First Visit – 4/3/11

On Sunday, April 3rd, I made my first visit to the Shri Lakshmi Narayan Mandir. I arrived at 12:45 p.m. – just in time for the ending hour of the weekly service. I sat in the lobby and watched the service through the doors of the prayer hall. In the lobby, everyone had taken off their shoes before entering the prayer hall. There were about 100 people in attendance all sitting on the floor facing a stage. The majority of people there were of West Indian descent (Guyanese/Trinidadian/Jamaican) because Richmond Hill (where the mandir is located) is highly populated with West Indians. The stage consisted of the altar with statues of the gods and a podium that the pandit sat behind and spoke through a microphone. On the stage were also about 5 people who sat in a circle and performed religious sacrifices over a fire. Right below the stage were people playing instruments. The majority of people in the mandir wore religious wear and a few had on casual clothes. The service ended at about 2:00 p.m. and everyone got their shoes and went into the basement. I went up to the pandit and introduced myself. His name was Pandit Shri Jadonath and he welcomed me and invited me to join everyone in the basement for a meal before we spoke. He said he had a few people to meet with first. I asked him if it would be appropriate to take pictures of the prayer hall before I went to the basement and he said that was fine.
After taking pictures, I went down to the basement and waited for Pandit Jadonath. While I waited, I observed my surroundings. The basement was set up with many tables and chairs and food was being served buffet style. The crowd consisted of all ages – from little kids to teenagers to young adults to older adults. There was an equal ratio of men to women. Everyone sat at tables, ate, talked, laughed and socialized. It seemed like everyone pretty much knew each other and it was very family oriented. Even the kids all played together. The people were very friendly and many said hello to me. One thing I found very interesting was the level of respect that everyone had for elders. They addressed older women as “Auntie” or “Grandma”. I saw Pandit Jadonath sitting with many of the elders, eating and talking. Many people stayed around and were in no rush to leave. Everyone helped to clean up before they left.
There was also a little store area in the basement that sold items such as religious wear, costume jewelry, religious statues, books, DVD’s, etc. The basement smelled like food and the prayer hall smelled like incense.
After many people had left, Pandit Jadonath came and sat with me. First I asked him to tell me about the history of the mandir. He said that it was founded in 1984 by his father and others. He said at that time there were no other Hindu temples in the Richmond Hill area and the Shri Lakshmi Narayan Mandir was the first of its kind in that area. He told me that the land was donated and it was also the first temple that started in a brand new building. He told me that the mandir was named after two Hindu gods – Lakshmi who is the “goddess of wealth” and Narayan who is the “god of truth”. He also told me that Shri means “respect for the higher forces” and Mandir means “temple”. Pandit Jadonath said that he has been a pandit (which he told me means “learned person”) for 12 years. He said the mandir currently has 5 pandits including himself and his father, and that there is another location in Orlando, Florida.
I asked him about the religious services and he told me that the weekly service is on Sundays from 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. The weekly service is divided into 2 parts – the first part consists of rituals and prayer to the various deities. The second part includes reading and showing videos pertaining to the readings. At the end of the service, there is “artie” which is the final worship to the deities in which the statues are circled with fire and everyone asks for their blessings. He told me the purpose of using fire is because light symbolizes never being in darkness. He said that in the Hindu religion, symbols such as fire are used to express thoughts. He explained to me that this week’s service lasted a little longer because he was preparing everyone for Navaraatri, which is the Hindu New Year and is celebrated for nine nights beginning April 4th and ending on April 12th. He said the mandir observes all of the main Hindu holidays.
Pandit Jadonath then told me that the Shri Lakshmi Narayan Mandir is incorporated by New York City and the Federal Government, and is a non-profit organization. He said that there is a structured body of organization that consists of a President, Vice-President, Secretary and Treasurer. All of these positions are held by registered members of the mandir who are nominated yearly through an open election. There is a lawyer that oversees the election process to ensure it is done correctly.
I also asked Pandit Jadonath who the people were sitting on the stage (I initially thought they were the position holders of the mandir) and he said they were people who were either celebrating an event (birthday, anniversary, etc.) or had issues that they needed to do prayers for. He said all of these people were making offerings to the gods for themselves and on behalf of the mandir.
After I asked all of my questions, Pandit Jadonath gave me a calendar that listed all of the major holidays and information for the mandir. He invited me to come back this week for one of the Navaraatri services. He also gave me his business card with all of his contact information if I had any other questions. I then thanked Pandit Jadonath for all his help and we concluded our meeting. He was extremely helpful and very nice. I am looking forward to meeting with him again.