Summer is an exciting time for everyone; children are on holiday from school and families can partake in many enjoyable summer activities. For those living in the Northeast region of North America, this summer is going to bring a different kind of excitement. The BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Mandir in Robbinsville, New Jersey, will be inaugurated in August, 2014. The Swaminarayan Jayanti and Ram Navmi celebration in the Northeast aptly revolved around the upcoming inaugural festival.
The theme of the festival was Shreeji Maharaj ni Amulya Bhet: Mandirs. Through skits, video presentations, inspiring speeches and dances performed by the children and youth, the program, covered the 3 main concepts - samarpan (sacrifice), seva (volunteerism), and sanskar (good virtues). The first two concepts of samarpan and seva focused on how devotees in the times of Bhagwan Swaminarayan till date have made immense sacrifices towards building a Mandir; whether through donations, physical efforts, or through their continuous prayers and devotion. The last part of the event focused on sanskar, or how this mandir will affect the youth and instill values and traditions that will be continued for all future generations. Speeches by Pujya Swamis informed the audience how the Mandir will not only be a place of worship and a place to find paramount peace, but also a place where a variety of spiritual, social and cultural activities will take place that will benefit individuals of all ages. A video at the end of the program showed how His Holiness Pramukh Swami Maharaj, the spiritual leader of BAPS, has been involved in every step during the making of this Mandir, and through his blessings, the Mandir is close to completion.
At the end of the program, everyone in the audience was able to feel the excitement for the upcoming opening of the Mandir in August.