A Brief History of the Perth Hindu Temple
Oh! Lord Shiva! Thou art space, air, fire, water and earth.
Because of Thee, who art of the nature of pure Consciousness,
This entire world is valid in Your Light.
To Thee who art of the nature of Brahman,
I prostrate, I humbly prostrate.
Aitareya Upanishad
(From Somyakasheesha Stotram – Swami Tapovanam)
Spiritual Landscape
Hindus first came to Western Australia from India as servants or indentured labour from the 1830s, almost at the same time as the first British settlers around Swan River (later named as Perth in 1832). Some Hindus also came as camel drivers and travelling merchants. In 1848, Bunbury was described by visitor Horace Meyer as comprising twenty settlers, ten soldiers and two hundred Bengali “coolies,” who helped raise horses for the Indian Army. In 1911, there were only 1,000 Hindus in Australia (Historical Encyclopedia of Western Australia – Jenny Gregory and Jan Gothard, Australia 2010). Under a relaxed migration regime, a substantial number of Hindus came to Western Australia in the late 1960s to 1980s as skilled migrants in fields such as medicine, geology, engineering and as university students under the Colombo Plan.
By 197Os, many small flames of community engagement among the few professional Hindus then living in Perth had begun to sprout here and there. By 1975, regular prayers began to be held under the auspices of what later came to be known as the Shiva Family. Ken Soman was instrumental in getting a few families together to perform regular weekly prayers in the homes of member families. The inspiration to hold such prayers came from Swami Shantananda Saraswati, a disciple of Swami Sivananda of Rishikesh, India. Others who played an important role in organising the group were Chandrasekhar and Murray Jupp, from UWA and Dr T Krishnan, a Hindu doctor who had emigrated from Malaysia.
Later in 1987, Swami Shantanandji was to play an important role in the development of the first Hindu Temple in Perth.
About this time in the early 70s, Australia Asia Association also began to celebrate Deepawali every year at which Aarti would be sung. Anu Madan took a leading role in Deepawali celebrations under the auspices of the Indian Association of Western Australia in 1977 and then in the early 1980s. In addition to Aarti singing, the stage shows also included singing of bhajans and small skits from the Ramayana by her Hindi students. One of the most memorable of these celebrations was held in 1977 at the Perth Town Hall when the audience of several hundred joined in the impromptu singing of parts of Ramacharitamanas of Tulsidasji, then being performed on the stage.
In the following year in February a few Bengali families held their first Saraswati Pooja in Mt Lawley in February1978. The Bengali community soon consolidated themselves into a formal association and began to hold Saraswati Pooja annually. Dr Ghosh, Dr Gope, Shankar Chatterjee and Dr Samir Chatterjee played leading roles in these celebrations.
In 1979, the Tamil Association was formed with Dr T Krishnan as its first President. Many Tamil Hindu friends from Malaysia, Sri Lanka and India played prominent part in its development. They too began to hold monthly prayer meetings in a small building called Tamil House at 189 Brisbane Street in Perth.
One of the first public prayer meetings by the Hindus of Perth was organised by the Shiva Family in 1981 in Nedlands at Pelican Point on the Swan River. Prayers were led by Swami Shantanandji and held in the morning and evening for the nine days of Navartari concluding on the morning of the 10th day. Fond memories of those 10 days still linger on in the minds of many Hindus still living in Perth.
By the early 1980s, monks from the Shri Ramakrishna Mission from Fiji and Sydney were regularly visiting Perth by invitation of the Lingam family, Mr and Mrs Sinathamby and the families of Savitri and Dr Amritalingam and Mahalingam. The Lingams were joined by Cecil Bethel, our most beloved local, later to contribute much to the growth of the Temple as one of its first Trustees.
These activities do not take away credit from all our western friends from “Hare Krishna” (ISKON) with a centre in William Street in Perth; the “Brahma Kumaris” with a centre in Subiaco and the Integral Yoga Association (IYA) with a full-fledged Ashram and a beautiful Yoga hall, library, prayer room and live-in-retreat at Beaconsfield, near Fremantle. All of these were operating in Perth in the mid-1970s. Of these, IYA at Beaconsfield and the Hare Krishna Centre at William Street were the most organised and relatively popular with the Hindus of Perth who wanted an outlet to pray and meditate. Bankey, an Indian migrant and his Australian wife,Radha took a leading part in organising the Hare Krishna movement in Perth. Their son eventually joined the Hare Krishna order of monks in India.
1985:
First Meeting for the Hindu Temple in Perth
This was the landscape which inspired Shanker Madan, to arrange an impromptu meeting at the Australia Asia Association (AAA) Hall on the afternoon of Sunday 16th June 1985. The purpose of the meeting was to explore the possibility of building a Hindu Temple in Perth.
The first person Shanker called was Naga Narayanan (, then a lecturer at the University of Western Australia who was very active in leadership roles in AAA, the Ethnic Community Council and an active member of the Shiva Family. Naga had also been performing most of the priestly duties in various homes and venues around Perth since the early 1970s.
On the day 26 chairs were laid out in the AAA Hall and as it turned out exactly 26 persons turned up to attend the meeting. Many of these had not been contacted but had heard about the meeting from their friends. Cash donations and signed IOUs were collected and amounted to $7,500 towards building the Hindu Temple. This was considered an auspicious beginning that was to consume many, many more devotees for the next 30 years and still does. To all the people who contributed to this beautiful effort and still contribute, we offer, unreservedly, our deepest gratitude.
The “Infinite” has no location, yet It is located at every point in space. It has no beginning and no end and yet It incarnates of its own volition to guide and comfort. In utter ignorance and foolishness, we may claim any ownership on the birth of an incarnation as indeed even a Temple.
All “radiating” men and women manifesting the Infinite, as saints and sages are worthy of our veneration. Their words are our scriptures. Indeed, all our scriptures, the Vedas and the Shastras are revealed through the chain of perfected teachers only.
No temple therefore is ever complete without the benediction, the company and the blessings of such wise men and women who in their mercy bestow grace and love upon such activities.
Meeting as an Association
We were very fortunate thus when Reverend Pravrajika Ajayaprana Mataji, the Head of the Ramakrishna Sarda Vedanta Order in Sydney, turned up without notice or invitation to bless our first meeting as Hindu Temple Association on 14th September 1985 at the AAA Hall on Stirling Street Perth. Fifty-four (54) persons attended the meeting. With AR Krishnan in the chair, a Protem committee of 12 was elected with Dr G.C. Bose as its President, Dr V Sakrapani as Vice President, Shanker Madan as Secretary and Kanubhai Patel as Treasurer. Thus a committee with widest representation across the spectrum of linguistic and cultural traditions among the Hindus then living in Perth was elected to commence the great task of building the first Hindu Temple in Perth.
Shanker Madan and Naga Narayanan, with support from lawyer F T Moodley from the law firm of Navin Pillay, presented a draft Constitution for the Association on that day. It was debated at length and a Constitution, with the Preamble and the Objects, which have substantially remained unchanged to this day, was adopted. The Protem Committee was also charged with looking for a venue to build the first Hindu Temple in Perth. Dr Bose, Dr V Kulaendra and Dr Sakarpani took a leading role in this search. Later, C Kangatheran representing the Tamil Association joined in this search.
The meeting also took a decision to start prayer activities in the form of bhajans at the AAA hall at 3pm on third Sundays of every month. Anu Madan took over the responsibility to manage the bhajans activity. After construction of the Temple in 1990 this activity was switched over to 2nd Friday evenings which Anu Madan has continued to manage unbroken to this day. Gujarati Samaj, initially under the leadership of Hemlata and Kanubhai Patel, Ila and Raju Desai and Rasik Devia continued to meet on 3rd Sundays at 3pm in the Temple. With the construction of the main Temple in 2005, Vishnu Bhat and his wife have been leading the bhajans on 3rd Sundays in the morning every month.
Constitution
The Constitution of the Hindu Association (then Hindu Temple Association) was adopted at the meeting on 14th September 1985. It enshrined the core belief of the Hindus as follows:
“We recognise that “God is one, wise men call him variously” (RIGVEDA -1:164:46)”
We are aware that Hinduism (Sanatana Dharma) as a religion, has immense diversity within it. The needs of all Hindus are to be served by the Religious, Cultural, and Educational Centre (hereinafter called the ‘Hindu Centre’) in Western Australia. The Hindu Centre shall accommodate a Temple with at least the following principal deities of the Hindu pantheon:
Ganapathi; Shiva; Shakthi; Vishnu; Subramanya and Navagraha
The path was thus laid to interpret the concept of the proposed Temple with widest appeal and a broad understanding of Hindu (Sanatana Dharma) religion. In that respect the Constitution of the Hindu Association was and is still quite unique. To further confirm and enshrine this wide appeal, the Constitution envisaged the appointment of seven elected Trustees (a change made in 1990) from among the various ethnic communities of India who would together manage and control such of its real and personal property as the Association deemed fit and to ensure that the Committee did not divert from the “Objects” of the Association (“which suitably reflect the diversity of Hinduism”).
The Constitution has been amended twice, once in 1990 and the second time in 2009. C. Kangatheran and Yogen Xavier managed and facilitated the 1990 changes. Major amendments were in respect of the appointment and functions of the Trustees. A Special General Meeting followed on 16 November 1990 to appoint the first Trustees of the Association. Uncle Kanagalingam was then appointed as the first Chairman of the Board of Trustees.
