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Shri Swaminarayan Mandir, New Jersey (Colonia)
Encyclopedia
The Swaminarayan Mandir, New Jersey (Colonia) is a Swaminarayan temple that comes under ISSO
(Nar Narayan Dev Gadi of the Swaminarayan Sampraday
) in the USA. It was officially inaugurated by Acharya Maharajshree Koshalendraprasad Pande
on the 4th of September 2005.
The four walls of the main interior room and the concrete slab of the floor are the only things that remained unchanged; everything else was refurbished to make way for the new temple, which was completed through a combination of volunteers and paid workers. The dome above the temple was constructed by the builder who created it from a photograph. When the temple opened, there was a week of ceremonies, involving recital of scriptures. This culminated with the inauguration on the 4th of September, 2005, which was witnessed by people from around the world.
The temple is the first and only Swaminarayan temple outside India
to have the twin form of Nar Narayan as central deities. It is also one of the first in the USA to have domes (or shikhars). The image of Nar Narayan is a replica of that installed by Swaminarayan at the world's first Swaminarayan temple in Ahmedabad
. It was the eighth Swaminarayan temple to be built in the USA. There are twenty temples in the USA as of 2009.
ISSO (Swaminarayan)
Acharya Shree Tejendraprasadji Maharaj founded International Swaminarayan Satsang Organization in the USA on the occasion of Vijaya Dashami in the year 1978. The prime objective of I.S.S.O...
(Nar Narayan Dev Gadi of the Swaminarayan Sampraday
Swaminarayan Sampraday
Swaminarayan Sampraday , known previously as the Uddhav Sampraday, is a Hindu sect established by Swaminarayan...
) in the USA. It was officially inaugurated by Acharya Maharajshree Koshalendraprasad Pande
Acharya Maharajshree Koshalendraprasad Pande
Sanatan Dharma Dhurandar Acharya Maharaj Shree 1008 Koshalendraprasadji Maharaj is the current Acharya of the NarNarayan Dev Gadi of the Swaminarayan Sampraday and is the 7th successor of Swaminarayan in the North Diocese .-About and...
on the 4th of September 2005.
History
This temple replaced Temple Ohev Shalom, once a Jewish place of worship which was closed due to a dwindling population of Jews in the area. Originally slated to become a residential complex after the closure of the Jewish temple, the temple administration came to an agreement with the builder to build this temple with the support of the town residents.The four walls of the main interior room and the concrete slab of the floor are the only things that remained unchanged; everything else was refurbished to make way for the new temple, which was completed through a combination of volunteers and paid workers. The dome above the temple was constructed by the builder who created it from a photograph. When the temple opened, there was a week of ceremonies, involving recital of scriptures. This culminated with the inauguration on the 4th of September, 2005, which was witnessed by people from around the world.
The temple is the first and only Swaminarayan temple outside India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
to have the twin form of Nar Narayan as central deities. It is also one of the first in the USA to have domes (or shikhars). The image of Nar Narayan is a replica of that installed by Swaminarayan at the world's first Swaminarayan temple in Ahmedabad
Ahmedabad
Ahmedabad also known as Karnavati is the largest city in Gujarat, India. It is the former capital of Gujarat and is also the judicial capital of Gujarat as the Gujarat High Court has its seat in Ahmedabad...
. It was the eighth Swaminarayan temple to be built in the USA. There are twenty temples in the USA as of 2009.