CHICAGO: Devotees at Hari Om Mandir in Medinah, a north side suburb of Chicago, kept up the tradition of ringing in the New Year, with “Akhand Ramayan Path” on Saturday, Dec 31. All members of the Board, along with several devotees were in attendance at a formal Pooja and other rituals performed by the Temple Priest, Pandit Dinesh Kumar.
At Midnight, 12 o’clock, a big group of devotees rang in the New Year 2017, amidst chanting of prayers, bhajans, Ram Dhun and ringing of bells. Devotees took turns in reading the Holy Book and Ramayan Path was completed after 24 hours next day on January 1. People sang and danced with joy to celebrate the auspicious start of the New Year.
The Mandir was beautifully decorated with flowers, lights, buntings, banners etc. to usher in a new year of peace and prosperity. A grand lunch was served by the temple and people exchanged greetings, good wishes and embraced each other to seek blessings and prayed for the well being of all mankind.
The two Boards – Executive Board (EB) and Board of Trustees (BOT) – that run the show all year round were introduced to the general congregation. Vipan Wadhera was introduced as the President of the EB. He took charge from the outgoing President, Indrajit Sarkar. Similarly, Ayodhya Salwan completed his term and handed over the charge to the New Chairman of the BOT, Satpal Salwan.
Plaques were awarded to the outgoing Office Bearers: Ayodhia Salwan, Mohan Karamchandani, Amar Singla, Mrs. Nirmal Bagga, Sham Taxali, Indrajit Sarkar and Mrs. Usha Verma, for their services to the Temple and community at large. New Members Mrs. Shubh Sharma, Jeetu Patel, Chandru Bhojwani, Upma Hardy and KrishanTejpal were also introduced to the public and given a warm welcome.
Hari Om Mandir is located at DuPage County in the heart of Chicago land. The Mandir has statues of all major North Indian Gods & Goddesses. Every Sunday there is a Havan and general congregation followed by Aarti and Bhojan Prasad. Every Monday there is Shiv Puja and every Tuesday there is Hanuman Challis Path. Two learned priests are available in temple, for Poojas, Havan, Kathas etc in the temple and at home.
Asian Media USA