The second revision of the Constitution in 2009 was aimed at consolidating the administrative functions of the Association and also changed the name of the Association from The Hindu Temple to The Hindu Association of Western Australia. The Temple was named as The Perth Hindu Temple. This revision, the brain child of the then President of Dr Sitaram Vij, was facilitated by Mahaveer Pareek.
Many possible locations from Sorrento in the north to Spearwood in the south of Perth were looked at. The Association, still not formalised, almost bought a church building in Mt Lawley. A public meeting was held in the church itself. Considering the rapid growth in the community, thankfully, despite overwhelming support for its purchase, the proposal to buy the church building was rejected by the Association.
This was not to be the first of many occasions when wisdom somehow prevailed.
At a prayer meeting in May 1986, Swami Damodranandji from Ramakrishna Mission in Fiji then visiting Perth, suggested we read the Gospel of Shri Ramakrishna and seek guidance. Not long thereafter, as if true to his vision, one morning, Chakravarty, an Indian employee of Hooker Rex, informed Shanker Madan that a block of land which would be suitable for the Temple, was available on Warton Road in Huntingdale. A delegation visited the property and unanimously agreed to recommend the purchase to a meeting of the Association. A provisional agreement subject to the approval by the Association was signed on the Guru Purnima day in July 1986. The meeting to consider the purchase of the land was held on 11th August 1986, with Dr Bose in the Chair as the President of the Protem committee. Thirty-one members of the Association were present and approved the purchase of the 2 ha property in Huntingdale. The same day Shiva Family formally offered to hold a joint prayer meeting on Janma shtami day at the residence of Mallika Jegasothy in Sorrento. The Temple movement had now definitely gathered pace with the Shiva Family formally aligning itself with this effort.
In the next month, Shanker Madan, Dr Kulaendra and Naga Narayanan standing in as personal guarantors took a loan from NAB in Willetton and purchased the block of land at Lot 41 Warton Road on behalf of the Hindu Temple Association, for building the first Hindu Temple in Perth.
A whole year passed by in drawing up plans and discussions with the council regarding the possibility of building the Temple. There was a swamp with a thicket of bush in the middle of the block and considerable fill would be required prior to construction. Council approvals, sewer and water connections were months probably still 2 to 3 years away. Sewer and water connections were up to 2 kilometres away. The bank would not lend any further money until the previous loan had been paid off. Soon after the Annual General Meeting (AGM) of the Association in 1986, Dr Sakarapani took over as President of the Association and continued in that position for almost a whole year till the next AGM, on 29th August 1987, when Shanker Madan was elected as President and Dr Kulaendra as Vice President. Both Dr Bose and Dr Sakarapani continued to support the newly elected committee. At the AGM, the schematic plans for the first stage of the Temple were presented and approved. It was also decided to hold a prayer meeting on site at Warton Road on the last 3 days of the Navaratri from 29th to 30th September 1987.
Everyone in the community was convinced that the Temple would have to be staged in at least three stages of construction. The small nascent Hindu community was keen and committed to the task and they were all looking for a serious evidence of intent. After all, our prayer altar for the 3rd Sunday prayers still had only paper pictures.
The Deities
Swami Shantanandji was approached to preside over the Navaratri prayers. A tent was set up on site. An all-night homam was held on 29th / 30th September 1987 to the chant of Chamundeyi mantra “Aum Iym Hreem Kleem Chamunday Viche”. At the commencement of the programme Swamiji presented an icon of “Devi Karumari Amman” (Karunamai or Loving Mother) made of five metals, which was bathed in milk, yoghurt, squashed fruits, turmeric and kumkummam. The bhajans and simultaneous homam closed at 4am in the morning. Swamiji specially mentioned and blessed Nadraj Natchimuthu for providing water and tea all night to all those present.
Thus a fully consecrated Devi was presented to the Association. It resided mainly at the home of the President, however, doing rounds in the homes of various devotees for brief periods at a time. Swamiji also declared that the land was a holy ground meant for spiritual progress, being a place of meditation by holy souls in the past.
On 3rd September 1988, on the Krishna Janma Ashtami day the Association held a beautiful ground breaking ceremony. A hole was dug in the ground approximately where the stage of the Multipurpose Hall (MPH, the Phase 1 Temple) today stands. Along with bricks and grains, many ladies spontaneously gave away precious gold and diamond jewellery for burial into the ground in that hole. Shivalingam, a 200 plus kilogram icon made from black marble with a beautiful white base was presented by Swami Shantanandaji as a gift from the Shiva Family. Swamiji consecrated the land and Lord Shiva with a homam and prayers in a moving ceremony. Devi Karumari Amman graced the occasion and once again the place resounded with the chanting of Chamunday mantra. Shiva Family had sourced the Shivalingam from a Perth based Australian trader and manufacturer. This Shivalingam thus became the central deity of worship for the Temple until 2005.
In months to come Swamiji quietly withdrew from public participation in Temple activities but maintained his grace and benediction on the Association and Temple construction.
The Madan residence in Willetton became the temporary abode for the Shivalingam and Devi until the construction of the Phase 1 of the Temple (MPH) was completed in 1990. The icon of Devi did the rounds of many homes for up to a month at a time and people were encouraged to visit the homes or the Madan residence at any time. Both the Deities were looked after with love and devotion, with daily pooja and abhishek. We also continued to hold our 3rd Sunday prayers at the AAA hall as before for bhajans.
1986:
Purchase of the Property at Warton Road, Huntingdale
1987- 1989:
Fund Raising
During the following 12 months after presented the Association with Devi Karumari Amman, 6 -7 fund raising dinners managed by Anu Madan were held. The first one of these, by the South Indian Community was held at the Tamil Association building on 189 Brisbane Street. It was followed by those by the Punjabi, Guajarati, Maharashtrian, Bengali / Bihari, Southeast Asian and Malaysian communities in other venues.
Anu Madan continued to manage 5 such monthly fund raising community dinners every year for the following five years to raise $45,000 for the Association.
In the immediate period from 1987, other fund raising drives were quite successful and by the AGM in September 1988, the land acquisition loan had been paid off and in addition, the Association held a cash surplus of just over $20,000 in its account to commit itself to construction.
Necessary funds for the construction of the Phase 1 Temple were raised through donations, monthly dinners, by various communities, many events of traditional dances and regular movie shows (courtesy of Professor Vijay Mishra) with sale of food at Murdoch University.
The Association also held its first annual India Fair on the grounds of the University of Western Australia (UWA) on October 21 1989, under the leadership of Dr Radha Sakarpani and her subcommittee, at which a sum of $11,719 was raised. This annual event continued until 2014, initially at UWA and later in Fremantle.
By the end of 1989, all fund raising activities had raised a total of $130,000.
Design of the Phase 1 Temple (now the Multi-purpose hall) was supervised by K. Jeyakumar with assistance from C. Kangatheran. Initial construction plans were approved by the Gosnells Council in August 1988 and amended plans in December the same year. Council approvals and the entire construction process was supervised by Jeyakumar with the help of his subcommittee. Kangatheran was to later take on personal responsibility for the design and construction of the Phases 2 and 3, the current Temple. Jeyakumar continued to maintain and to this day maintains a very active role in the affairs of the Temple. Both these gentlemen are our celestial Vishwakarmas. In recent years, Mukesh Mani, a long time committee member, President and a recent Trustee has stepped in to assist with construction and services.
The construction nearly completed by the end of 1989, some of us personally dug a large part of the channel to lay the water pipe approximately 1.5 km away to bring drinking water to the property. A reticulation channel was also dug manually all around the front car park to plant trees, gardens and grass. The services rendered by Uncle Skantha, Cecil Bethel for reticulation and Dr MK Tandon for the circular rose garden in the front would never be forgotten. Pandey put in the wire fence around the front of the property. Ravi Bhatia, a young boy then visiting Perth from India, provided much help in logistics and looking after the Temple site at nights.
Earlier, a deep (plus 40m) water bore with submersible pump had been drilled on site through the kind donation of Drillex, a drilling contractor known to some of the devotees. Thus the Phase 1 Temple was completed in time for consecration, starting on 7th February and concluding on the Thai Poosam day on 9th February 1990 in Pushya Nakshatra, also coincidently the birth nakshatra for Shanker Madan, the then President. As it were, the Mandala Abhishekam, 45 days later, fell on 23rd March, his actual birthday. Such coincidences, completely unplanned, were not lost on the Committee and were seen as a blessing of Swami Shantanandji, for the Temple and the “donkeys, with Shanker as the then “chief of the donkeys”, as he once famously referred to the then Management Committee.
Invitations were sent to many priests all around Australia. Blessings were sought from Swami Shantanandji, Swami Damodaranandji and other monks of the Shri Ramakrishna Order in Fiji and Sydney, monks from the Divine Life Society in Rishikesh and its branch in Malaysia, Sivaya Subramuniya Swami of Hawaii and Shri Satya Sai Baba of Puttaparthi – who personally received the invitation and blessed it. All, blessed the occasion.
In addition to Devi Karumaari Amman and Shiva Lingam, the icon of Sri Ganesha donated by the Sivendran family were installed and propitiated according to the Agamas.
