Hindu Temple of Las Vegas invites you to join the community to celebrate the 13^th anniversary of the Hindu Temple and Jain Center of Las Vegas.

2014 marks the 13th year of Hindu Mandir in Las Vegas and, as usual, please join in an annual ritual to celebrate the Mandir anniversary with family and friends. 

Temple – 13th Anniversary Celebrations 

Maha Abhishek

On Sunday, May 4^th 2014 

10:00 am – 2:00 pm 

Lunch immediately followed by religious services  

Location – Hindu Temple and Jain Center of Las Vegas 

1701 Sageberry Drive, Las Vegas, NV 89144 

Phone: 702-304-9207  

www.hindutemplelv.org

This year, Mandir is seeking a minimum of 100 volunteers to sponsor special Puja with a minimum donation of $101 per family.  Additionally, Mandir is also seeking lunch sponsors & donors to underwrite the cost of this once a year special celebration.  Anniversary celebration is also an informal fundraiser for the Mandir.   

For further assistance and sponsoring a special puja on this important occasion, please call  Saroj Chatterjee (538-2537), Neeru Piplani (234-1071), Paresh Joshi (498-2439), Mahendra Mehta (413)-822-4386, Preetha Sanwal (235-3544)

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Background & Historicial Perspective : It was in early Nineties when few early settlers and active families from the Indian community floated an idea of having a Hindu Mandir for the prosperous and growing Hindu community of Las Vegas.  The constructive brain storming and ideas turned into a dream, which ultimately resulted in embracing a future plan for the local Hindu Mandir.  With that mindset and determination the Hindu Society of Nevada was registered with the Nevada Secretary of State as a non-profit entity in September 1994.

The first community meeting and a fund raiser dinner was held at the Masonic Lodge in mid nineties.   At the meeting, the attendees had an enthusiasm, passion and determination to build a first Hindu Mandir in the State of Nevada.  Over 400 excited community members packed the hall and committed the financial and non-financial resources to support and build the Mandir.  Although the tickets were only $50 per person but over $250,000 was committed that evening to move on with the project at the earliest. 

Seeing the enthusastic support for the Mandir, the founders committee debated on how to acquire land, location and should the community approach BLM for cheap land or just buy the required real estate from the open market.  Around the same time, the master-planned Summerlin development was at conceptual stage and the current location, 5 Acre (net 4.25 acre), was acquired in March 1997 in the name of Hindu Society of Nevada, for $297,000 from the Howard Hughes corporation as the land was specifically zoned for religious purposes.

 Photo published in Las Vegas Review Journal/Las Vegas Sun – April 2001

With no zoning related issues and all the permits and funding in place, the construction started with ground breaking ceremony in late 1999.  The dream came true in April of 2001 when the Mandir was completed and community came together to  the three day grand opening celebrations under the leadership of then chairman Ranjit Jain.  The grand opening festivities along with Murthi Sthapana (placing of deities) services were held from April 27^th through April 29^th, 2001 with over 600 community members in attendance.  The community was proud of having its own place of worship. 

Four prominent and well learned priests – Shri S. Krihnamacharyulu of Los Angeles, Shri S. Venkatachryulu of Pittsburgh, Shri Gopal Krihnamacharyulu (our senior panditji) and Shri Bhanu Joshi of Las Vegas performed the religious services and blessed the temple and the attendees.  The grand opening was also attended by some of the prominent local elected officials including then Mayor Oscar Goodman and Congresswoman Shelley Berkeley.

After all the initial controversies and the beginning pains of infancy being gone, the current Mandir administration is doing an exceptional and professional voluntary service to keep the community engaged in Mandir activities.  

2014 marks the 13th year of Hindu Mandir in Las Vegas and, as usual, please join in an annual ritual to celebrate the Mandir anniversary with family and friends. 

 Advertisement Placed in the Las Vegas Review Journal/Las Vegas Sun – April 2001