New Swaminarayan Temple hopes to be hub of activities

Shree Swaminarayan, who is the key guiding force for this faith.

Perth has a new Hindu temple, che Shree Swaminarayan Temple, at 1 1 Marshall Road, Bennett Springs (Beechboro). The temple was opened in a special ceremo ny o n 14 January, 2013.

The temple belongs tO a wider group of Swaminarayan organisations and temples around the world Besides the tern p ies in India, there are over 30 s uch temples located in maj or cities in the US, Europe and Afri ca. ln Australasia, t here are established templ es in Auckland, Sydney and Melbourne. The. first Swaminara yan te mple goes back a long way in hi sto r y and was constructed in J\hme.dabad in 1822 AD on land given by an English colle.ccor during the. British Raj i n India.

The land for the Shree Swaminarayan temple in Perth was purchased in December 2007. The construction of th e Mandir began in mid 20 11 with completion in December 2012 and the opening ceremony in January 2013.

Rav ji Gangji Ha.Lai, President of the Perch tem ple committee , told Indian Link, " There is an immense sense satisfaction for al1 of us invol ved in seeing the temple ope n to the publ ic in 2013 Hundred s o f community vo lunteers contributed their rime during weekends in the temple building efforts, and for t heir efforts and dedication, we are truly grateful".

Describing t he activities at t he centre, Jvlr Halai said the temple offers the younger generation especially children the oppo rtuni ty to reconnect with their roo ts in the contex t of r e lig ious and culm ral identity.

"C urrently, Gujarati classes are being conducted at the temple and there a.re p lan s for man y more su ch activ i ties," be revealed.

A pipe band and 1ezim folk dance troupe have also been success ful progra m s undertaken by the Haribhak tos (co mmunity of devotees)

The temple hosts the main deities from the Hindu pantheon like Lord Ra m, Krishna, Shiva, Ganeshji, and also primari ly,

Shree Swaminarayan was born in 1781 near Ayod hya in India, and renou nced family life to b ecome a yogi at the age of 11. Ar 18, he adopted Rarnanand Swami as his Guru in rh e sta te of Gujarat. He initiated ove r 2000 sadhJJs, builr cemp les and installed 11111rtis (s tames)

Ser in large open spaces, in the sub urb of B en11ett Springs in the Swan reg ion of Perch, the temple is beautiful, clean and well maintained. The interior hall is vast wi th stunning statues of the deities, bedecked with jewellery and adorned with resplendent lightin g Giving a m o dern to uch to the relig ious activities, there are 2 large T V screens inside the temple displaying audio visual information to visi cors. An in reresting fea ture ,vas that chey display t he wordings of hymns being cha.need - a definite co n venience for the man y who m ay not know the hymn s but wish to par ti cipate in the singing. The temple is open daily and welcomes all v isitors. Derails abouc opening timings and activities at the temp le are availab le on the temple website at hctp:/ / sstperth.org