Introduction

Hindu-Mandir was established in 1990 to serve the Indo-Canadian community of Montreal. A religious, non-profit, charity, the primary aim of this society is to build a temple and a community center to meet the spiritual, ritual, ceremonial and social needs of Hindus. Hindu-Mandir had the vision to build a grand temple, where people, believing in Hinduism could come together and pray according to our individual beliefs and traditions. Besides being a place of worship and spiritual guidance, this Mandir was intended to act as focal point for our community and a place of congregation. The population of Indo-Canadian community in Montreal has been steadily growing over the past twenty years. Of these, some 5000 people live in West Island of Montreal. In 1995, Hindu-Mandir purchased 107,000 sq. ft. of land in D.D.O. to build the temple / community center project and obtained the services of a well-known Architect to prepare the master plan for the site and to do the design work for the project. The temple was built according to the architectural plans conceived under the guidance of Mr. Ramesh Khosla, the well known architect of for community, from Arcop group, and the volunteer effort of the project team, most notably, Mr. Krishan Puni, Mr. Ved Vohra, Mr. Sudhanshu Verma, Mr. Yoganathana and Mr. Sam Osuri, for their outstanding volunteer effort and personal sacrifice in conceiving this project design.
I would also like to high-lite the contribution of Dr. Virendra Jha, chairman project committee and Mr. Uma Khanna, project coordination, and Mr. Rashter Sharma who along with all the engineering team, sacrificed their evenings and weekends, to help us realize this dream. The temple was constructed in 1997-98. Under Phase I, which is now complete, we have built 23, 600 sq. ft., which includes, the main prayer hall, for about 800 people, a community kitchen, priest quarters, administration offices, a hall of deities, parking lot for 100 vehicles, access road & ramps, and to extensive landscaping. The cost of the project completed so far is $ 3,400,000.00. This was financed through $ 1,200,000.00 loan from the bank. The balance funds, were donated by the devotees of the Hindu-Mandir (material & services). Since its completion the Mandir has become the centre of attraction for the local community and out-of-town visitors. With its modern architect and beautiful finish it has REALLY become a monument “To Be Proud Of”. Phase II will include a Daycare facility, Vedic Yajanshalla and residences for priests. Construction is expected to start in 2003, and is estimated to cost $ 0.5 million dollars.