Friends of Vrindavan


A Sampradaya Sun article about the Friends of Vrindavan prompted me to write a letter to the author, Jagannath Poddar, in which I congratulated him on the progress that FOV has made and offered him my moral support. I also expressed the hope that the methods they had developed and the achievements they had made would be taken up elsewhere, such as in Govardhan.

Jagannath wrote back the following:

Dear Jagat ji,

Radhe Radhe! We at Friends of Vrindavan, wish you a Happy Radha Ashtami. Thanks for your commitment for supporting us morally. I have forwarded this message to Michael. We are also concerned about the situation in Goverdhan. But to set up the infrastructure in a new place in Goverdhan costs a huge amount and we have yet to achieve our goal in Vrindavan. Secondly, we have made our foundation strong in last one decade and we really didn't try to raise fund for the organisation.

We appreciate you for giving value to Braj seva. As you don't reside here, thus you can't help us physically. Still you can make a commitment which will help us to make a difference. You may convince your friends to support our mission financially. Any amount of money, from a dollar to infinite will be helpful. In return we can only promise you that every single penny will transparently be spent for the seva. We have proved it over years and people involved with are very dedicated in conserving the holy land of the lord.

Please do visit us whenever you come to Vrindavan next time. Seeing you email ID, it seems that you are based in U.S. We have our trust registered there and we are reviving it. We have income tax exemption both in US and in India. Please get in touch if you need to contact our people there in the States.

Make a commitment for the Dham Seva on Radha Ashtami.

Yours in service,

Jagannath Poddar
Director
Friends of Vrindavan
info@friendsofvrindavan.com



Last time I was in Vrindavan, I met Michael Duffy, one of the inspiring forces of FOV, who stays at Jai Singh Ghera. From what I have seen, this is a very worthwhile project and deserves to be emulated. One of the nice things about FOV is that it transcends all sectarian boundaries. So do not hesitate to send a donation, or to visit the offices in Vrindavan when you are there to see how you can help serve the Dham.



(Picture from Sepia India, Flickr)

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