Dear everyone who follows Vrindavan Today. We did not change our website address and we were not hacked, despite the false rumors you may have heard from Jagadananda Das.
Who is Vrindavan Today?
The news.vrindavantoday.org website is owned and managed by (me) Alexander Shenkar since 2012. The following are indisputable facts:
- I’m the one who registered and paid for vrindavantoday.org domain.
- I’m the one who built the WordPress website that you see – this includes selecting the right WordPress theme, finding and configuring appropriate plugins, and coding customization. It has been Alexander who paid for the premium theme and plugins.
- I’m the one who paid for website hosting, ensuring the Vrindavan Today website is fast and scalable.
- I’m the one who created the aesthetic design and appearance that is recognizably the brand of Vrindavan Today.
- I’m the one who created Vrindavan Today’s email subscription list and designed the subscription signup that enables automated bi-weekly delivery of Vrindavan Today newsletters to your email inbox.
- I’m the one who automated publishing from Vrindavan Today website posts to the Vrindavan Today Facebook Fan page. And I have been the one who added multimedia content including hundreds of videos and images to the Vrindavan Today Facebook Fan page – all of which generated user engagement and were responsible for growing Facebook audience.
- I’m the one who made sure everything runs smoothly when things inevitably broke.
Vrindavan Today is the property of Alexander Shenkar (me).
Alexander Shenkar in Vrindavan, 2011.
Why have we never heard of Alexander Shenkar before?
I’ve never cared for recognition or sought approval. I’m coming out into the spotlight to dispel Jagadananda Das’s rumors and set the record straight.
What was Jagadananda’s role in Vrindavan Today?
Jagadananda Das was the person to come up with the idea for a website like Vrindavan Today. His role has always been of a volunteer content contributor and founding editor.
But isn’t there a Vrindavan Today non-profit organization with a board?
No! Vrindavan Today project never formed an organization and does not have a board of directors. This is the reason why on April, 2012 Jagadananda made a public statement that the Vrindavan Today project could not continue. You may read the orginal post here: Vrindavan Today’s Tomorrow . Here is an except from this post:
Due to lack of time and funding, it is not possible for me to continue with this project for the time being. If anyone wishes to sponsor this important endeavor so that we can get competent help and material facilities, we welcome their help.
(Jagadananda Das , April, 2012.)
If Vrindavan Today had an organization sponsoring the project, then Jagadananda Das would not have turned for help to the public. Instead, he would have turned to the organization that runs Vrindavan Today.
If Vrindavan Today doesn’t have a non-profit organization, then what is the organization that Jagadananda Das is referring to?
The organization that Jagadananda Das is referring is run by Satyanarayan Das Babaji at Jiva Institute, the same organization that provides Jagadananda Das with food, shelter, a preaching platform, and helped him acquire a visa in order to be able to continue to stay in India. Although Jiva Institute did not financially support Vrindavan Today, it tried to coop Vrindavan Today project by leveraging its control and influence over Jagadananda Das.
What is your proof that Vrindavan Today project doesn’t have an organization?
All non-profit organizations are required to run their operations according to established regulations and report their activities and expenditures. Here is an excerpt with some of those requirements:
The registered NGOs has to manage its profile, programme and activity reports, annual activity reports, financial, income and audit reports that include income and expenditure resources, management of NGO to maintain the record of programmes and meetings by maintaining the register of minutes of the General Board/Body, Executive Board/Body those endorse and manage the the NGO and other assets, resources and documents.
…
After establishing an NGO it is necessary to manage and maintain it and in that process it include many thing such as reporting to the authorities and government bodies/ministries/corporations/departments, keeping detailed and transparent record of social activities, income and financial activities, income and expenditure records, establish, set up and manage offices, organise programme/activity centers and other required resources that are applicable according to tasks, programmes and related issues.
The organization that Jagadananda Das is referring to cannot produce reports and expenditures in connection to Vrindavan Today project which originally started in 2011. The reason is because they had no connection, were not providing financial support, and were not managers of Vrindavan Today. They have no record because they have no ownership.
The simple truth is that Jagadananda Das and Satyanarayan Das are pompous liars.
The post Vrindavan Today did not change its URL appeared first on Vrindavan Today.