On the auspicious day of rathyatra, murti pratishtha ceremonies were conducted at the new BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Mandir in Hong Kong. The murti pratishtha was performed on 29th June 2014 at this new hari mandir in the Kowloon peninsula of Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, People's Republic of China.
By the grace of Bhagwan Swaminarayan and the blessings and inspiration of His Holiness Pramukh Swami Maharaj, BAPS Swaminarayan satsang activities have been continuing for the past 25 years in Hong Kong. Regular sabhas by the devotees and visits by sadhus helped satsang here grow, and need was felt for a mandir where devotees could gather to express and strengthen their bhakti. By the continued efforts of devotees, the satsang activities have now culminated in this mandir.
HH Pramukh Swami Maharaj performed the pratishtha rituals of the murtis for the Hong Kong mandir in Sarangpur earlier. The same murtis - Shri Akshar-Purushottam Maharaj, Shri Radha-Krishna, Shri Sita-Ram, Shri Shiv-Parvati, Shri Hanumanji, Shri Ganeshji and Shri Guru Parampara - were installed ceremoniously by Pujya Ishwarcharan Swami, Atmaswarup Swami and sadhus after three days of ceremonies for this Murti Pratishtha Mahotsav in Hong Kong.
The ceremonies and celebrations included a mahapuja for world peace in which all devotees and well-wishers participated, a nagar yatra by the mahila mandal in which the women's wing carried Thakorji on the streets to bless the city with His gaze and a mahapuja on the morning of the Murti Pratishtha. All these celebrations culminated in the murti pratishtha ceremonies performed by Pujya Ishwarcharan Swami, Atmaswarup Swami and sadhus. The sadhus and devotees performed arti at the end of the pratishtha, which was followed by an assembly.
The devotees of Hong Kong were joined on this joyous occasion by many from Australia, New Zealand, Thailand and other nations from the Middle East and from across the world.