The ceremony was officiated by Sri Parameshwar Kurukkal from Malaysia, assisted by members of the Brahmin community in Perth. Many coincidences appoint to the auspicious beginning of this venture. Among others a large black marble icon of Nandi required by the Association miraculously turned up for us to obtain in a trader’s yard in Perth. Dr Kulaendra, then Vice President, was contacted by the trader, just days before, to enquire if anyone would be interested in buying the icon of Nandi. New ideas and donations for floor covering, children working day and night to decorate the place and paint alankar motifs are memorable events of the three days. One young girl came up to me on the day of the opening and quietly confided, “I saw in my dream last night a large sign ‘Factory of Love’ emblazoned brightly just above the door of the Temple”.
On a Sunday whilst the Committee was meeting in the morning, just two days before the Shri Ramanavami (3rd April 1990), , a Chinese gentleman came in with an icon of Hanumanji (a wooden statue of much serenity and beauty, later gifted away to Beaconsfield Ashram in 2008 when the Phase 2 Temple was constructed). The gentleman thought it was a Buddha statue but brought it in because it had been commanding him in his dreams to take it to a Hindu Temple. After much research, he found out where the Hindu Temple had just been built. The Committee accepted it with great respect and veneration. The icon of Hanumanji was properly installed in the Temple on the Ramanavami day. Not long thereafter, Maganbhai Bhalsod a Gujarati devotee, made a beautiful carved wooden altar in the shape of a Temple for Hanumanji to stand beside the altar. It should be mentioned here that Shanker Madan had made a personal request to Swami Shantanandaji at a prayer meeting to gift a statue of Hanumanji less than a year or so prior to this event. Hanumanji continued to show his grace to many through dreams and display of an aura whilst praying, often waking up the new priest Atchayamurthy for timely start of the morning poojas.
Our First Priest – Shri Naga Narayanan
Search for a full time priest and the Australian Government immigration process to relocate a priest from India were taking a long time. Much to everyone’s relief, Naga Narayanan offered to help and immediately took over the arduous responsibility of priestly duties, of daily abhishek and poojas both in the mornings and in the evenings, with great dedication. AR Krishnan and S Laxmanan (late) were always there to step-in and assist Naga Narayanan or to step in when Naga had to go away. Thus, three of our local Brahmin volunteers admirably filled the role both in the mornings and in the evenings for the next 9 to 10 months on top of their demanding jobs until the appointment of Atchayamurthy Iyer as the Resident Priest late in 1990.
Naga Narayanan would often invite devotees in turns to participate in milk abhishek. So many of our devotees, educated or otherwise, driven by centuries of caste differentiation and religious bigotry who had never before come so close to consecrated icons in a Temple, were overwhelmed and liberated of their fears that to this day many are overwhelmed with deep emotions at this breakthrough.
AR Krishnan on duty on that day recalls a particular morning when an elderly gentleman had slipped into the Temple. Being a low caste Tamil Hindu from Jaffna, he was in tears and shaking for his first ever entry into a Temple. He was still shaking with fear and apprehension when Krishnan hugged him, gently led him to the altar and asked him to assist him.
Both of them, alone in the Temple at 6am on a very cold June morning, shedding tears together, washed away millenniums of cruelty that human beings have dealt and still deal each other in the name of religion.
Blessings from Visiting Monks and Installation of Lord Vishnu and Lord Subramanya
A constant stream of holy persons continued to visit the Temple in years to come. The disciples of Swami Chinmayananda Saraswati helped in painting the walls of the Temple building prior to its opening. Swami Laxmiananda from the Beaconsfield Divine Life Society Ashram near Fremantle was a regular visitor.
In May 1992, Swami Haridas Giri visited the Temple and found it a divine place with good vibrations. As promised during the visit, he subsequently donated to the Temple the metal icons of Lord Vishnu and Lord Subrahmanya, along with their consorts. The icons were duly installed on yet another auspicious Guru Purnima day on 3rd July 1993.
Although no special arrangements were made for the installation, coincidently so to speak, Swami Damodaranandji and Swami Shridharanandji of the Ramakrishna Mission of Fiji and Lucknow, India, respectively visited the Temple on that day. Swami Shridharanandj,i in a roaring and impassioned talk exhorted those present to grow beyond deity worship and imbibe the values and realization of Transcendent state of being through parallel studies of scriptures and meditation.
Satguru Sivaya Subramuniya Swami, the 162nd preceptor of Kailas Parampara (lineage), then the head of Kauai Aadheenam in Hawaii, visited the Temple in the same year and charmed the devotees with his simple talk, penetrating smile and loving presence. Years ago, his own Guru, a revered Sri Lankan Tamil from Jaffna Swami Yogaswami, almost sensing the troubled future of Sri Lanka ahead, had passed on the baton to lead and move the seat of the lineage to Hawaii to this devoted tall white American who had meditated with him as a disciple for years in Jaffna. Satguru Subramuniyaswami and his disciples have made an enormous contribution to Hinduism through the years. His direct disciple, later to take his seat as Satguru Bodhinatha Velayanswami in 2001, restored and digitised some of the oldest palm leaf manuscripts on Saiva Sidhanta. He was also our chief guest at the ground-breaking ceremony of the Phase 2 Temple in 1998. The blessings of this marvellous institution and tradition have thus stayed with us since.
In the following year and again in 1995, Swami Ramakrishnanda a senior disciple of Ammachi (Mata Amritanandamayi), a much loved and revered saint of India, conducted beautiful ceremonies in the Temple. Ammachi herself visited the place in the company of Shanti Jeyaraj, her ardent devotee, some years later. Her blessings too flow through the grounds of this Temple.
Too numerous to count in this brief account, many more sadhus and monks from Rishikesh, Gujarat and Vrindavan in India and from Malaysia have visited the premises and held satsangs, meditation and bhajan sessions in the Temple (the Multipurpose Hall). To all of them our humble prostrations.
It is the men and women of Self-realization, examples of personal sacrifices and humility, the teachings and footprints they leave behind that truly light our path to the Transcendent. Their blessings and presence sanctify our places of worship.
We were truly blessed as scores of wise men and women of devotion and learning, monks from the various orders and some with long lineage, visited the place. We sincerely cherish and pray to that capital in the form of the Temple and the deities we have. Many of us met with our Gurus in the process and continue to make progress in our own evolution.
Temple – Sowing the Seeds of Introspection and Service
Yearning for the higher is in the nature of life. The visiting monks and sadhus provided an impetus to the devotees to look at life from a different perspective, and as such the Temple became the focal point of growth in introspective living and evolution of life itself. It is gratifying to note that many more Temples and centres of yoga prayers and meditation as well as an exponential growth in smaller home prayer groups since have most likely been inspired directly or indirectly by the presence and company of such lofty souls in this Shivam Temple (as it is fondly called). This Temple thus has continued to sow the seeds of learning and growth. It is also a wonderful place for community and social interaction, welcoming thousands of new immigrants who came in the wake of growth in the IT sector as well as oil and gas development. The Temple continues to impart traditional values as well as culture to the younger generation and the new comers to the place since.
In Hindu philosophy, as indeed in most religions, Karma Yoga (the Path of Service) is considered to be one of the paths leading to the Divine or realise the Self. Thus the Temple became a vehicle for selfless social service for many in the community.
India Fair, an annual food and fun fare, initiated by Dr Radha Sakarpani in 1989, became the focal point of a massive fund raising annual one-day community event that lasted 25 years. It was held at Oak Lawn at the University of Western Australia, courtesy of the assistance provided by AR Krishnan till 1998 and later from 1999 to 2014 at Fremantle. Amu Shah generously donated soft drinks for sale at the food fair. White goods donated by people as well as food stalls with free donated food served by volunteers from the various communities (South Indian, North Indian, Gujarati, Singaporean, Malaysian, Telugu, Karnataka, Malayali, Bengali), brought together hundreds of participants and raised a total of more than $400,000 in net profit towards the construction of the Temple in the 25 years it operated.
For years the volunteer committee members typed and copied hundreds of newsletters to post to all who were kind enough to give the Association their address. This task was done month after month. In 1997, Shivkumar collated our first printed newsletter. He carried on this task for many years. Shivkumar, who passed away at a very young age will always be remembered for his enthusiasm with anything technical.
The families of Jeyakumar and Mahendran (late) organised fund raising walkathon around the South Perth foreshore with serving of snacks and drinks every year for many years.
Since June 2000, Dr and Mrs Pushpalingam and our respectful elder Shri Sangarananda (late) and their band of enthusiasts including Mrs Sangarananda (who continues to work tirelessly) have been donating the entire proceeds from Indian Vegetarian Delight (Dosai Club) meals served each second Sunday of the month in Mandela Hall in Bateman.
Too numerous to count and name, all those who so helped with the India Fair and with the Indian Vegetarian Delight and continue to do so, deserve our most sincere thanks and gratitude. Many more donate food (annadanam) at various festivals, on their pooja days; to the canteen which has been serving food in recent years; the volunteers who have been serving food in the Temple precincts, to all of them our grateful thanks.
