South Florida Hindu Temple

It was around twenty years ago, when the community was small and scattered, that the idea of having a Hindu temple had been conceived. Without a central place to share and celebrate the spiritual traditions and values, the children were growing up in a cultural vacuum. It was then that a single family home was purchased and was utilized by the community as a worship center with the following vision in mind — above all else, to be committed to preserving and upholding the spiritual values of Sanatana Dharma — the eternal principles of righteousness. The goal was to promote religious, educational and cultural activities for the sole purpose of cultivating faith and devotion, thus helping the spiritual evolution of one and all who visit this sacred shrine to receive divine grace.

As the community expanded and became more diverse, the need for a broad based Hindu temple that embraced regional and cultural diversity of the Hindu diaspora, but remained firmly anchored to the timeless principles of Sanatan Dharma was envisioned — and thus the South Florida Hindu Temple was born. The temple was then incorporated on May 3rd, 1993 by members of the organization. Incorporation was done with minimal funds and no place to call home. Yogi Hari, a local yoga teacher had an ashram and one of the rooms was utilized for worship every other Sunday — but not for long. Yogi Hari had to sell his place and the temple lost its temporary home. Fortunately, a devotee’s old home in Miami had a large basement and that is where devotees gathered on Sundays until the first phase of temple construction was completed. Shashi Patel was the architect; Bharat Shah the land planner, Shanti Patel did the engineering work and Joe Miranda was the builder for this phase. The South Florida Temple opened its doors at the current location on January 30, 1998.

Soon after opening, people gathered for regular worship. Hindu festivals from all regions of India and from diverse communities were celebrated with a sense of oneness, for, were they not bonded by a common faith and belief, even though they may have spoken different languages at home. People came to celebrate their birthdays, solemnize their weddings and pray for the departed souls. The temple became the focal point of community activities. Educational programs which had begun even before the ground was broken, flourished and around 170 children attended Balvihar. A functional temple existed, but the vision of an ornate and majestic temple had yet to be realized. More funds were needed. A devotee, who headed the fundraising efforts for South Florida Hindu Temple since its inception, had a monumental task before him. Early on, it had been resolved that this sacred temple will not be built with borrowed funds, regardless of how long it took. It should be built only with donations given with love and devotion — after all this was going to be the abode of Almighty.

God in His infinite mercy and grace did help the community to keep their resolution of not borrowing any money. Founding donors and other founders were joined by benefactors, in making generous and timely donations. The community at large also came forward and donated with unprecedented generosity, and this temple unlike most temples in the country carries no debt.

November 23, 2002, a grand fund raiser was held and for the first time funds raised crossed the scheduled target for the first time and that, too, at a time when the country was passing through an economic recession. This demonstrated the will and the commitment of the Hindu community in South Florida to see their dream of an authentic temple come to fruition. While the temple has been officially open since 1998, it was yet to have its Kumbhabhishekam.

Those who attended the banquet were treated to a beautiful slide show depicting the journey of the temple from its humble beginnings in homes to its present form with carvings being done by the shilpis. The funds raised touched the whopping $640,000 mark just as midnight approached. The founding fathers were visibly happy in seeing their hard work of almost a decade come to near fruition.

The South Florida Hindu community proved once again how much they valued their heritage and the need to leave a legacy for their children. The continued support from the community to help complete this monumental task is a testimony to the confidence they have in the leadership of the temple.

The world famous temple builder and tapathi, Padma Shri Muthiah Sthapati was retained to fulfill the vision of a grand ornate temple. Hindu temple architectural elements were incorporated from all the major regions of India in keeping with the theme of unity in diversity from the basic design stage. Step by step, pillar by pillar, steadily the grand ornate temple that had been envisioned years before began to take shape.