.

I spent about an hour with Vikram and was very impressed by his devotion. I considered the time I spent with him was for my own purification. He hails from a Himalayan State (I think Himachal Pradesh). He works for one of the biggest multinational companies in the world and was in Salt Lake City for a week to make several days of presentations to major clients.

But what was really impressive about him was his quiet, modest devotion. In the temple room, after aratik and darshan, we were gazing at the picture of Krishna lifting Govardhan Hill. I  mentioned one of our members, Devinder, had done the walking parikram (14 miles) with his father four or five times. Devinder’s father himself had done it 108 times.

As we were on the subject of Govardhan parikrama, Vikram modestly told me he had done Govardhan dandavat parikrama. This means he circuited the 24 kilometer path by laying himself full length on the soil, marking the extension of his body with a stone at the tips of his fingers, rising and prostrating himself again with his feet at the mark of the stone. I was amazed and asked him how long it took. He said, “Twelve days,” sleeping at night wherever he found himself by the side of the path. He also said he would like to do it again.

As we were descending to the ground floor, I said that if he would like to have lunch I would be happy to join him. “No thanks,” he said, “I always fast on Mondays.”

Before this extraordinary gentleman took his leave he expressed his appreciation for the beauty of the Spanish Fork temple, donated $ 501.00 by credit card and offered to pay up to $5,000 for the gold leafing of the main altar, when and if we should ever decide to get it done. He had sponsored the same in North Carolina and it made the altar, very very beautiful.

2) Tuesday I was again alone at the temple (Vai was out postering for Shiva Ratri), sitting at my office desk with a view of the parking lot, when I heard the roar of a gigantic, pink Trailways bus coming up the driveway. “Golly gee," I said, “there is no Senior Citizens tour on the calendar, let alone one of this magnitude.” Sure enough the bus disgorged about 35 seniors eager to see the the temple and have one of our famous lunches.

Apparently the organizer (not present) had either forgotten to schedule or had done so while we were in India and whoever took the call had not passed on the message (that almost never happens {ha}). They were a good group from Salt Lake City, several of whom had been here (on the Pink Trailways bus) once and some even twice before.

I don’t need any notice in order to give a tour, making it as informative and entertaining as I can, as I have done it hundreds of times. Even the repeat visitors laughed at all my jokes though they had heard them before.

I apologized for not being able to provide the usual variegated buffet, replete with cheesecake, paneer, and the many delicacies we prepare when we have advance notice. There wasn’t the variety as usual but there was enough to feed everybody. They were good sports. They gave the usual donation of $ 6.00 per head.

It could have been better, but I think everybody enjoyed their outing.

3) Wednesday I finally got to talk on the phone with Robert Baird. He and his brother, David, own the Historical Arts Company in Salt Lake City, which, among other multi million dollar projects, restored the dome of the Utah State Capitol Building.

Last year David brought 130 kids and supervisory adults from Sugarhouse (50 miles away) to spend a Saturday morning working on the temple here. They brought an unprecedented level of competency to their volunteer work. As well as mowing with the three lawn mowers they brought, they planted flowers which they also brought, cut tree branches with the chain saw they brought, and left as a permanent legacy the gravel park which decorates the very entrance to the temple. David had been to Vrndavan with our friend, Shree Sharma.

When I got the first phone message from a ‘Baird,’ I mistakenly thought he was the same who had come last year and proposed to repeat. No, Robert informed me, he was David’s brother, and his proposal was to bring 150 youth on the 28th of April.

Robert himself just returned from India. He founded a non profit to benefit orphanages in the Himalayas near Chamba. Just go to his web site (Youth Making a Difference) www.umad.org to see the conditions he is eradicating with the help of non profit funds and youth service groups. He organizes youth from Salt Lake High Schools to go on service excursions providing construction and logistic aid to orphaned children of the Himalayas.

For the service project here on April 28th Robert said he “wants to make a dent.” He seems to be the type of person who likes a challenge. I guess you would have to be an extraordinarily gifted and all round craftsman to head a company called “Historical Arts” and do renovation on orphanages 15,000 miles away.

He is coming this Saturday noon with some of his people to preview what can be done. Vaibhavi and I are thinking we can’t lose anything by running the following tricky projects up the flagpole: form and pour concrete for the 4 foot high, 8 foot long pedestals under the brass elephants flanking the main staircase, gold leaf the spire 60 feet high on the main dome, eliminate the vertical streak marks (they’ve proved resistant to all normal cleansing agents) from incense smoke on our beige temple room walls.

If Robert and his assistants can accomplish even one of these projects (we’ll try to think of others as well) we’ll consider it a miracle. Additionally, with 150 youth, lots of unskilled maintenance work can be completed as well. More important than the goal oriented tasks, the opportunity for us to host such a large and willing group of youth, to give them a tour, to associate with them and have the opportunity to work shoulder to shoulder, and serve a prasadam lunch after all their hard work, is priceless.