Bhakti Marga America | Donor Impact Report - August 2026
This report is our way of sharing what your support has made possible thus far, what continues to grow and what lies ahead.
DONOR IMPACT REPORT BHAKTI MARGA AMERICA AUGUST 2026
2 CONTENTS WELCOME 3 THE STORY OF THE PARANITYA NARASIMHA TEMPLE 4 NARASIMHA CHATURDASHI 2026 7 COMMUNITY VOICES: THREE STORIES 8 WHAT HAS BEEN BUILT, AND WHAT COMES NEXT 12 WHY YOUR SUPPORT MATTERS 15
3 WELCOME Dear friends, This is the second edition of our donor report, and we’re sharing it with you for one reason: you helped create a place that is quietly changing people’s lives. The Paranitya Narasimha Temple in Elmira is no longer an idea taking shape, it is a sanctuary. People walk in carrying whatever life has placed on their shoulders, and something in them softens. Many describe it simply as “ coming home”. This is the purpose of this place: to give anyone, from any background, a place where they can reconnect with themselves and with God. And the way this temple came into being reflects that purpose. It wasn’t built by large institutions. It was built through devotion, through monks arriving in a blizzard, through craftsmen in Tamil Nadu carving each deity by hand, through volunteers and donors who gave what they could because they felt something meaningful was unfolding. The effort behind this temple is real, and so is the impact it now has on everyone who walks through its doors. This report is our way of sharing what your support has made possible thus far, what continues to grow and what lies ahead. With gratitude, Swami Tulsidas
THE STORY OF THE PARANITYA NARASIMHA TEMPLE To walk inside the Paranitya Narasimha Temple is to feel the silence first, not emptiness, but the stillness of a space that holds prayer. Day after day. Light falls softly. Incense lingers in the walls. You do not need to know Sanskrit or belong to any tradition. The door is open to everyone. It has always been open. Then your eyes adjust, and there He is. Sixteen arms. Black granite. A presence that fills the room. Lord Narasimha, the cosmic protector, stands at the center of what was once a Catholic church in Elmira, New York. Since September 2023, He is the largest Narasimha deity in the Western Hemisphere. But the size is not the point. His presence is. WHAT THE NAME CARRIES Paranitya comes from two Sanskrit roots: Para — beyond, the highest; nitya — eternal, always present. Together they describe a form of the divine that is steady, living, and available to every sincere heart that calls. “The cosmic protector of all who have no other refuge.” — Paramahamsa Vishwananda 4
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7 NARASIMHA CHATURDASHI 2026 A CELEBRATION THAT DEEPENED Each year, the temple hosts one of the most significant Vedic festival observances in North America. Narasimha Chaturdashi honors the moment when the universe’s most protective force appeared for a child whose devotion could not be broken. THE 24‑HOUR YAJNA The celebration began with a continuous 24‑hour yajna, an unbroken fire offering for the protection and wellbeing of all. Through the night, the fire burned. The mantras continued. The devotion did not pause. THE MAHA ABHISHEKAM Flowers, water, sacred substances, Sanskrit hymns, the great bathing ceremony filled the temple with a sense of something larger than ordinary life. KIRTAN, SATSANG, AND COMMUNITY People who had never met sang together in a language most had never spoken. Prasadam was served with care. Wisdom was shared in an accessible language. The temple felt alive, not because of advertising or outreach, but because people felt drawn to the space itself. This is what a consecrated place naturally does. It becomes a destination because something real is happening inside it.
8 COMMUNITY VOICES Three Stories from Narasimha Chaturdashi 2026 HEAD PUJARI RISHI NISHKALA DAS “Stand in this temple long enough and you begin to understand that what you see is only a fraction of what is happening. Sixteen pujaris moved in coordination. Ten more worked behind the scenes. The Maha Abhishekam, the anchor of the celebration, held steady, exactly as Guruji instructed. One family pressed and clarified 38 pounds of ghee over three days in their home kitchen. Two years later, the temple is still using it. And I feel their devotion in the ghee. Purple lotuses driven from Rochester. A sixteen‑foot Tulsi garland carried across the border from Toronto. Offerings that cannot be bought, only given. Just before the abhishekam, Guruji appeared on screen to give darshan wearing the exact colors the deities were dressed in, without being told. It was as if to say: I am fully here. Ugra Darshan: The fierce form of Narasimha “During Narasimha Chaturdashi, there is a moment that stands apart from everything else: the Ugra Darshan. It happens only once, and only for a
short time, but it leaves an impression on everyone who witnesses it. After a collective water offering, the curtains close and the pujaris prepare Narasimha for the form connected to Pralad’s story, the moment He appears for a devotee who surrendered without expecting anything. To bring that lila to life, powdered chandan and kumkum are applied, a lime‑ and‑chili garland is placed around Him, and He is shown without clothing, exactly as the scriptures describe. The atmosphere shifts: lights from below, lime used as wicks, fog blowing in, flames at the front, the conch blowing, bhajans rising. For about twenty minutes, devotees see Narasimha in His fierce, protective form. The one that clears whatever stands in the way of surrender. Some newcomers find it intense at first, but the purpose is simple: He removes what limits us so we can turn toward Him fully. And then the curtains close again. The moment passes quickly, just as His lila does, powerful, short, and meant for those ready to receive it. He comes in a very intense way, for a very short time. For those who are in tune with Him, in that moment He can give you anything you need.” What Narasimha gives “Devout impatience, the force that says: enough is enough. It’s time to remember who you are.” 9
