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Temple Traffic a Mixed Blessing
Congregation's Growth Causes Parking Crisis And Threatens Closure
Worshipers pray Sunday at the Rajdhani Mandir temple in Chantilly. The temple's parking overflow has caused friction in the neighborhood.
Worshipers pray Sunday at the Rajdhani Mandir temple in Chantilly. The temple's parking overflow has caused friction in the neighborhood. (Leah L. Jones for The Washington Post)
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By Brigid Schulte
Washington Post Staff Writer
Monday, September 15, 2008; Page B01
On a cool marble altar lined with gold-haloed Hindu deities dressed in peacock blue robes, a Hindu priest traces the outline of each statue with the flame of an oil lamp, chanting in Sanskrit and ringing a golden bell. He has already offered pure water. And soon he will gently fan each one with an elaborate whisk made of long, gray yak tail.
"We fan the deities because in India it is so hot," explained Rajeev Khanna. "The idea is, you take care of us, we want you to be comfortable."
This twice-daily ritual -- three times on Sunday -- is called Aarti. It is critical for the care and feeding of the gods in any Hindu temple. It is also key to understanding why this temple, Rajdhani Mandir, in suburban Fairfax County, is having so much trouble with its neighbors.
The issue is not religion, race or immigration.
It's parking.
And unless you understand Aarti, you will not understand why something as prosaic as county zoning regulations have become a lightning rod for cultural misunderstanding, with accusations of paranoia and xenophobia being thrown about. The situation has become so volatile that county leaders threatened last week to shut down the temple if members don't get the parking under control, temple leaders said.
The problem is this: The high-tech boom and explosion in immigrants coming to the D.C. area from India have pushed the number of devotees coming to the temple far beyond anything the original builders could have imagined when they began constructing a temple for 250 people in 1998. So, with only 87 parking spaces and sometimes hundreds if not thousands of worshipers coming and going throughout the day, many wind up parking in the neighborhood, residents say, blocking driveways and intersections, making unsafe U-turns and clogging two-lane Pleasant Valley Road. Neighbors have complained to the county so often that some have been asked not to write again. They have even sent photos and videos of cars parked on grass and sari-clad pedestrians walking in the street at night.
"My backyard is adjacent to the temple's side lot, and I have for a very long time been overwhelmed by the parking in front of my house," Mary Ann Cox wrote to county officials. "I find it difficult to pull into my driveway anytime near sunset, especially on Thursdays and most especially on full-moon nights."
Thursday evenings, the fast-growing Sai Baba sect comes to worship. And many major Hindu festivals are timed to coincide with the full moon.
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The neighbors and some county officials think the answer for the temple is simple: Move.
"What happens to every other church when its congregation outgrows its church? They usually find a new location and build a new church," said Scott Miller, a defense contractor and neighborhood resident who has complained regularly and bitterly about temple traffic and parking. "It happens to churches all the time. There's nothing weird about this. They're too successful. Which is a wonderful thing."
Indeed, Rajdhani Mandir is a victim of its own success. Unlike the three or four other Hindu temples in the D.C. area that cater only to one major deity or one region of India, Rajdhani, which means "capital," welcomes everyone.
Temple Traffic a Mixed Blessing
Worshipers pray Sunday at the Rajdhani Mandir temple in Chantilly. The temple's parking overflow has caused friction in the neighborhood.
Worshipers pray Sunday at the Rajdhani Mandir temple in Chantilly. The temple's parking overflow has caused friction in the neighborhood. (Leah L. Jones for The Washington Post)
People who read this also read â¦
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Mom of T.I.'s sons wants more money to raise boys
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Most Viewed Religion Articles
Study: Megachurch Congregants More Loyal Than Others
Italy's Right to Curb Islam With Mosque Law
Lawyer: Vatican grants Venezuelan dissident asylum
Temple Traffic a Mixed Blessing
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But the suggestion of moving is, "insulting" at minimum and "repugnant" at worst, one temple official says.
They can't move.
The 17 deities that sit serenely in alcoves around the maroon sanctuary hall are alive.
"They've been enlivened in a process we call prana pratishta," Khanna, a doctor and chairman of the temple's board of trustees, explained. "Once the stone statues are transformed into living deities, they are rooted to the spot. They can never be moved. That's why there are temples in India that are 2,000 years old."