To others like Dr Kulaendra who for many years cleaned the kitchen and laid out the rubbish bins for weekly garbage collection every Thursday; Gopal who would mow the lawn every month; Shanmuga Natahn for ever running the errands; doctors who looked after our priests and Temple building artisans without charge; those who served as daily hosts, who would bring milk and flowers for many years until the construction of the new Temple; Logie Moodley took charge of landscaping and gardening work which included planting of trees and flower plants during the period from 2008-2011; Mahadeva current Temple Administrator, a keen gardener, who planted a rose garden at the Yagna Shala and started an orchard of fruit trees at the rear of the Temple;; participation by many ladies in cleaning and decorating the icons, stitching new curtains for the altar, making garlands for the pooja, making ghee and cotton wicks for Aarti (Hemlata Patel and later Mano Krishnarajah), the workers on busy bee days and many, many more who have served and continue to serve the Temple and the community through the auspices of the Temple and the Association, our sincere gratitude for the work they have done and continue to do.
We will always remember the teaching of yoga and the planting of trees by Uncle Skantha and his band of supporters. Uncle Skantha, then in his 70, continued to maintain the gardens and the grounds on his own for many years.
In early years Youth group under the leadership of Joy Choudhary including Nanda Satgunasingham, Shantan Kanaglingam, Dakshi Jeyaraj, Ainkaran Krishnarajah, Rani Senathirajah, Priya Krishnan and Rashmi Madan and many others regularly arranged busy bee services. They also took on board hosting responsibilities once a month for many years. It slowly died down when Joy Choudhary and later Ainkaran Krishnarajah were transferred away from Perth. Several attempts to revive the group since the construction of the main Temple, particularly by Ajay Singh, himself a great bhajan singer and a devotee of Hanumanji, have not met with similar success but many youngsters keep knocking at the doors of the Temple to be heard as a voice. In the meantime, several dance and singing groups regularly perform at the Navaratri and Mahotsavam celebrations.
Nothing would have been possible without the dedicated commitment of a long stream of dedicated volunteers who have been working selflessly to serve the community for no other reward then the joy of it all. Many contributed whenever required, others offered their services whenever and wherever they saw work to be done and all grew together as one large family.
The efforts and sustained contribution made by the families of Annamalay, Padmanabhan, Ramkumaran, Jeyakumar, Kangatheran, Shanker Madan, Dr Kulaendra, Dr Sakarpani, Senathirajah (current Chairman of Trustees), Nandakumar, Uncle Kanagalingam (our first Chairman of Trustees appointed in 1990), Naga Narayanan, AR Krishnan, Sivanathan, Krishnarajah, Dr Arumugam, Rasik Devia, Mahendran (late), Dr Pushpalingam, Dr Amritalingam, Mukesh Mani, TV Sukumar, A Pathmanthan, Sivakumar, Dr Vijayan, Nadraj, Dr Ashok Kumar, Dr D Dayanandan, Sureshan, Shanti Jeyraj, Shanta Jeyraj, Jeyalakshmi Raman, and her sister Vimladevi Athisdam, Nirmala Satgunasingham, Kanubhai Patel, Maganbhai Bhalsod, Dr C Bhagat, Jeya Ponnutherai, Gopal, Maya Chatterjee, Uma Kale, Vasantha Thanabalasingham (garland making), Sellappah Subathirathevi, Mallika Jegasothy, Usha Nigam, Chelli Rajgopalan, Prakash Shivakulendu, Uncle Skantha and Cecil Bethel will stay with us for a very long time. In later years a few of these families took these values with them to work on other spiritual ventures in Perth, but most have stayed to guide and stand shoulder to shoulder with the new comers. In recent years from about the time of consecration of the ground for Phase 2 Temple and the Rajagopuram, the families of Atul Garg, Dr Sitaram Vij, Para Nagaratnam, Ponnurajah Ratanasingham, Vishnu Bhat, Dr Kunalan (our current President), Sanal Kumar (current Vice President), Sidhartan (current Secretary), Mahadeva (current Administrator), Ganasan, Shanmuga Nathan, Chandra Gunalan, Ivan Chellan, Prasanth Nallan, Mahaveer Parekh, K Ambalavanar, Bindiya Manchanda, and Dr Kabilan Krishnasamy made and many continue to make a lot of contribution to the advancement of the Temple.
The energy and efforts put into fund raising activities for the Phase 2 and Phase 3 of the Temple by Dr V Gurumoorthy, Atul Garg, Dr Sitaram Vij, Jeyakumar, T V Sukumar, Para Nagaratnam, Pon Ratnasingham, Vimladei Athisdam and Dr Kulaendra are gratefully acknowledged and appreciated.
Thus such a list would probably become a book on its own. If the Temple has been a source of inspiration to so many to so serve the community, then such services, prayers in themselves, would surely become a vehicle and the means to merge with the Infinite, where individuality dissolves into common good and the Absolute alone shines. In that Temple in the hearts of people God surely resides in its most resplendent glory.
1988 – 1990:
Phase 1: Construction and Consecration of Phase 1- Temple
Temple:
Poojas & Activities
Apart from regular morning abhishek and morning and evening poojas of the Deities, the Temple celebrated as a minimum and still celebrates:
- New Year morning pooja
- Lori by the North Indians in January (Celebrating harvesting)
- Tamil New Year
- Thai Poosam (Prayers to Lord Subrahmanya for material and spiritual wealth and freedom from fear), also celebrating the anniversary of the Phase 1 Temple.
- Shivaratri (Lord Shiva, representing the formless, transcendent auspiciousness with all night homam to the chanting of Maha Mritunjaya mantra for the removal of afflictions and granting immortality)
- Ramanavmi with recitation of Hanuman Chalisa and in some years whole night recitation of Tulsi Ramayan (celebrating an incarnation of Lord Vishnu, the Protector of the universe)
- Villaku Pooja (Lamp pooja and prayers to Devi Lakshmi for wellbeing and prosperity)
- Guru Purnima Pooja(celebrating the lives and teachings of the sages, saints and teachers)
- Krishna Janma Ashtami (Lord Krishna, the incarnation of Lord Vishnu (protector and the teacher in Srimad Bhagwad Gita)
- Ganesh Chaturthi (prayers to remove obstacles in both the material and spiritual growth)
- Phangani Utthiram (wedding of Lord Shiva and Parvati, celebrating the union of the male and the female aspects of life),
- The nine days of Navaratri (prayers to the Divine Mother, the dynamic aspect of life and our own evolution from ignorance to knowledge). Of all the celebrations, the nine days of Navaratri celebrations have had a profound impact on our thinking and connection with the Temple since its beginning in 1987, with three days each dedicated to adore the different aspects of the supreme goddess, Durga, Lakshmi and Saraswati.
- Deepawali (the Festival of lights).
In addition to the above prayes, some enthusiastic priests and energetic devotees have added their own flavour to the spiritual activities of the Temple:
- Atchayamoorthy Iyer (1990 – 1992) added couplets in the praise of Lord Murugan to the Aarti, which unique to this Temple, are now regularly sung whenever Aarti is sung in the Temple.Subramanya Bhat with his deep knowledge of scriptures introduced homam and chanting of Durga Saptashati a seven hundred couplet prayer of great significance to all Hindus during his time from 1996 – 2004. Mohanasundara Sivachariyarare and Manikanda Sivachariyar priests added new prayers to the religious calendar including monthly Bhairava pooja in 2005. Rahu Kala Durga pooja has been added since the establishment of Ashtadasbhuja Durga to the Temple in 2008. In 2005, the devotees of Karumari Amman (also affectionately known as Mariamman) added monthly pooja to the Mother especially placed in Utsava Mandapam for the purpose, to the Temple calendar. Hanuman Chalisa – Vishnu Bhat (ex-Trustee and an ex-Committee member) a great devotee of Hanumanji brings together a large gathering of Guajarati community and others interested to sing Hanuman Chalisa once a month in the Temple. Rudra Homam – From 2015, havan and chanting of Rudram Chamakam has been added to the annual calendar.
- Since 2013, the Temple has been celebrating the Mahotsavam as a ten-day festival in the month of April each year. “Maha” (Grand) “Utsavam” (celebration) celebrates the manifest Universe and our day to day experiences as the body of the Lord as Shiva Himself.
The highlights of this festival commence with the hoisting of the Flag with the picture of the Rishaba (Nandi), the vahana of Shiva followed by several ceremonies. The Mahayagna (great homam or havan), both in the mornings and in the evenings as well as the procession of the Utsava murthis in the morning (inside the Temple) and in the evening (outside the Temple) are important parts of the Mahotsavam festivities. It used to be Lord Shiva as Sundaresar and Goddess Meenakshi with Devi, Lord Ganesha and Lord Muruga on their respective vahanas forming the daily processions. In 2016, Lord Sunderesar and Goddess Meenakshi were replaced by the composite deity Lord Somaskanda representing Lord Shiva, Devi and Lord Skanda as one along with the other murthis. The Thirukalyanam (divine wedding) which is another important part of the festivities stays as with Lord Sundaresar and Goddess Meenakshi.
Its significance is to remind devotees of the coming together of the Atma with the Paramatma. The culmination of the festival is the Rathotsavam (chariot festival), the drawing of the chariot on the 9th day when Lord Somaskanda are taken in a procession in the Temple chariot and the other deities in their respective vahanas. The Mahotsavam comes to an end on the tenth day with the Theerta (water-cutting) ceremony depicting Lord Shiva’s fifth task of “arulal” (blessing) freeing us from the three types of bonds (anava, karma and maya), obtaining pure knowledge (gnana) about Him and understanding His five functions (panchakritya). In the evening of the same day, the Flag is lowered signalling the end of the festival.