THE FAMILY FROM MIAMI; SHANTA DASI, ANANTA DAS & SHYAMAPRIYA “Our connection to the temple began long before Chaturdashi, through Atma Kriya Yoga initiation, through the birth of our daughter, with the presence of a murti materialized by Guruji in our home. It felt like arriving home. You forget everything. You are receiving far more than you can give. During the 24‑hour yajna, a long‑standing inner vision shifted, grain by grain, mantra by mantra. I felt very taken care of. I also was jumping until I had cramps in my legs. I’ve never felt like that at any concert. At six‑months‑old, our daughter, Shyamapriya crawled and rested on the temple floors as if she had been there before. She remembers.” Family rule: When we travel we say: let’s go for an adventure. If you go for an adventure, something positive will come.” 10
11 FROM LONDON DINAVATSALA DAS “When Guruji announced He would not be physically present, the mind calculated. Germany was closer. Easier. Logical. But the heart said: go to Elmira. Driving from the airport, it was like being embraced in the car. And my first darshan: a reunion. Like seeing a friend you haven’t seen in a long time. Incredibly tender. The energy in the Mandir was so heightened. It was like being in an ocean of bliss. Kneeling before all three forms, that alone was worth the whole trip.” Because he was not physically there, it was as if he could give even more.” What I would tell you “Don’t hesitate. Just go and receive Narasimha’s grace.”
12 WHAT HAS BEEN BUILT, AND WHAT COMES NEXT The Paranitya Narasimha Temple and Ashram were created for one purpose: to give people a place where they can reconnect with themselves and with God. Everything that grows here, every prayer, every gathering, every grace, flows from that intention. THE ASHRAM Today, Elmira is home to the largest Narasimha temple in North and South America. Monastics and community members in full‑time service, offering daily prayers, welcoming visitors from across the region and beyond. Weekly programs and Vedic festivals anchor the rhythm of spiritual life throughout the year. THE DEVI MANDIR Within the complex sits a quieter sanctuary dedicated to Kali, Lakshmi, and Durga Maa. Every Sunday, the thousand names of the Divine Mother are chanted filling the room with a steady, grounding presence. THE SHALIGRAMA COLLECTION The temple also houses more than 3,000 Shaligrama Shilas from the Gandaki River: a sacred treasure found nowhere else in the Western world. Visitors walk in parikrama, taking darshan of each one, often moved by the sheer magnitude of what the space holds.
13 A HOME PREPARED FOR PARAMAHAMSA VISHWANANDA Among the newest additions is a private interview room designed for Paramahamsa Vishwananda, a space where He can meet devotees in small groups. It was created with care, intention and a deep sense of offering. “We created a home for Him. And He knows it.” — Rishika Baghyshri “He was so sweet. He smiled. He acknowledged it. And in that moment, it felt like He recognized that a home is being created for Him. He knows there is a home for Him in America, and we’re ready for whenever He comes. It’s the same principle as accessing other dimensions, but brought into the physical. We have the deity, the murti, the temple. The space around it creates the sanctity that helps the devotee connect to the divine. It’s not about perfect décor. It’s about intention. Intention is more than half of it. It’s like puja, even if the puja isn’t perfect, the intention is what grounds the divine and grounds the self in the physical world.
I feel so grateful that so many people understand the value of Guruji’s work in the physical realm. I’m constantly humbled by the tools, the support, the people who hold the energetic space to make this possible. Americans are unique in their generosity, the whole world knows this. It’s a different culture, a different mindset. Be ready to encounter the divine, whether Guruji is physically present or not. When you walk into these spaces with the readiness to walk with divinity, you begin to see it everywhere. It’s everywhere, and so it is here.” WHAT COMES NEXT The work continues, guided by the same devotion that built the temple: • Continued development of Guruji’s spaces • Expansion of community programs • Strengthening the ashram infrastructure • Preparing for future festivals and pilgrimages Everything that comes next will be built the same way this was: through devotion, service, and the generosity of people who believe in the mission. People like you. 14
15 WHY YOUR SUPPORT MATTERS You are reading this because you helped make this possible. Not as a distant donor, but as someone whose belief, presence, prayer, service, or contribution, in whatever form it came, is woven into what now stands on Church Street in West Elmira. Your support created this living sanctuary. A temple you can walk into, a deity they can stand before, a community that gathers because this space carries grace. And the work continues. The temple stands. The community grows. Everything that comes next will be built the same way: through devotion, service, and the generosity of people who choose to be part of something meaningful. Thank you for helping build a home for the Divine here in America!
607-405-7990 304 Demarest Pkwy, Elmira NY bhaktimarga_america bhaktimarga.us info@bhaktimarga.us
