Dear Friends,
The first monk’s cottages at Guru Kripa Forest Hermitage are now being constructed! Ground was broken for the foundations at the beginning of June.
We have a stellar team on site. The group of masons doing the main work have experience with constructing high quality rammed earth homes. We are very happy with the site engineer leading the consctruction crew, along with our team of architects and engineers. It took some time to prepare for this moment — all the groundwork has now been laid and work is progressing quickly.
God and our Gurus have sent so many people to help manifest their monastery. We count at least a couple of hundred souls who have helped in small ways and in large ways. We are deeply grateful to all.
Foundation for the Monk Kutir
This video includes drone footage shot in May and more recent photos showing the beginning of construction. The Hermitage land in the drone footage is the greenish/grassy area inside the perimeter fence and trees.
Foundations for four monk kutirs (cottages) have been dug and are being built with brick, stone, and cement. A fifth kutir will be started soon. Then we will begin construction of the large kitchen, dining hall, and living room — to be called Chela Bhavan. That building will also include a large root cellar, outdoor patio for dining, and laundry facilities. Our meditation temple is in the design process right now. We are planning to build a temple that looks like an Ananda Temple of Light, as much as is possible with construction methods and materials available in India.
The first kutirs and the Chela Bhavan house will allow the first monks to begin living at the Hermitage. That could be within the next 12 months!
The vegetable gardens, landscape/windbreak trees, and fruit trees continue to grow in numbers and in size. The bougainvillea hedge around most of the property is in full bloom right now. It is already six feet high in places. The dense growth and large thorns of that plant provide protection and security, along with beauty. You can see the perimeter trees, bougainvillea, vegetable garden and more in the video below.
A large variety of veggies have been coming out of our gardens: zucchini, eggplant, broccoli, peas, sunflowers, winter squash, Indian gourds, lady fingers (okra), cauliflower, kale, sweet basil, sweet corn, arugula, and more. We’ll be expanding the gardens this monsoon season to experiment with some staple crops: different millets, buckwheat, pulses, and more.
Garden Beds
We’ve sited spots for 40-50 more fruit trees to be planted in the next 3 months. They will include several citrus trees (orange, grapefruit, lemon); some papayas and pomegranate trees; and smaller numbers of guava, lychee, starfruit, chikoo, loquat, sitaphal, and fig. The fifteen fruit trees we already planted are doing well. Mangos and lychees take some years to bear fruit. We are about to harvest our first guava fruits.
Guava Fruits
Sunflowers
We’ve just begun planting about 80 more perimeter/privacy/windbreak trees, along with another 185-200 bougainvillea to complete the perimeter hedge. The trees that are already in the ground are growing quickly.
Perimeter Trees
The first landscape feature will also be planted during the monsoon months (starting now until September) — an enclosing arc of trees and shrubs around the area where we have gatherings, events, and outdoor meditations and satsangs. That place is right in front of and under the central and sacred peepul and jamun trees.
The monks are thriving, living in shared houses until we move to the Hermitage. It’s truly a joy watching each one grow in renunciation and right attitude. They continue to travel throughout India and across the globe, hosting retreats and other programs. Their online work is also growing.
Thank you all for your continued prayers and for all that you have done to help manifest Master’s monastery.
Joy in God,
Devarshi
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