The Mahotsavam festival provides us with a unique opportunity to participate in the ceremoines and processions and receive the blessings of Lord Shiva, Goddess Devi, Lord Ganesha and Lord Muruga. Participation in the festivities, as with the Navaratri festival, is organised through the respective co-ordinators of the Hindu communities. It is an occasion when all the communities come together to participate in this thanksgiving festival and to receive the divine blessings.
Since about the time of 2007-08 under the direction of Dr Kabilan Krishnasamy the then Religious Affairs Coordinator and then President Mukesh Mani, a religious calendar has been published and released by the Association every year.
Thus we commenced and we continue to celebrate with devotion, reverence, colour, pageantry, songs mantras and music the entire spectrum of life and its philosophical imports.
Some Beautiful Traditions
The North Indian community and the Tamil Association have continued to maintain from the beginning and still do, a very good discipline of holding community prayers on special days and in addition the North Indian community has also been serving meals as Prasad on their pooja day (2nd Friday) of every month. This task originally initiated and managed by Anu Madan was later taken over by Poonam Garg and to this day remains a focal point of community interaction on 2nd Fridays.
The tradition of serving meals emulated by most other communities for their special pooja days also demonstrates wonderfully well during the Navaratri celebrations when each day is taken by one or the other community to serve Prasad to hundreds of devotees whom come and pray together during the nine day celebrations, usually falling in the month of October.
In recent years the community and regular prayer calendar has expanded. It now comprises: 1st Saturday Kannada Group;
1St Friday Tamil Association;
1st Monday, South African Community;
2nd Friday, North Indian Community;
2nd Saturday, Telugu Community;
2nd Sunday, Gujarati Community;
3rd Friday, Kerala Community;
4th Saturday, Karumari Amman Pooja;
5th Saturday, Maharashtra Mandala.
Some other beautiful traditions that have served the Temple very well are performances of dances and devotional singing mainly by young children on each of 1st to 7th and the ninth nights of the Navaratri celebrations. The prayers to and serving of food and gifts to small girls (Kanya Pooja) and a senior lady (Sumangali) celebrating the female as the divine presence amongst us on the 8th night of the Navaratri. The dances and singing by children have now been extended to the ten-day Mahotsavam festival. For many years, Poonam Garg and later Raji Krishnan managed the Kanya and the Sumnagali Pooja. Since the constriction of the Main Temple in 2005, the Temple Management Committee has taken over the conduct of these poojas.
Communal singing of Mahishasur Mardini, a highly devotional poem in adoration of the Divine Mother, composed in Sanskrit by Adi Shankara in 8th century AD, initially started by Jeya Ponnutherai, joined in by Anu Madan on the mike and everyone who could sing, and more recently sung on the mike every year on all nine evenings by Jeyalakshmi Raman and Vimladevi Athisadam fills the place with awesome vibrations that would drive asway all negativities from the hearts of singers and listeners alike. Aarti to Ambika Bhawani introduced by Swami Shantanandaji in 1987, every night of the Navaratri prayers is another beautiful tradition that is unique to this Temple and has continued since the Association’s first public Navaratri in 1987.
All prayers and Aartis in the Temple end up in worshipping the Jyoti (the Light) representing the Infinite Consciousness in whose light we become aware of the world at large, our thoughts and actions. This insight into our thoughts alone gives us the choices to make the right decisions in life. Indeed, the Hindus believe that the Divine manifests as the unchanging substratum or the Atman as “Witness Consciousness” or Awareness in all of us. Another part of the finale prayer is to sing the invocatory prayer from the Isa Upanishad.
Om
| Om.
|
Sadly, Guru Poornima Pooja once celebrated with great enthusiasm and all night homam to the chanting of Maha Mrintunjoy Mantra ending with the mool mantra of Om Hrim Namah Shivaya have fallen away to the great disappointment of many youngsters and old timers. Greater emphasis in recent years on “pay poojas” to pay and let the priest chant for our well material and physical wellbeing has taken the joy out of pooja for their own sake.
Hopefully the publication of this history will revive such great traditions where every youngster, indeed every person, will be able to recite mantras. Wisdom is in walking away from proxy poojas. I sincerely hope and wish our Managements Committees will understand that such proxy poojas do not help anyone. There is no growth and no evolution towards Transcendent life. Temple, our history, our culture, the wisdom of our Rishis will die slowly.
Where is the audacity of the Mahavakyas of our Rishsis of 7,000 years ago: Tat Tvam Asi; Aham Brahmn Asmi?
Management Committees and Priests
The Constitution resolved to give limited terms to Committee members including Presidents and other executives. The same applied to the Trustees. In addition, an informal unwritten rule that the Vice President would step into the position of President gave a sense of continuity in management as well as opportunity for talented and interested people to come forward and serve.
The Association and the Temple have been blessed to have been served by hundreds of volunteers many as Committee members who have given wonderful service to the community often at the cost of their leisure and holidays with their families. After all the entire purpose of service and prayers is to reduce our egos and as such most have exemplified this with their conduct in the management of the affairs of the Temple.
As Swami Venkatesananda famously wrote in his book on Total Love, “To Love is to Live When the “I” in Live is Naught (O)”. “I” bent double into and “O”in humility is the only way to express the primordial foundation of all religious thoughts, indeed Love is the only way to express the very energy we worship in various forms.
The concept of God and religions grew out of mankind’s fears as well as the bold quest to understand the mystery of life itself. Both these aspects have drawn together the opposites in religious practices and thoughts in every religion.
Quest and knowledge emancipate but fear and seeking prestige and power bind us to endless suffering.
Thus those of us who are invested with responsibility to manage the affairs of a Temple must not only preserve the moral, ethical and humane values of the society, but equally as a corollary, not meekly hand over the power of attorney to lay priests, monks and managers to practices where the drivers are not quest, knowledge, devotion or social cohesion.
After Shri Naga Narayanan handed over the role of priestly duties to professional priests the Association struggled to bring in some kind of balance in the appointment and the conduct of its priests. This continued to trouble the Association and many members of the community for some time.
Shri Achtchayamurthy Iyer who succeeded Shri Naga Narayanan, served the Temple very well. He was a simple loving soul. He died in the priest quarter of a heart attack uttering Rama, Rama after midnight on the night of Janma Ashtami in 1992.
He was succeeded by a learned priest Shri Somaskantha Kurukkal. He served the Temple from 1992 to 1995. The then Committee decided to end his tenure and gave him a generous notice period of six months. Whether due to lack of trust in the process followed and the decision made by the Management committee and the Trustees, or other reasons to realise a cherished ambition of their own, some members of the Tamil community used the decision as an excuse to move out and build another Temple with Lord Murugan as the presiding deity.
It is inevitable that as the community grows larger and is spread out far and wide more and more Temples will and are being built, but this was then seen and promoted by some as a spill over from a contentious decision, never a sufficient justification to so split the community.
Many more from the Tamil community however, continued to work with and support the Temple and in fact many of them took leading roles in the years to come in the construction of the Phase 2 Temple. All of us stand in gratitude for their courage and understanding.
It should be mentioned that back in 1994, when Shri Atchayamurthy Iyer passed away the Association bought a block and build a house for the priest nearby in Bronzewing Street in Huntingdale itself. This proved to be a good investment. Proceeds from its sale later helped a lot with the payment of loans undertaken for the construction of Phases 3, of the Temple.
Shri Somaskantha Kurrukul was succeeded by Shri Pugneswara Iyer in 1995. He was succeeded in 1998 by Shri Subramanya Bhat a highly learned and devoted priest. He served until 2004 when his tenure was ended by a firm decision by the then Committee and confirmed at the following AGM on the basis that the tenure of priests should also be limited, just as that of other Committee members and Trustees. Shri Bhat was succeeded by Shri Sankaran Subba Battar in 2004, another learned and scholarly priest who also happened to be a good yoga teacher.
Thankfully the issues of priests were firmly resolved by 2005, when the Phase 2 Temple was completed. It should also be mentioned that the generosity of spirit among the members of the community have since washed away residual ill feelings and concerns stemming from this initial period of uncertainty because of priest matters. As a rule, the new priests now come in on temporary 2 to 3 year visas and return to their homeland at the end of their terms.
Since then many wonderful and devoted priests have served at the Temple. Some have left indelible impressions of their piety and devotion on the minds of the devotees. The Management Committees and Trustees have generally done a wonderful job, taking into account aspirations of the people and due process laid down in the Constitution.
A new building and construction committee buried itself into the task of design and construction of Phases 2 and 3 when Kangatheran was elected Chairman of the building subcommittee with responsibility for overall planning on 8th October 1995. Others helping him were Naga Narayanan (Arrangements of Deities), KJeyakumar (Engineering), Sivanathan (Sewage, Water supply, Landscaping), Nandakumar (Finance – capital and recurrent), Anu Madan (Functional aspects) and Sureshan as Secretary.
During the next few months several plans were considered. Initial aspirational design consideration of a dome central hall and a basement meditation hall lit by the rays of the sun from the centre of the dome, were soon abandoned on cost considerations. Subsequent designs varied between traditional and modern. Other aspirational considerations of entrances reflecting regional diversities i.e. a Gujarati style dome and a North Indian style dome on side entrances and typical architecture of a South Indian Temple at the main entrance were accepted firmly by the Committee and the membership at large. Subsequent additional features in the design of a massive glass window all along the upper reaches of the western wall to bring in ample sunlight and also showcase in skylights at night the upper reaches and architecture of the three central sanctums. This added a unique character and beauty to the design and somehow seemed to take care of the aspirational aspect of sunlight in the Temple during the day time. At night time the Temple and its beautiful architecture is visible from inside the Temple as well as from a long distance. Credit for these changes goes to the painstakingly thorough and persevering leadership of Kangatheran.
