WINSTON SALEM, NC: Sri Mata Hindu Temple of Winston-Salem has slated a four-day foundation ceremony beginning October 7 on its 7.5 acres plot in Clemmons (North Carolina). It is the first Hindu temple of Forsyth County.
Hindu community is enthusiastic and moving forward with Temple plans unmoved by the incident in July last year in which a planned temple in Clemmons was hit with over 60 shotgun blasts.
The ceremony includes Sanku Staapana, which will be held on October 10 evening during the auspicious time designated between 5:21 pm to 6:46 pm. This Temple, to be built in a traditional way, “would promote community welfare and the welfare of the world”, according to a temple announcement, which adds that they “received City/County’s permit to build our temple in August 2016”. Ground Breaking Ceremony (Bhoomi Puja) of the Temple was held on June 11, 2015; and Kumbhabishekam is planned in May next.
Sri Lalithaambika will be the presiding deity with shrine at the center, while four intercardinal directions will have the shrines for Sri Ganapathy, Sri Aditya, Sri Maha Vishnu (Balaji) and Sri Shiva (shivalingam). Shrines for Lakshmi, Saraswathi and Shirdi Sai Baba are also planned in phase one which includes 3,600-square-foot sanctum. Estimated cost of all eight shrines will be $335,000, including $75,000 for Sri Lalithaambika shrine alone.
The Temple, a collaboration of Om Hindu Organization of North Carolina and Sri Mata Shaktipeetham, is offering opportunity to become a Founder Trustee at minimum contribution of $10,000. According to Temple website, “A Hindu Temple stands for Tranquility, Education, Meditation, Purification, Love and Engagement.”
The construction will be undertaken in three phases, with total cost amounting to about one million USD. When completed, besides sanctuary, it will have a cultural hall for community activities, a dining hall, rooms for educational-cultural-religious classes, Swami Rajendran, Vice Chairman, indicated.
The Temple, when built, will reportedly serve about 500 families who had been travelling to Charlotte (about 75 miles), Cary (about 107 miles) and Morrisville (about 103 miles) for services; besides worshipping in home shrines.
Krishna Surabhi is the Secretary.
Commending this determination on the part of the community, Rajan Zed, President of Universal Society of Hinduism, said that the 2015 temple sign shooting incident was shocking for the hard-working and peaceful Hindu communityand keeping the focus on worship and advancing forward with temple plans need to be universally supported
Rajan Zed urged North Carolina Governor Patrick L. McCrory, Forsyth County Board of Commissioners Chairman David R. Plyler and Clemmons Mayor Nickolas Nelson to participate in the foundation ceremony to reassure the area Hindus. He also pitched for educating Americans about Hinduism, the oldest and third largest religion of the world with about one billion adherents; and try to remove misconceptions, if any, about it.
India Post News Service
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