Atlantic Hindu Temple wraps up 5-day consecration ceremony Monday

The south Indian population is growing in Nova Scotia and now a new temple is opening for anyone seeking comfort and spirituality.

The first South Indian Hindu Temple in Atlantic Canada will wrap up its Grand Kumbhabhishekam – a five-day celebration and consecration ceremony on Monday.

Vijey Nathan, the founder and director of the Halifax temple, said opening and consecrating the temple is a major milestone for Atlantic Hindu Society, a non-profit that started with a vision to bring a place of worship to the region in 2017.

“This event embodies years of dedication, grassroots unity, and spiritual aspiration,” Nathan said in an email to CTV News. “With over 1,000 participants expected and culminating in a major ceremonial finale, this celebration is not only a religious milestone but also a testament to intercultural harmony and community resilience in our growing city.”

Nathan’s wife and co-founder Dr. Viji Nathan said Hinduism is an ancient religion.

“We see God in the spirit of nature,” she said.

Nathan said bringing the temple to Halifax was a collective effort and he’s grateful to everyone who’s helped and for the support from the province.

“They have worked for the last eight, nine years to make this happen,” he said. “The public, volunteers and especially priests. All of our local priests are volunteer priests. They were helping us from the beginning.”

Nathan said Hindu faithful across Atlantic Canada have been missing the opportunity to worship like they would in their countries of origin.

“This is going to bring a lot of people into Halifax and they will stay here,” he said.

Viji said she was happy to see immigrant doctors moving to Nova Scotia.

“Nova Scotians are very welcoming and very supportive to the new immigrants from all over the world.”

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