Newsletter Archives

New Fund Ensures Spiritual Future of USA Temple

July - August - September 2007 Newsletter


Dr. and Mrs. Gowda

Devotees of the Murugan Temple in Lanham, Maryland have enlisted the services of the Hindu Heritage Endowment to ensure the ceremonial and spiritual future of their temple. Pooling their contributions, they created the Murugan Temple of North America Puja Fund, (fund #70.) "Some of us want to support the temple even after we leave this world," said temple board member Dr. Nigel Subramaniam Siva. "We're initially aiming to build the fund to $300,000." At five percent, he estimates the fund would provide $15,000 annually for puja supplies. As the fund grows, any income in excess of the supplies budget will be applied to priest salaries and benefits.

"It's very simple," adds Atchuthan Sriskandarajah. "I thought that the fund should be created so that we can further insure that the pujas are done well for the community at large now and in the future."

"My contribution to the Puja Fund is an expression of my devotion to Lord Muruga," explained Dr. Ken Kanagalingam, "It gives me great satisfaction that our Puja Fund at HHE will help our children, born into a different culture and perspective, continue our cherished Hindu traditions. It ensures that the temple will receive the resources needed to support the priests and their continued performance of daily temple rituals in an uninterrupted and proper manner." Kanagasabai Loganathan co-created the Puja Fund at HHE to encourage the next generation to preserve their Hindu heritage. "We asked our three adult children to contribute to the fund with us," he said. "We wanted to help them develop the habit of supporting the temple. We found the Puja Fund a safe, satisfying, sustainable vehicle by which we can support our temple. We hope we will be able to give to the fund regularly."

"My late husband Arumukham Saravanapavan visited Kauai in 1982," recalls Pathmini Saravanapavan. "He told Gurudeva that our community wanted to build a temple, and Gurudeva sent a Ganesha to our home in Bethesda, telling us, ëPray to him and slowly he will help you build a temple.' He said our temple would ëlast more than a thousand years.' It gave me great joy to hear that. In my small way, I want to make sure this happens because of my love for Muruga and my belief in Gurudeva's words." In 2003 Pathmini opened two Murugan Temple funds with HHE.

Dr. Sabapathippillai Kulathungam feels the Puja Fund at HHE links his Murugan temple in Maryland with the Iraivan Temple in Kauai and, through it, with Hindu temples worldwide. "Like many tributaries join to form a single river, all divisions of Hinduism merge within the single Iraivan," he said. Temple trustee Vayudeva Varadan shared his hope for the future of the temple. "I believe Murugan Temple's priests and the pujas they deliver bring unique light and life to the temple. As the years pass, I expect the feeling to build and grow. Even now, people travel to our Nallur Festival from all over the US and Canada. I suspect it is the same feeling that motivates thousands of people to walk barefoot for days to reach the great temples in India."

Dr. Siva hopes others will contribute to the Puja Fund both to ensure the temple's future and to honor their loved ones as he has done for his parents. Siva, who holds a Doctorate in Water Resources Engineering, credits his parents for much of his professional success, as well as his religious formation. Devotees purchased land for the temple in 1987. The temple was finished in 1999, with Gurudeva attending the Kumbhabishekam. "My personal experiences at the Temple have convinced me that the high spiritual presence of the divine is there," Dr. Siva said. "I want to make sure this divine presence continues to grow there so that others will benefit spiritually." Please visit the temple at www.murugantemple.org.

