By Gauranga Prasad Das
For more than ten years, the devotees in Orlando have been organizing the Sunday feast program by renting different Hindu temple halls. Since 2003, His Holiness Trivikrama Swami has made Orlando as his base and is running a preaching center, concentrating mainly on the preaching in the university. The university (University of Central Florida – above) is the sixth largest university in US with over 45,000 students and has a very big potential for preaching. Also Maharaj established a proper functioning board and started strong Wednesday Bhagavad Gita discussions program at the preaching center and a very enlivening Sunday feast program at a Hindu temple hall. But the need of having our own temple property to boast the preaching was always felt. Also a life size murti of Srila Prabhupada and beautiful marble temple deities of Sri Sri Gaura Nitai arrived in Orlando and are waiting to be installed. For the pleasure of Sri Sri Gaura Nitai and Srila Prabhupada all the congregation devotees have been working very hard to obtain an ISKCON Orlando property.
After trying to obtain many different properties, Sri Sri Gaura Nitai have very mercifully given us a beautiful property in a very nice location. Below you can see an aerial view of the property (2651, Rouse Road, Orlando 32817)
The property is 7.2 acres total, with 4 acres usable (3 acres are wet land) with a large house on it. The property is situated on the east side of the town and is well connected by the main roads (SR 50, 408 and 417). It is only 1 mile from the university campus and will be a great asset to attract the university students. The house has two large halls, three bedrooms, kitchen and two bathrooms. At present the house is being converted to a temple with a beautiful altar room in a large temple room, pujari room and pujari kitchen, a devotee kitchen with a prasadam hall and three bedrooms for Maharaj and devotees to stay. By the blessings of Srila Prabhupada and Sri Sri Gaura Nitai we are planning to install these beautiful Gaura Nitai deities soon. We plan to start having regular programs at this property and our first program will be on the auspicious occasion of Gaura Purnima on the 21st of this month. Please join us on this auspicious occasion.
Orlando has a very big potential for preaching with a large population and with thousands of tourists visiting every year. The current house is a temporary temple and we plan to build a beautiful Vedic temple with a Govinda’s restaurant, a gift shop and a guest house. This temple is going to be a big instrument to enhance the preaching here. But just as any project we need financial assistance to develop this project. If you would like to be involved in our project and help the preaching here, please contact us: H H Trivikrama Swami ‘ Trivikrama.Swami@pamho.net H G Ishana Das ‘ ishana@ishanadas.com H G Daruka Das ‘ ddaniels11@cfl.rr.com
In the service of Srila Prabhupada, ISKCON Orlando devotees.
For pictures of the ongoing renovation please click the link below.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/20202856@N08/page2/