Ram Mandir: Celebrations will be held throughout the week in the temples of America, the program of ‘celebration’ is something like this
Temples across the US are preparing to organize a week-long program in North America on the occasion of the consecration ceremony at the Ram temple in Ayodhya on January 22 next year. Tejal Shah of Hindu Temple Empowerment Council (HMEC) told PTI on Monday. “It is our good fortune and a blessing for us that we are a part of this event and our dream temple is coming true after centuries of waiting and struggle. Everyone’s emotions are very high in the US and Canada. “The reverence and devotion remains and everyone is eagerly waiting to receive Lord Shri Ram in their temple.”
The program will run from January 15 to January 22.
The Hindu Temple Empowerment Council (HMEC) is the apex body of more than 1,100 Hindu temples in the United States. He said the week-long festival at small and big temples across North America will begin on January 15 and conclude with the live telecast of the Ram temple inauguration from Ayodhya. Ram temple will be inaugurated on 22 January.
Thousands of devotees are expected to attend
Shah, who heads the Hindu Temple Empowerment Council (HMEC), said given the response so far, he expects thousands of Hindus to watch the inauguration ceremony.
Everyone will take a pledge on January 21 at 11 pm.
He said, “At the end of the program we will take a resolution. For us it will be on January 21 at 11 pm (US local time). Therefore, we will all join virtually that night to celebrate the consecration of Lord Shri Ram.” So far several dozen temples have registered for the program that will begin chanting of Shri Ram Naam Sankirtan by priests in North America on January 15.
The program will start with the chanting of Ramnam Sankirtan.
More than half the temples have signed up for the main events to be held on January 21-22, he said. “Every week we are seeing more than 100 temples registering for events,” he said. He said the January 15 program would begin with the chanting of Ram Naam Sankirtan by the priests. Ram Naam Sankirtan is the chanting of the 108 names of Lord Ram used in Valmiki Ramayana.
This will be followed by a bhajan recital by renowned Atlanta artist Vinod Krishnan, who will sing some popular new bhajans of Lord Rama, he said. There are plans to illuminate temples on January 21, watch live inaugurations in these temples, blow conch shells and distribute prasad. Each participating temple will receive a certificate of participation and “prasad” from the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust, Shah said. “We have created the exhibition “Ramayana Around the World” to commemorate the consecration and inauguration of the temple at Shri Ram Janmabhoomi in Ayodhya.
“This 26-poster exhibition reflects the importance of Shri Ram and Ramayana in countries across the world,” he said. He said that this exhibition is available for display at temples and local community centres.
