DOWNEY, CA - Weeklong festivities celebrating the 14th anniversary of the Downey Swaminarayan Mandir wrapped up April 20 with a Mahabishekam and food offerings to the idols. Rakesh Prasadji Maharaj was on hand to assist in the puja. Leaders of the temple emphasized the anniversary events as children-oriented and aimed at passing Hindu traditions to the next generation.
“The mission, or the vision statement, for the temple is to invoke knowledge amongst all the kids - the next generation. We want to prepare this generation to be completely involved in temple activities and to get to know Indian culture and the holy scriptures and the Hindu way of life. They will be the pioneers of the temple tomorrow,” temple secretary Nayan Shukla said.
Temple president Nandalal Patel added, “Our goal is to get the kids to come into the temple and get to know our culture. It might be in 10 or 15 years, but we have to prepare the kids to take over the temple and propagate our culture.”
In honor of the temple’s children, the Downey Swaminarayan Mandir held a kid’s cultural program on April 19 that was attended by 400 devotees. Around 25 kids participated in singing bhajans and performing in puppet shows and dramas. The younger crowd also put on a fashion show based on gods and goddesses where they delivered one-liners to the audience who then had to guess which god or goddess was being portrayed. “It was a grand success,” Patel said.
The Downey Swaminarayan Mandir began celebrating its anniversary from April 12. Throughout the week scripture readings were held from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. on weekdays and 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. on weekends. The temple also marked the birthdays of Hanuman, Rama, and Swaminarayan with pujas and bhajans. Two fire sacrifices, or yagnas, were performed.
Temple president Nandalal Patel added, “Our goal is to get the kids to come into the temple and get to know our culture. It might be in 10 or 15 years, but we have to prepare the kids to take over the temple and propagate our culture.”
In honor of the temple’s children, the Downey Swaminarayan Mandir held a kid’s cultural program on April 19 that was attended by 400 devotees. Around 25 kids participated in singing bhajans and performing in puppet shows and dramas. The younger crowd also put on a fashion show based on gods and goddesses where they delivered one-liners to the audience who then had to guess which god or goddess was being portrayed. “It was a grand success,” Patel said.
The Downey Swaminarayan Mandir began celebrating its anniversary from April 12. Throughout the week scripture readings were held from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. on weekdays and 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. on weekends. The temple also marked the birthdays of Hanuman, Rama, and Swaminarayan with pujas and bhajans. Two fire sacrifices, or yagnas, were performed.
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