PILGRIMAGE TO WALES
ON PILGRIMAGE TO WALES…
by SHAMLAL PURI in LONDON
ON a hot English summer's weekend we undertook a pilgrimage to Wales, deep in the heart of the United Kingdom. We took the M4 motorway from London driving through the lush countryside of Wales. We were on our way to the Skanda vale temple, one of the many Hindu temples dotted in the United Kingdom.
Our mission was to seek solace in the cradle of a Hindu temple and a monastery covering over 100 acres of nature, known to hundreds of thousands of devotees who flock there regularly.
To the uninitiated, this temple is the one that caught the attention of the world in April 2007 when there was controversy over the sacred bullock, Shambo. It had tested positive for bovine TB, and the government ruled that he must be destroyed.
Hindus around the world watched the plight of this bullock. On 16 July 2007, the High Court in Cardiff quashed the ruling made by the National Assembly for Wales, and that it had not been its decision to slaughter Shambo: "given the serious infringement of the community's rights under Article Nine of the European Convention on Human Rights that slaughter would involve."
However after 23 July 2007 Shambo again faced execution, after the Court of Appeal ruled that he should be slaughtered. Shambo was euthanized on July 26 2007, via a lethal injection. Welsh authorities confirmed that signs of TB were present upon post-mortem examination.
Shambo's plight made headlines around the world. Hundreds of thousands of devotees were up in arms trying to save the bullock from the slaughter house. In the end, the long hand of the law prevailed and Shambo went to his death.
Hindus were vociferous in fighting for Shambo's survival. Though they did not succeed in saving its life, the fight gave an added impetus to fighting for a cause.
Few Hindus have forgotten the fight to save Shambo and the bullock has now become a symbol of unity for a community with genuine beliefs in the sanctity of life.
Many years ago few would have thought that the United Kingdom would be home to some of the best temples outside India.
This country is fast becoming the home of temples catering for 600,000 Hindus settled here out of an estimated 1 billion Hindus living worldwide.
Hindus in large numbers have been settled in the UK for around half a century but they have changed the skyline of British cities and towns. The development of Hinduism in the UK took place largely in the 1960s and 1970s with a large number of Hindu immigrants mostly from Africa and India who have made their home here.
Official figures available say that of the Hindu population in the UK, up to 70 per cent are Gujarati, up to 15 per cent are Punjabi and the rest are from other parts of India, Sri Lanka and other countries.
Majority of the Hindus in the UK speak one or more languages apart from English. These include – Gujarati, Hindi, Punjabi, Bengali and Tamil. Sanskrit, greatly used in the religious texts, is understood by many Hindus.
Just over fifty percent of the Hindus in the UK live in London - the boroughs of Harrow and Brent having the largest concentration. Other larger communities are in Leicester, Birmingham and Bradford, and developed as a result of immigration from India, eastern Africa and Sri Lanka.
There are 140 temples dotted all over the UK and Skanda Vale is one of them.
The Skanda vale temple at Carmarthen county of West Wales near Lampeter is called "Community of the Many Names of God". It was in 1973 that Guru Subramanium visited this place and realized the existence of God at the tranquil location.
In co-operation with Rev. James Keeler, intermediary of the Presbyterian Free Church of Scotland and Dr Mulalasekera, the then High Commissioner of Sri Lanka they decided to form the Community of the Many Names of God, and later buy a farm to form a monastery for all religions.
In 1978 the monastery bought a vast 115 acres of bordering land. In taking the custom of the Hindu religion the Guru established a multi-faith Temple making sure that people of all religions and denominations could worship here.
In 1981, then Sri Lanka Head of State, President Jayawardena presented the Skanda vale temple with a baby elephant which is still alive. Today a large number of animals are cared for.
In 1996, Subramanium Temple (also known as the Lord Skanda or Lord Murugan) was built and in 1999 a temple dedicated to the Lord Narayana was completed.
Today it receives a more than a million visitors from Cardiff and around the country a year and caters free of charge and one can stay as long as they like.
In 2002 the temple established a day care hospice and an In-Care unit at Llandysul in Carmarthenshire. The aim currently is to convert the establishment into to "Residential Care Centre" available to all, regardless of geographical place.
Weaving through Llanpumsaint village community, we reached the entry to Skanda Vale pointed by a lone road sign showing a path to the temple through a one-way road narrow enough to allow of one vehicle to pass at a time. Unlike the rigours of driving these days on roads inflicted by road rage, here motorists have to exercise extreme patience in driving – a lesson in caution to be learned for those of us in the fast lane of life.
