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Winnipeg Free Press
4 days ago
- Health
- Winnipeg Free Press
Creating a compassionate community and city
The Sharing Circle of Wellness of the Hindu Society of Manitoba celebrated its 15th anniversary last week at the Dr. Raj Pandey Hindu Centre. At the core of the wellness program are two main tenets: a holistic approach to wellness and a vision to treat each other with compassion. 'Wellness is not just physical activity… it is about longevity, socializing and coming together,' said Manju Lodha, the group's volunteer co-ordinator. 'In our group, people can talk to each other in their own languages. It is a meeting place. It is a very satisfying program.' Beginning with only a few members, the group was centred around art-related activities. An official formalization of the program took place in 2010. It continued to grow over the years and now has more than 100 members. While there is no membership fee for attendees, donations are welcomed. It is supported by a Winnipeg Foundation endowment fund. Ruth Bonneville / Free Press Mayor Scott Gillingham accepts a painting from Manju Lodha, the Sharing Circle of Wellness's volunteer co-ordinator, at the Dr. Raj Pandey Hindu Centre. Even though members are mainly seniors, it is open to all ages. The group has a diverse membership that is multi-faith and multi-cultural as well as a mix of male and female members. Lodha says the group would not be possible without the efforts of its program committee, many volunteers and the support of the Hindu Society. At present, the group gathers three times a week, once in-person at the HSM facility and twice via Zoom. During the pandemic, when maintaining contact was heightened, the group connected via Zoom a couple of times per week. With the purpose of promoting wellness, in every sense, addressing physical, emotional, mental, social, spiritual and nutritional needs are interwoven into the program's itinerary. Physical activities include yoga sessions, meditation, breathing techniques, stretching and gentle exercises. The spiritual side of yoga is also explored. The program features weekly guest speakers on a wide range of health-related topics and beyond. According to Lodha, the group had talks from a neurologist, psychiatrist, health educator and retired doctors as well as from a First Nations group and visitors from India who offer different viewpoints about Indian culture. Other speakers have discussed important topics for seniors, such as power of attorney, wills and cremations. 'Many of us don't know what are the options we have, what are the government procedures and what are the benefits that we can get. The purpose of the program is to have a person educate us, provides some information and at the same time we learn from each other,' Lodha said. During the summer, children provide cultural performances for the wellness program, creating colourful and joyful moments. Festivities such as Diwali, Christmas and birthdays of members who are 90 years and older are celebrated. With many seniors facing isolation and loneliness, the program facilitates an opportunity to see and meet one another, hold conversations, laugh together and form friendships. At the anniversary celebration on July 10, a regular yoga session took place, followed by a prayer and yoga performance. The event also included a talk on Winnipeg becoming a compassionate city. 'For many years, Winnipeg has been trying to be a compassionate city,' Lodha said. 'A few years ago, there was a Winnipeg delegation to Louisville, Kentucky to listen to the Dalai Lama… to find out more about compassionate cities.' Lodha, who attended that special event, pointed out the Wellness Group has been interested in how seniors can help with this vision. Mayor Scott Gillingham was invited to speak at the anniversary event about Winnipeg's journey towards being a compassionate city. 'In our world right now… to be people of compassion and be a city of compassion is a bright light, a light of hope. It says to others that we see you, we have care, concern for you… no matter who you are, where you come from, what you are going through, you will be received and cared for by our community,' he said. Sundays Kevin Rollason's Sunday newsletter honouring and remembering lives well-lived in Manitoba. The Sharing Circle of Wellness highlights the importance of diversity and inclusivity in the city, he said. 'When people move from all parts of the world, one of the ways that they can settle in and become part of our community is because of the cultural and faith infrastructure that is here. People identify really with a faith community, a cultural community that help them become Winnipeggers,' Gillingham said. To help achieve the goal of becoming a compassionate city, people must embrace what compassion entails. Rather than waiting until a pandemic or a disaster hits — whether natural, physical or personal — to ignite compassion, it needs to be part of our daily dialogues and everyday actions. When welcoming a newcomer in our city, when working collaboratively towards justice and reconciliation, when taking a moment to talk to your neighbour, when extending a helping hand to someone dealing with a circumstance different from your own, when acknowledging someone by saying hello or with a smile, becoming a compassionate city is made possible. Our younger generation plays a vital role in the future of our compassionate communities and city by embracing its value in their lives. In bringing a diverse group of people together, the Wellness Group is striving to make a positive impact upon the lives of its members to be healthy and happy. They are also striving to be a shining example of treating each other with grace, dignity, care, respect and love. 'As new immigrants when we come here, we need compassion from other people and when we become citizens we need to give compassion to others,' Lodha said. 'Our whole wellness program is based on compassion. We all have to help each other.' Romona Goomansingh, PhD is an educator, freelance writer and author in Winnipeg. The Free Press is committed to covering faith in Manitoba. If you appreciate that coverage, help us do more! Your contribution of $10, $25 or more will allow us to deepen our reporting about faith in the province. Thanks! BECOME A FAITH JOURNALISM SUPPORTER
Winnipeg Free Press
05-07-2025
- General
- Winnipeg Free Press
More than a place of worship