Initial plans for Phase 2 of the main Temple were prepared by Suresh Karandikar, an architect based in Perth. When Suresh moved interstate, Sunil Mathur, also a Perth based architect took over the task. He presented detailed plans initially encompassing 1,200 sqm of covered space as well as a meditation basement hall and a car park for 200 cars. On cost considerations the covered area was subsequently reduced to 800 sqm. His plans were presented to membership on 11th November 1995. On 25th February 1996 Professor Kailasnathan, an expert in the design of temples, was invited to present an agamic view including comments on five principal deities and the temple orientation.
A Special General Meeting of the Association convened on 23rd March 1996 for the purpose, accepted all the recommendations of Prof Kailasnathan. Thus the concept of a traditional temple with an east- west orientation with five principal deities was accepted on that day. The meeting also endorsed the view that the Atmalingam will be located just outside the main body of the Temple.
The concept plans thus prepared accordingly with his assistance were subsequently presented to the City of Gosnells. The City of Gosnells approved the Concept Plan on 27th August 1996.
In September 1996, at our request Mrs Gita and Mr David McLaughlin volunteered to further develop the design concepts. These were then presented to Annual General Meeting of the Association on 27th October 1997. The meeting finally put to rest the concept of a basement hall mainly on cost considerations for the additional fill to build a basement and concerns regarding unwanted attention and visibility that it would draw in an increasingly expanding and busy suburban neighbourhood.
Although the assistance of all the architects consulted till then was much appreciated, none of them had any prior experience in building a temple and as such it was felt that a traditional temple builder would have to be involved.
In January 1998, Kangatheran approached Shri V S Thuriarajah of Thuriarajah and Associates of Colombo (Design Architect and builder of the Sydney Murugan Temple) to review the concept plans and requested if he would be available to help. Through a series of discussions with Shri Thuriarajah, in which Sthapati S Nagarjan, a builder contractor of traditional temples based in India was also involved, the plans were embellished to some detail. Simultaneously the earthwork to level and fill the land started on 25th February 1998.
In May 1998, the Shrine arrangement was finalised. On 18th July, 1998, the revised Concept Plans prepared by Thuriarajah were completed. These plans were immediately submitted to the City of Gosnells and the approval received forthwith on 10th August 1998. It is noted here that Shri Thuriarajah, provided his services as an offering to the noble cause at no cost to the Association, for which we will ever remain grateful.
Subsequently work on landscape plans and car park arrangements were prepared by Rasiah Ratnasingham and Town Planning approval was granted in October 1999.
Master Plan and Landscaping – During construction Dr Sitaram Vij, then a committee member, brought in the assistance of Lynette and Gorki Bogdanich, architects from Archetype Design Studio, to draw a Master Plan for including additional car parks, landscaping and some residential accommodation. This was presented to the Association and accepted as a concept Master Plan for overall development for the Temple site in 2007.
The Association and the community will never forget the hard work put in by Kangatheran and his two key assistants Jeyakumar and Sivanathan. Although managing a substantial personal business, Kangatheran was to devote all his spare time in managing not just the design process and preparation of the tender documents with Sivanathan, but also took on the responsibility of project management, keeper of records and minutes and construction as the Registered Builder on a voluntary basis for most of the construction period. It has been a privilege to see Kangatheran work. On his 80th birthday celebrations at the Temple early in 2016, I had the good fortune to acknowledge his stellar effort by touching his feet and presenting him with a shawl on behalf of the Association.
No less, Kangatheran was assisted by a group of highly dedicated engineers in various aspects of design. These were Jeyakumar (structural), Anshu Gupta (integrity of designs), Krishnarajah (electrical, floor heating, sound systems and security), Sivanathan (specifications and tender documents, water, sewer and drainage services), Muthulingam (registered builder in early years and initial plumbing). Others who helped and are gratefully acknowledged here are Biswajit Munshi, , , S Vanniasingam, James Young, Joginder Singh and Britt Payne.
Building Licence was finally approved by the City of Gosnells Town Planning Department in December 1999.
1995 – 1996:
Phase 2: Design and Approval of Plans– the Main Temple
Phase 2:
Foundation Ceremony for the Main Temple
In addition to all other tasks, Kangatheran also presided over the Association during these years. A massive amount of fill was required. The initial free fill with large concrete blocks required considerable efforts to clean before yellow clean sand could be poured in time to prepare for the foundation ceremony of the Phase 2 Temple in April 1998.
On the Good Friday, the 10th April 1998, also the weekend of Hanuman Jayanti and Chaitra Purnima (11th April in India), a large traditional ceremony was held on the grounds of the proposed Phase 2, the Main Temple. The ceremony was attended by hundreds of devotees, many pledging and donating large amounts of funds for the construction of the Temple.
It was graced and presided by Shri Bodhinatha Velayanswami of Kailas parampara, later to become the 163rd Satguru of this lineage and the Head of the Mission in Hawaii in 2001. He continued to perform silent Japa on his rosary beads throughout the ceremony. The ceremony was also attended by many distinguished priests and guests including Shri V S Thuriarajah, the Chief Architect of the Temple.
Blessings for the ceremony were received from Satguru Subrmuniyaswami, Pravragika Ajayaprana Mataji (President Ramakrishna Sarada Vedanta Society) and Swami ShantanandJi. Messages received from many dignitaries were published in a brochure distributed on that day.
The Presiding Priest for the ceremony was Shri Arumugam Iyer. The prayers began at 5.30 am and continued on till mid-day when lunch was served to all those who attended. Abhishekam and poojas for the sanctification of the grounds, the foundation stones completed, the foundation stones and ratnas were taken in procession around to the building site. The laying of the building stones began at 9.45am with the placing of a nine-compartment casket containing the stones and gold coins in the ground (Nava Kolha Pehla Sthaapanam), placing of conch with the prayers and benedictions from the Presiding Priest and Chief Guest Shri Bodhinatha Vielayanswami. Apart from precious stones and gold, many donated expensive items of jewellery for burial in the ground. Many others buried note books of written japa to their gurus and deities into the hole. A thickish plate of copper buried and cemented into the hole was left extruding from the ground to later connect with the base of the Shiva Lingam that now resides in the Main Temple.
Adi Shankara in the 8th Century codified and grouped all systems of worship under six main streams of worship. These are Saiva – worship of Shiva; Vaishnava – worship of Vishnu; Ganapathy – worship of Ganesha or Vinayagar or Pillayar; Kumara – worship of Kumar, Subramanya or Karthigeya; Shakta – worship of Shakti or Devi or Ambal and Surya – worship of Sun God. He taught that these six paths of prayers are not in conflict but are the choice of worshippers striving to reach the one God which is within each one of us as Atma, the Witness Consciousness. The members of the Association thus accepted that in a relatively small Hindu community in Perth, devotees from each one of these streams would like to see shrines devoted to their paths and as such built it into the Constitution to build shrines for various all above deities of the Hindu pantheon.
Agamas stipulate broad rules for constructing a Temple. Thus Shri V S Thuriarajah, the Chief Architect designed the Temple as far as possible in accordance with the Agamas and in keeping with the aspirations of the Perth Hindu community. He also took into account the local building by-laws such as height restriction (15m) applicable in the suburbs. Accordingly, a tower 14.5m in height called Rajagopuram was designed to be built in Phase 3 at the main entrance. This would be in accordance with architecture of a traditional South Indian temple. The main door in timber would be carved in India and designed to adorn the front entrance just behind the Rajagopuram.
The design contemplated that as one would enter the Temple, one would be able to see the awe inspiring sight of the main three shrines in full form from the base to the dome and its finials – Vimanam, well-lit at night and visible from inside and from far away. To achieve this visual effect, large laminated glass would be used at the top of west wall. The idea was to inspire a devotee to enter into deep contemplation at this sight.
The three shrines called the Garbhagrihas or Aathimulam, would consist of three chambers enshrining Ganesh, Shivalingam, and Devi to the left of Shiva. In addition, there would be individual shrines in the main body of the Temple of Vishnu, Murugan, Anjaneya (Hanumanji) and Navagrahas. On the southern wall of the Temple large carvings of Shri Rama, Sita, Laxman, Anjaneya (Hanumanji) and Valmikiji (Shri Ram Darbar) would be established, an idea proposed by Atul Garg, then a committee member and later President at the time of the consecration of the Temple in September 2005. These carvings of Shri Rama Darbar, much loved by the North Indian community are a unique feature of this Temple.
In front of the central shrine, the vehicle (Vahana) of Shiva, the Nandi, a flag staff (Dhwajasthambam) and Palipeedam (the ego sacrificial platform) would be built.
Along the right wall of the Temple was a decorated canopy called the Vasanta Mandapam where all Utsava Murtis, including our cherished Karumari Amman and the icons of Lord Vishnu and Lord Subrahmanya with their consorts would reside. Another similar canopy, Utsava Mandapam would be built along the same wall for decorations and prayers on Utsava (special) days. The eight pillars within the Temple would be adorned with colourful statues of various deities.
