About Sri Guruvaayoorappan Temple

 

The Organization & Mission

Hindu American Temple and Cultural Center (HATCC) was incorporated as a non-profit tax exempt Corporation in New Jersey in May, 1988. It is the first organization in NJ which envisioned the urge for a Temple and Cultural Center for the benefit of all Hindu Americans to address their spiritual, social, educational and humanitarian needs, with the following objectives:

  • To establish, construct and operate a traditional-style Hindu Temple & Cultural Center for the purpose of providing a place of worship for people believing or have an interest in Hindu Religion, Culture, and Philosophy.
  • To promote religious, spiritual, cultural, civic, educational, and social activities amongst people who believe or have an interest in Hindu Religion, Culture, and Philosophy
  • To Support humanitarian causes.

Over the Years:

Starting from Devotee’s homes and rented halls, various religious, educational, cultural and community events were conducted by the organization for several years. With the support of the Community, HATCC secured a 32-acre property in 1995 in Morganville, NJ, and conducted its services in a small hall that came with the property. Later in 2008, HATCC built a ~400 sq. ft extension to broaden its scope of worship and services.

As the need of the Hindu Community grew in multiple proportions, with the overwhelming support of the Community, HATCC built a ~35,000 sq. ft magnificent Temple, Multi-Purpose Hall, and Priest Quarters and performed the “Maha Kumbhabhishekam” on Sunday, the 1st of July 2012. HATCC also acquired adjacent properties and renovated them to provide living quarters for its cooks, support staff, religious artists & managers.

A Full-fledged Spiritual, Educational, Cultural, and Community Organization

Over the years, HATCC grew to a level of Total Hindu organization in fostering the tenets of sanatana dharma, offering a full length of religious, spiritual, cultural, educational, and humanitarian services.

HATCC built a Goshala (for cow worship), Yagashala (for havans), Bhojanashala (for Mahaprasada), Vahanas & chariot for all deities, & a ~40 feet tall dvajasthambham (Religious Flag post), which are used extensively.

Today, HATCC – Lord Krishna Guruvaayoorappan Temple – is widely known across the USA and other parts of the world for its uniqueness, authenticity, services, and serenity.

 Looking Forward

As much as it is a matter of pride to the entire Community, it is also the moral responsibility of its Management, governed by a dedicated Board of Trustees and guided by a robust set of Bylaws, to institute an Endowment for the secure future of HATCC.  With this in mind, HATCC proposes to institute a $5M Endowment within the next five years. Your support in fulfilling this goal will take HATCC a long way as also the aspirations of many to visualize Sri Krishna Brindavanam in Morganville.

May the blessings of Lord Krishna Guruvaayoorappan always be with you and your family

Maha Kumbhabhisekam & Blessings of the Jagadguru Sankaracharya

Jagadguru Sankaracharya of Sri Sharada Peetham, Sringeri, India, blessed the temple with the yantras (spiritually energized two-dimensional pattern of the respective deities) for all the sanctums and sent scholarly pundits to perform the religious events. The Kumbhabhishekam was conducted over seven days, from Saturday, June 28th to Monday, July 4th. All the religious rituals were performed most authentically, in accordance with the respective Agamas –Shaiva, Vaishnava, and Smartha Agamas. The temple was inaugurated by the Mayor of Marlboro, along with the officials of the Township and other dignitaries.

Religious events

Over the last 10 years, HATCC conducted several unique programs for the first time in the USA– such as Srinivasa Kalyanam by Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams, Sri Lakshmi Narasimha Swamy Kalyanam by Yadadri, Sri Bhadrachalam Sita Rama Kalyanam, by Bhadrachalam, Satyanarayana Swamy Kalyanam by Annavaram from the respective devasthanams from India, who also donated the utsava vigrahas. A very Grand Sri Venkateswara Vaibhavotsavam was conducted in 2016 over two days by Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams.

HATCC performs three annual Brahmotsavams to Lord Shiva, Lord Venkateswara, and Lord Guruvaayoorappan, in addition to a host of other festivals and homas etc.

Our Priests and Other Staff Quarters

HATCC currently has eleven full-time priests, two managers, four cooks, and two support staff on its roll. Looking after the welfare of the employees is a primary commitment of HATCC, and hence built living quarters for the employees even ahead of the temple’s construction in 2010. The Quarters are fully furnished apartments of ~1,200 sq. ft. each. All the employees of HATCC live in the quarters with their families, and their children attend the local school system. In addition, HATCC offers its employees a full range of benefits, such as family health insurance, life insurance, salary, ad hoc compensatory allowance, performance bonus, and special incentives during all major festivals. Also, HATCC encourages its employees to learn English through classes offered by the Township to improve their ability to communicate with devotees and for their benefit while residing in the US.

Cultural Programs

Our cultural events are designed to unite communities in many ways that express their ideas, traditions, and values. We aim to recognize our teachers, inspire our children, and showcase their talents to continue our culture and tradition. The programs help them participate in a diverse culture and artistic expression environment in a divine atmosphere to serve the lord. The temple’s cultural committee brings unique skills from talented artists in the USA and India. The Temple conducts cultural programs during all major Hindu festivals and other events, such as Temple Anniversary Day, India Independence Day, and Indo-American Community & Health Fair, to unite diverse communities. Many famous artists from India also perform in the Temple several times yearly. Music & dance competitions are conducted to encourage local talent regularly.

