Bhoomi-Puja (ground-breaking) for a unique Char Dham Hindu Temple will be held in The Woodlands (Texas, USA) on November 12, 2011.
Instead of usual one, this Hindu temple plans to have four worship centers—Badrinath, Dwarka, Jagannath and Rameshwram. Besides sanctuary, it also plans to house a multi-use cultural center, a yoga center and priest residence.
Meanwhile, Hindu statesman Rajan Zed, in a statement in Nevada (USA) today, applauded efforts of Temple promoters and The Woodlands and surrounding area community for this upcoming unique Hindu temple complex.
Rajan Zed, who is President of Universal Society of Hinduism, further said that it was important to pass on Hindu spirituality, concepts and traditions to coming generations amidst so many distractions in the consumerist society and hoped that this new temple would help in this direction. Zed stressed that instead of running after materialism; we should focus on inner search and realization of Self and work towards achieving moksh (liberation), which was the goal of Hinduism.
Free breakfast and lunch will be served on Bhoomi-Puja day and shuttles will be provided every ten minutes apart to bring the devotees and others to the Temple site.
SKAI (Surya Kabita Amlan Ishan) Foundation, non-profit organization established by Dr. Surya Sahoo and his wife Kabita Sahoo in 2007, will reportedly construct, operate and maintain this Temple. SKAI’s mission includes “relief for the poor and the underprivileged”, “eliminating prejudice and discrimination”, “provide religious services”, etc. It claims contribution to local food banks, provision of clean water to underprivileged in rural India, and plans to establish scholarships for needy students. Its tagline is: “We believe in spiritual power which can be achieved by sincere devotion and meditation.” Other officials associated with this project reportedly include Partha Mohanty and Hema Pillutla.
The Woodlands is a master-planned community within the Houston–Sugar Land–Baytown metropolitan area of Texas which has won a Special Award for Excellence from the Urban Land Institute. Notable people associated with The Woodlands include NFL players Danny Amendola and Gerald Irons, porn star Teagan Presley, country musician Jack Ingram, rapper Chamillionare, wrestlers Torrie Wilson and Nick Mitchell, basketball player Lance Blanks, and Olympic gold medalist Laura Wilkinson. Bruce Tough and Lloyd Matthews are Chairman and Vice Chairman respectively of the Township Board, while Don Norrell is the President. Another temple called Hindu Temple of The Woodlands opened in this town in June.
Hinduism, oldest and third largest religion of the world, has about one billion adherents.
We really do not want them to build the temple on the site they have selected. It is in the middle of a residential neighborhood and poses a safety risk to our children playing at the nearby park by increasing traffic counts. They also plan on building a fence to “keep out the animals” when this is The Woodlands. A community built to be in harmony with nature. Quite hypocritical.