And that's why priests daily perform the Aarti, which literally feeds and cares for the gods, washing some with milk and chanting prayers in Sanskrit: "Har Har Mahadev." (God is great.)
It's not as if the temple isn't trying to solve its parking problems. Leaders say they typically spend $2,000 for each of 12 to 15 religious festivals to hire off-duty police officers who direct traffic, to erect an electronic sign warning members not to park in the neighborhood and to offer a shuttle service from a nearby office park. They publish warnings on their Web site and in newsletters asking worshipers not to park in the neighborhood.
They also bought an acre next door and submitted plans to the county last July to reconfigure the space for 359 parking spaces. "We are really trying to find a solution," Khanna said. "We want to be good neighbors."
But in a zoning and culture clash Catch-22, plans that might solve most of the parking problems have been put on hold. The temple already is technically in violation of its original permit because it agreed to supply adequate parking for worshipers on-site. And there is a deep distrust among residents about the temple's plans.
The temple has a contingency contract on 33 acres across the street and is studying the feasibility of building a community center with more parking. But neighbors see this as an unwarranted expansion that would further snarl traffic. For that reason, many are opposing the one-acre parking lot.
County officials warned temple leaders at a meeting Friday that one more violation, meaning even one more person parking in the neighborhood, could be sufficient grounds to take the temple to court to shut it down, Khanna said. Barring new violations for 30 to 60 days, county officials said they would help expedite meetings with the community and begin reviewing the new parking lot plan, according to temple leaders.
Yesterday, a harried Gurtej Singh stood in the temple parking lot in a bright yellow reflective jacket and handed out directions to satellite parking. His two cars, an Isuzu Trooper and a Toyota Sienna, outfitted with flashing lights on top, are the shuttle service. Some worshipers, wearing bright saris and long dhotis, themselves in a rush to get to the temple for Onam, a major festival for southern Indians honoring the god Hari-Hara Putra, ignored him. "This one has circled three times," an exasperated Singh said, pointing to a blue Sonata.
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One block away in the neighborhood, as some residents mowed their lawns or weeded gardens, a woman in large sunglasses and a bright blue sari quickly parked her car and hurried up the sidewalk to the temple. Across the street, someone had posted a sign with bright red, emphatic letters: "Please No Temple Parking Here."
Hindujagruti
Hindu centre under attack in New Zealand
September 19, 2008
Bhadrapad Krushna Chaturthi/Panchami
New Zealand: Members of the Hindu Heritage Centre in Mangere are fed up with repeated vandalism and what they feel is a lack of police concern about it.
The Gadsby Rd centre has been under weekly attack from neighbourhood vandals who break windows, spray graffiti and enter the property unlawfully.
Hindu Social Services Foundation manager Amita Karandikar has reported three instances of wilful damage to police since late June which have been recorded and investigated. She says the police who attended the last callout indicated they would not return for similar calls because the centre is insured.
http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/l...ohindu1011.html
Neighbors' lawsuit blocks Hindu temple
Plans for shrine violate Chandler zoning rules
4 comments by Edythe Jensen - Oct. 11, 2008 12:00 AM
The Arizona Republic
It had been green-lighted by both the Chandler City Council and the Planning and Zoning Commission, but a proposed Hindu temple didn't sit right with a small group of neighbors.
They took their fight to court - and won.
Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Glenn Davis ruled recently that 35-year-old "residential only" deed restrictions on the proposed temple site are valid.
The decision effectively blocks a 2007 city permit that would have allowed a brightly colored worship center with spirals on the southwestern corner of Dobson Road and Galveston Street.
"We did it! We did it!" said Scott Taylor.
Taylor had rallied his neighbors to file the lawsuit.
"We have no animosity toward them. We just don't think this is the right spot" for a temple, he said. "I felt we needed to protect our property rights, and we couldn't have done it if we hadn't banded together."
The Planning and Zoning Commission and the City Council approved a use permit for the temple last year after officials noted the site is on a main road and across the street from a Mormon church.
But the neighbors argued that their side of Dobson Road is residential and a breach of historic deed restrictions could forever change the area's character.