Another unique feature of the Temple would be to build a shrine for Atmalingam (the Shiva presented by Swami Shantanandji) with a gopuram of its own fashioned according to the North Indian style of temple architecture. The south entrance was designed to have a gopuram according to the Gujarati or Vaishnava Temple. A statue of Shri Krishna would be built in front of that gopuram. A Shiva statue would be built outside at the entrance to the Main Temple and Saraswati statue to the right of the main gate to the grounds of the Temple.
Thus the final detailed design of the Phases 2 and 3 fully completed by Shri Thuriarajah, under the leadership of Kangatheran and his subcommittee, was submitted to the City of Gosnells on 2nd December 2002.
Phases 2 & 3:
Temple Architecture and Detailed Design –, the Main Temple
Phase 2:
Construction and Opening Ceremony (Maha Kumbhabhishekam)
Atul Garg (2003-05), then President of Hindu Association of WA and Kangatheran, as leading the Technical subcommittee as well as Project Manager and their committee and subcommittee members, worked very hard for the detail tendering process, procurement of funds and the construction of the Temple.
They were both helped enormously by general enthusiasm in the community. All past Presidents, Trustees and the past committee members chipped in and provided support forming ad hoc subcommittees to marshal the funds and any other support required, in particular looking after the artisans from India.
Krishnarajah (President 2001-03) had previously worked with Kangatheran to cost and budget the construction., His unstinting commitment and hard work in almost every activity of the Temple and even now, has earned him much respect. Underfloor heating and management of all electrical work are his specific contributions.
At one stage at the AGM, the Association requested a budget approval of more than $800,000 dollars. The overdraft facility of $150,000 had already been exhausted. These were difficult times with construction boom and escalating costs. The membership held its nerves and with full faith gave the go ahead to continue. In 2004-05, a bank loan of $650,000 was taken up to meet the approved budget expenditure. Krishnarajah and Krishna Ambalvanar worked hard to convince the bank to secure this loan without personal securities. Initially bank was not prepared to lend this money for construction of the Temple on land with odd structures. Madhu Bhalla then owner of Quality Press helped them to secure such a large loan.
Sthapati S Nagarjan was now working under the guidance of Sthapati Chidambaranathan. A group of traditional artisans from Chennai were brought in and housed in rental accommodation for almost one year to make the moulds for the carvings, shaping multitudes of carvings as well as the domal stupas. The artisans in their humble Indian attire with no knowledge of English looked anything but the professional builders, but delivered the most stunning and colourful artwork in concrete. They were looked after with love and care by the community for their food and comforts. To all the men and women who looked after them, our grateful thanks.
Detail tenders for all other civil, structural, plumbing and electrical works were prepared on a voluntary basis by the Technical Team. Bids were sought and jobs were tendered by the Committee. The site works up to the stage of concrete pour and plumbing were managed by Shri Muthulingam as the Registered Builder. After his sad and sudden demise in an unfortunate accident whilst on a visit to Sri Lanka, Kangatheran took over as the Registered Builder on a voluntary basis. He not only continued to provide Project Management but also took care of the responsibility for all construction with the help of Jeyakumar, Sivanathan, Krishnarajah and Atul Garg (then President). There were many challenges of water pipes from the gutters, circulating hot water in the floor slab, a large concrete roof at the Temple, hoisting and installation of large laminated glass panels along the west wall, sewage and water connections and most importantly, the entire sculpture work was done on site itself.
The Temple when completed looked like an iconic building as a tourist destination in Perth. The installation of external and internal lights was done to perfection. Everyone who has visited the place since is filled with awe and admiration.
Grateful thanks to Dr V Gurumoorthy for initiating discussions with the then Premier of Western Australia to donate funds for the construction of this most important community Project for the Hindu Community in Western Australia. Dr Gurumoorthy pursued the matter with the Premier and with diligent and sustained follow up for months through the application process by Atul Garg, a generous grant was announced by Jim McGinty, representing the Premier, during the Maha Kumbhabhishekam. A cheque for $621,500 from the Government of Western Australia was presented by Tony McRae to the Association at a dinner hosted for the purpose a few months later.
Large sums of money were raised during this time and many devotees from all sections of the Hindu Community in Perth donated generously to achieve this wonderful outcome. To all of them and each one of them the community would ever remain grateful. Many went on door knock appeals with the fund-raising drives. To all of them, in particular Atul Garg, Jeyakumar, Dr Sitaram Vij, Para Nagaratnam, Nandakumar and Ponu Ratnasingham our sincere and grateful thanks.
The Temple construction was completed in time in August 2005. After checking religious calendars, the Committee with the help of the Priests had earlier decided upon 8th September 2005 as the date for the official opening or the Maha Kumbhabhishkam of the Temple. Senathirajah took over the responsibility for the opening ceremony with tremendous support from his subcommittee and the Management committee of the Association.
Unbeknown to the organisers and as this writer noted later that 8th September is the birth anniversary of the world renowned Swami Sivanandji of Rishikesh. Swamiji was the Guru of Swami Shantanandji and as such this coincidence is seen as an additional proof of the blessings that have continued to flow to this Temple since the opening ground ceremony and presentation of Karumari Amman in 1987 by Swami Shantanandji. The significance of this coincidence always fills me with deep sense of reverence and gratitude. My prostrations and namaskars to Swami Shantanandji. Swamiji attained Mahaasamaadhi on 27 July 2005 in Shivanjali Centre, Coimbatore, India.
The Maha Kumbhabhishekam was a glorious ceremony attended by thousands over the one-week period from 1st September to 9th September with yagnas, abhishek and poojas. The prayers were presided over by Sivasri Sabratna Parameshwara Kurukkal, Chief Priest from the Kandaswamy Temple in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. He was assisted by Sivasri Viswa Somasundra Kurukkal from Colombo, Sri Lanka. Ten other priests from around Australia and Malaysia assisted with the ceremonies. Atul and Poonam Garg proudly carried the Kalasams around the Temple as principal hosts for the ceremony on behalf of everyone who had worked hard to come to this stage.
Messages of felicitations were received from the Governor General of Australia Right Honourable Major General Michael Jeffery, Honourable Geoff Gallop, the Premier of Western Australia, Dr R Rajgopalan of the Bal Murugan Temple in Perth, Dr A Balasubramaniam Chairman of the Hindu Council of Australia and many other dignitaries from around the world. Blessings were received from Swami Namananda Giri of Gnananananda Seva Samaj, Satguru Bodhinatha Velayanswami of Hawaii, Swami Guhabhaktananda of Divine Life Society, Malaysia and from the Swaminarayan Mandir, Perth representing His Divine Holiness Pujya Pramukh Swami Maharaj, the worldwide head of The Swaminarayan Organisation.
The inner architecture and presentation, so unique and beautiful was and is continuing to be admired by all visitors.
A beautiful and most colourful magazine of 90 odd pages, edited by Ramkumaran, Para Nagaratnam and Rajeswari Senathirajah was printed for the occasion and distributed to the participants.
Thus for all those who first met as an Association on 14th September 1985 and were still standing around helping and watching this major milestone achievement exactly 20 years later after a lifetime of commitment, this was an occasion of tearful gratitude to all those who joined and bonded together as one large family in the process.
When the individuality and individual contributions are drowned and melt away in a chorus of prayers and when God alone shines the Maha Kumbhabhishekam truly happens.
Let it be so in any and every field of endeavour in life.
With consummate skill and dedication, the newly elected President Mukesh Mani, took on the task of building the “last leg” of the Temple, the Rajagopuram, the Royal Tower, literally, as a Rajagopuram represents the feet of a Temple. Temples are designed to represent the form of a human body with Garbhagriha (the sanctum sanctorum) representing the head and the heart. Without the feet, a Rajagopuram the Temple is deemed “not complete”, not yet standing, as it were. He was assisted in this task by Dr Sitaram Vij, a supportive Committee and the same Technical Committee headed by Kangatheran. People already tired by years of toil needed to be pushed, which Mukesh did and when he could not get things done he took the tasks upon himself. The West Australian State Government grant of $621,500 announced on the eve of the Maha Kumbhabhishekam in 2005 was used to pay off a large portion of the bank loans. However, fresh funds were needed. The community and the volunteers to collect such funds responded with great enthusiasm to complete this last leg of the Temple building task. task sustained with great vigour.
Other capital works during his years included the decorative external pillars, roof-level panels surrounding the Temple as well as the granite tiling of the surrounding veranda. The same team of Sthapatis under the direction of S. Nagarajan and S. Chidambaranathan and their team of artisans executed the elaborate carvings and sculptural works that adorn the Rajagopuram over a ten-month period.
On completion of the Rajagopuram, a Maha Kumbhabishekam was held on 1 June 2008 led by Shri A.V. Swaminatha Sivachariyar assisted by other priests. The Rajagopuram Kumbhabishekam was once again celebrated with extravagance and ceremonial splendour.
In the words of News Post India, “a rich tapestry of pomp and colour marked the consecration of the intricately carved Rajagopuram or Royal Tower at the Hindu Temple in the Canning Vale suburb of Perth”.
The Australian newspaper called it “a magnificent testament” to the State’s diverse culture and adding that “anyone who comes here will be impressed, it’s physically beautiful and the spirit of the place is beautiful”.