The moment you enter the precincts of the temple, a kind of calm transcends upon you and you leave behind the hard grind of life to serve the Lord. The temple is dedicated to Lord Subramanya, who is also known as Skanda, Karttikeya, and Muruga. .
Skanda Vale is located in the valleys of West Wales, about five miles (8 km) from the town of Carmarthen, on the way to Lampeter, the nearest village is Llanpumsaint. There are three temples: The Murugan Temple, The Maha Shakthi Temple, and the Ranganatha Temple.
The highlight of the visit is a daily Puja (prayer) at each temple, and many monks live near the temple. There are basic but comfortable overnight facilities for people travelling from a long distance.
The Community of the Many Names of God was founded on the worship of God in his universality, in accordance with the spiritual teachings of Lord Krishna as in the Bhagavad-Gita. It was established as a monastic centre in Wales in 1973. The present 115-acre (0.47 km2) site was originally three adjacent farms and a small block of woodland, which were separately purchased and amalgamated by the community as the grounds of Skanda Vale Monastery. Its first temple, dedicated to Lord Subramanya, was registered as a place of public worship in 1975.
A variety of animals are kept on the grounds of the temple including the Sri Lankan elephant.
It was very interesting to mingle with hundreds of devotees at the various pooja (prayer) sessions and being part of the volunteer force that makes the temple and the monastery tick along smoothly.
The Maha Shakti Temple is 800 metres up the hill. While the fit are encouraged to walk up there for the puja, transport is provided for the frail and those with medical conditions.
The Lord Ranganatha Temple is open throughout the day for personal worship, while The Subramanium and Maha Shakti Temples are locked outside pooja hours as the monks and nuns engage in their daily work.
A very early start to the morning prayers rejuvenated devotees to face a new day.
Skanda Vale is an Ashram covering 120 acres of beautiful wood and farmland. The Ashram is home to a monastic community of monks and nuns who have taken the vows of poverty, chastity and obedience and express their devotion to God by living a life of Bhakti and Karma Yoga.
Visitors to Skanda Vale come in a spirit of pilgrimage; and not for a sight-seeing tour of the lush green valleys of Wales. In order to make the most of our visit here and to receive the Grace of God that flows freely towards those who come as pilgrims we lived basically enjoying three vegetarian meals – Prasad – blessed at the temple.
After the rat race in the wide world outside, one could not have asked for anything more…
-- SHAMLAL PURI
EMAIL: shamlalpuri@gmail.com
by SHAMLAL PURI in LONDON
ON a hot English summer's weekend we undertook a pilgrimage to Wales, deep in the heart of the United Kingdom. We took the M4 motorway from London driving through the lush countryside of Wales. We were on our way to the Skanda vale temple, one of the many Hindu temples dotted in the United Kingdom.
Our mission was to seek solace in the cradle of a Hindu temple and a monastery covering over 100 acres of nature, known to hundreds of thousands of devotees who flock there regularly.
To the uninitiated, this temple is the one that caught the attention of the world in April 2007 when there was controversy over the sacred bullock, Shambo. It had tested positive for bovine TB, and the government ruled that he must be destroyed.
Hindus around the world watched the plight of this bullock. On 16 July 2007, the High Court in Cardiff quashed the ruling made by the National Assembly for Wales, and that it had not been its decision to slaughter Shambo: "given the serious infringement of the community's rights under Article Nine of the European Convention on Human Rights that slaughter would involve."
However after 23 July 2007 Shambo again faced execution, after the Court of Appeal ruled that he should be slaughtered. Shambo was euthanized on July 26 2007, via a lethal injection. Welsh authorities confirmed that signs of TB were present upon post-mortem examination.
Shambo's plight made headlines around the world. Hundreds of thousands of devotees were up in arms trying to save the bullock from the slaughter house. In the end, the long hand of the law prevailed and Shambo went to his death.
Hindus were vociferous in fighting for Shambo's survival. Though they did not succeed in saving its life, the fight gave an added impetus to fighting for a cause.
Few Hindus have forgotten the fight to save Shambo and the bullock has now become a symbol of unity for a community with genuine beliefs in the sanctity of life.
Many years ago few would have thought that the United Kingdom would be home to some of the best temples outside India.
This country is fast becoming the home of temples catering for 600,000 Hindus settled here out of an estimated 1 billion Hindus living worldwide.
Hindus in large numbers have been settled in the UK for around half a century but they have changed the skyline of British cities and towns. The development of Hinduism in the UK took place largely in the 1960s and 1970s with a large number of Hindu immigrants mostly from Africa and India who have made their home here.
Official figures available say that of the Hindu population in the UK, up to 70 per cent are Gujarati, up to 15 per cent are Punjabi and the rest are from other parts of India, Sri Lanka and other countries.