January to March Endowment Contributions

Kauai Aadheenam Monastic Endowment
Ishani Chowdhury 121.00
Gunasekaran Kandasamy 339.27
Sheela Rahavendran 101.00
K. Lakshmi Kantha Reddy 186.00
Darmaguhan Satgunasingam 50.00
Other Donations 47,720.50
Total 48,517.77
Iraivan Temple Endowment
Roger & Rosemary Brown 120.00
Chris Gendron 27.00
Victoria Lynne Johnson 33.00
Muthu Kumar 20.00
Trond Liland 85.00
S.V. Ravi Rahavendran 1,503.00
Sheela Rahavendran 202.00
Jnana Sivananda 100.00
Devananda Tandavan Estate 488,225.44
Niraj Thaker 25.25
Jeremiah Umakanthan 63.50
Padminidevi Umakanthan 200.00
Other Donations 243,516.75
Total 734,120.94
Kauai Aadheenam Annual Archana Fund
Yatrika Ajaya 153.34
Gunavadee Caremben 1.50
Somasundaram Caremben 1.50
Sukanta Caremben 1.50
Victoria Lynne Johnson 11.00
Amooda Koothan 1.50
Saravan Koothan 1.50
Sakuntalai Krishnan 234.06
Kirtideva Peruman 5.99
Niroshnee Peruman 8.99
Akileiswaran Samuthiran 10.75
Jayasutha Samuthiran 15.82
Janakan Saravanapavan 100.00
Sivan Saravanapavan 100.00
Devaladevi Sivaceyon 5.61
Nutanaya Sivaceyon 5.61
Patudeva Sivaceyon 5.61
Hemavalli Sivalingam 1.73
Kantaruban Sivalingam 1.73
Rohini Sivalingam 1.73
Potriyan Sivanathan 8.53
Siven Veerasamy 12.00
Total 690.00
Hinduism Today Lifetime Subscription Fund
Sujeet Akula 160.00
Brian Breiling 240.00
Ravichandran Ceyon 209.00
Maruthu Pandian Darmalingam 220.00
Umaiyal Devasegayam Family 55.98
Anil D. Halappa 240.00
Carmel V. Hawn 525.00
David Jaffe 800.00
Isanah Kameni 28.56
T. Iswarah Kumar 35.50
Bose & Parvathi Mandava 1,001.00
Arundhati Mehta 800.00
Jaipal Panwar 800.00
Mogan Ramasamy 652.00
Sothinathan Sabesan 160.00
Kulamani (Roselia) Simon 50.00
Rakesh Vaidyanathan 160.00
Total 6,137.04
Boys School for Iraivan Priesthood
Kapil Mhaiskar 12.63
Bala Sivaceyon 22.45
Total 35.08
Kauai Aadheenam Matavasi Medical Fund
Maruthu Pandian Darmalingam 27.50
Gowri Nadason 101.94
K. Lakshmi Kantha Reddy 245.00
Niraj Thaker 25.25
Vayudeva Varadan 72.00
Other Donations 6,300.00
Total 6,771.69
Tirunavukkarasu Nayanar Gurukulam
Rajkumar Alagesan 75.00
Muthu Kumar 39.00
Trond Liland 20.00
Ananthakumar Renganathan 50.00
Total 184.00
Sri Subramuniya Kottam Fund
Muthu Kumar 14.00
Malaysian Hindu Youth Education Trust
Muthu Kumar 255.00
Anbananthan Muniandy 10.00
Total 265.00
Kumbhalavalai Ganesha Temple Endowment
Manoharan Navaratnarajah 75.00
Malaysia Hindu Renaissance Fund
Muthu Kumar 44.00
Hinduism Today Production Fund
Muthu Kumar 4.00
Dr. Shun Sunder 5,000.00
Total 5,004.00
Hindu Orphanage Endowment Fund
Anil Anand Badhwar 57.20
Aparna Balakrishnan 10.00
Chris Gendron 135.00
Gunasekaran Kandasamy 339.27
Prasad Krishnan 1.50
Muthu Kumar 42.00
Krishnakumar Manoharan 51.00
Kapil Mhaiskar 12.62
Natraj Narayanswami 45.00
Bharath Ramaswamy 51.00
Alex Ruberto 50.00
Rodney & Ilene Standen 30.00
Niraj Thaker 25.25
Raja Vishnu 125.00
Total 974.84
Hindu Education Endowment
Kapil Mhaiskar 12.62
Hasu N. & Hansa H. Patel 100.00
Total 112.62
Suntheram Family Trust Fund
Suntheram Family Trust Fund 1,500.00
Hindu Press International Endowment Fund
Hiranya & Saraswathi Gowda 63.00
David & Margaret Myers 100.00
Panna Nagarsenker 100.00
Total 263.00
Loving Ganesha Distribution Fund
Manoharan Navaratnarajah 75.00
Gassa Patten 1,500.00
Total 1,575.00
Spiritual Park of Mauritius Endowment
Kapil Mhaiskar 12.62
Kauai Aadheenam Religious Art and Artifacts Fund
Rajadeva Alahan 102.00
Murugan Temple Pillaiayar Shrine Fund
Pathmini Saravanapavan 100.00
Thank You Bodhinatha Fund
Hotranatha Ajaya 11.00
Asha Chaku 1,000.00
Amarnath & Latha Devarmanai 324.00
Trond Liland 60.00
Kamalasundri Ashoka Natarajan 57.84
Manoharan Navaratnarajah 150.00
Sheela Rahavendran 101.00
Alex Ruberto 30.00
Pathmini Saravanapavan 25.00
Niraj Thaker 25.25
Jeremiah Umakanthan 62.50
Vayudeva Varadan 84.00
Total 1,930.59
Saivite Hindu Scriptural Fund for the Visually Impaired
Alex Ruberto 30.00
Sri Chandra Madhab Debnath Endowment
Shyamal Chandra Debnath 150.00
Murugan Temple Yalpanam Festival Fund
Pathmini Saravanapavan 100.00
Manitha Neyam Trust Fund
Bala Sivaceyon 22.45
Kerala Temple Trust
Ishani Chowdhury 125.00
Prasad Krishnan 1.50
Total 126.50
Kapaleeshwara Temple Orphanage
Rajkumar Alagesan 25.00
Aparna Balakrishnan 10.00
Prasad Krishnan 1.50
Muthu Kumar 70.00
Auslin Mangal Lawrence 150.00
Jayanthi Vasudevan Naiker 200.00
Bharath Ramaswamy 51.00
Total 507.50
Manjung Hindu Sabha Orphanage Fund
Aparna Balakrishnan 10.00
Muthu Kumar 356.00
Bharath Ramaswamy 51.00
Simon Wesley 1.00
Total 418.00
Pazhassi Balamandiram Orphanage Fund
Muthu Kumar 20.00
Karnataka Temple Development Fund
Hiranya & Saraswathi Gowda 303.00
Swami Vipulananta Childrenís Home Endowment
Muthu Kumar 20.00
Kapil Mhaiskar 12.62
Total 32.62
Hindu Literature Fund
Hotranatha Ajaya 13.00
Som Sharma 251.00
Nigel Subramaniam Siva 600.00
Prabha S. Verma 5,001.00
Total 5,865.00
Hinduism Today Complimentary Subscription Fund
Hiranya & Saraswathi Gowda 153.00
Narendran Siddan 20.00
Total 173.00
Kauai Aadheenam Yagam Fund
Victoria Lynne Johnson 11.00
K. Lakshmi Kantha Reddy 108.00
Total 119.00
Yogaswami Hindu Girlsí Home of Sittandy Endowment
Anonymous 7.00
Nikole Castillo 20.00
Maruthu Pandian Darmalingam 27.50
Lila Shakti Devi 85.00
Prasad Krishnan 1.50
Muthu Kumar 71.00
Kapil Mhaiskar 12.63
Krish & Devika Muruga 100.00
Natraj Narayanswami 110.00
Ananthakumar Renganathan 50.00
Jutikadevi Sivaraja 216.00
Kimberly Wyckham 6.00
Karen Yang 1,008.00
Silas H. Zirkle 250.00
Total 1,964.63
Siva Poomi School Trust
Muthu Kumar 20.00
Yogaswami Hindu Boysí Home Fund
Maruthu Pandian Darmalingam 27.50
Muthu Kumar 61.00
Kapil Mhaiskar 12.63
Natraj Narayanswami 25.00
Ananthakumar Renganathan 50.00
Raj K. Sharma 201.00
Dharmalingam Siddhan 150.00
Total 527.13
Maha Ganapati Temple of Arizona Endowment
Neville Bilimoria 2,000.00
Chowdary & Radhikadevi Koripella 2,000.00
Total 4,000.00
India Hindu Tribals Endowment
Ishani Chowdhury 125.00
Kapil Mhaiskar 12.63
Bharath Ramaswamy 51.00
Total 188.63
Murugan Temple of North America Puja Fund
Venkatt Guhesan 101.00
Ken Kanagalingam 1,001.00
Saba Kulathungam 1,000.00
Nagulambikai Loganathan 1,001.00
Pathmini Saravanapavan 1,100.00
Tirunilayi S. Seshadri 101.00
Nigel Subramaniam Siva 2,001.00
T. & Sundarakumari Sriskandarajah 100.00
Atchuthan Sriskandarajah 500.00
Vayudeva Varadan 200.00
Simon Wesley 1.00
Total 7,106.00
Pooled Income Fund (PIF)
Savitri Palani 100.00
Total Contributions $830,202.65
Funds at Market Value, March 31, 2007
Total Endowment Funds $8,585,126.00
Total Pooled Income Funds $218,205.90
Grand Total $8,803,331.90