Sri Krishna Youth Volunteers

HATCC is proud to offer more than one hundred thirty youths various volunteering opportunities throughout the year through its structured program.

Sri Krishna Youths work with local churches, Samaritan organizations, and Project Linus to assist the Homeless, Needy Adults, and Children in hospitals.

Presidential Service Award

HATCC has been a certified organization for Presidential Service Awards since 2015. HATCC’s structured programs provide the youth with many volunteering opportunities to earn enough hours to win Presidential Service Awards. From 2015-2019 HATCC Youths have proudly earned 74 gold, 21 silver, and 59 bronze medals. Future programs include Operation Gratitude, Raise for Hunger, Hospital Art, Make A Sock Doll, etc.

Saraswati Vidyalaya

Saraswati Vidyalaya is the Educational Arm of the Temple and is very popular. The Vidyalaya has been conducting classes on Scriptures, Indian History, Hinduism, Shlokas, Sanskrit and other Indian Languages, Classical Music and Dance, Yoga, etc. Over four hundred participants – children, youth, and adults – take advantage of these classes conducted by dedicated volunteer teachers. Discourses, Lectures, and workshops on various subjects of interest to the community are organized periodically. Our Summer Day Camps are always a great success with the participation of many children/youths, supported by our volunteer parents/counselors.

Community Outreach Program / Soup Kitchens / Bhojanashala

Our temple operates a full-fledged bhojanashala, serving Prasadams to all visiting devotees throughout the year. Our temple’s Community Outreach Program focuses on helping our local and extended communities. HATCC provides lunch for the homeless in St. Mark’s Church, Keansburg, NJ, once a month. The homeless people commute by foot from nearby towns. They eat their lunch and collect groceries for the week from the church. We buy boxed food items and eatables for kids from Supermarkets and distribute them. We cook vegetarian food in our Bhojanashala and serve in the church. In the current pandemic, as requested by the Church, HATCC increased the frequency of serving free food every week. Free food was delivered to several area Hospitals to aid the heroes who put their lives in danger to help the sick.

HATCC organizes Health screening camps every month for all devotees. Blood donation camps and bone marrow screenings are done at regular intervals. Annual Indo-American Community Fair is another flagship event for our organization. The fair attracts thousands of devotees over a two-day event.

Goshala and Yagashala

In adherence to the scriptures and Hindu Dharma, HATCC maintains a Goshala ( Cow Barn) within our temple premises. Now our Goshala has four cows. All dairy products used in the temple for Abhishekam and other religious purposes are obtained from the cows of our temple Goshala. It is believed that all the gods reside within a cow, and feeding / serving a cow is equivalent to feeding/serving all gods.

Construction of the new Yagashala is completed. It is another magnificent state-of-the-art structure with a unique design and is used routinely. It was inaugurated on September 11, 2016, and the first Maha Sudarshan Homam was performed to promote world peace and propagate the values of Sanatana Dharma

This temple was built with the Blessings of
Sringeri Jagadguru Shankaracharya Sri Sri Bharati Tirtha Mahaswamiji and
Dharmatma Dr. S. Yegnasubramanian, and all Donors, Devotees and Volunteers

Officers of the Board

Dharmatma
Dr. S. Yegnasubramanian

Chairman

Dr. S.S.Iyer

Sr. Vice Chairman

Mr. E. Sundaresan

Vice Chairman

Facilities

Dr. Lakshmi Nandiwada

Vice Chair

Community Outreach

Mr. Ramana Koganti

Joint Treasurer

Mr. Guru Krishnan

Joint Secretary

Board Of Trustees

Dharmatma
Dr. S. Yegnasubramanian

Trustee

Dr. Lakshmi Nandiwada

Trustee

Dr. Lakshmi Nandiwada is a Board-certified pediatrician and integrative medicine. Associated with the temple since 2003. Dr. Lakshmi Nandiwada is a longstanding trustee of the temple and HATCC. Speaks Telugu, English

Mr. E. Sundaresan

Trustee

Mr.Sundaresan, affectionately addressed as (Sundar), has been a temple (HATCC) member since 1998. He is closely involved in the development of the temple from where it was to where it is now. Mechanical Engineer working for the Metropolitan Transportation Authority in New York City, Managing various aspects of Construction in significant construction projects. Being a manager for over 40 years, Mr. Sundar utilizes management and construction experience to assist in managing the Guruvayoorappan Temple.

Mr. Annareddy Gangidi

trustee

Chairman – Membership

Mr. Venkata R Mukkamala

Trustee

Mr. Bhargava Gorty

Trustee

Chair of IT Committee

Associated with the temple as Patron, Doing seva at the temple for the last 12 years. Employed with Columbia University. Speaks Telugu, Hindi, Punjabi, Marathi, and English

Mr. Balakachetty Radhakrishnan

Trustee