I first visited Valley Hindu Temple 2 years ago. Why? Because my friend Joseph wanted me to explore...And explore, I did. The statues in colorful clothing, the priest and people in Indian traditional clothing, the bell, etc, all made me feel like I was visiting India without a passport.
I had to go back again 2 weeks ago to do my Anthropology 121 fieldwork project. I had to witness a ceremony from a religion other than my own. Oh, wow. I couldn't stop taking pictures. They were having a Bhoomi-Pujan ceremony for the new construction of the temple on Sunday, April 6. I asked the priest if I could watch the ceremony and take notes for my project, and he was more than helpful. He welcomes everyone to the temple. His name is Vidur.
There are also books and newspaper available for free. Most books are in English, so you get to study Hinduism. There's also a book titled "The Spiritual Science of Sex Element." Interesting and useful to both Hindus and non-Hindus.
The temple is a big dome as of this moment. When the construction is finished, it will be a bigger and better temple. I assume there will be more rooms for the gods. As Joseph informed me, each god is supposed to have his/her own room. Some gods are husbands and wives, and each couple is supposed to share a room. I believe Joseph completely because he has been to temples in India, and I have not.
Similar to Wat Thai of Los Angeles, there's Sunday school. Young children come to this temple to learn about their culture and religion. It is understandable because the Hindu chanting is not translated into English. I'm happy for the kids and parents that they're going to have better classrooms in the future. Now they still have to attend their class in the dome which doesn't have separate rooms for different classes. If you're interested in donating to the temple, feel free to speak to any one of the priests. You can have your or your loved one's name permanently engraved on one of the golden leaves on their tree if you donate at a certain amount of money. The remodeling and expansion of Valley Hindu Temple is really important to the local Indians and Indian-Americans.
The remaining events of April are as follows:
Friday, April 18 - Mahavir Jayanti 6:30 pm - 8:00 pm (sponsored by Mukesh Jain and family)
Sunday, April 20 - Hanuman Jayanti/Sunder kand 3:00 pm - 5:00 pm (sponsored by Surendra and Subhash Jain and family)
Saturday, April 27 - Bhajan 4:00 pm - 6:00 pm (sponsored by Mayur and Kamini Patel and family)
Do wear appropriate clothing when visiting the temple. :) read more