A worship center a New Jersey-based Hindu organization plans for the former St. Stanislaus Church in North Scranton will be its first in Northeastern Pennsylvania.
The center, or mandir, will serve about 25 area families who are followers of BAPS Swaminarayan Sanstha, said Lenin Joshi, a spokesman at the organization’s U.S. headquarters in Piscataway, N.J.
The organization — its full name is Bochasanwasi Shri Akshar Purushottam Swaminarayan Sanstha — purchased the former Catholic church on Oak Street in January for $170,000.
“God is still going to be in that place, and prayers are still going to continue,” Mr. Joshi said. “That is the good thing.”
According to its Web site, BAPS is a socio-spiritual organization with its roots in the Vedas, or the main scriptural texts of Hinduism. Established in 1907 by Swami Yagnapurushdas, it has more than 1 million followers worldwide.
Mr. Joshi said the plans for the St. Stanislaus property have not been finalized, but he believed the church building and adjacent hall will be preserved. The mandir will have need for classroom space.
“We don’t know how much work will be required to make it ready for use,” he said.
BAPS followers will worship there weekly, and there will be classes where younger adherents can learn about Indian life and culture, as well as the organization’s values.
Since there is no mandir nearby, BAPS followers in the area now gather for their weekly services in individual homes — a situation Mr. Joshi described as less than ideal.
It will be the third BAPS mandir in Pennsylvania. The others are in Levittown and Hatfield, both outside Philadelphia.
– Courtesy of The Times-Tribune
