KOCHVILLE TOWNSHIP, MI (USA), June 26, 2013 — When Kochville Township’s Tri-City Hindu Temple opens in several months it won’t only be a place of worship, it also will be a place where anyone can go for free health care.

“The Hindu idea is that whole creation, including human beings, is part of God. Everything came from God. ...So, you treat every other person as your brother or sister,” said Dr. K.P. Karunakaran, M.D., of Saginaw Township’s Karu Medical Associates. “(If) somebody is ill or they have a chronic disease, like heart disease or lung disease, they can obtain treatment on a continuing basis.”

He added, “This universal God that we talk about is the God of all religions.”

The Tri-City Hindu Temple is being built at 3311 Temple Court, off of Bay Road and behind Famous Dave’s. It will be the northernmost Hindu Temple in Michigan.

Construction of the Tri-City Hindu Temple began in May and is being done in two phases, with the first phase expected to be complete in about eight months, Karunakaran said. 

The Tri-City Hindu Temple Board on May 5 reviewed and approved the conceptual plan, with the provision that appropriate changes be made as deemed necessary as the construction progresses, according to information on the Tri-City Hindu Temple website. Expenses are to be between $1.25 million and $1.35 million, according to the website.

Karunakaran said there are about 300 Hindu families in the tri-city area and most of them have lived here for 20 to 30 years.

 “Our community has benefited much from being here and we want to give something back,” he wrote in a prepared statement. “Tri-City Hindu Temple will provide free health screenings and services to the community, as Hindus believe worship of fellow human beings is worship of God and moreover, almost half of the community members are physicians and medical professionals.”

Karunakaran, a surgeon specializing in burn surgery and hand surgery, has practiced in the Saginaw area for about 35 years. He shares an office, at 5685 Gratiot in Saginaw Township, with his daughters Dr. Kala Ramasamy, M.D., and Dr. Lekha Richardson, M.D.

He said it is common for Hindu temples to offer free health care services and he anticipates there will be a lot of need for such services in the Saginaw area.

“We will be giving specific information about our free services after we settle in,” he said.

Karunakaran said, demographically, Hinduism is the world’s third largest religion with about 1 billion adherents.

“It is the predominant and indigenous religious tradition of South Asia,” Karunakaran wrote in a prepared statement. “It includes yogic traditions and a wide spectrum of daily morality based on the notion of karma and societal norms, such as Hindu marriage customs.”

When asked how it will feel to be able to help people in this way, Karunakaran replied, “It will give us immense satisfaction. This is the way we serve God.”

Source: mlive.com, DT. June 26, 2013.