Festival of Chariots Swaminarayan Mandir, Adelaide

Hurtle Square to Hindmarsh Square in the heart of Adelaide city.

This grand event was attended by several devotees along with other special invited guests,

MP John Fulbrook – Member of Playford representing Minister Zoe Bettison, Minister for Tourism and Multicultural affairs in South Australia; Cr Janet Giles – City of Adelaide council; Cr Surendra Chahal – West Torrens City

By: Daljeet Bakshi

The Hindu festival of ‘Rath Yatra’ (chariot procession), a cultural festival depicting the journey of the chariots – symbolising and promoting goodness, happiness and harmony in the community was celebrated with fanfare by the BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Mandir, Green Fields, Adelaide on Saturday 24th June, 2023.

Following a traditional vedic ceremony, a beautifully decorated chariot one bearing the murti of Harikrishna Maharaj, Jagannathji, Baldevji & Subhadraji and the other bearing the murti of Bhagwan Swaminarayan & his disciple Gunatitanand Swami ceremoniously pulled by hand to the singing of devotional songs by the devotees. The procession was carried out from council; Cr Jagdish Lakhani – Campbelltown City council; Mr. Gagan Sharma – President of South Asian Network in SA Region (SANSAR) & Mr. Rajendra Pandey – President of Vishwa Hindu Parishad South Australia, HOTA Forum.

The celebration was concluded with aarti and maha prasad.

Established in 1907, the BAPS Swaminarayan Sanstha is a global non-governmental Hindu sociospiritualorganisation in consultative status with the Economic and Social Council of the United Nations. BAPS Swaminarayan Sanstha reaches out to each individual through its mandirs and centres. These are places of worship and also permanent centres of peace and reformation for people of all ages, backgrounds and beliefs. Spread across the world, the BAPS Global Network is composed of more than 1100 mandirs and 3,850 centres. In Australia, BAPS has representative centres (temples) in some of the major cities, including Sydney, Perth, Melbourne,

Adelaide and Brisbane.

Under the leadership and guidance of the current president of BAPS, His Holiness Mahant Swami Maharaj, BAPS is dedicated to the collective spiritual and social progress of society by promoting harmony between individuals, within families and amongst diverse communities.

Visit global website at www.baps.org/ adelaide for further information on BAPS Australia in Adelaide.

You may also visit global websites for additional information about BAPS and its activities: www.baps.org; https://research.baps. org/; www.bapscharities.org; https://pramukhswami.org/