New Abode for Lord of the Seven Hills in Hamilton

Venkat Raman

Devotees of Lord Venkateswara in general and residents of the Waikato region in particular would have cause to rejoice as the long cherished Temple nears its completion with several ceremonies scheduled to be held in Hamilton next month.

The five days of festivities, which will commence on March 3, will include a series of religious ceremonies, the most important of which would be ‘Khumbhabhishekam’ and ‘Prana Prathistha,’ signifying the completion of the sanctum sanctorum of the Temple.

Khumbhabhishekam is a Hindu temple ritual to homogenise, synergise and unite the mystic powers of the Deity. ‘Kumbha’ means the Head and denotes the Shikhara or Crown of the Temple (usually in the Gopuram) and ‘Abhishekam’ is ritual bathing.

‘Prana Prathistha’ is the Hindu theological term for a rite or ceremony by which a Deity is infused or brought to inhabit a Murti or icon of that Deity.

As a prelude to the forthcoming grand ceremonies, the Trustees conducted ‘Jala Pooja,’ signifying ‘purification of the Deities with water’ at a special event held at the Temple premises on February 1, 2015.

The Beginning

The Story of ‘Balaji in Hamilton’ has been one of sweat, toil, time, effort, anxiety and frustration for a number of people who have been involved with the Project.

Sri Balaji Temple Trust was established on March 22, 2009 to construct a ‘fully functional Temple’ in Hamilton.

Welcoming the move, we wrote in our May 15, 2009 issue, “Hamiltonians and residents of the greater Waikato region will have a Temple of Balaji as the main Deity, if the efforts of a group of devotees and promoters are successful in their efforts to obtain suitable land and go through the construction process. Finance will be a major challenge, unless the larger community gets involved in fund raising efforts of the recently established Sri Balaji Temple Trust Hamilton.”

Malathi Vasudevan, a Chartered Accountant by profession and a Vocalist and Veena artiste, is a Trustee and the Treasurer of the Trust.

She is among the pioneers of the Project.

Trickling donations

She said that the since the formation of the Trust almost six years ago, donations have been coming in trickles from Hamilton, Auckland, Palmerston North and Wellington.

“The Trust has endeavoured to grow the money by investing it wisely to earn good returns. We have conducted the Temple Awareness Programme by organising Homam (or Havan, a consecrated fire as the primary action in a religious ceremony) every year in January. As Temples are linked with art and culture, we organised three Indian Classical Concerts and a Light Music Evening over the past three years,” she said.

Following discussions and due diligence, the Trust purchased a piece of land on 2 Kent Street in Frankton (Central Hamilton) and the related transactions were completed with a bank loan in October 2013.

Community support

Mrs Vasudevan said that the property was neither in a ready-to-build  or ready-to use state and hence major renovation work was undertaken with the support of ‘Granite Works,’ and ‘Solar Consulting,’ two local businesses.

“We are grateful to the physical, financial and material support of organisation such as the Tamil Society of Waikato and the Waikato Telugu Association.  We later approached a number of funding agencies including Trust Waikato and WEL Energy Trust,” she said.

Mrs Vasudevan appealed to all New Zealanders and people overseas to donate funds for the Temple Project for meeting further jobs related to construction, recurrent expenditure, maintenance and other costs.

Donations can be credited to the Account of the Sri Balaji Temple Trust at any branch of Westpac (Account Number 03-1568-0478167-00), through Internet Banking or other forms of money transfer. Donors may remain anonymous if they so desire. As a registered Charitable Trust, donations are tax deductible,” she said.

Five Days for Balaji in Hamilton

Thursday, March 5, 2015: 9 am: Yagasala Pravesham, Vigneswara Pooja, Punyaha Vaachanam, Pancha Gavya Sthapanam, Marjana, Prasanna, Ritwik Varanam, Deeksha Dharanam, Akhanda Sthapanam,  Mantaparadhana, Asthra Raajarchana,  Teertha Prasada Vitharana; 5 pm: Mrutsangrahanam, Ankuraaropanam, Agni Mathana, Agni Pratisthapana, Aavarana  Homam,  Ganapathi Homam, Nava Kalasaarchana, Dhwajarohana, Nityoupasanam, Nitya Bali Haranam, Harathi, Mantra Pushpam, Teertha Prasada Vitharana.

Friday, March 6, 2015: 930 am: Gavyantha Pooja, Maarjana, Nityoupasanam, Nitya Bali Harana, Vaasthu Pooja, Vaasthu Homam, Vaasthu Bali, Paryagnikaranam, Lakshanodhdharanam, Moola Manthra Homam, Teertha Prasada Vitharana; 6 pm: Grama Pradakshina, Grama Bali Harana, Jalaadhivaasam, Jaladhivaasanga Homam, Nityoupasanam, Durgaa Homam Mahalakshmi Samputitha Sree Sooktha Homam, Bali Haranam, Harathi, Mantra Pushpam, Teertha Prasada Vitharana

Saturday, March 7, 2015: 9 am: Gavyantha Pooja, Maarjana, Sudarsana Homam, Narayana Homam, Astaakshari Moola Manthra Homam,   Nityoupasanam, Nitya Bali Harana, Ksheeradhi Vaasam, Bimba Sudhi, Moola Manthra Homam, Teertha Prasada Vitharana; 6 pm: Dhanyaadhi Vaasam, Santhi Kumbha Sthapana, Udakashanthi  Navagraha Homam, Dhanyadhi Vasanga Homam, Nityoupasanam, Bali Haranam, Harathi, Mantra Pushpam, Teertha Prasada Vitharana

Sunday, March 8, 2015: 9 am: Gavyantha Pooja, Maarjana, Mahakalasa Sthaapana, Devata Homam, Rudra Homam, Skanda Shadakshari Homam, Subramaniam Gayatri Homam, Navagraha Homam,  Nityoupasanam, Nitya Bali Haranam, Teertha Prasada Vitharana; 6 pm: Saalaarchana, Pancha Sayyaadhivasam, Pushpaadhivasam, Vastraadhivasam, Moorthi Homam, Shanthi Homam, Disaa Homam, Anga Homam, Pratyanga Homam, Saalanga Devatha Homam, Nityoupasanam, Bali Haranam, Harathi, Mantra Pushpam, Teertha Prasada Vitharana

Monday, March 9, 2015: 6 am: Gavyantha Pooja, Maarjana, Peetha Pooja, Navaratna Nyaasam, Dhatu Nyaasam, Yantra Sthapanam, Sumuhurtham, Vigraha Pratishthaapanalu, Dhwaja Pratishthaa, Astabandhanam, Jeevanyasam, Maha Kumbhabhishekam, Maha Poornahuthi, Avabrudha Snanam, Pratishthanga Shanthi Kalyanam, Panditha Sanmanam, Mahadaaseervachanam, Anna Samaradhanai, Gramotsavam