The plaintiffs live on 1- to 2-acre lots; some have livestock. Public meetings on the permit drew crowds from both sides.
According to Maricopa County records, the temple site was purchased in 2004 by Venkatesh Bhat Karkala for $475,000. Karkala quitclaimed the property to the religious foundation in 2006.
Plans presented during city hearings indicated the foundation was going to demolish the existing house and build a 7,500-square-foot worship center that would include a prayer hall, kitchen, dining hall, classrooms and living quarters.
The one-story building was to have had several 40- to 42-foot towers, called garoopas.
There would have been daily morning and evening prayer gatherings, but large group events would have been held at other facilities, foundation representatives told city officials.
Project manager Raghu Nandan, a Chandler resident, said the non-profit Hindu group was surprised by the judge's decision and is discussing options that could include an appeal.
Laree Dudding lives next to the proposed temple site and said her late father, John Openshaw, wrote the deed restrictions in the early 1970s. In the 1930s, the Openshaw family farmed 60 acres that now include the few along Galveston Street, said Dudding, 73.
"The lot is not big enough for what they had planned," she said of the temple site.
Dudding said there have been weekend gatherings at the house for the past year and, at times, the site has been overgrown with weeds.
Nandan said these are informal visits and meetings, not scheduled prayer groups. He said the foundation hired a landscaper "who sometimes didn't show up."
Ernie Baird, attorney for the neighbors, said he will ask the judge to make the Hindu foundation pay the residents' $40,000 legal bill. Baird said he also will seek a court order prohibiting the foundation from using the existing home on the site for worship gatherings.
Troy Stratman, lawyer for the New Jersey-based Sujnana Religious and Charitable Foundation, which owns the property, said an appeal is possible and he will ask the judge to make the neighbors pay his clients' legal fees.
Chandler resident Ananth Rao is a volunteer for the project and had been looking forward to the temple's construction.
"It is very close to me and a place where my family could recite some prayers and do things in the evening. . . . Now it is a legal issue, and we have already spent money on architectural drawings," he said.
Reach the reporter at edythe.jensen@arizonarepublic.com or 602-444-7939.
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* TruConservative
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My old C C and R's forbid selling to Hindus. Of course this is no longer valid.... or is it?
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Go, neighbors!
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They also forbid selling to Mexicans...Santiago. Go Neighbors?
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I have often questioned residences being converted into churches (places of worship) in residential neighborhoods. Seems in many cases (maybe not this one) that it is being done to avoid paying property taxes.
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I just heard from my friend that the Shiva Vishnu Temple in the Washington DC area was targeted by hate crime over the past 2 months. There was a break in and disruption of the decorations. There was also an incident of intimidation of the priests. This follows the general pattern catalogued by GS on this thread
06-29-2009, 02:48 PM
(This post was last modified: 06-29-2009, 02:50 PM by Husky.)
^
http://haindavakeralam.com/HKPage.aspx?P...870&SKIN=B
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin--><b>Hindu priest moving after racial attack in Belfast </b>
news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/northern_ireland/8117538.stm
A Hindu priest and his family who live at the Indian Community Centre in north Belfast have said they are planning to move out.
It follows an attack on the Clifton Street property last week, which they believe was racially motivated.
A gang of youths tried to break down the door of the centre while the priest's wife was alone inside.
Stones were also thrown at the building and the gang tried to take grills off the windows to get inside.
The family said they were too afraid to speak publicly about the incident at the time.
According to Bidit Dey, who works at the centre, police did not make any contact with the priest's wife after the attack.
"They did not actually stop by or call in to see her. This would have reassured them," he said. <!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->Probability high that it would have been some christoislamics.
<img src='http://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/2009/08/28/nyregion/28choir_600.jpg' border='0' alt='user posted image' />
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/08/28/nyregion/28choir.html
<b>
Old Faith Innovates in a New Land</b>
James Estrin/The New York Times
Michael Sample directing the choir of the Ganesha Temple in Flushing, Queens. A temple choir is a rarity in Hinduism. More Photos >
Article Tools Sponsored By
By JONATHAN ALLEN
Published: August 27, 2009
With less than an hour to go before the newly formed Hindu temple choir would make its debut, there was time for only a few final run-throughs of the hymn that had been prepared.
