Temples and organisations across US celebrate Ram Mandir inauguration

Hundreds of temples and several community organisations across the US have organised events at various places, including one at the iconic Times Square in New York, to celebrate the consecration of 'Ram Lalla' in Ayodhya on Monday.

While main events throughout the country were organised on Sunday by the Vishwa Hindu Parishad of America, several community members gathered at the iconic Times Square in New York to celebrate the historic event.

They distributed laddoos to the passersby and even displayed pictures and visuals of the Ram Temple in Ayodhya on screens at Times Square.

At SV Lotus Temple in Fairfax County of Virginia, a suburb of Washington DC, members of the Sikh, Muslim and Pakistani American communities joined the celebrations wherein they said that it's a moment for the entire community to celebrate and it is a dream come true.

"It is a very, very joyous occasion," Jassee Singh from the Sikhs of America said.

"On behalf of the Sikh community and on behalf of the Sikhs of America, I give my best wishes to my Hindu brothers and sisters on this joyous occasion of the opening of the Shri Ram temple in India. We have people from all communities, Sikhs, Hindus, Muslims, and Christians here celebrating this joyful and pious day,” Singh said.

Pakistani American Sajid Tarar from Muslims of America also joined the celebrations at the SV Lotus Temple in Virginia.

“I came here with the message of peace and harmony. We have been living in the subcontinent for years together, but today there are so many differences created by us. I think the point has come to move forward," he said.

He congratulated the Hindu community for the inauguration of the temple.

"Today I wanted to congratulate them. I want to celebrate their happiness with them. That is the message. I'm here for a message of love and harmony. I think enough is enough. We have to move forward with things. We have to think about each other's happiness and we need to join each other in happiness,” he said.

Adappa Prasad, national president of Overseas Friends of BJP, said more than 2,500 people have joined celebrations at the Sri Venkateswara Lotus temple.

“In this celebration, the entire Indian diaspora has participated and there is a lot of enthusiasm...It's a historic event, a historic moment that is happening in Ayodhya, the entire Indian diaspora, not only here in the Washington DC metro area, but the entire USA, North America, Canada, and the globe. I know personally from 40 countries, the Indian diaspora is celebrating in each and every temple,” Prasad said.

Community leader Prem Bhandari from the Overseas Friends of Ram Mandir said: “This is a dream come true for all overseas Indians and Hindus across the world. This has been possible only due to the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi." “Finally, the moment has come. This moment we have been waiting for 500 years. Today is a historical moment for India and the world,” said Jagdish Sewhani, the organiser of one of the multiple events in Times Square.

Pictures of the Ram Mandir were also displayed on the NASDAQ screen.

In a statement, Congressman Rich McCormick greeted the Hindu community on the occasion.

“This is a huge accomplishment after 500 years of struggle. Congratulations to my Hindu friends and my constituency and around the world. May you all be blessed,” McCormick said.

At an event organised by the Hindus of Greater Houston, members from various countries where Lord Rama is part of the culture were facilitated.

“Bhagawan (Lord) Ram has influenced so many countries. Ramayana is part of the culture of many countries,” said Arun Mundra, a volunteer, at the Houston event.

In Los Angeles, 1000 people attended a car rally to celebrate the occasion. About 250 cars participated in the rally.