There also took place at this time the installation of Shri Asthadasabhuja Mahalakshimi Durga Devi and the Dhwajasthambam, the Flagstaff. The word Devi in Hindu mythology refers not only to a Goddess as opposed to a male God but is in fact the Goddess Absolute where divinity is presented as female.
The icon of Shri Mahalakshmi Durga Devi was generously donated by an anonymous devotee to whom we remain grateful with a promise to respect, love and adore Her deserving of what she philosophically stands for.
Other features under the landscaping and beautification programme completed during this time were the Shiva statue built in the inner roundabout; the Radha-Krishna statue on the south side of the Temple; the ‘Thorana Vaasal’ (entrance archway) with its decorated panel; and Goddess Saraswati in a lotus pond, in front of the Multi-Purpose Hall, as the presiding deity of the scholastic, literary, cultural and aesthetic domains. The white colour which predominates the personage of Goddess Saraswati alludes to purity, tranquillity and equanimity.
The landscaping and gardening work including the planting of trees and flower plants at that time was taken care of by Logie Moodley. Also completed at this time were the ablution block, the second car park and the security fencing around the Main Temple area. A beginning was made for the construction of the priests’ quarters within the precincts of the Temple land at the rear of the property.
To secure additional funds, an active door-knocking campaign was undertaken by a team of volunteers to meet the deficit in the capital works programme budget. The team consisted of T.V.Sukumar, Para Nagaratnam (then Chairman of Trustees), Jeyakumar, Nanda Kumar and Pon Ratnasingham. The team over several week-ends of door-knocking was able to bring in $400,000 to the building funds. There was still a shortfall and a further bank loan of $200,000 had to be negotiated.
During this period, the Temple was fortunate to be served by two learned priests, Sivasri Mohanasundara Sivacharya and Sivasri Manikanta Sivachariya, the latter as his assistant. Temple’s functions and festivals were ritually and elaborately celebrated, drawing increasing numbers of devotees to the TempleWe gratefully thank Dr Kabilan Krishnasamy, Chair of Religious Affairs for managing the Rajagopuram Maha Kumbhabhishekam as well as the religious affairs of the Temple during these years. Once again a beautiful souvenir magazine was published for the occasion.
Our heart goes out full of gratitude to the silent majority of devotees who just came to the Temple in their colourful garments, the children whose presence continued to enrich the pageantry of the place, and many othershelping with the 2nd Sunday Indian Vegetarian Delight (the Dosai Club); bhajan singing; performing artists on special festivals; others cooking and serving Prasad on their Temple days (Fridays and Saturdays); those making garlands; those cleaning religious objects and icons and ironing of clothes week in week out; as well as those who continued to cook and serve at the “India Fair” in Fremantle every year or serve in various stalls, all on a voluntary basis. Representing all of them, a special award for services to the Temple was presented to Mano Krishnarajah, who personally worked very hard during these years, at the Rajagopuram Maha Kumbhabhishekam in 2008.
Thus a traditional Temple as laid out in the Agamas and Silpa Sastras (science of sculptures) came to be fully established on 1st June 2008 as envisaged and planned by Thuriarajah and Kangatheran.
Shy and retiring, as he always was, V S Thuriarajah, who gave his services at no cost to the Temple, stood quietly in a corner with his wife during the entire Maha Kumbhabhishekam ceremony in 2008. He passed away quietly some years later on 14th December 2011. They whom Gods adore do not need any other recognition and salutations.
To merge in the silence of the heart is difficult for our ever turbulent minds. Thus we come to the Temple to surrender and submerge our egos to a form of the Divine we cherish. In such submergence a devotee ultimately realises the Supreme Formless as his own Self.
“Hindus do not recognise the existence of many gods. We are not even polytheists. We are not even pantheists, believing in one Deity somehow enveloping all. Indeed, we are not even monotheists, believing in One God. We Hindus are monists, believing that One alone exists, and that ultimately even the distinction between God, world and man ought to be resolved into transcendental Self-realisation of Non duality”. Swami Venkatesananda from Song of God (Daily Reading from Shrimad Bhagwad Gita).
Phases 3:
Construction of Rajagopuram and Another Maha Kumbhabhishekam
Phase 4 (2008-2011):
Focus on Administrative Consolidation
Strong leadership by Dr Sitaram Vij as President from 2008-2011, with help from the Management Committee and the Trustees focused primarily on the completion of the capital works; reduction of bank loan; much needed revision of the Constitution; orderly management of the day to day activities through the appointment of an administrator; beautification of the Multipurpose Hall; increasing the Temple opening hours and starting a canteen to serve food to devotees on the weekends so that people visiting could make it a family relaxing time out on such days.
Priests quarters, toilet block, Rathum (chariot) shed and a store room were completed. The Multipurpose Hall was refurbished and a covered paved patio was added. External fencing and automated gates at the main entrance to the Hindu Centre were completed. A total of $20,000 and $100,000 in grants were received from the Gosnells Council and the Lotteries Commission respectively.
By 2009, the Temple opening hours were extended from 10am to 12 noon. Additional help was needed to assist with purchasing Archana items, counting collection of donations and guiding the devotees. Many volunteers, especially Rajaratnam, A Pathmannathan, and always ready to help Para Nagaratnam assisted with voluntary service in this significant transition. Subsequently C Mahadeva was appointed as a full time Administrator. The volunteers continued to assist as and when required.
Mahaveer Pareek, then Assistant Secretary, took on the arduous task of revising the Constitution with extensive community consultation and completed it successfully.
By the end of 2011, the bank loan was reduced to about $100,000 all-round an excellent achievement by Dr Sitaram Vij and his Management committee. Dr Vij an ardent devotee of Satya Sai Baba, started taking an active interest in the Temple activities when he brought in a brick blessed with kumkumkumam and vibhuti in the late 1990s from the house of Ramu Vellu, himself a well-known and great Sai Baba devotee, to be built into the Temple. His enthusiasm and energy from that day onward has been contagious and admired by many.
Dr Subramaniam Kunalan took over the Presidency in 2011 and after a brief interlude with Dr Jagadish Krishnan at the helm in 2014-15, Dr Kunalan continues to serve as President. They have been assisted by a band of very hard working and excellent committee members, particularly Sanal Kumar, current Vice President, Sidhartan, current Secretary and Nandakumar as current Treasurer.
Both Dr Kunalan and Dr Krishnan continued to consolidate the administration, beautification and financial position of the Association to the point where the Association has not only liquidated all its loans but can boast a very busy religious calendar and enough savings to embark upon a genuine renewal and refurbishment in the form of a 12 year Maha Kumbhabhishekam in April 2017.
A third full time priest was employed as from May 2012. Silver plated kavasams for Lord Ganesh, Goddess Meenakshi and Lord Muruga were purchased. Vahanams were purchased for the Principal Deities in the Temple with generous donations from the devotees.
A 10 day Mahotsavam festival celebrating prayers to Lord Shiva also incorporating day and night homams, Rathotsavam (chariot circumambulations of the Temple) every night and Thirukalyalam (the Divine wedding of Shiva and Goddess Meenakshi) on one of the 10 days was added to the religious calendar in April 2013. It now compliments the 9 days of Navaratri festival usually held in October- November, as the two grand festivals in a year when large scale family participation lifts the roof of the Temple as it were with spiritual vibrations, and joyous family participation..
A government grant of $75,000 was obtained to buy multimedia equipment, new computers, improve air-conditioning in the Multipurpose Hall and new furniture and equipment for the kitchen and the Hall.
The statue of Saraswati damaged by vandals was fully repaired andCCTV cameras were installed both inside and outside the temple building.
Planning for the 12th anniversary Mahakumbhabhishekam in 2017 was initiated in January 2015 with Dr Kunalan as Chairman. Stapathi Nagarajan and the Chief Priest Parameswara Kurukkal were consulted to prepare a detailed budget which was approved by the AGM in the same year. The year 2016, has been largely taken up in detail planning of the Maha Kumbhabhishekam festival to be held in April 2017. With Sanal Kumar in the Chair for this festival, Dr Kunalan, Nanda Kumar, Sidhartan and Jeyakumar from the Management committee have been well supported in this work by Para Nagaratnam, the Chairman of Trustees Senathirajah, Mukesh Mani, Shanker Madan and Dr Arumugam.
An outreach programme to appraise the community about Hindu Religion through visits to schools has been promoted by the Association for many years. It expanded and flourished during the Presidency of Dr Jagdish Krishnan. It now includes talks to and visits by students from various schools, Rotary Club members, seniors from various communities, police recruits from the Police Academy and Inter-faith dialogues. These programmes managed by Para Nagaratnam for many years have drawn assistance from AR Krishnan, Naga Narayanan, Anu Madan and Para Nagaratnam as speakers.
Thus the Perth Hindu Temple has been a wonderful and joyous journey in which hundreds and thousands of people have lovingly contributed their time and money, indeed their heart and soul. It has always been a wonder what and why except the omnipresent Consciousness Itself must have prompted so many to come forward and help and how they literally compete to contribute more, like the jealous gopis and cowherd friends of Shri Krishna. The author of this story is convinced that all those who have helped and prayed at the Temple (The Lord Himself) are the devas whom descended from their heavenly abodes to enhance the glory of this Place.
To all of them my humble prostrations.
If any name has been missed, to the people involved my most sincere apology.
Shanker Madan