புளோரிடா டல்ஹாஸ்ஸியில் கிருஷ்ண ஜயந்திக்காக குழுமும் பக்தர் குழாம்

டல்ஹாஸ்ஸியில் கிருஷ்ண ஜயந்திக்காக குழுமும் பக்தர் குழாம் பற்றிய கட்டுரையை டல்ஹாஸி நகர மையத்தின் இணையம் வெளியிட்டிருக்கிறது.

வாழ்க வளமுடன்

Worshippers flock to Hindu temple
By Sharon Kant-Rauch

In an old storefront in downtown Quincy, devotees come to the Hindu Sanatan Temple to participate in aarti, a ritual in which lighted candles are offered to the deities. In Sanskrit, aarti means "toward the highest love of God."

Prior to igniting the ghee (purified butter), the priest, Shree Bhavesh Bhatt, offers food and drink to more than 10 colorfully dressed idols, including Lord Krishna, Lord Rama, Lord Shiva and Ambamataji. Someone rings a bell hung from the ceiling, and the priest shakes a hand bell to invite the devotees to the ritual and to help focus the senses on God. The group then sings a devotional song.

The lit candles are waved in a circular motion before each murti (idol), absorbing the power of the deity. (Hindus believe in one God, Para-Brahman, who is manifested in many different forms.) Then the candles are passed before the people present, who cup their hands over the flame and then bring them to their foreheads, receiving the deities' blessings.

The aarti ritual has been performed once in the morning and once in the evening every day since the temple opened in April of 2004. It's the only temple in the Panhandle that is open every day and has a full-time priest. People come from miles around to attend rituals. About 30 to 50 people might come on weekdays, around 100 on weekends and as many as 500 for holidays and celebrations, according to Tarun Shah, one of the organizers of the temple.

On Tuesday, more than 350 people are expected to celebrate Lord Krishna's Birthday from 7 p.m. to midnight. A large crowd also is expected for the 10-day celebration of Navaratri, which starts on Oct. 19.

Shah said he was surprised at the number of people who attend temple events.

"Once you build it," he said, "people will come."

Shah also is involved with fundraising efforts at the Gujarati Samaj Hindu Temple in Tallahassee, which burned down in 2005. (Members plan to rebuild it.) But the Samaj temple didn't have a priest, so he and others decided to create a more formal temple.

Bob Patel, a local businessman and owner of the storefront in Quincy, donated the building. The inside was gutted and remodeled, and idols of solid marble were purchased for the altar. Some temples are devoted to just one god or goddess, but the Quincy temple honors them all, Shah said.

Before it opened, a priest from India came to the temple for three days to perform rites to bring the gods' souls into the statues. Now, every day, when people come to pray, they bring prasad (food) for the gods. At the end of their prayers, the devotees eat some of the food.

Pooja and Rohit Khurana, who came to the temple on Wednesday night with their young daughter, said they had been coming almost every night for the last month. They don't stay long - perhaps 10 or 15 minutes - but said the time there was valuable.

"It's good to have a place where you can have peace of mind," said Rohit.

Kevin Patel, a 22-year-old Tallahassee Community College student who lives in Havana, said he's particularly devoted to Swaminarayan, who lived more than 200 years ago and came up with 201 rules to live by. A statue of Swaminarayan is on the left side of the temple.

At home every morning Patel prays and recites the 108 names of God. But he also likes to come to the temple twice a week because he feels peaceful as soon as he enters.

"Here," he said, "you can totally concentrate on God."

Patel, who has lived in the United States for only two years, said he also enjoys connecting with the Hindu community.

"If you want to know your culture," he said, "you have to go to temple. It will keep you going in a straight way."

Patel's experience is one reason Shah, Bob Patel and others wanted a temple that was open every day.

"The ultimate goal," Shah said, "is for people to come here and forget the worries of the day."

What: Lord Krishna's
Birthday

Where: 19 W. Jefferson St. (Highway 90) in Quincy

When: 7 p.m. to midnight Tuesday

Details: Call 627-8666, e-mail hindutemplequincy @yahoo.com or visit www .hindusanatantemple.org