âDonât rush!â implored the conductor, Michael Sample, as the singers surged ahead of the accompanying keyboardâs programmed beat.
About 50 singers had gathered on Sunday morning in the senior center across the street from the Ganesha Temple, operated by the Hindu Temple Society of North America, in Flushing, Queens. They would be performing on the busiest day of the temple calendar â the first day of the festival dedicated to Ganesha, the elephant-headed god.
Ganesha is revered as the remover of obstacles, and his festival is considered an auspicious time to begin new endeavors, not least an experiment in adapting an old religion for a new land. And of the singers, most of whom grew up in India, none had ever heard of a Hindu choir before.
âFor us as Indians to learn a whole new thing is wonderful,â said Raji Samant, a member of the choir who runs a bookkeeping business in the city. She said she was drawn by the choirâs novelty.
Choirs are virtually unheard of in temples in India because worshipers tend not to cohere into anything resembling an attentive congregation, said Vasudha Narayanan, a professor of religion and the director of the Center for the Study of Hindu Traditions at the University of Florida.
âPeople come and go as they please within the temple hours, and itâs more individual prayers,â she said in a telephone interview.
While there are numerous musical traditions that have sprung from Hinduism, they tend to favor solos and improvisation, in keeping with the individualistic and free-flowing nature of Hindu worship, Professor Narayanan said.
She sees the choir as a âgentle process of Americanizationâ â a kind of adaptation of Hindu traditions to be more ârecognizableâ to the children of Hindu immigrants and the broader American public.
In Queens, there was a little skepticism at first, said Uma Mysorekar, the president of the temple, one of the largest and oldest Hindu temples in the country. âIn the beginning people were a little bit upset with this word âchoir,â â she said. â âChoir â what is this?â Itâs not generally used among Hindus; itâs connected to a Christian choir.â
Resistance quickly faded as Chandrika Tandon, the choirâs founder, who grew up in South India, communicated the joy she had encountered in the gospel choirs of Harlem and the Mormon Tabernacle Choir.
Nearly 200 people showed up after fliers advertising auditions were posted in the temple and on its Web site in March.
On Sunday, after a final pep talk from Ms. Tandon, the singers, men dressed in kurtas â collarless cotton tunics â in varying shades of cream, and women swathed in embroidered fabrics of deep maroon, padded across Bowne Street in their socks or bare feet and joined the devotees pouring into the temple.
The choir stood crowded into a corner at the rear of the temple near the door, a sea of devoteesâ backs between them and the templeâs holiest space, the ornate chamber that houses an image of Ganesha.
For a moment, nothing happened. Then the keyboardâs beat came to life, soon joined by the tabla and harmonium. The choir launched into song: âOm! Ganesha Sharanam!â the choristers sang, in praise of the deity.
Some devotees turned to look over their shoulders. A few began clapping in time. Others started mouthing along to the words. Not everyone was rapt: some continued their conversations, and two bare-chested priests standing nearby chatted and joked.
Nine minutes after they began, the choristers came to a sudden climax with a final âSharanam Ganesha!â
There swiftly followed another sound rarely heard in the temple: applause. But not for long. Dr. Mysorekar, the temple president, hushed it as soon as she could. âIn this temple, the Lord has supremacy,â she explained afterward.
The audience response was politely approving. âI was not expecting it at all,â said Navin Mithal, a retired flight engineer. But he said he liked it: âI was singing along inside me.â
A priest came over and said he had never heard anything like it, in a good way. Then came a clamoring of bells, drums and a woodwind as a palanquin bearing another garlanded image of Ganesha was lifted high.
Devotees rushed to their feet, some heading for the palanquinâs procession, others for a corner of the temple for private prayer, others still for the exit.
The brief experiment in unison was over for now. The familiar disorder was restored.
With one song already under its belt, the choir will resume rehearsals of another work â a medley of âAmerica the Beautifulâ and âVande Mataramâ (âBow to Thee, Motherâ), Indiaâs national song. Its ultimate plan is to become a temple fixture. âFirst,â Ms. Tandon said, âwe need to expand our repertoire.â
<b> Indian god statue at Calgary zoo offends Christian group</b>
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->A dancing elephant statue at the Calgary Zoo has kicked up controversy after a Christian group condemned the figure as an inappropriate religious icon.
