FLORIDA, UNITED STATES, 5 July, 2005: The Swaminarayan Hindu Temple in Polk County was formally consecrated last Sunday concluding five days of ceremonies. His Holiness, Acharya Maharajshree Koshalendraprasadji Maharaj, presided over the final act of consecration. The consecration of a Swaminarayan temple saw devotees from as far away as Detroit and Houston and the United Kingdom. The temple, along the New Tampa Highway, is the only Hindu temple in Florida dedicated to the worship of Lord Swaminarayan. The 20,000-square-foot building, was purchased about two years ago by the local Hindu community in Polk County who are Indians from Gujarat. Nimesh Kanbi, 22, a student at the University of Canterbury who arrived with his extended family from London for the consecration ceremony, said temples serve to keep Hindu traditions and identity alive among young people, who often find their customs at odds with Western ways. “You have to keep your identity, but you have to keep your faith as well,” he said.
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