Hindus across the world are preparing for the historic and religious event ‘Ram Mandir’ consecration ceremony that is scheduled to take place in the temple town of Uttar Pradesh, Ayodhya, on January 22.
Lakshmi Narayan Mandir in Surrey will be celebrating the inauguration of Ram Mandir on January 21. There will be a Ramayan path, food stalls, and from 6 PM to mid night there will be prayers. The temple will also telecast the live inauguration ceremony.
In the US the grand event will be live-streamed at the iconic Times Square in New York City. The event will also be broadcast at thousands of temples and booths across India.
The consecration ceremony, also known as Pran-Pratishtha, is the ritual of infusing life into the idol of the deity. It will be performed by a High priest from Varanasi, Lakshmi Kant Dixit, who will chant Vedic mantras and offer prayers to Lord Ram. The ceremony will mark the culmination of a week-long Amrit Mahautsav, which will begin on January 16 with various Vedic rituals and a 1008 Hundi Mahayagya, in which thousands of devotees will be fed.
The idol of Lord Ram that will be consecrated is a 51-inch tall Krishna Shila (black stone) statue.
Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) of America also organised an Epic Tesla Musical Light show in Maryland ahead of the Ram Mandir ‘Pran Pratishtha’ in Ayodhya on January 22. More than 200 Indian American Tesla car owners on Saturday held a unique musical show in a Maryland suburb of Washington DC to commemorate Ram Mandir Pran Pratishtha ceremony.
Members of the Hindu American community also held a huge Car and Byke rally across Houston, stopping at 11 temples along the way and covering 100-Mile.
Indians living in Paris have organised two events to celebrate the “glory of Lord Ram” on January 21 under ‘Ayodhya Mandir Mahotsav’.
Thousands of gifts have also been rolling in, including fruit baskets from Nepal and the world’s largest incense stick, created by a farmer in Gujarat. The stick, 33 metres (108ft) long and made from 1,470kg of cow dung, 190kg of ghee and 420kg of herbs, is expected to burn for a month and a half once lit.
Bitterly contested for decades with both Hindus and Muslims laying claim to it, only time will tell if the temple can stand the secular fabric of India. The leaders of India’s opposition party Congress have called the inauguration a gimmick and a political project and turned down invitations to attend, leading the BJP to accuse them of being “anti-Hindu”.