..
The issue first arose after the Concerned Christian group was approached by some zoo visitors upset over the elephant statue.<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
It is okay for them to have Ganesha's picture on slippers or toilet seats.
<b>In Rome, Durga is not welcome</b>
Kanchan Gupta. Pioneer
What does it mean to celebrate Durga Puja in Rome? It means to be humiliated, harassed and hounded by city officials who happen to be pious Christians. Alright, I could be utterly wrong in presuming they are pious since I have no independent confirmation of their piety or otherwise. But letâs get back to the question with which I began. Late Thursday night I was at the park near my house where the local Bengalis organise Durga Puja every year. Itâs a raucous celebration of faith and culture. The food stalls are invariably hugely popular and there I was with my nine-year-old daughter, standing in a queue for kathi rolls. After what seemed like an interminable wait, it was our turn to be served. Just then my BlackBerry beeped. Balancing the piping hot rolls, dripping oil, tomato ketchup, green chilli sauce and lemon juice, in one hand, I tried to read the e-mail on my handset.
No luck. I got shoved around, nearly dropped both rolls and my phone, and decided to let the e-mail wait. Later, away from the crowd, I checked the e-mail and it was a fascinating story. Since the identity of the person who had sent the mail is not really relevant, let me reproduce the text: â<b>The Municipal Police authorities of Rome have today withdrawn permission, granted three weeks ago, to celebrate Durga Puja in Rome. The cancellation came a few hours before the Ambassador of India was scheduled to inaugurate the Puja at 8 pm local time.</b> No acceptable explanation has been given. <b>This has caused the local Indian community the loss of thousands of Euros spent in preparatory arrangements. </b>The same thing was done in the same manner in 2008 also. Please monitor developments.â
Now thatâs awful, I told myself, here I am having kathi rolls and there they canât even celebrate their own festival. On Friday, I called a friend in Rome who provided me with the latest details. Our Ambassador, Mr Arif Shahid Khan, a feisty man who has in the past taken up the issue of Sikhs being forced to take off their turbans at Italian airports, campaigned throughout the day, calling up officials, including the Mayor of Rome, and contacting members of the âFriends of Indiaâ group in the Italian Parliament, arguing with them why permission for the Puja should be restored. By evening, the authorities had reversed their order and permission was granted to celebrate Durga Puja, which will now begin on Saturday, Ashtami â a full 48 hours behind schedule. Provided, of course, there is no last minute cancellation, as it happened on Thursday. Mr Khan will inaugurate the Puja, an honour he richly deserves.
<b>The story behind the cancellation needs to be told, if only to point out that Christian countries in the West, whose Governments so blithely criticise the âlackâ of âreligious freedomâ in India, have no compunctions about trampling on Hindu sentiments at home.</b> After last yearâs experience, when permission for celebrating Durga Puja in Rome was abruptly withdrawn by officials who cited specious reasons to justify their grossly unfair decision, the organisers, led by Mr Rajesh Sahani, a Sindhi from Kolkata who speaks flawless Bengali, took ample precautions this year. They were given permission to organise the Puja at Parko Centocelle, a public park on Via Cailina, Torpignattara. Three weeks ago, permission was granted for the Puja at the park and necessary formalities were completed.
Early this past week, the Puja organisers were told they could not use the park as a crime had been committed there and the location posed security-related problems. The organisers agreed to change the venue. Another park was selected, permission was given to celebrate Durga Puja there, and the preparations began all over again in right earnest. Then, like a bolt from the blue, at 4 pm on Thursday came the withdrawal of permission by the Municipal Police. The organisers were bluntly told to pack up and leave hours before Durga Puja was scheduled to begin with Akal Bodhon in the evening. Why? No reason was proffered.
Some officials are believed to have told the organisers that the cancellation of permission at the eleventh hour, both last year and this year, was meant to be âretaliatory action against the persecution of Christians in Indiaâ. It may be recalled that the <b>President of Italy, Mr Giorgio Napoletano, has been vociferous in demanding that Europe should do more in support of Christians in India and to help them âaffirm their right to religious freedomâ. </b>The Government of Italy has in the past summoned the Ambassador of India to convey to him that it has âdeep concern and sensitivity for the ongoing inter-religious violence... that has caused the death of many Christians.â The Pope has been no less harsh in denouncing India.
