Let us build Gurukul Together!

The current ashram is limiting us in several aspects. The addition of the New Chinmaya Wing will help us overcome all of these limitations. We are very excited about the new prospects and vaule addition of these very important additions.

1. Lack of availability of classrooms – While we have added 14 classrooms in our Tapovan Wing, we still feel that we are not able to offer the number of classes requested by people for various sessions. We feel like the entire community should be accommodated in our ashram and there should not be a need to turn anyone away. As the number of high school classes increase (from Session 2, Session 3, Session 4), we will need to accommodate them in Session 1. That will make it difficult to accommodate more grades in Session 1 and 2. In this new Wing, we will add 7 more classrooms.
2. Unable to offer enrichment/seva opportunities to parents, due to lack of space. Several parents want to be part of a Service Project or participate in enrichment classes like Yoga, Bhajans, Chanting etc. However, all classrooms are full, and we unfortunately cannot offer any of these. With new classrooms addition, all parents can participate and will feel a lot more involved.
3. No Kitchen facilities, so we cannot cook and offer food after/before BV, during events, pujas etc. Currently we either need to buy food from outside vendors and sell it or we request sevaks to cook food and bring to the ashram. While this is a sustainable model for events, pujas etc., it is not practical during Bala Vihar sessions. We wish for Bala Vihar to be an activity in which the whole family participates, This can be taken care of easily if food is served before/after Bala Vihar classes. Addition of Annakshetra, a commercial kitchen will take care of several of these needs, and also give several parents an opportunity to serve at the ashram.
4. A smaller dining area – Presently, all our CMA family members cannot sit and enjoy meals together due to lack of space in the dining hall. We need to expand it to increase its capacity. The addition of Annapoorna Hall, our bigger dining area will provide the space we need for large gathering and events.
5. Courtyard is unusable – Addition of a Prangan (Courtyard) between the two wings will enclose the area between the two wings, and allow for outdoor seating, dining, and an area for us to use for our events like outdoor puja or havan, outdoor classes or talks, garba, holi etc.
6. Lack of Bathrooms – Currently the only bathrooms that are available are in the Tapovan Wing, and are not enough in number and not very accessible when the doors of the dining hall are closed. We hope to overcome these by addition of new bathrooms to Chinmaya Wing, which will be easily accessible to all kids from both the Wings.
7. Not a proper shoe room – As you all would have witnessed, during Bala vihar and other programs shoes are littered all over our ashram, creating a tripping hazard for all. Addition of a shoe room will take care of shoes in a holistic way.
8. Lack of a proper bookstore, office area, library areas and meeting room – We will have a dedicated office area to be able to help all Ashram visitors, Bookstore and Library areas will enable us to share more resources with our members and teachers, at the same time providing a quiet areas for reading. The conference room, which will be added as a bridge over the two towers will facilitate meetings, remote classes in a state of the art room.
9. Lack of places for parents to sit while at Bala Vihar – We see a problem of parents dropping the kids off to Bala Vihar and then coming back to the ashram to pick them up. We would like for all of them to stay back for the safety of their kids. They could participate in various activities like seva or study classes/groups or enrichment activities. However, if they need to finish some of their work, there is no place for them to sit. Addition of all the above areas will provide some quiet places for them to be at the ashram.
10. No Acharya Quarters – CMA would like to be prepared to host a resident acharya at our center, in whose presence all activities will grow and blossom. The addition of Acharya Kutir will enable us to also host visiting Swamins along with our resident Acharya.
11. Addition of a Gazebo will make for a peaceful, contemplative area in our ashram. Playground will be well utilized by our young visiters.
12. An outdoor Storage area has become a must. Currently we are saving all our equipment and supplies in the towers, various classrooms, hallways causing things to be misplaced at times, not to mention they are unsightly.
13. The seating capacity of our Auditorium is limited by the Fire code. We would like to expand it to accommodate more people during events or during Bala Vihar. We will expand the current seating capacity of the Auditorium.
14. The Tapovan Wing is open, making it a less secure building. The addition of new Chinmaya Wing, and its gates will enhance the security of the ashram, and will enclose the Prangan (Courtyard) area.

As you can see, this is a very important phase of our construction, and its enhancements are most awaited. We are counting on all of you, the direct beneficiaries of the ashram to help finish the project, so we all can use it now, and our future generations can use it for several years to come.

The more we wait, the costlier it will get to finish the project. Let us jump on it and complete the ashram construction now!