Mumbai, 24th November. It is a great need of today that our temples should become society-oriented like in ancient times and once again become the center of education, medicine, service, faith, inspiration, power, religious propagation and social enlightenment. These views were expressed by the Central Organizational General Secretary of Vishwa Hindu Parishad, Milind Parande, while speaking as the keynote speaker during the release ceremony of the book * “MANDIR : RASHTRA KE URJA KENDRA”.
This grand release ceremony was organized on the evening of Friday, 23rd November, 2024 at the Yogi Sabhagriha of Swaminarayan Temple in Dadar East, Mumbai. He said that if the society gets divided or falls asleep, the temples will be destroyed again, therefore we have to create such a strong, organized and aware society that no one can dare to destroy temples in future. He said that our temples and especially the Ram Janmabhoomi movement have played a major role in bringing Hinduism to the center of awakening and discussion. He told that various aspects of temples have been highlighted in this temple special book. Therefore, this book will definitely prove to be a guide for everyone. He congratulated the entire team of Hindi Vivek magazine for this commendable work. He said that today no church or mosque in the country is under government control, but temples have been kept under government control. The Supreme Court has also told the government that it is not the government’s job to control temples and manage them. Despite this, the government is misusing the property of temples by keeping them under government control. Therefore, it is our duty to free the temples. Various subjects such as the economy of the temple, its management, functioning, transparency, participation of the society and what should be our vision with regard to the temple have been explained in this book. In this release ceremony of the book published by Hindi Vivek magazine, the new calendar of Vishwa Hindu Parishad was also released. VHP’s Central Organization General Secretary Milind Parande, temple architecture and sculpture expert Dr. G. B. Deglurkar, Jha Construction Pvt. Ltd. Chairman and MD Ramsundar Jha and his wife Manorama Jha, VHP’s Konkan Province Secretary Mohan Salekar, Hindustan Prakashan Sanstha President Padmashri Ramesh Patange, Hindi Vivek’s Chief Executive Officer Amol Pednekar and Hindi Vivek’s Executive Editor Mrs. Pallavi Anvekar jointly released the special book and calendar. In the beginning, Hindi Vivek’s Chief Executive Officer Amol Pednekar in his introduction briefly threw light on the remarkable successful journey of Hindi Vivek magazine for 15 years. He said that we forgot the importance of temples, so we had to become slaves. Temples have been the main centers of national and social awakening, therefore, only by reviving the tradition of our temples will India be able to ensure its role as a world leader. He informed that with the objective of public welfare along with public entertainment, Hindi Vivek magazine has published the book
“MANDIR : RASHTRA KE URJA KENDRA”. After this, Padmashree Ramesh Patange, President of Hindustan Prakashan Sanstha said that when the society stood up, the Ram temple was built. Therefore, it is necessary for the society to stand together.
Also, it is important to think what is the power of a temple and a deity? We have to remove the discrimination and shortcomings prevalent in the Hindu society, only then the society will stand in an organized and powerful form. He said that why did Sardar Patel feel that the Somnath temple should be built? Why did K.N. Munshi and Rajendra Prasad feel that the temple should be built? At that time, they were not workers of Vishwa Hindu Parishad, because VHP was not even born, but they knew that India was becoming independent and what are the symbols of independence, so they are our temples. If the temple stands and India becomes independent, it will send a positive message to the world. In the ceremony, temple architecture and sculpture expert Dr. G. B. Deglurkar said that we have forgotten the architects of temple architecture, who built grand and divine temples. He said that temple is a social institution, in which all sections of the society participate. He advised that before going to any temple, one should circumambulate it and understand what the sculptures on the outer walls of the temple say to you. In this ceremony, Jha Construction Pvt. Ltd. Chairman and Managing Director Ramsundar Jha and his wife Manorama Jha, Govardhan Eco Village Director Gaurangdas Prabhu, Mahalakshmi Temple Trust Chairman V. N. Gupchup, Temple Connect founder Girish Vasudev Kulkarni and Hindi Vivek ⁸representatives Dattatreya Tamhankar and Mahesh Junnarkar were specially felicitated by presenting them awards, books and shawls by the guests present on the stage.
Hindi Vivek’s Executive Editor Mrs. Pallavi Anvekar successfully conducted the function and in the end expressed her gratitude to everyone. The function concluded after the presentation of Pasayadan by Mrs. Mansi Raje. A large number of creative people and religious lovers including Maharashtra State Hindi Sahitya Academy’s Executive Member Gajanan Mahatpurkar and Prof. Markandey Tripathi and senior litterateur Dr. Karuna Shankar Upadhyay were present in this function which began with lighting of the lamps.