There could be another reason, apart from its âdeep concernâ about the welfare of Christians in India, for Italyâs callous disregard of the sentiments of Hindus in that country. Although the Italian Constitution guarantees religious freedom, under the Lateran Treaty with the Vatican, Italy recognises only the three religions of Semitic origin â Christianity, Judaism and Islam. <b>All other religions are no more than paganism and are to be shamed and shunned. The Vatican would not countenance any open breach of the Lateran Treaty; Italy would not want to be seen as recognising Hinduism.</b>
<b>âItâs only natural that Italy should have a surfeit of churches. But itâs the rejection of any other faith than Christianity, Judaism and Islam that explains why there are so many mosques but virtually no temples in Italy although this country has a large Hindu expatriate population,â my friend told me while regretting the attitude of the Government and the local authorities. According to him, there are only three temples in Italy: One in a garage in Venice; another at Frescolo and the third at Reggio Emilia. These survive at the mercy of local zoning officials.</b>
But for Mr Arif Shahid Khanâs pro-active involvement â most Ambassadors tend to stay aloof from community affairs â this year too there would have been no Durga Puja in Rome. Indians in Italy owe him a debt of gratitude. So do Bangladeshis who are equal participants in this annual celebration of dharmaâs victory over adharma, of the triumph of good over evil. Cultural and linguistic affinities unite Bengalis, irrespective of whether they are from the west or east of Padma, during this autumnal festival celebrated around the world.
Meanwhile, letâs not get carried away by the Westâs bilious and bogus criticism of religious freedom in India and indulge in self-flagellation. Let the West look at its own ugly, septic warts. <b>If Christians can celebrate Christmas in New Delhi, Hindus have the right to celebrate Durga Puja in Rome. This is non-negotiable.</b>
<i>-- Follow the writer on: http://twitter. com/KanchanGupta. Blog on this and other issues at http://kanchangupta .blogspot. com. Write to him at kanchangupta@ rocketmail. com </i>
09-27-2009, 10:01 PM
(This post was last modified: 09-27-2009, 10:04 PM by Husky.)
^
<!--QuoteBegin-k.ram+Sep 27 2009, 09:22 PM-->QUOTE(k.ram @ Sep 27 2009, 09:22 PM)<!--QuoteEBegin--><b>In Rome, Durga is not welcome</b>
Kanchan Gupta. Pioneer
[...]
<b>But itâs the rejection of any other faith than Christianity, Judaism and Islam that explains why there are so many mosques but virtually no temples in Italy although this country has a large Hindu expatriate population,â
</b>[...]
<b>If Christians can celebrate Christmas in New Delhi, Hindus have the right to celebrate Durga Puja in Rome. This is non-negotiable.</b>
[right][snapback]101566[/snapback][/right]<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->Look at this the other way. Since Hindus may not celebrate Durga Puja and there are basically no real Temples in Italy, christians should be disallowed from celebrating anything christian in Hindu India and Hindus are free to get rid of all christian churches too. (I could live with that.)
After all, "What's Good For The Goose..."
This is good. We don't want Hinduism treated with respect in Europe. This is an invaluable piece of propaganda.
We can use this against the Christo terrorists and their pretense of being peaceful.
<!--QuoteBegin-Husky+Sep 27 2009, 10:01 PM-->QUOTE(Husky @ Sep 27 2009, 10:01 PM)<!--QuoteEBegin-->^
<!--QuoteBegin-k.ram+Sep 27 2009, 09:22 PM--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(k.ram @ Sep 27 2009, 09:22 PM)<!--QuoteEBegin--><b>In Rome, Durga is not welcome</b>
Kanchan Gupta. Pioneer
[...]
<b>But itâs the rejection of any other faith than Christianity, Judaism and Islam that explains why there are so many mosques but virtually no temples in Italy although this country has a large Hindu expatriate population,â
</b>[...]
