A seven day long prayer and religious oration, Shrimad Bhagawat Mahapuran Gyanmahaayagya began here in Salt lake city of Utah, held at auditorium hall of local Krishna Temple. Dr. Dinesh Patel, an entrepreneur and lifetime trustee of Ganesh Hindu Temple inaugurated the ceremony, which was attended by guests from resettlement agencies, religious and cultural communities, local government representatives and hundreds of devotees.
Speaking at the inaugural ceremony, chief guest Dr. Patel said, “The key to cultural heritage of any community is to preserve your language and your religions. The beauty of America is you can practice any religion; there are no restrictions.” Casey Cameron, Deputy Director, Department of workforce said to the audience, “Anyone who comes to this state has to be inspired from our pioneers who first came to this state. We have fewer challenges than what our pioneer might have when they came to Utah in 1847.”
Other special guests who addressed the ceremony were IRC Utah Executive Director Mr. Patrick Paulin, Mrs. Ze Min Xiao of Salt Lake County, Mrs Andrea Alcabes, Executive Director at Jewish Community Center and Rajendra Hyuju, a Nepali entrepreneur in Salt Lake City,Utah.
The President of Puran Organization Committee and Chairperson of the ceremony, Pandit Dhanapati Bhattarai, expressed his unlimited happiness for the huge support showed by the local government officials, support agencies, volunteers and from different community organizations and from within the Bhutanese community and asked for all kinds of support for the success of seven day puran(saptahaa).
Pandit Hari Prasad Adhikari, Pdt. Dhanapati Bhattarai, Pdt. Chetan Khanal, Acharya Devika Khanal and Mr Khem Kafley were also introduced during the ceremony as Pandits(priests) for accomplishing the 7 days Shrimadbhagawat Mahapuran Gyan Mahayagya.
Mr. Khem Kafley, briefly described about the realm of Hinduism and its universality.
The program aims to raise funds for constructing a community center for the Bhutanese resettled in Salt Lake.
