Dear Friends,
Great news! The ISHA Dera Building Committee has completed a concept design for the Meeting Hall at Ishwar’s dera, and will soon be hiring a Wisconsin “design and build” company to develop the final detailed drawings.
In today’s blog, the committee discusses the plan!
Also, there is upcoming work at the dera in Wisconsin, including a mitti seva event in September. If you’d like to volunteer, please sign up on the ISHA webpage: https://ishanews.org/seva/
With warmest regards,
Paul Bauer
ISHA Dera Building Committee
Hello Dear Friends of Ishwar Ji,
For many years, Ishwar Ji has spoken of building a dera in Bruce, Wisconsin as a respectful tribute to his own Master, Great Master Hazur Maharaj Baba Sawan Singh Ji.
During the last nine months, the ISHA Dera Building Committee has worked to design a Meeting Hall that ISHA can afford to build. The previous two-story dome design exceeded the budget that Ishwar Ji approved, and so, with the help of sevadars, the committee has developed a less-expensive, one-story concept design that includes all of the essential elements of the two-story building.
This new Meeting Hall will be built on ISHA Hill at the dera property, exactly where Ishwar Ji wanted it built. Because of the change from two-story to one-story, the top of the Hill will be re-graded in September to accommodate the new design.
Here are some images of a concept design for the domed Meeting Hall. Note that these drawings are preliminary, and therefore the colors and other design elements are not final.
A view of the front of the building where cars can drop off passengers.
A view of the back of the building, showing the covered outdoor dining patio.
The Meeting Hall will seat over 400 people in the auditorium, and contains a kitchen and dining hall that is capable of feeding the sangat. It will also contain a Meeting Room, a Family Room, office space, a quiet room, bathrooms, and storage space.
Here is the Meeting Hall floor plan.
Ishwar Ji authorized the ISHA Building Committee to manage ISHA lands and to plan for the construction of a Meeting Hall in which future Masters can meet and speak. Ishwar Ji always emphasized that the building project was about people, not about the building. He also made it clear that all of ISHA’s construction work would be done using voluntary contributions, and that the project will only proceed when there are enough funds to pay for the work.
In Ishwar Ji’s own words: “I want every satsangi, even the poorest of the poor, to be given the opportunity to offer something in seva, even if it is only a dollar. I would also like all satsangis, rich and poor, young and old, to participate in the construction, even if they can only carry one brick. Your smallest efforts are precious to me and to Great Master. This is seva of love and devotion.”
Our next step is to hire a Wisconsin “design and build” company to develop the final design, obtain permits, and plan the construction schedule. If all goes well, and donations are sufficient, it’s quite likely that we can begin construction in the spring of 2022.
Information on making donations can be found on the ISHA Seva webpage: https://ishanews.org/voluntary-contribution/
Any questions related to Ishwar Ji’s dera project can be directed to Jagannath at chairman@ishanews.org.
Sincerely yours,
Jagannath Kerai
ISHA Chairman & Chairman of the Dera Building Committee, and
Members of the Dera Building Committee