<b>If Christians can celebrate Christmas in New Delhi, Hindus have the right to celebrate Durga Puja in Rome. This is non-negotiable.</b>
[right][snapback]101566[/snapback][/right]<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->Look at this the other way. Since Hindus may not celebrate Durga Puja and there are basically no real Temples in Italy, christians should be disallowed from celebrating anything christian in Hindu India and Hindus are free to get rid of all christian churches too. (I could live with that.)
After all, "What's Good For The Goose..."
[right][snapback]101569[/snapback][/right]
<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
http://www.mercurynews.com/news/ci_14764...ck_check=1
Neighbors protest Calif Hindu temple expansion
The Associated Press
Posted: 03/26/2010 12:04:05 PM PDT
Updated: 03/26/2010 12:04:06 PM PDT
LIVERMORE, Calif.ââ¬âA project that would triple the size of a popular Hindu cultural center in Northern California has residents in the area worried about crowds and noise. They want city officials to reconsider allowing the expansion.
Neighbors of the Hindu Community Cultural Center, which includes the Shiva-Vishnu Temple, in Livermore say the 18,300-foot facility already creates traffic, noise and garbage problems. They say want the temple to address those complaints before 31,000 square feet is added to the site.
Temple leaders say the expansion would help resolve current issues. They say a bigger hall would allow more indoor activities and the kitchen would be moved away from homes, reducing noise and odors.
Livermore City Council plan to hear an appeal on the expansion on May 10.
I read the Liverpool issue; I don't live in that area. Can any body throw some insights on the accusations of the neighbors? Are they valid - traffic and noise issues? Neighborhoods and cities care about property values and so bring out several rules (zoning laws) to safe guard the appearance etc.
The liverpool temple is in a remote rural area, and I dont think the neighbors can even see the temple
Just xtianist bigotry
http://fayobserver.com/articles/2010/05/...?sac=Local
Okay, there is not really much in the news section; BUT check out the comments section. 'Wow' is the word that comes to my mind.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424...%3Darticle
By PERRY STEIN
A Texas appellate-court ruling that a newly built Sikh temple near Austin must be razed or moved has sparked an international outcry from members of the religious group, some of whom claim discrimination is at the heart of the case.
The dispute began when a couple in the neighborhood filed a lawsuit on the grounds that the temple violated the subdivision's rules restricting construction to single-family dwellings.
A Challenge at the Temple
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Julia Robinson for The Wall Street Journal
Satpal Singh, left, and his brother, Gursagardeep Singh, stood in Austin Gurdwara's old sanctuary, a cramped trailer on Avispa Way in far west Austin.
More photos and interactive graphics
The couple, John and Leslie Bollier, say it isn't about religion, but rather the construction of a building that could bring down property values in a residential neighborhood. The Bolliers' newly constructed home has a taxable valuation of more than $600,000, according to public records. Sikh organization Austin Gurdwara Sahib said it cost $350,000 to build the temple, and it paid $100,000 for the land.
"There is a great amount of grief that a religious house of worship is being destroyed," said Amardeep Singh, director of programs at the National Sikh Coalition, a civil-rights organization.
Sikhism is the world's fifth-largest religion, and Mr. Singh estimated that about 500,000 Sikhs live in the U.S. Established 500 years ago, Sikhism is a monotheistic religion that stresses the importance of a leading a good moral life. Many adherents wear turbans and uncut hair.
While disputes over buildings between municipal officials and religious groups are common, this case is unusual in that zoning laws aren't an issue. And most property suits don't persist after construction has been completed.
The temple was built to replace a mobile home that the congregation of about 60 families in central Texas had been using as a place of worship since 2003. Construction was completed in April and has been used by congregation ever since.
The group purchased the 2.75-acre property where the new temple sits in 2003 in a subdivision of the Austin suburb of Bee Cave and set up the makeshift temple in the 1,200-square-foot mobile home, which was already on the property.
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Julia Robinson for The Wall Street Journal
Sukhchain Singh carries a book of Sikh scripture back to its resting place after a service Aug. 8.
Two years later, the congregation started plans to build a temple on the property and obtained all necessary permits from the city, said Harnek Bains, president of the Austin congregation. He said his group was unaware of the subdivision's restricting covenants stating that only single-family dwellings can be built on the lot and that they must be used as housing.
