The Sai Pariwar North Brunswick (SPNB) celebrated Ayyappa Swamy Padi Puja (Sastha Preethi) on Sunday, December 4, 2022, at the Sai Mandir in North Brunswick.
Attended by more than 200 devotees, the celebration comprised of more than four hours of spiritual activities including Saibaba Kakada Aarathi, Lord Ganesha & Lord Murugan Puja, Abhishekham, Parayanam, Alankaram, Bhajans & Archana, which were followed by Saibaba Madhyahna Aarathi and Prasadam. Sai Pariwar’s volunteers, supporters and devotees worked together to make the event a success.
Lord Ayyappa is also known as Sastha, Dharmasastha, and Manikantha, and is widely worshiped in the South of India, especially in Kerala. Known as the God of Self-Control, Ayyappa is believed to embody truth, righteousness and dharma and is considered to annihilate evil.
The North Brunswick Saibaba Temple was established by the Sai Pariwar to meet the community’s need for a cultural and community center for all. Like all Saibaba temples, the SPNB has been open to all and conducts programs to help build strong communities through imbibing cultural values.
The temple holds regular aarati, and Bhajans, and also undertakes other religious services such as abhishekam, gruha pravesham, homam, aksharabhyasam, archana, saibaba ashtothara archana, gruha puja, ground breaking, weddings, engagements, namakaranam, sai vratham, satyanarayana vratham, baby shower, 60th birthday celebrations, upnayanam, car puja, both at the temple and outside locations.
Other activities of SPNB include workshops in Yoga and Holistic Healing, classes in Dance, Mathematics, Hindi and Sanskrit. Among the temple’s upcoming events are a Hanuman Puja and a Free Healthcare Camp on December 8, 2022.
SPNB is managed by a board of trustees which include President Surendra Katthula, Treasurer Anil Bhatt, Ananda Aravapalli, Srinivasa Eswarapu, Mukund Parikh, Parul Patel, Dr. Annankoil Srinivasan, and Surendra Velagapudi.
To continue its activities on a bigger scale, SPNB has planned a large new Saibaba Temple and Cultural Center in North Brunswick Township, on Route 130, next to Shoprite Complex. The new temple will have parking facility on premises and handicap access. The trustees and the executive committee of SPNB aims to complete the construction soon on the land which is already acquired, by raising $3 million in philanthropical support and donations. The new temple will be five minutes away from the current location, and, like the current one, will bring devotees from various communities together under one roof to worship Saibaba.Ar
