© 1999 VNN
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WORLD June 4, 1999 VNN4037 Comment on this story LDS Foundation Gives $25,000 For Krishna Temple Construction BY CARU DAS USA, Jun 4 (VNN) — The Church of Jesus Christ of the Latter Day Saints, popularly known as the Mormons, recently gave a $25,000 donation to Utah's Krishna temple construction fund. Vaibhavi Devi, the designer of the temple, had filled out a grant application to the LDS Foundation, which has in the past helped other churches in construction or renovation. After a month of consideration, the request was granted by the foundation. Vaibhavi Devi said, "We've always felt welcome in Utah since we arrived 15 years ago, and have had nothing but warm relations with our Mormon friends and neighbors. And now, when we are struggling for funds to build a temple, their generous response has been so gratifying that I get goosebumps when I think of it. In addition to the funds, most of the Mormon wards in the area have sent representatives over to offer volunteer labor from their members whenever we need it." Utah's 15,000 sq ft Radha Krishna Temple follows the design of the ancient Palace Temple of Kusum Sarovar(translated as "temple built on a lake of flowers"), located in India's most sacred of all pilgrimage places- the Mathura Vrndavan area. Crafted in the Rajastani style of architecture, this building complex will include 200 elegant columns and archways, elaborate carvings, sculptures, and murals, and 17 ornamented domes rising up to 60 ft in height. Open patios, colonnades, gardens, fountains, an outdoor stage and amphitheater will accommodate crowds of up to 5000 at a time. The main temple shrine will feature exquisite black teakwood and gold leafed altars from India, and marble Deities carved from the quarries in Jaipur. Built atop a 15 acre hill which dominates the entire South Utah Valley, and surrounded by panoramic views of snow capped mountains and lakes, the temple site is incomparable in beauty. And yet it is both visible and easily accessible from Interstate 15. In 1982 devotees Caru Das and Vaibhavi purchased a 1000 watt Radio station and have broadcast since then a unique format of Indian devotional music, the Indian sagas of Rama and Krishna in episodic form, lectures on the Bhagavad Gita, and shows on health and vegetarianism. A 3500 sq ' ashram was built in 1987, and has served as the present temple. Every Sunday a multi course vegetarian feast is offered to the public. With 45 llamas, peacocks, and parrots on the property, the present site is visited by hundreds of tourists, including scouts, school field trips, headstart, and families. It's listed as a tourist attraction in the front of the Provo area Yellow Pages, in at least one Rand McNally map book for things to do along I-15, and with the Visitors and Conventions Bureau of Utah County. Groundbreaking ceremonies were held on Diwali in 1996, and devotees hope to complete the building by June 1, 2001. Members of the Board of trustees are Kalpana Patel, wife of Dr. Dinesh Patel, Yogesh Shah, Dr. Asim Mukherjee, Jai Krishna Das, and Vaibhavi Devi. For newsletters and brochures describing the project in more detail, please contact Caru or Vaibhavi at (801) 798-3559, e mail to carudask@burgoyne.com, or visit the web site at http://www.iskcon.net/utah. Comment on this story | Contact VNN about this story | Send this story to a friend
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