From religious gatherings held in homes, dating back to the 1970s, to its current 30,000-square-feet religious and cultural facility in Winnipeg's South, the Hindu Society of Manitoba (HSM) has grown by leaps and bounds. On June 26, the HSM celebrated the 20th anniversary of its Hindu Temple & Dr. Raj Pandey Hindu Centre located at 999 St. Anne's Rd. The evening event drew hundreds of community members and began in the prayer hall with religious ceremonies, or pujas, performed in front of each murti, representing the respective deities. BROOK JONES / FREE PRESS Community members carry a bin of coconuts while they participate in a procession around the temple called Parikrama where people walk clockwise around a sacred place. The breaking of coconuts symbolizes devotion to God, spitural growth and seeking blessings The ceremonies were followed by singing religious songs and a procession around the temple known as parikrama, a Sanskrit word that means to walk clockwise around a sacred place or entity, as an expression of spiritual reverence. Led by drumming, community members carried the smaller form of the murtis in thalis, or trays and circled the entire facility, as the temple priests recited mantras or sacred chants to invoke blessings. As a Hindu ritual for auspicious occasions, coconuts were broken open, which symbolize removing one's negativity and bringing out one's positivity as a sign of devotion to the divine. The celebration concluded with a community meal hosted by Dr. Raj Pandey and his family, in the dining hall. Looking back 20 years ago, the HSM held a week of festivities, culminating with a religious journey or procession, referred in Sanskrit as yatra, along a portion of St. Anne's Road which was closed to regular traffic on June 26, 2005. This special day, the grand opening of the facility, marked a new chapter for the local Hindu community in the city. First president at the 999 St. Anne's Rd. facility, Bhadresh Bhatt said the space has served the community well over the past 20 years. Former HSM trustee Dr. Raj Pandey, who gave a donation of $1 million, the largest contribution to the HSM for the building of the facility, echoed a similar sentiment. BROOK JONES / FREE PRESS Raj Pandey (centre), a former trustee with the Hindu Society of Manitoba and the largest finanical donor for the Hindu Temple & Dr. Raj Pandey Hindu Centre; Bhadresh Bhatt (right), former president of the Hindu Society of Manitoba and who was the first president of the Hindu Temple & Dr. Raj Pandey Hindu Centre, and Ajay Pandey (left), join community members in a procession around the temple called Parikrama where people walk clockwise around a sacred place. 'It has served the needs of the community and gone beyond expectations… there is the library, gymnasium and cultural hall. There are now activities about seven days a week. There is so much going on, it really served the community very good,' he said. Referring to building capacity, both Bhatt and Pandey point out due to the increased community population, more space is required to accommodate their growing numbers and needs. 'We can feel that there are times when we need more space than what the property can provide us,' Pandey added, which suggests a third temple will soon be needed for the community. Recognizing the HSM was outgrowing its first temple and cultural centre at 854 Ellice Ave., during the late 1980s, the organization began contemplating a second, larger facility in the city. Bhatt said in 1992, the HSM purchased the land at the St. Anne's Road location from a Jehovah Witness group. BROOK JONES / FREE PRESS Members drum while chanting during a procession around the temple called Parikrama. 'We looked at other locations… but we thought this would be the best option considering the community in that part of the city, Winnipeg south and Winnipeg south centre, was growing,' he said, adding the other locations did not have services available at that time. Despite deep deliberations in the community about building a second temple on St. Anne's Road, at the HSM April 2000 annual general meeting, it was passed to proceed with this project. 'We had our doubts when we started this process how many people will come this far. Now, we are running short of space. But we are happy to see that the space is being used almost everyday,' Bhatt said. Activities taking place at the 999 St. Anne's Rd. facility include: regular Sunday service, religious festivals, Dr. Madhuri Jain Vidya Bhavan School, lectures by visiting speakers, musical performances, cultural shows, sports activities and tournaments, weddings, wellness group, and activities hosted by other local Hindu groups. The St. Anne's Road facility is the outcome of tireless efforts by community members who were mapping out the future vison of the HSM. A number of those senior members are no longer present. Because of their dedication and devotion, this facility has been left, as a legacy, for the next generation to preserve Hindu culture and heritage as well as the history of this community in Winnipeg. BROOK JONES / FREE PRESS Community members play drums while chanting during a procession around the temple called Parikrama where people walk clockwise around a sacred place. Sundays Kevin Rollason's Sunday newsletter honouring and remembering lives well-lived in Manitoba. By building a temple on land that was previously held by another religious group, who were planning to erect their own place of worship in the same space, the community felt it made a good decision and has a blessed location. Pandey said his inclination to contribute to the organization connected to a vision for broader uses of the facility. 'My involvement was to help the community, to bring the community together and to have a place where people can go, not necessarily only for the prayers. People can go and meet each other there. It has served a tremendous amount as a community centre. If you visit the downstairs of the temple, you will find a wellness group, there are sports taking place andcultural activities…This is for the larger community. My main objective was to do something for the community. The building has served this purpose and for this concern, I am very happy'. The 999 St. Anne's Rd. facility exists as a community space striving to support the religious, spiritual, cultural, educational and mental needs of its members, whether it is for kids, families, seniors or newcomers. Today, at a time of much strife and stress in our world, our communities depend on such spaces. The facility, indeed, has been a welcoming space over the past 20 years for the Hindu community and the public at-large. As Pandey said, 'this is a place where you don't need an invitation… This is a place where you go at the lowest point in your life, when something is wrong in your life and you don't know where to turn or what to do. On the other end, this is a place to celebrate the most important things in your life, weddings and the birth of children. It doesn't matter what state of life you are in. It is a place to go.' Romona Goomansingh, PhD, is an educator, freelance writer and author in Winnipeg BROOK JONES / FREE PRESS Hindu Society of Manitoba president Anita Roy (centre) joins community members in a procession around the temple called Parikrama where people walk clockwise around a sacred place. BROOK JONES / FREE PRESS Bhadresh Bhatt, former president of the Hindu Society of Manitoba BROOK JONES / FREE PRESS Community members break coconuts which symbolizes devotion to God, spitural growth and seeking blessings. The Free Press is committed to covering faith in Manitoba. If you appreciate that coverage, help us do more! Your contribution of $10, $25 or more will allow us to deepen our reporting about faith in the province. Thanks! BECOME A FAITH JOURNALISM SUPPORTER
