Council of the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead in England’s Berkshire has reportedly given the nod to grant a 125 year ground lease at a peppercorn to Hindu Society of Maidenhead (HSM) for a Hindu Community Centre for £73,000, conditional on their obtaining planning permission.
HSM, a charity, wants to “promote the Hindu religion, Hindu culture and its values in Maidenhead” and is “dedicated to providing the religious, cultural and social services” to the members. Currently, it reportedly meets monthly in a school and celebrates various festivals around the year, organizes Mata-Ki-Chowki, meditation sessions, etc.
Meanwhile, Hindu statesman Rajan Zed, in a statement in Nevada (USA) today, thanked the Council for clearing the way for the Hindu Community Centre and commended efforts of temple leaders and area community towards realizing this Centre.
Rajan Zed, who is President of Universal Society of Hinduism, further said that it was important to pass on Hindu spirituality, concepts and traditions to coming generations amidst so many distractions in the consumerist society and hoped that this Centre would help in this direction. Zed stressed that instead of running after materialism; we should focus on inner search and realization of Self and work towards achieving moksh (liberation), which was the goal of Hinduism.
“We organize 12 themed events every year. Each event has a cultural element, social activity and lunch”, HSM website says, and adds; “We are a collective voice for Hindus in the local community and have interfaith representation”.
Mohan Malhotra is the President, while members of HSM working committee include Padam Kashyap, Yash Maudgil, Swati Rao, Kailash Ratti, Rajinder Sharma, Seema Sharma and Shashi Vij.
Simon Dudley is Chairman of the Cabinet of Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead. Maidenhead is on the west bank of River Thames.