Harare Hindus plan wide-ranging activities during 2023

Hindu Society Harare (HSH) in Zimbabwe seems to have lined-up extensive religious and social activities, projects, celebrations during 2023.

These include three daily aartis; twice-weekly yoga classes; weekly havans, Gayatri Pariwar prayer session, Mahila Mandal, Satya Sai Bhajans, Krishnanand Saraswati Prathana, Pushpanjli Bhajans, Art of Living, Swaminarayan Satsang Sabha, Hindu Bhajan Mandal, Shishu Yuvak Mandal, Shivyog.

In 2026, HSH will be celebrating 100 years of existence since its founding in 1926. To commemorate this event, HSH plans to publish a book documenting events, photos and various milestones during the last 100 years. It has appealed to the community to contribute photos and documents relating to various milestone events since its 1926 formation; including festival celebrations, religious events, temple and school construction, etc.

HSH organized various charity donations for children, cancer care, and others during 2022. It runs two temples in Harare, Ridgeview Shree Omkar Mandir and Cameron Street Shree Omkar Mandir. It has medical equipment and reportedly provides emergency care to the community.

It also runs an ECD Department, Westridge Primary School, Westridge High School; producing high-achiever students in academic, cultural and sports arenas. Its ECD Centre is complete with computer, art and music classrooms; swimming; tennis lessons; dancing lessons; and organizes Fancy Dress Day. Pass rates of Westridge High School have been reportedly mostly 100%. It also runs a Gujarati School; which besides teaching Gujarati language, also organizes havan, yoga, religious talks and dance classes.

It regularly holds religious activities/celebrations like Navaratri, Sharad Purnima, Diwali Mela & Puja, Makar Sankranti, Vasant Panchmi, etc., and plans to organize Maha Shivratri, Holi, Dhuleti, Ram Navami, Hanuman Jayanti, in the near future. HSH reportedly organized four-hours long Diwali Mela (fair) on October 22 in Harare celebrating Diwali, the most popular festival of Hindus; and it included fireworks, entertainment and food-stalls.

Cameron Street Shree Omkar Mandir celebrated 90th anniversary in February 2019, while 25th anniversary of Ridgeview Shree Omkar Mandir was observed in 2017.

In the past, HSH reportedly had been conducting various bhajan events, twice-weekly yoga classes, Hindi lessons, cultural/social activities; organized daily aarti at both the temples with Havan on Sundays; and offered funeral assistance for bereaved families; etc.; besides running Mahila Mandal, Shishu Mandal and Yuvak Mandal.

Hindu statesman Rajan Zed, in a statement in Nevada (USA) today, commended HSH for engaging the community all these years; and for its efforts to keep the Hindu spirituality, concepts and traditions alive; and attempting to pass these on to the coming generations amidst so many distractions in the consumerist society.

Zed, who is President of Universal Society of Hinduism, also suggested Hindus to focus on inner search, stay pure, explore the vast wisdom of scriptures, make spirituality more attractive to youth and children, stay away from greed, and always keep God in your life.

Hindus are God's people, full of courage and generosity, Rajan Zed added.

"Let us pray for a peaceful world. Let us care deeply for those in need. Let us educate our children for a future for all"; a statement in a recent HSH Newsletter reads.

Hinduism is the oldest and third largest religion of the world with about 1.2 billion adherents, and moksh (liberation) is its ultimate goal.