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A Letter from the CMSJ Board to the members of the Chinmaya Mission Community

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The Need for a Facility

Chinmaya Vision in Danger

As Bala Vihar enrollment and attendance at events grows, the Chinmaya vision - “to provide maximum happiness, to the maximum (number of) people, for the maximum time” - is in danger of being compromised

Bala Vihar Needs

Rapid growth

Exorbitant rental expense

Multiple class cancellations

Yagnas

Outside rentals are expensive and unsuitable for our specific needs

Pujas & Festivals

Attendance larger than what the Sandeepany San Jose facility can support

Lack of parking at Sandeepany San Jose

Facility Requirements

Convenient Location

Central to San Jose, Fremont, and Los Altos

Class rooms

At least 20 class rooms, each to seat roughly 40 students

Lecture Hall & Temple

For Acharya’s regular lectures and for pujas

200 people capacity

Larger Lecture Hall for Yagnas

Class rooms will be convertible into a large lecture hall

Parking

Enough parking for Bala Vihar parents and Mission devotees

Longevity

Support foreseeable Bala Vihar needs for approximately 15 years

The Plan & Status

We started the New Building project on Maha Shivarathri in 2006 and acquired the property - an old church - on Clayton road in San Jose,  in January 2008 (2 buildings, ~11,000 sq ft total, 1.7 acres) at a cost of $2.6M and is in the process of building a new ashram from the ground up on the property. Architectural plans for the new ashram have been approved by the CMSJ board. The estimated cost for this new ashram is $7.6M. Over the past few years, we have made significant progress in our fund-raising efforts . We are still about $1.0M away from our final goal and  are counting on your support to make this happen. Of the $1.0M that we still need to raise, we are targeting $400K this calendar year. We are actively seeking everyone's support to build this new ashram, which will be a legacy for generations to come. 

New Building Site Floor Plans

Upper Level

Lower Level