Krishna's miracle in Finland

09/02/2015

Here you can see the pictures from the occasion when ISKCON representatives signed the contract of purchasing the Malmi Manor. The Manor will become one of the gems in Srila Prabhupada's crown known as ISKCON.

Päätimme ikuistaa perjantain 6. helmikuuta 2015 allekirjoitustilaisuuden, jossa tehtiin kaupat Malminkylän kartanosta. Näin Krishna-liikkeestä tuli kartanon virallinen omistaja.

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We wanted to publish the photos from Friday the 6th February. In this occasion ISKCON representatives sign the deal for Malmi Manor. From now on the Manor officially belongs to ISKCON.

29/01/2015

Hare Krishna.

Krishna's new temple project in Helsinki is close to its completion. Helsinki City informed us last week that all paperwork regarding the deal has been finished and that the City is ready to sell the Manor to ISKCON.

We are now engaged in the last push of the fundraising campaign and we are asking for your help. Supporting Lord Krishna's temple is really for everyone's benefit.

If you would like to help, below please find our bank information:
SWIFT: DABAFIHH
IBAN: FI37 8000 1770 6065 73
Receiver: Krishna-liike ISKCON
reference code: 1122

We also have a Paypal account at: [email protected]

Businesses in Finland can make tax deductions for their donations to ISKCON.

Thank you very much for your kind help!

Jai Sri Krishna!

05/01/2015

One-and-a-half days to go!

Kindly help the Finnish devotees to obtain the Malmi Manor, a wonderful place to serve as Srila Prabhupada's embassy in Finland.

Please visit www.igg.me/at/spiritualplace. You can make your contribution online, on the site itself. You can donate one euro, or ten euros, 108, 508 or more, according to your capacity.

Please help the Finnish devotees take advantage of an once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

01/01/2015

Krishna's miracle in Finland -campaign wishes everyone a very good new year.

Our campaign is soon coming to a close as there are five more days to go. We invite everyone to visit our campaign page at www.igg.me/at/spiritualplace

Kindly visit our page and if possible, contribute something to help us take advantage of this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for Lord Krishna's service. For example you can donate one euro, or ten or a hundred, according to your capacity.

Jai Sri Krishna!

28/12/2014

Dear Friends of the New Finland Temple campaign,

I have some very good news I would like to share this time.

For some time there has been one unresolved issue hanging over the New Temple campaign to obtain Malmi Manor for ISKCON of Finland.

There had been a complaint lodged by one couple from the Malmi locale to the Helsinki Administrative Court that the price offered to the devotees was too low and there needed to be a proper tendering process to give others the chance to bid on it. This would have been a very unfavorable development.

By the grace of Lord Krishna, a week ago we received word that the Administrative Court has rejected the complaint, so if we have the funds by our spring 2015 deadline the Manor will be ours.

Another very encouraging development is that our campaign has been receiving wide support amongst the senior devotees of ISKCON. Many leaders have shared the link to the campaign on their websites and there has been considerable increase of traffic to our campaign webpage.

The crowdfunding campaign has also received donations of €1,008 from HH Janananda Goswami. HG Sankarshan das Adhikari also contributed €1,008, HH Jayapataka Swami gave €508, HH Smita Krishna Swami and HH Hrdayananda das Goswami also made contributions.

Right now I see there are over 48K shares in Facebook, and that is the most I have ever seen in any Indiegogo campaign. The weekly average of donations also seems to be increasing.

Our current total for our Indiegogo campaign is €24,803. if you include what was raised beforehand, this takes us to a total of €114,803.

There is still a long way to go till we reach the €260,000 required to purchase the Manor, but it seems we are getting closer.

I will continue to send you updates on the situation.

That's all for now.

Thank you,

Your servant,

Avadhutacandra das
Campaign Coordinator

13/12/2014

Devotees all around the world are engaging in Srila Prabhupada's Book Distribution Marathon in the month of December. On Saturday the 13th December the devotees from Helsinki arranged the Monthly Sankirtana Festival. We were happy to have four devotees for the first time on book distribution. Everyone did well. Everyone was blissful. It was a day of miracles.

08/12/2014

ISKCON has been active in Finland for more than 30 years, but during this time the devotees have spread Krishna Consciousness without a center of their own.

The people of Finland have shown a great appreciation for Srila Prabhupada’s books, especially his teaching of simple living and high thinking. Young people of the country are particularly attracted, and make up most of the community. Although without significant financial resources, they are known for their enthusiasm to give Krishna Consciousness to their fellow countrymen.

Recently, what was the main ISKCON center of Helsinki for over 20 years had to be vacated due to the termination of the lease. In the meantime, the cost of rent rose significantly. Since that time, the devotees have operated from two apartments in Helsinki, without any fixed facility for programs. This has made it difficult to facilitate visitors and guests, and has been an ongoing issue for the devotees.

Then a miracle happened.

The devotees had been negotiating with the City Council of Helsinki (The nation’s capitol) to obtain a particular property in Eastern Helsinki. The Council finally agreed to sell it to ISKCON. Then suddenly, just before the paperwork went through, a group of investors intervened and managed to convince the Council to sell it to them, and purchased the place right from under the devotees.

It seemed like a disaster for the Yatra.

However, when news of this became public, the Hare Krishna’s were depicted in the media as being let down by the city. Due to the goodwill of the people of Finland towards ISKCON, the Helsinki City Council was put under pressure to correct the situation. Because of this, the Helsinki City voted unanimously to allocate to the devotees another property, the prestigious Malmi Manor, a historical property in the heart of Helsinki, and sell it to the devotees for €260,000, a fraction of its value.

This is the same amount one would pay for a one-room flat in Helsinki.

This 19th century property was the first open College in Finland and founded by orthodox monks from the famous Valamo monastery. It has been valued at over one million Euros. The property consists of two heritage buildings more than 140 years old. Even though it is centrally located, it is situated on an entire hectare of land and is surrounded by protected woods. The neighborhood is peaceful and the neighbors friendly.

The devotees have since been allowed to use the main building on a temporary basis, and they say the facility is perfect. They use the main building as their temple, and plan to use the additional space for a Govinda’s restaurant and guest facilities. There is a second building that could serve as an ashram with space for as many as forty devotees.

This is a great turn of events, but there remains a challenge.

As we mentioned, this congregation of mainly young men and women have limited resources, as many of the congregation are students. There is a small but dedicated Sankirtan party that makes collections and a small Indian community that provides some support.

So far we have collected a total of €107,000 towards the goal of purchasing the property.

The devotees of Finland are appealing to the assembly of kind devotees of ISKCON worldwide for their help.

There is an urgency to have the remaining €150,000 before this spring. In order to get the property we must have the €260,000 by March of 2015, the deadline given by the city council.

Avadhuta Chandra das, the Vice-president and Temple Campaign manager says, “We are very grateful for the support that has come in. We Finnish devotees have been content with whatever facility Krishna has given, but this is a great opportunity to offer Srila Prabhupada a suitable and permanent place in Finland. We are very grateful for any donation, big or small, towards this end”.

Please consider becoming part of this historical opportunity. Visit www.igg.me/at/spiritualplace