HINDU TEMPLE: Oaklands Park, South Australia
It's a ritual that goes back thousands of years and is repeated daily in temples the world over from Calcutta, India to Oaklands Park, South Australia. For fifteen years worshippers like Dr Jagdish Saraf gathered here when this was a rundown, disused Christian Church in Adelaide's southern suburbs.
But now, amid the gum trees and suburbia, ancient mantras reverberate through what is South Australia's first traditional Hindu Temple, dedicated to the god Shri Ganesha. Each morning and evening, the punditji or priest tends to the needs of the various deities.
"So the Gods have a bath in the morning, have a meal. OK"
"We treat them like human beings, they are superhuman beings, not that they are stone".
The Hindu religion is one of the oldest in the world, and Shri Ganesha, one of its oldest deities. The son of Lord Shiva, Ganesha is part human, part elephant, with the strength to clear the way for those who decide to take the Eternal Path.
"The God Ganesha is the God who removes all the obstacles".
And his powers were certainly put to the test in the completion of what is a triumph of colour and craftsmanship. Determined to have an entrance worthy of its temple, the local Hindu community had each teak door, weighing 700kgs shipped in from the subcontinent.
"That bit there is a lotus and two elephants, but basically most of them are just the flowers and all that. There are no gods depicted on it".
"And this was done by tradesmen back in India?"
"Yes, we imported the whole door as it is. This we just installed it here, but the door was made in India".
A team of craftsmen from India spent six months in Adelaide sculpting the array of deities which adorn the temple. Some gods are carved in marble, which is common to northern India. Others like Mushika Vahana, the mouse who carries Ganesha's grace into every nook and cranny of the universe, are carved in granite, more typical of southern India.
"You see lots of deities and you see lots of Gods and all that, but behind that we worship the nature".
"We worship the five elements. The five elements in the Universe and those five elements are earth or soil, water, fire, air and sun".
"Anybody is welcome to come in our temple, whenever we are open anyone is welcome. As long as you take your shoes off, you can come in".
The Shri Ganesha Temple is open daily in the morning and evening except Sunday when worship is from 11am to 1pm. It's located a 3 Dwyer Road, Oaklands Park.
