CANTON, MI, USA, May 12, 2009: Hundreds of people celebrated the ground-breaking of a $7.8-million expansion of the Canton Hindu Temple with special prayers and ceremonies. “We all prayed for happiness, to be free from distress and to see auspiciousness everywhere,” said the temple’s head priest, Shiv Kumar Bhat. “Nobody should be unhappy.”
Several Hindu priests conducted Vedic rites during the three days known as Bhoomi Puja that started Friday evening and were set to end Sunday night. Hindu leaders from across the country gathered to help and to deliver lectures about Hinduism. The temple is one of several Hindu centers in metro Detroit that have been expanded or founded in recent years, including ones in Novi, Detroit, Pontiac, Troy and Sterling Heights.