20th Anniversary of Secaucus Temple

SECAUCUS, NEW JERSEY 08/01/2021
It was a beautiful, sunny weekend as Shree Swaminarayan Gadi Temple in Secaucus, NJ celebrated its 20th Anniversary in Secaucus, strictly following local, state, and federal safety guidelines. The two day-event featured a unity carnival, religious discourses, a visit from local leaders, a performance by our Temple’s Indian-American bagpipe band, and delicious vegetarian Indian food.

August 1, 2021 marked 20 years since Shree Swaminarayan Gadi Temple Secaucus opened its doors, being the first traditional, ‘Shikhar-Bandh’ Hindu Swaminarayan Mandir on the East Coast – fully designed, constructed,
and built by American workers.
A Unity Carnival, with fun and games, was held on July 31st for all, including the local community, to bring everyone together, after being apart for almost 16 months due to COVID-19.

On Sunday August 1st, the annual Temple Anniversary (Patotsav) celebrations took place. The Secaucus Fire Company, with Secaucus Mayor Michael Gonnelli, ceremonially raised new flags on the Temple’s three Shikhar (domes). A moment of silence was held to honor of all who lost their lives during the pandemic, in addition to honoring health care workers, essential workers, and all who did service or charity during those difficult times.Secaucus Temple has distributed 20,000+ free masks to members of our community, vaccinated our entire
congregation in March of 2021 in partnership with RiteAid, and delivered warm meals to nearly 1000 front line workers in Hudson County.

The religious ceremony was conducted by the Temple priest and volunteers, followed by a massive display of vegetarian, plant-based food (annakut) was offered to Lord Swaminarayan. The Shree Muktajeevan Swamibapa Pipe Band North America, which was formed at the Secaucus Temple and is composed of young devotees, played numerous American, Indian, and Religious music throughout the day.

6th Heir to Lord Swaminarayan and Leader of Maninagar Shree Swaminarayan Gadi Sansthan, Acharya Shree Jitendriyapiraydasji Swamiji Maharaj joined live, from India, to give blessings to the entire congregation.

Featured guests included, Secaucus Mayor Mike Gonnelli, Secaucus Council Members Rob Constantino and John Gerbasio, and Shastri Jagdish Tripathi of Govind Dham. The Mayor thanked the temple for all that we do in the community and thanked everyone for being together and for being cautious with what’s going on in the world by wearing masks and getting vaccinated. Shashtri Jagdish Tripathi, in the form of a poem, gave a message which entailed, you may become anything in this world, but you are nothing without what got you there. And this temple, for all of you, is what helps get you where you want to get. Donations were made on behalf of the Temple to three local charities in Hudson County
A Temple volunteer reflected by sharing “20 years have gone by in the blink of an eye. Being a religious institution has been very fulfilling but what has been equally as fulfilling is being entrenched in the community. Whether it is parades, charity walks, interfaith activity, governmental partnerships, drives for the needy, health camps, immigration camps, blood drives, and many other initiatives. This Temple takes much pride in not just being in a community but being a part of the community. We pray to Lord Swaminarayan, Founder of Swaminarayan Gadi Shree Muktajeevan Swamibapa, Founder of our Temple Acharya Swamishree PurushottamPriyadasji Maharaj, and to our current Guru Acharya Shree JitendriyaPriyadasji Swamiji Maharaj that our Temple continues to be a cultural and social safe haven.”





About Shree Swaminarayan:


Shree Swaminarayan Siddhant Sajivan Mandal, New Jersey, is a registered non-profit organization established in 1970, which is a branch of the worldwide Organization, Maninagar Shree Swaminarayan Gadi Sansthan. Over 50 cultural Temples exist in many states of North America and Canada, and across the globe.
The Temple in Secaucus serves as the North American Headquarters for the organization and was built in 1998 and opened in 2001. In accordance with the teachings of Lord Shree Swaminarayan, Maninagar Shree Swaminarayan Gadi Sansthan performs numerous activities for the welfare of humanity. These include, providing food and shelter to the poor, medical and educational assistance to the underprivileged, and urgent relief assistance during times of natural disaster. As such, one of our principles is that all donations received from our disciples around the world are returned to the communities in which they live in and various charities across the globe.

Fourth Spiritual Heir, Shree Muktajeevan Swamibapa, was the first Swaminarayan Sant leader to bring the Swaminarayan religion to the United States in 1970. Fifth Spiritual Heir and World Peace Ambassador, Acharya Swamishree Maharaj, travelled to North America annually, established congregations and built Temples across the country, to further spread messages of unity and peace. Sixth Spiritual Heir and Current Leader of Maninagar Shree Swaminarayan Gadi Sansthan, Acharya Shree Jitendriyapriyadasji Swamiji Maharaj, has travelled to
nearly all fifty states since 2004 and continues to spread the religion worldwide, preaching Lord Swaminaryan’s pillars of devotion, harmony, and peace.

FaceTime with Acharya Swamiji

Swamibapa Pipe Band