Temple Meeting Minutes

Empowering Tomorrow, Recounting Today's Progress

Huge thanks to all volunteers and community members who have come forward to offer help with this divine initiative. As we are still in the early stages of this initiative and are learning together, there might be some questions to which we may not have answers at the moment, but collectively, we will work together to overcome any obstacles that come our way and make this dream a reality for future generations to celebrate Hindu cultural heritage in Southlake and neighboring cities.

Temple Meeting Minutes

Dear Devotees,

Om Namo Venkateshwaraaya!!

Over the last two months, Deity and Architecture Committee members have been in consultations w/ Priest advisors, structural engineers. We had walk through of the temple premises separately with three (3) Priest Advisors (experts in Agama Shastra), Sthapathi, and Structural engineer

Based on these recommendations and discussions, we have written these FAQs to answer most of the questions. It is our humble request that you review the following pages. Every attempt has been made to incorporate all the (unifying) feedback/ advice and commendations received from these sources.

    1. What will be the Temple layout? (see layout figure below)

    1. West Wall

    • 1.1. Center: Sri Venkateshwara Swamy/Balaji with Sri Lakshmi and Goda devi on either side of Swamy
    • 1.2. Left Side of Balaji: Panchamukha Shiva Lingam
    • 1.3. Right Side of Balaji: Maha Ganapathi

    2. North Wall

    • 2.1. Sri Ram Parivar w/ Hanuman
    • 2.2. Sri Radha Krishna
    • 2.3. Sri Durga

    3. South Wall

    • 3.1. Kumara Swamy/Kartikeya/Murugan
    • 3.2. Swayamwara Parvathi Devi
    • 3.3. Sri Gayatri devi

2. What are the proposed features of the temple?

  • 1. Temple layout, deity locations and dimensions of each enclosure in the temple are per the Agama Shastra guidelines. Temple will have three zones: Mukha Mandapa, Ardha Mandapa, and Garbha Mandapa.
  • 2. Bhakta Hanuman/ Bhaktananjaneya as the KshetraPalaka will be outside the temple premises facing the main deity on a pedestal.
  • 3. Govinda Stupam
  • 4. Dwajasthambam with Garuda in front of it.
  • 5. Navagraha w/ their consorts in the temple complex (outside the main sanctum) but inside the structure
  • 6. Yagasala
  • 7. Pakasala (Kitchen)
  • 8. Hair Offering/Donation room (akin to Kalyana Katta in Tirupati). This will be a service provided if the devotees would like to donate hair to Sri Venkateswara Swamy

3. Will there be Pradakshina/Parikrama Paths around the deity?

There will be three Pradakshina paths. This path has been mapped based on agama shastra rules and architectural feasibility.

  • 1. The Inner Pradakshina path will be around the west wall deity complex.
  • 2. The Outer Parikrama path will encompass all the deities in the sanctum.
  • 3. Pradakshana path around Navagrahas

4. What are the unique features of this temple?

  • 1. Sri Venkateshwara Swamy with both Lakshmi Devi and Goda Devi, his Dwarapalakas, Garuda vahana and with
  • 2. Hanuman as the Kshetra Palaka
  • 3. Pancha Mukha Shiva Lingam
  • 4. Swayamwara Parvathi Devi
  • 5. Venkateshwara Mantra Nama Japakoti Govinda Stupam
  • 6. Navagraha w/ their consorts
  • 7. Yagasala
  • 8. Pakasala (Kitchen) to be separated from pradakshina path to minimize disruption and soundproof it from the main sanctum.
  • 9. Hair donation room (Kalyana Katta)
  • 10. Meditation room

5. What is Venkateshwara Mantra Nama Japakoti Govinda Stupam?

  • 1. We hope to mobilize devotee volunteers to write “Om Venkatesaya Namaha” mantra in Govinda Nama Koti Japa books. Once completed - each book will have Govinda mantra written 100,000 times.
  • 2. During the temple pratishtapana, completed Japa books will be placed underground, and a Stupa will be erected above. Devotees will be able to tie “Venkateswara/Govinda Thoram” to this Govinda Stupam

6. What will the deities look like? Where will they be sourced from?

  • 1. Agama Shastra guidelines to be followed. It is recommended that deities that-
    • a. DO have Abhisheka as part of their pooja pakriya will be made of black stone.
    • b. DO NOT have Abhisheka as part of their pooja pakriya will be made of Marble.
  • 2. Intention is to source deities from places where the deity originally originated.