Bee Cave officials say the temple meets zoning laws for that area, and it doesn't enforce private residency restrictions. Only property owners that are subject to the covenants can file suit to enforce the rules.
Mr. Bains said the congregation faced no opposition until 2008, when the Bolliers moved into the neighborhood and filed suit while the temple was under construction.
"We were shocked and stunned," Mr Bains said. "We were not expecting a lawsuit from any person we did not know, a person we had not metââ¬âa person we had never even heard a complaint from whatsoever."
The Bolliers said in a statement: "We did not bring this suit until AGS violated the single-family dwelling restriction by beginning construction of a large, pre-fabricated aluminum commercial building on its lot."
Nell Penridge, former president of the subdivision's neighborhood association, said she wasn't aware of the rule until the court case. "You would be hard-pressed to know there are deed restrictions because there are so many violations of them everywhere that have gone without consequence," she said.
The trial-court judge sided with the Sikh group in March 2009, saying while it was in violation of the subdivision's covenants, the Bolliers were barred from seeking court action on use of the property in large part due to the expiration of a statute of limitations that requires citizens to file suit within four years of an alleged violation.
Once the trial decision was made, the congregation resumed the temple's construction, which had been halted voluntarily.
The Bolliers appealed, arguing that the statute of limitations for the structure should have started when the construction of the new temple began, not when the Sikh congregation began praying in the mobile homeââ¬âa structure that, despite its use, was intended as a residence.
Then, on July 9, the Texas's Third Court of Appeals sided with the Bolliers. The Sikhs can worship in the mobile home, which is still on the propertyââ¬âand in the new temple pending their request for a reconsideration of the court ruling.
The potential razing of the temple has spurred outrage in the community, and international Sikh organizations and publications have written about the legal battle.
"Though this is a civil-rights issue from our perspective, in the courts it has been framed as a property issue," said Mr. Singh of the National Sikh Coalition.
Mr. Bains's son, Yadvindera Bains, an Austin-area doctor, started a website called Save the Austin Gurudwara. "When you eliminate all logical opposition, what you always come down to is that this isn't a rational objection. Whether you want to call it racism or not, you wonder what [their] motivations are for pursuing such lawsuits," he said.
The younger Mr. Bains links to various rap videos created by young Sikhs and asks for donations to help cover legal costs for the congregation. One song by Young Fateh, a Canadian, raps, "They are trying to bulldoze the shrine, we need to fight back, it's about time."
Experts say the religion's adherents are sometimes mistaken for Muslims and can face discrimination in Western countries.
"There is good reason that they feel targeted. The post-9/11 experience of backlash is real," said Robert Tuttle, a professor of law and religion at George Washington University School of Law. "What's less clear is if that has been translated into discriminatory practices in locating their place of worship."
Bruce Bennett, the attorney who represented the Bolliers, said the Sikhs shouldn't have continued building the temple until the court case was resolved. "This was really a problem of their own making."
http://wwrn.org/articles/4396/?§ion=hinduism
Zoning, worship often at odds
by Manya A. Brachear ("Chicago Tribune," June 21, 2004)
Members of a Hindu group trying to build a temple and school near Grayslake hoped neighbors would accept the religious center as a place of peace, but it has sparked more contention than harmony.
Some residents say the proposal isn't compatible with their single-family homes in unincorporated Lake County and are trying to block it.
"It's not our intention to create any kind of problem for anyone," said Ashok Bhatia, a spokesman for the Chinmaya Mission. "It's our intention to be good neighbors and at the same time have opportunities available to people of all faiths."
The disagreement between the Chinmaya Mission--made up of about 100 north suburban families--and some of their closest neighbors underscores problems that can erupt over the location of houses of worship.
http://www.lowellsun.com/news/ci_2524626...mple-plans
Groton board to consider Hindu temple plans
By Pierre Comtois, Correspondent
UPDATED: 02/28/2014 06:35:36 AM EST
GROTON -- With hearings pending for the developers of a Hindu temple to be located on the Littleton town line, the Planning Board voted to consider the application under its Level 1 site-plan review process.
Read more: http://www.lowellsun.com/news/ci_2524626...z2ueyIKWMg
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