Thirty years ago a group of migrants united together in Adelaide in order to foster their cultural and religious beliefs under the banner of the Hindu Society of SA Inc. Each one of these pioneers dreamt of having their own temple far away from the shores of India, Nepal Sri Lanka, Fiji, Malaysia, and South Africa so that they could meet, pray, meditate, celebrate their festivals, and pass on thei
r traditions and values to their children and next generation. This Dream turned into a reality when the Hindu Society was born. The five pioneers who were instrumental in setting up the temple are Late Dr. Ravindran, Late Mothy Sommers, Dr.J.Iswaran, Mr.Bhagvat.Sharma and Mrs Rajes Chandran. For the first years, 50 people met and worshipped in their houses with pujas conducted by our first priest, Ananta Rao. In 1985 we acquired 3A Dwyer Road Oaklands Park for a value of $90,000. The money was raised entirely from Donations and Pledges from these first families, and it was the humble beginnings of the temple as we know it today. The desire to grow continued to flourish in the hearts and minds of these pioneers and it resulted in an agreement that all Hindus not only from the various parts of India but from all over the globe, with their different traditions, would be represented under one temple, and that each of these communities could share their rich tradition and cultural festivals under one banner of the Hindu Society. The temple was named as the Shri Ganesha Temple after one of the most revered Gods, Lord Ganesha, the remover of all obstacles. Initially in this property, our deities presence was depicted by pictures, and pujas were conducted on a regular basis. In 1990, we brought a trained priest from Sri Lanka, our beloved Gurukal, who recently celebrated 25 years of service as our priest. In 2000 we installed our current deities and held our first Maha Kumbabishaigam, a Hindu consecration ceremony. These large 5-day festivals are held every 12 years, and our second was held in 2012. Then in 2010 we bought a second priest, Asohan, to assist as our numbers were growing. From these simple beginnings, with 50 members, we now have around 2,000 people attend the temple on our major festival days. In a calendar year we have 81 events festivals, large and small. In addition to this, our priests perform family functions and festivals, such as marriages, name giving ceremonies, blessing ceremonies, and samskaras or Hindu Rights of Passage. We also commenced our Education Centre, and over time we have taught traditional yoga, traditional dance, Sanskrit and Hindi, meditation and the chanting of vedic mantras. Spiritual discourses are held and we are blessed to be visited periodically by Sat Gurus and swamis. We have a spiritual library where scriptures and other writings are available to our devotees. We also have a vision for the next 30 years. First of all, we will keep our community united. We will keep alive the rich and varied traditions and cultural heritage of our diverse membership. We will involve the youth in all that we do. And we will look after our elderly. We will develop leaders for the future, not only to lead our Hindu community but also to play an active and creative role in South Australia. We will actively participate in local and overseas charitable works. We will establish a community centre.
