EDMONTON, August 7, 2013: As he toured the newly opened Hindu temple in Grande Prairie for the first time, Nikhilesh Roy felt like he was in God’s presence.

“It was an out-of-world experience,” he said Monday over the phone from Grande Prairie.

For three years, Roy worked tirelessly with his wife, Ratna, to build a temple for the city’s 60 Hindu families. That dream materialized last weekend with the official opening of the Canadian Hindu Cultural Centre, the northernmost Hindu temple in Canada.

More than 250 people gathered at the nine-acre site about five minutes east of the city limits, where the metropolitan bustle gives way to the farmland of Peace Country.

An Edmonton Hindu priest conducted the ceremony, performing the traditional “prana pratishta” ritual.

“What we have to do is basically give life to the idols. This is called prana pratishta. Prana means life and pratishta means the act of giving it,” Roy explained.

The 1,380-square-foot building blends regional and religious architecture. The top of the temple is crowned with a copper structure known as a Shikar, while a sacred structure called Kalash holds water from India’s holy rivers.

The ground floor features a prayer room and an area designated for Havan, a fire ceremony that acts as a purifying ritual. A large white deck spans the temple’s exterior where visitors can sit and meditate. The basement will be used for yoga and meditation classes that all visitors can attend, Roy said.

“Because Canada is such a uniquely multicultural nation, we thought that even though it would be our temple, it has to be open to all the people of all the faiths so that we can give something back to them.”

The temple is a blessing for the 60 Hindu families who live among the city’s 60,000-plus residents, Roy said. Many of them, including his own, were forced to trek 500 km to Edmonton two to three times a year for festivals and holidays. Some would host prayer meetings in their basements, but it proved too cumbersome as the Hindu population grew.

Three years ago, Roy decided that change was needed. As head of the Grande Prairie Hindu Association, he gathered a group of friends to hatch a plan for a new temple.

He applied for a developer and building permit and hired an engineering company. Roy and his wife funded about 90 per cent of the temple’s $900,000 price tag.

Last July marked the site’s sod-turning ceremony, which was overseen by Mayor Bill Given, as was last weekend’s official opening.

“The Hindi community is a long-standing part of the Grande Prairie community,” Given told the Journal in 2012. “Just the fact now that they are finally able to have a building of their own is going to be a great milestone.”

For Roy and his wife, the temple is also a way to give back to a city and country that gave them opportunity. The two moved to Grande Prairie from England in 1997 with 10 suitcases and two kids in tow. They quickly established themselves as successful dentists in the city.

At Sunday’s first prayer meeting, more than 50 people turned out, and Roy is certain that number will grow.

“There was a sense of joy that all of us had being able to sit down together and pray,” he said. “It was very satisfying and very gratifying.”

Source: Edmonton Journal, DT. August 7, 2013.