MISSION STATEMENT

Hindu Heritage Endowment is a publicly supported, charitable organization recognized as tax exempt by the IRS on April 22, 1994. Employer ID 99-0308924. Founded by Satguru Sivaya Subramuniyaswami, its philanthropic mission is to provide secure, professionally managed financial support for institutions and religious leaders of all lineages of Sanatana Dharma.

PROFESSIONAL ADVISORS

Halbert/Hargrove, Investment Counsel; Sonoda & Isara, LLP, CPA. HHE is a member of the Council on Foundations, an association of more than 2,000 foundations which interprets relevant law and management and investment principles, and of the National Committee on Planned Giving, the voice and professional resource for the gift planning community.

I want to participate. Where should I Send My Donation?

You may send your gift to an existing fund, create a new Endowment or request information through the address below.

Donations may be made online at www.hheonline.org or use the HHE tear-out card in the HINDUISM TODAY magazine to join our family of benefactors who are Strengthening Hinduism Worldwide. Thank you.

 
Kautiliya Fund

The Kautiliya Endowment

Provides youth scholarships for monastic or priest training at Kauai Aadheenam

Global Human Rights

The Endowment for Global Hindu Rights

Helps support the Hindu American Foundation's Hindu human rights efforts

Bodhinatha Fund

The Thank You Bodhinatha Fund

Helps provide free murthis to temples and gifts of religious books

Taos

The Taos Hanuman Fund

Helps preserve the Hanuman statue and assure that its worship is continued, generation after generation

Planned Giving Guidance

Community Property and Joint Tenancy: Why the Way You Hold Property Matters

Use Giving Assistant to save money and support Hindu Heritage Endowment