More than a place of worship

From religious gatherings held in homes, dating back to the 1970s, to its current 30,000-square-feet religious and cultural facility in Winnipeg’s South, the Hindu Society of Manitoba (HSM) has grown by leaps and bounds.

On June 26, the HSM celebrated the 20th anniversary of its Hindu Temple & Dr. Raj Pandey Hindu Centre located at 999 St. Anne’s Rd.

The evening event drew hundreds of community members and began in the prayer hall with religious ceremonies, or pujas, performed in front of each murti, representing the respective deities.

The ceremonies were followed by singing religious songs and a procession around the temple known as parikrama, a Sanskrit word that means to walk clockwise around a sacred place or entity, as an expression of spiritual reverence. Led by drumming, community members carried the smaller form of the murtis in thalis, or trays and circled the entire facility, as the temple priests recited mantras or sacred chants to invoke blessings.

As a Hindu ritual for auspicious occasions, coconuts were broken open, which symbolize removing one’s negativity and bringing out one’s positivity as a sign of devotion to the divine. The celebration concluded with a community meal hosted by Dr. Raj Pandey and his family, in the dining hall.

Looking back 20 years ago, the HSM held a week of festivities, culminating with a religious journey or procession, referred in Sanskrit as yatra, along a portion of St. Anne’s Road which was closed to regular traffic on June 26, 2005. This special day, the grand opening of the facility, marked a new chapter for the local Hindu community in the city.

First president at the 999 St. Anne’s Rd. facility, Bhadresh Bhatt said the space has served the community well over the past 20 years.

Former HSM trustee Dr. Raj Pandey, who gave a donation of $1 million, the largest contribution to the HSM for the building of the facility, echoed a similar sentiment.

“It has served the needs of the community and gone beyond expectations… there is the library, gymnasium and cultural hall. There are now activities about seven days a week. There is so much going on, it really served the community very good,” he said.

Referring to building capacity, both Bhatt and Pandey point out due to the increased community population, more space is required to accommodate their growing numbers and needs.

“We can feel that there are times when we need more space than what the property can provide us,” Pandey added, which suggests a third temple will soon be needed for the community.

Recognizing the HSM was outgrowing its first temple and cultural centre at 854 Ellice Ave., during the late 1980s, the organization began contemplating a second, larger facility in the city.

Bhatt said in 1992, the HSM purchased the land at the St. Anne’s Road location from a Jehovah Witness group.

“We looked at other locations… but we thought this would be the best option considering the community in that part of the city, Winnipeg south and Winnipeg south centre, was growing,” he said, adding the other locations did not have services available at that time.

Despite deep deliberations in the community about building a second temple on St. Anne’s Road, at the HSM April 2000 annual general meeting, it was passed to proceed with this project.

“We had our doubts when we started this process how many people will come this far. Now, we are running short of space. But we are happy to see that the space is being used almost everyday,” Bhatt said.

Activities taking place at the 999 St. Anne’s Rd. facility include: regular Sunday service, religious festivals, Dr. Madhuri Jain Vidya Bhavan School, lectures by visiting speakers, musical performances, cultural shows, sports activities and tournaments, weddings, wellness group, and activities hosted by other local Hindu groups.

The St. Anne’s Road facility is the outcome of tireless efforts by community members who were mapping out the future vison of the HSM. A number of those senior members are no longer present. Because of their dedication and devotion, this facility has been left, as a legacy, for the next generation to preserve Hindu culture and heritage as well as the history of this community in Winnipeg.

By building a temple on land that was previously held by another religious group, who were planning to erect their own place of worship in the same space, the community felt it made a good decision and has a blessed location.

Pandey said his inclination to contribute to the organization connected to a vision for broader uses of the facility. “My involvement was to help the community, to bring the community together and to have a place where people can go, not necessarily only for the prayers. People can go and meet each other there. It has served a tremendous amount as a community centre. If you visit the downstairs of the temple, you will find a wellness group, there are sports taking place andcultural activities…This is for the larger community. My main objective was to do something for the community. The building has served this purpose and for this concern, I am very happy”.

The 999 St. Anne’s Rd. facility exists as a community space striving to support the religious, spiritual, cultural, educational and mental needs of its members, whether it is for kids, families, seniors or newcomers.

Today, at a time of much strife and stress in our world, our communities depend on such spaces. The facility, indeed, has been a welcoming space over the past 20 years for the Hindu community and the public at-large. As Pandey said, “this is a place where you don’t need an invitation… This is a place where you go at the lowest point in your life, when something is wrong in your life and you don’t know where to turn or what to do. On the other end, this is a place to celebrate the most important things in your life, weddings and the birth of children. It doesn’t matter what state of life you are in. It is a place to go.”

Romona Goomansingh, PhD, is an educator, freelance writer and author in Winnipeg

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