Majority of the Hindus in the UK speak one or more languages apart from English. These include – Gujarati, Hindi, Punjabi, Bengali and Tamil. Sanskrit, greatly used in the religious texts, is understood by many Hindus.
Just over fifty percent of the Hindus in the UK live in London - the boroughs of Harrow and Brent having the largest concentration. Other larger communities are in Leicester, Birmingham and Bradford, and developed as a result of immigration from India, eastern Africa and Sri Lanka.
There are 140 temples dotted all over the UK and Skanda Vale is one of them.
The Skanda vale temple at Carmarthen county of West Wales near Lampeter is called "Community of the Many Names of God". It was in 1973 that Guru Subramanium visited this place and realized the existence of God at the tranquil location.
In co-operation with Rev. James Keeler, intermediary of the Presbyterian Free Church of Scotland and Dr Mulalasekera, the then High Commissioner of Sri Lanka they decided to form the Community of the Many Names of God, and later buy a farm to form a monastery for all religions.
In 1978 the monastery bought a vast 115 acres of bordering land. In taking the custom of the Hindu religion the Guru established a multi-faith Temple making sure that people of all religions and denominations could worship here.
In 1981, then Sri Lanka Head of State, President Jayawardena presented the Skanda vale temple with a baby elephant which is still alive. Today a large number of animals are cared for.
In 1996, Subramanium Temple (also known as the Lord Skanda or Lord Murugan) was built and in 1999 a temple dedicated to the Lord Narayana was completed.
Today it receives a more than a million visitors from Cardiff and around the country a year and caters free of charge and one can stay as long as they like.
In 2002 the temple established a day care hospice and an In-Care unit at Llandysul in Carmarthenshire. The aim currently is to convert the establishment into to "Residential Care Centre" available to all, regardless of geographical place.
Weaving through Llanpumsaint village community, we reached the entry to Skanda Vale pointed by a lone road sign showing a path to the temple through a one-way road narrow enough to allow of one vehicle to pass at a time. Unlike the rigours of driving these days on roads inflicted by road rage, here motorists have to exercise extreme patience in driving – a lesson in caution to be learned for those of us in the fast lane of life.
The moment you enter the precincts of the temple, a kind of calm transcends upon you and you leave behind the hard grind of life to serve the Lord. The temple is dedicated to Lord Subramanya, who is also known as Skanda, Karttikeya, and Muruga. .
Skanda Vale is located in the valleys of West Wales, about five miles (8 km) from the town of Carmarthen, on the way to Lampeter, the nearest village is Llanpumsaint. There are three temples: The Murugan Temple, The Maha Shakthi Temple, and the Ranganatha Temple.
The highlight of the visit is a daily Puja (prayer) at each temple, and many monks live near the temple. There are basic but comfortable overnight facilities for people travelling from a long distance.
The Community of the Many Names of God was founded on the worship of God in his universality, in accordance with the spiritual teachings of Lord Krishna as in the Bhagavad-Gita. It was established as a monastic centre in Wales in 1973. The present 115-acre (0.47 km2) site was originally three adjacent farms and a small block of woodland, which were separately purchased and amalgamated by the community as the grounds of Skanda Vale Monastery. Its first temple, dedicated to Lord Subramanya, was registered as a place of public worship in 1975.
A variety of animals are kept on the grounds of the temple including the Sri Lankan elephant.
It was very interesting to mingle with hundreds of devotees at the various pooja (prayer) sessions and being part of the volunteer force that makes the temple and the monastery tick along smoothly.
The Maha Shakti Temple is 800 metres up the hill. While the fit are encouraged to walk up there for the puja, transport is provided for the frail and those with medical conditions.
The Lord Ranganatha Temple is open throughout the day for personal worship, while The Subramanium and Maha Shakti Temples are locked outside pooja hours as the monks and nuns engage in their daily work.
A very early start to the morning prayers rejuvenated devotees to face a new day.
Skanda Vale is an Ashram covering 120 acres of beautiful wood and farmland. The Ashram is home to a monastic community of monks and nuns who have taken the vows of poverty, chastity and obedience and express their devotion to God by living a life of Bhakti and Karma Yoga.
Visitors to Skanda Vale come in a spirit of pilgrimage; and not for a sight-seeing tour of the lush green valleys of Wales. In order to make the most of our visit here and to receive the Grace of God that flows freely towards those who come as pilgrims we lived basically enjoying three vegetarian meals – Prasad – blessed at the temple.
After the rat race in the wide world outside, one could not have asked for anything more…
-- SHAMLAL PURI
EMAIL: shamlalpuri@gmail.com
