A new Hindu Religious & Cultural Center (HRCC) opened in Morgantown on Apr. 30. Grand opening ceremonies, were held on Apr. 30 and May 1, and reportedly included nutan prarambhostav, yatra, murthi sthapana, cultural program, kids’ activities, discourse, etc. Two priests, Samudrala Venkatacharyulu from Pennsylvania and Satyanarayana Sastry from Ohio, conducted the sacred rituals during the ceremonies. All were welcome to attend.
Meanwhile, Hindu statesman Rajan Zed, in a statement in Nevada, commended efforts of temple leaders and area community for realizing this Hindu temple. 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 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.
HRCC, whose objectives include “promote spiritual, cultural, civic, and social improvement,” has been conducting services on Sundays and Tuesdays at the previous location. It has also been celebrating various festivals; conducting education program for children; teaching various Indian languages; offering arts, yoga, classical dance and classical music classes; organizing religious discourses; and undertaking humanitarian projects, including charitable giving.
Chetan Desai, Cherie Bharti, Geeta Grover and Gunjan Gupta are president, vice president, treasurer and secretary, respectively.
