[Over 4,000 Hindus In Wellingborough For The Installation Of Statues In New Temple]

A Hindu procession in the town centre.

Short scenes of a procession of Hindu women and girls in the shopping streets of Wellingborough. One of the women carries the flag of India, and some are scattering petals from baskets. People surround two clothed and garlanded statues. More views of the procession. Two costumed men carrying gada (maces associated with the god Hanuman) follow the women. This film accompanied an Anglia TV news story about four thousand Hindus in Wellingborough for the installation of seven statues at the new temple (Mandir).

Keywords

Religion; Hinduism; Hindu temple

Background Information

In 1974, His Holiness Pramukh Swami Maharaj visited Wellingborough and encouraged the devotees to find a place where a Mandir could be established. A management committee located a modest terraced house at 16 Mill Road in November 1974. Pictorial murtis (sacred images) of Bhagwan Swaminarayan, Gunatitanand Swami, Gopalanand Swami, Hanuman, Ganesh, and the Guru Parampara (lineage of successive gurus) were placed. In 1976, 1978 and 1979, adjoining properties were acquired, extending the size of the Mandir to the equivalent of four houses. In 1980, Pramukh Swami Maharaj consecrated the concrete pillar (with five chandlas of kumkum) that housed the murtis of Bhagatji Maharaj, Shastriji Maharaj and Yogiji Maharaj, and declared it as symbolic of the Akshar Deri in Gondal, India, thus establishing it as sacred and a place of pilgrimage. The Akshar Deri at Wellingborough was inaugurated by Pramukh Swami Maharaj in 1980, and since then has become a place of pilgrimage, especially for those unable to travel to India. In 1982, Pramukh Swami Maharaj instructed that all major festivals be celebrated at the Mandir, and since that day, important Hindu festivals such as Vasant Panchami, Holi, Ramnavami, Guru Purnima, and Diwali, amongst others, have been devoutly celebrated. adapted from https://www.swaminarayan.org/news/uk/2009/08/satsang/index.htm