Flushing Mandir celebrates Ram Navami and Swaminarayan Jayanti

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The Flushing Swaminarayan Mandir celebrated Ram Navami and one hundred and forty fourth birth anniversary of their guru and founder of Swaminarayan Sampraday, Swami Sahajanand.

Concentrated on reaching the teachings of their guru to the members and visitors, the celebration focused on the qualities of Lord Ram, the seventh incarnation of Vishnu of the Hindu Trinity, and the principles and virtues of Swami Sahajanand.

Queens Borough President Donovan Richards, Jr. and New York Senator John Liu were chief guests at the event, along with other invited guests and more than 2,000 members of the Mandir.

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Speaking to the gathering, Liu recalled his meeting with Swaminarayan guru Pramukhswami Maharaj in the Flushing temple and the feeling of immense peace he felt after the meeting. Liu said he had also witnessed the opening of Akshardham at Robbinsville. Liu said he held the BAPS community in high regard as upholders of values which strengthen society in general.

Quoting Martin Luther King, Jr., Donovan said, “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal”, and compared it to the Swaminarayan principle of unity among all. Donovan said he recalled that he had visited the Mandir four times last year for events including the NY50 event and the walkathon. He said he respects the Mandir as the first and historic BAPS temple in the US, and its efforts to include the neighboring community.

With the theme of ‘Unity Begins Within’, the celebration included talks and performances of skits, dances, singing of devotional songs and aarati.

The evening began with kirtan by the youth wing of the temple, followed by a skit on Lord Ram’s meeting and helping Sugriv. Beautifully choreographed dances by young members in colorful clothes were the highlight of the program.

Lord Ram’s values and virtues were explained in a talk with reference to his meetings with Shabari, Sugriv, and with his step mother Kaikeyi.

Kirtans and bhajans by young members of the Mandir followed, after which followed a talk about the life, virtues and achievements of Swami Sahajanand as revealed through his meetings with Dada Khachar, Jivan Koli, and Jhinabhai Thakor, and his establishing the four principles of mahima, milan, madad, and maafi.

The program ended with a dance and aarati. The day’s celebration concluded with a dinner.

Other temples in New York and New Jersey also celebrated Ram Navami. Attended by a large number of its members, the Geeta Temple in Elmhurst, NY, celebrated Ram Navami with a special puja, bhajans, aarati and prasad.  The Woodside, NY, Satyanarayana Mandir also held celebrations in the presence of more than 200 devotees, with navami pujan, kirtans and prasad. Temples including the Vadtal Dham, Divya Dham, Sai Baba temple, Radha Govind Dham and more all celebrated Lord Ram’s birthday on April 6, 2025.

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