7. What architectural changes need to be made?

  • 1. Bathrooms need to be moved out of the main temple premises to the side but will remain connected to the main building.
  • 2. Side walls remain (per Agama Shastra) and feasibility aspect.
  • 3. Kitchen expansion w/ gas line
  • 4. All deity enclosures need water drainage w/ oil traps.

8. What is the proposed cost?

  • 1. We will be working on getting quotes. Projected costs: TBD

9. How were these deities' names being proposed?

  • 1. Deities were finalized by the polling data received from the community.
  • 2. The list was discussed with the religious priests, and we made every effort to include all the deities (Shanmata) as defined by Adi Sankaracharya. Sri Gayatri Devi was included to reflect Sauram.
    Adi Sankara identified that the major cults could be identified in line with six principal deities of the Hindu pantheon – Ganapathyam (the worship of Lord Ganesha), Kaumaram (the worship of Lord Kumara or Karthikeya), Sauram (the worship of the Sun God), Shaktham (the worship of Goddess Shakthi), Shaivam (the worship of Lord Shiva), and Vaishnavam (the worship of Lord Vishnu). These six major streams of Hindu worship are referred to as Shanmatham.
  • 3. We attempted to include deities that are prominent in (and representative) of different parts of India. We followed Agama Shastra expert advice, all India representation, and tried to create some uniqueness.

10. Next Steps:

  • We will have an in-person meeting on June 1, Saturday between 4-6 pm on the temple premises to review this layout proposal.

Thank you for your support in this process.

Deity Committee and Architecture Committee Leads

Proposed Layout (As suggested by Priests)

Legend:

  • 1. Balaji
  • 2. Padmavathi Devi / Mahalaxmi
  • 3. Goda Devi / Bhu Devi
  • 4. Ganeshji
  • 5. Shivji
  • 6. Karthikeya
  • 7. Swayamwara Parvathi
  • 8. Gayathri Devi
  • 9. Radha Krishna
  • 10. Shri Ram Darbar
  • 11. Durga Ma
  • 12. Jaya
  • 13. Vijaya

Temple Board of Trustees, Qualification:

  • Original 5 Loan Guarantors (LG) who contributed 25k to 50k
  • Initial donors who donated 50k and above, on or before 5th April 2024.
  • Future BoT : Donors who donate 75k - 100K will be considered as future BoT. Details will be documented in the Bylaws.
  • For a full list of LGs, 50K above donors, Refer to Temple Founding Donors list on the Temple website.

Future Board of Trustees (Future BOT):

  • There are 4 Original Donors who donated 25k before 5th April 2024 and Committed to Donate remaining 25K within a Year.
  • Refer to the Temple Founding Donors list for these 4 donor details.

BoT came up with a recommendation to create a Temple Executive Committee (TEC):

Roles identified for TEC are

  • 1. President
  • 2. Secretary
  • 3. Treasurer

TEC role Term:

  • Elected by BoT & Committee Leads.
  • Initially for One Year, Can be extended to Max Three Years.
  • After 1 Year, if any TEC member takes a break from the role, they can come back and apply for that role again and stay up to 2 more years to complete their term.
  • Max term for any TEC role is 3 Years.

Note: Details will be provided in the Bylaws.

During the Temple Donors meeting on 4/21/2024, BoT appointed the following donors & active volunteers as interim TEC.

  • President: Sri Vemulapalli
  • Vice President: Sudha Reddy
  • Treasurer: Shashi Vangala
  • Joint Treasurer: Veera Venigalla
  • Secretary: Sreenu Sampati
  • Joint Secretary: Sanjay Veerabathina

Temple lifetime Members :

Any one who donated 10k prior to 4/5/2024, are entitled as Temple lifetime Paid members!

Action Items and Next Steps:

  • 1. Committee whatsapp groups will be created by 4/24/2024.
  • 2. Weekly Status meetings are planned to be scheduled every Sunday 3-5pm CST at the temple premise

1. Vision of the Temple:

The vision is for the greater good of the community and for future generations to enjoy our Hindu cultural heritage.

2. Transfer of NTHHC - North Texas Hindu Heritage Cultural:

Bhuvaneshwar Pasham, Raja Pabba, and Sreekanth Chadave, who formed the North Texas Hindu Heritage Society to start a temple in Keller, volunteered to transfer the organization to Vikram Jangam, Sudhakar Pennam, Shashidhar Devireddy, Anil Kilaru, and Gopi Kandukuri on 02/18/2024 as part of the bank loan paperwork. Additional board members will be added as directors.

