ANDOVER, MA–Greater Boston witnessed one of the biggest Car Rallies by Hindu American Community on Saturday. It had about 250 plus cars and over 500 attendees. Rally had a total distance of 70+ miles, stopping at five temples enroute. It was also one of the longest such rallies in the United States, according to organizers.
Drivers braved frigid 16-degree F (minus 10 Celsius) temperatures and chili winds to participate in the rally to celebrate the inauguration of the Ram Mandir in Ayodhya (Birth place of Lord Rama).
The rally started at 7:30 AM after Puja from Sri Chinmaya Maruti mandir in Andover, Massachusetts. It then continued to ISSO Swaminarayan Mandir at the riverfront in Lowell, Shri Radha Damodar Mandir in Shrewsbury, Sri Radha Krishna Mandir in Northborough and concluded at Sri Lakshmi Temple in Ashland.
Devotees from several other mandirs: BAPS in Lowell, Satsang in Woburn, Dwarkamai temple in Billerica, Sarv Dev Mandir in Oxford and Sri Raghavendra Swami Matha, Shri Gita Mandir in Shrewsbury joined the main rally at one of the stopping points which added to the enthusiasm of the rally participants.
At each stopping point, several youths representing the rally read out an invitation to the mandir to participate in the festivities related to the inauguration of the Ram Mandir. Temples and every Hindu American is suggested to do puja-archana to the temple deity, light five diyas (Diwali), kirtan-bhajan, recitation of Hanuman Chalisa, ringing of bells and watching the online broadcast of the Pran Pratishta (consecration) at the newly built Ram Mandir in Ayodhya at 12:30 PM IST on January 22nd, 2024.
The youths also read out brief statements about the divine qualities of Bhagwan Ram such as courage, sacrifice, justice, compassion, ideal behavior, and good governance (Ram Rajya) and how his example has influenced the culture in many southeast Asian countries. They carried a small gift package containing Jap Malas, Hanuman Chalisa and a token cash offering. The temples received them warmly and welcomed them with Kirtan, tilak and Prasad.
Participating temples received Rally participants with open heart and festivities. At ISSO, the resident Vivek swami blessed them and spoke about imbibing core qualities of Shree Ram. At India Heritage foundation in Shrewsbury all Rally Participants received a copy of GITA and other books. At Sri Lakshmi temple, everyone also received a Jap Mala to take home for doing their Japa of “Shri Ram Jai Ram Jai Jai Ram”.
The cars were decorated with orange color flags and bright signs of orange color proclaiming Jai Shri Ram (which can be translated as victory to the virtues because Ram is considered to be a symbol of virtues). When the Police departments in the four towns through which the rally was to pass were contacted regarding the rally, they were extremely cooperative and welcoming, signifying the excellent reputation the Indian community has with the law enforcement authorities.
The rally was organized by volunteers from several dharmic organizations such as Vishwa Hindu Parishad of America (VHPA), Hindu Swayamsevak Sangh (HSS) and many Hindu temples.
