Diwali - Hindu New Year and Annakut Celebrations at Shree Swaminarayan Temple New Jersey North America Annakut Darshan 2022
On Sunday October 23rd, 2022, disciples at Shree Swaminarayan Temple – Secaucus, New Jersey observed Diwali - Hindu New Year. As part of the celebrations, Secaucus Temple continued the pre-covid tradition of hosting an open house event, in which people from the local community can visit the temple and take part in Diwali - Hindu New Year celebrations.
In the open house this year, guests had the opportunity to perform annakut darshan and aarti of Lord Swaminarayanbapa Swamibapa. Afterwards, guests had the chance to partake in some of the open house activities and enjoy freshly prepared prasad. The open house activities included bounce houses and rangoli for kids, diva painting, musical performances, and exploring traditional indianwear. Along with the different stations for guests to explore, guests had the chance to enjoy cotton candy, popcorn, and a chocolate fondue station. All in all, disciples and members of the local community had a fun time enjoying Diwali with their friends and family.
After the open house, the temple celebrations featured a magnificent display of various food items offered before Lord Swaminarayanbapa Swamibapa. All items were freshly-made by disciples in celebration of this festive occasion.
The program commenced with annakut aarti during which all disciples performed aarti to Lord Swaminarayanbapa Swamibapa. Afterward, disciples listened to the blessings of Shree Muktajeevan Swamibapa and Acharya Swamiji Maharaj. Disciples then enjoyed the annakut prasad. As a conclusion to the celebrations, guests and disciples enjoyed a small fireworks show.
The Temple welcomed several guests over the course of the celebration. Most notably, Secaucus Mayor Michael Gonnelli attended to wish the congregation a very Happy Diwali.
Acharya Shree Jitendriyapriyadasji Swamiji Maharaj is the current spiritual leader of Maninagar Shree Swaminarayan Gadi Sansthan. He is the heir to Acharya Shree Purushottampriyadasji Swamishree Maharaj, and sixth in the lineage of ascetic Acharyas, which descends directly from Lord Shree Swaminarayan.
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