I'm helping my friend Lila Vilasini raise funds to help Sridhara Mali and family recover their losses from the recent flooding of Vrindavan. Please read the following from Lila Vilasini:

Dear Devotees,

When my dhama guru (holy place guide) first engaged me in taking pilgrims around Vrindavan, he shared with me important advice, almost in the form of a mantra:

“The first experience one has in the holy place is the eyes by which they see everything else.”

He was concerned that if the increasing urbanization of Vrindavan was the first experience foreign pilgrims may have, their pilgrimage may be ruined. He therefore took me only a fifteen-minute walk from ISKCON Vrindavan to the secluded and unknown gardens of Vrindavan where most of the flowers for its 5,000 temples are grown. There he introduced me to Sridhara Mali (gardener) and family and instructed me to try to take the pilgrims to his home first. The family fed me the most wonderful and unforgettable Brijabasi rotis, and since then hundreds, maybe thousands, of foreign pilgrims have enjoyed their first experience in the dhama with this gracious family. The family, with the donations they received, even built and straw pavilion to shade its guests. I sometimes marvel that their few hundred-dollar pavilion in the rustic setting of Vrindavan, only fifteen minutes from the bustle of Vrindavan town, has done more to spread the glories of Vrindavan than so many million-dollar temples that have been built. I visited the family a few days ago now that the flood waters have receded. Their rose gardens have been destroyed, and it will take a minimum of a year to grow back. The family is now living on their savings as they will have no income for a while. I want to raise $5,000 to help them through the year and repair their simple dwelling that has been destroyed. It’s the least we can do for a wonderful family (mother, father, three sons, their wives, and grandchildren) that have selflessly served the international Vaisnavas for years. Especially if you have had their rotis, and many of you have, and due to their mercy, you carry a part of the real Vrindavan in your heart, please help reciprocate with Sridhara Mali and family in their time of need.

Your servant,

Lila Vilasani devi dasi