Donations to repay loans of God and His people

Malathi Vasudevan –
mvat2000@gmail.com

Hamilton has truly been blessed by the Divine presence of Lord Venkateswara (Balaji) since March 9, 2015. Since then the Sri Balaji Temple (located at 2 Kent Street, Frankton, Hamilton) has become a hub for many activities.

Several local groups have shifted their weekly and monthly prayer evenings to the Temple. They include the Ramayan Mandali and the Tamil Society Waikato.

Among the lunchtime devotees are office-goers, while the Community Centre has become the venue for Hindus and many other ethnic and religious groups, transcending manmade barriers of race, language and culture.

The Sri Balaji Temple Trust (which owns and manages the Temple) is happy that this landmark place of worship has been accessed by devotees from all over New Zealand.

Priestly function

Our Part-time priest has facilitated many religious activities.

The Temple is closed to public on Wednesdays mainly for financial reasons.

However, the Priest, in his free time, visits home to conduct ceremonies and functions almost every Wednesday.

Our resident priest Gopalacharyulu has returned to India following the conclusion of the currency of his visa.

He has been succeeded by Pandurangan from Sri Rangam Temple in Tiruchirappalli, Tamil Nadu.

Strong Witness

Over the past year, Lord Balaji has been a Witness to five weddings, countless birthdays and anniversaries. Six ‘Kalyana Utsavams’ have been sponsored by devotees, notable among of which was by an Auckland based couple in November 2015, complete with the religious rituals and ‘Seer’ and a wedding feast for about 200 guests.

Another devotee recently donated ‘Sri Sudarshanam,’ which was installed at the Lord’s feet after a special Pooja and Homam.

There have also been a few Satyanarayana Kathas, about 12 Utsava Murthy Abhishekams and Navagraha Homams. A grand Shiva Abhishekam is held every Monday morning, devoutly followed by a band of worshippers. There are regular chanting of Vishnu Sahasranamam, Lalitha Sahasranamam, Hanuman Chalisa, Thiruppavai and Prabhandams.

Hindu religious festivals such as Thai Poosam, Ganesh Chaturthi, Navaratri, Deepavali and Karthigai are all conducted at the Temple with piety and enthusiasm.

In view of the size of the Main Deity (Moolavar) ‘Full Abhishekam’ is performed only on two days, namely the Anniversary of the Temple in March and during the Navaratri Festival in October.

Money matters

The Lord, His Consorts and all Deities are undoubtedly pleased that devotees have donated ‘Pattu Vastrams’ (Silk Garments), Ornaments worth $6000 procured in India and $20,000 for the main entrance currently being installed.

The ‘Simha Dwaram’ (Lion Entrance) was donated in India, while three donors have given $12000 for the covered entry. The entry to the Community Centre has been replaced by a garage roller-door costing $4000.

The Trust purchased the property for $220,000, and spent an additional $200,000 to upgrade it. Grants from Trust Waikato and WEL Energy have helped in the installation of heat pumps and an alarm system.

The deities have been housed individually to conform to tradition and a full curtain has been tailored and donated to have formal Alankarams (Decorations to the Deities).

Ways to Pay

Apart from repaying the loan, we have a number of other expenses that are immediate and important. These include the cost of installation of the main doors, visa and travel of priest/s.

The Temple offers ‘Nithya Archanai’ (Daily Pooja) for devotees remitting $501 with the following information: Name, Gothram, Star and Rasi. Other functions that can be sponsored include ‘Kalyanotsavam’ ($251) and Abhishekams to any Deity $51.

Donations can be made by credit card through our website www.sribalaji.co.nz or direct deposit to ASB 12-3171-0169613-00 (Building Development and Maintenance) and Westpac 03-1568-0478167-00 (Loan Repayment and Pooja).

Please visit and Like our Facebook Page (Hamilton Balaji), which also has updates.

Apart from donations, the Trust utilises every opportunity to raise funds. One such would be the Carnatic Music Vocal Concert by Rithvik Raja on Sunday, April 24, 2016 (ANZAC Weekend) at 4 pm at the Temple.

Editor’s Note: Details of this Programme appear under Artlink in this issue.

Malathi Vasudevan is a Trustee and Treasurer of the Sri Balaji Temple Trust (Hamilton) which owns and manages the Balaji Temple in Hamilton. She is a Chartered Accountant by qualification and profession based in Hamilton.

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