Thanks to Bhuvaneshwar Pasham, Raja Pabba, and Sreekanth Chadave, who formed the North Texas Hindu Heritage Society to transfer ownership and also to be donor members for our temple in Southlake.

3. Bylaws Drafting:

Feedback has been collected on committees, sponsorship categories, and structure. Committee drafts have been consolidated, and an attorney will be hired to legally draft the bylaws.

4. Plan if Temple Property Acquisition Fails:

All donations will be returned to donors if the soft commitments are not fulfilled and for some reason, the property acquisition does not proceed.

5. Board Members and Loan Guarantees:

Currently, we have 5 people providing loan guarantees and 4 people who have committed to 50K and more.

Vikram Jangam, Sudhakar Pennam, Shashidhar Devireddy, Anil Kilaru, and Gopi Kandukuri have submitted all necessary paperwork to the bank by the March 4th, 2024 deadline.

Each loan guarantor has committed $50,000, designated exclusively to cover any shortfall on the monthly mortgage payment. Regardless of the circumstances, the guarantors will contribute a minimum of $5,000 per year until the total of $50,000 is reached. If the loan closes earlier than the anticipated 10 years, the guarantors will make a payment for the remaining balance at the time of loan closure.

4. Operational Expenses:

Revenue from recurring pujas, special pujas, festivals, and events will cover operational expenses. Plans are being formulated for recurring payment plans and future donations to clear loans.

7. Exit Strategy in Case of Unsustainability:

If the temple is unable to self-sustain, the board will explore merging with another Hindu temple to take over operations, along with assuming any outstanding loans (liabilities). These provisions will be included in the bylaws, stipulating that the property cannot be converted to any commercial activity but can be passed on to any Hindu religious 503(C) non-profits.

8. Fundraising / Fund Collection:

Converting all soft commitments into deposits in the bank is crucial. With 30% of the 4M goal reached, fundraising efforts will continue. Efforts will also be made to reach more members for smaller donations around the grand opening of the temple.

9. Creation of a New Non-Profit Entity:

Retaining the current nonprofit for property management and creating a new company (NTHHC - North Texas Hindu Heritage Cultural) for operations/services as a 503(c) for cultural/service purposes. This will enable corporations to match donations. Consideration of this option will be made as there are 4 months before the temple opening.

10. Committee Chairs Selection:

Committee chairs will be selected or nominated based on the Google Sheet responses. They will be responsible for posting updates to WhatsApp groups, with settings changed to allow admin-only posting. Community members (Committee Chairs) can reach out to admins one-on-one for updates or to send recommendations.

11. Social Media and Digital Team:

The Social Media and Digital Team is currently working on website design, content, and social media handles to ensure we reach all community members.

12. Digital Payments:

Zelle, Stripe, QR codes, etc., are being created and will be published starting Monday (March 4th). However, since there are transaction fees associated with some of these technologies, all donors are encouraged to donate via ACH, wire transfer, or check. We can utilize these online tools for recurring payments or special ceremonies (poojas), etc.

13. Funds collected as of March 3rd:

We have collected 20K payments until 03/02, and an additional 30K checks were dropped off on 03/03 (Total so far is 50K). There will be alternate day status updates on checks collected from the finance committee.

One member from each housing community will be designated as the temple initiative volunteer to collect checks to be dropped off at the bank or Kimball location. The names of the individuals will be posted on the next update.

1. Funding Status:

Current funding stands at $1.275 million, and we anticipate this amount will increase once awareness of the secured building spreads.

2. Temple Ownership:

Upon clearance of the loan, the temple will own the property. The property cannot be sold but could potentially merge with any nonprofit Hindu

3. Temple Deities:

Working with poojaris, we are considering remodeling to accommodate the plan to have 4-4 deities based on their recommendations.

4. Bylaws Review:

Several temple bylaws have been reviewed, and a basic draft will be created before finalizing and sending to legal counsel.

5. Security Concerns:

Consideration should be given to having security during special events or festivals, similar to security arrangements for public events or religious gatherings in the city.

4. Privacy and Access:

A membership structure is in place, and announcements about poojas and events are made to members. Members receive a 50% discount on archana, etc. Options to reserve spots for members and potentially limit access for non- members, especially during festivals or special events when the temple reaches full capacity, should be explored.

7. Nearby Temples:

The Keller temple organization is not proceeding due to property identification challenges. They are willing to transfer the nonprofit organization to our Southlake temple.