Oldham’s Hindu community joined Hindus around the world to celebrate two important festivals, Ramnavmi and Swaminarayan Jayanti, on Thursday.
Shree Swaminarayan Mandir, located on Copster Hill Road, hosted a celebration for both festivals, with morning aarti and evening aarti held – a Hindu ritual in which light is offered to deities.
Prasad was served after the ceremony, an integral part of Hindu worship and refers to the food or sweets that are offered to the deities during puja or prayer ceremonies.
Prasad is considered to be blessed by the gods and is distributed to the devotees as a way of receiving their blessings.
Ramnavmi marks the birth anniversary of Lord Rama, who is one of the ten incarnations of Lord Vishnu in Hinduism.
Lord Rama, born in 5114 BCE, is revered as a symbol of righteousness, virtue, and devotion, and his life and teachings continue to inspire millions of Hindus across the globe.
The festival was celebrated around with prayer ceremonies, devotional songs, and by fasting for 24 hours.
Swaminarayan Jayanti, on the other hand, marks the birth anniversary of Lord Swaminarayan, born on April 3 1781 CE, who was the founder of the Swaminarayan Sampradaya.
Lord Swaminarayan is believed by Hindus to be an incarnation of Lord Narayana, and his teachings are centred around the principles of devotion, morality, and selfless service.
His teachings continue to inspire millions of people around the world, and his birthday is celebrated with prayer ceremonies, devotional songs, and by distributing prasad.
Even non-Hindus were welcomed to the temple, continuing the temple’s work to engage with all of Oldham.
Last week, the temple hosted an Indian food evening open to all, offering an "authentic taste of Gujarat", a state on India’s western coast.
The Copster Hill Road temple opened in July last year and was a result of more than £7 million in fundraising and volunteers from the Hindu community.
The temple includes social and sports areas, in addition to classrooms and a youth club.
The gate at its entrance is hand-carved using marble imported from India.
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