Hearings on a proposal to build a temple for Sri MahaPeriyava will begin on April 12, 2017.
RARITAN TWP. - A hearing on a proposal to build a temple for Sri MahaPeriyava will be held on Wednesday.
The Planning Board, at 7 p.m., will hold a public hearing on an application by the Sanatana Dharma Foundation, Inc. to build a 10,482-square-foot Hindu temple, Sri MahaPeriyava Manimandapam, on a 10-acre property off Route 202.
Sanatana Dharma Foundation, Inc., based in Skillman in Somerset County, had purchased the property, it was previously reported.
Rajan Zed, president of Universal Society of Hinduism, said in a statement he "commended efforts of temple leaders and area community towards realizing this Hindu temple."
He added "it was important to pass on Hindu spirituality, concepts and traditions to coming generations amidst so many distractions in the consumerist society" and said he "hoped that this temple would help in this direction."
The temple will host weekly services, as well as serve as a sacred gathering place, a site for holding Vedic and religious events, and a place to strengthen bhakti, a devotional worship focused on one supreme deity, according to a news release.
The foundation's trustees, which want to have such a temple in all major cities, include, Mahesh Krishnamoorthy, Narayanan Krishnaswamy, Shivagiri Nallicheri, Srinivasan Natarajan, Shivakumar Nathan, Suriyanarayanan Subramanian and Aarthi Suriyanarayanan. Funds are being raised to build additional temples.