17th HMEC Conference and 11th HPPC Held in Raleigh, NC

The 17th Hindu Mandir Empowerment Council Conference (HMEC) and 11th Hindu Mandir Priests’ Conference (HMPC) was held at the Hindu Society of North Carolina, Raleigh, North Carolina on September 27th, 28th and 29th 2024. There were over 65 temples that participated across North America and the Caribbean Islands and Bharat.

This year, there were 18 sponsors, mainly from the USA and Canada. Despite inclement weather conditions, we had over 150 delegates from across 50 organizations that participated in the conference.

The theme for this year’s conference was “Hindu Diaspora: Deepening Their Sanatan Dharma Roots”. Over the years, the relation of the Hindu diaspora and Bharat and the Bharatiya Sanskriti has changed. The 17th HMEC and 11th HMPC helped the temple management, priests and organization leaders understand the changes and ways to keep connected with our roots so that our youth is able to understand and navigate to make the connection as they grow and forge their own bonds in the community.

In the Inaugural session held on September 27th 2024, the Deep Prajwalan and Swasti Vachan was done by the local Priests for a successful three d ay conference. All the delegates were warmly welcomed by our Grand Host, Hindu Society of North Carolina in a heart-warming speech by Shri Manoj Pandya. Next Smt. Tejal A. Shah, Jt. General Secretary of World Hindu Council of America (VHPA) and Convener of HMEC gave a welcome speech in which she highlighted all the work done by HMEC in the past 16 years and what was the goal of this conference.

This year HMEC was blessed to have two esteemed Keynote speakers; Dr. Tony Nader, President of the Maharishi International University and A successor of Maharishi Shri Mahesh Yogi Ji. He spoke about the Intersection of Tradition and Modernity. Next, Sadhvi Bhagawati Saraswati, International Director of Parmarth Niketan, Rishikesh, Bharat talked about Preservation and Transmission of Vedic knowledge.

The plenary session this year, set the tone of the conference. The sessions address key points through a great lineup of speakers and panelists. The First session addressed the Evolution (sustenance) of Sanatan Dharma in the Diaspora. Smt. Vallabha Tantry from the Hindu Society of Minnesota was the moderator for this session. The session was kicked off by Kumari Drishti Patel from BAPS followed by Shri Frank ‘Gopal’ Cohen from ISKCON who spoke about Evolution, Adaptation and Growth of Dharma. Swamini Shraddhananda Saraswati spoke about Evolution for American practicing Hindus. Shri Sanjay Mehta talked about the Basics of Hindu Dharma in modern context.

The Second session talked about the Challenges and Opportunities in Sustaining Dharma. The moderator for this session was Shri Vishal Agarwal from the Hindu Society of Minnesota. Dr. Arpan Yagnik from Pennsylvania State University explained the Challenges faced by Hindus in the Diaspora in maintaining Sanatan Dharma. Shri Shajive Jeggannathan from the Hindu Society of Minnesota explained Strategies for addressing these Challenges. (TBD from the Hindu University of America spoke about the Opportunities of Spiritual growth and cultural preservation by Academics in Dharma Knowledge). Shri Gadi Das Magyer from the Murari Sanctuary in Tennessee spoke of the Opportunities while Respecting Traditions – Gaushala.

The Third session was a panel discussion focused on Dharma Education and K to 12th Education. This session was moderated by Smt. Aparna Amin. Our panelists were Shri Tushar Barot from Humanity International, Dr. Pankaj Parikh from Hindu Dharma and History workshop, Pandit Gyan Prakash Upadhyay from the Vedic heritage School and Smt. Falguni Pandya from Namaste Global. These panelists were joined by a local Hindu school representative. The main discussion in this panel was the different types of work done by all these organizations to help keep our Hindu students connected to our roots as much as possible while understanding and helping them navigate the challenges faced in regular schools/universities.

Session Four spoke about Socio cultural issues and their proposed solutions. The moderator for this session was Captain Manohar Mahajan, Chair, Board of Director of the International Hindu University. Shri Rana Reddy a student of Duke University, North Carolina presented on the Socio-cultural issues from Mandir and Youth point of view. Smt. Shama Mehta from North American Hindu Chaplains Association (NAHCA) and Michigan Medicine spoke about Hospital and Jail Chaplaincy. Shri Swami Svatmananda Ji from Arsh Vidya Gurukulam, Pennsylvania created and presented a Mental Wellness Manual. Smt. Madhu Sharma announced the launch of Spiritual Care for the Community. HMEC and other Partners have announced a Spiritual Care Coach program. In this program, anyone can be trained to become a Spiritual Care Coach.

We were blessed and honored to receive blessings from Param Pujya Shri Shantananda Swami Ji from Chinmaya Vrindavan, New Jersey.

Session Five revolved around Community Building and Services (Sewa). This Session was moderated by Shri Naga Rajan Ji. Shri Lalit Mahadeshwar from Hindu Society of North Carolina spoke about the Hindu Meal Program in local schools. Shri Madhav Enaganti from the Hindu Swayamsevak Sangh and Sewa International talked about Sewa Diwali. Smt. Devyani Desai from Florida spoke about Hindu Matrimonial. Smt. Deepa Karthik from HinduPACT talked about HinduVote. Shri Upendra Shelar from HOMA, Pennsylvania spoke about HOMA. Shri Vipul Patel from Gayatri Chetna Center, New Jersey spoke about Performing Weddings and other Samskaras as Sewa. Smt. Sunita Agarwal from Hindu Temple of Dayton, Ohio spoke about Festivals and Hindu Heritage Month (HHM) Celebrations with Community Service Providers. Shri Suresh Lohiya from Hindu Temple of Irvine, California talked about a Devotee owned Temple.

Session Six, Part one and two were Panels mainly consisting of Priests. Part one was moderated by Shri Laxmi Bhamidipati and was about Temple Management and Priest relations; gaps and opportunities. This panel was constituted by Pandit Murali Bhattar, Pandit Rajendra Joshi, Pandit Keshava and Pandit Balaji Varadarajan. Two suggestions were made, one on educating priests to expand their community impact beyond spiritual services, and another on the expectations of both management and priests. Emphasized the importance of understanding the expectations from both sides to improve communication and coordination. 

Part two was moderated by Shri Dhanesh Budhram and was about “Why understanding Community Services, Advocacy and Spiritual Care Taker Role is important for Priests. An interactive panel was designed to engage the audience and provide a unified answer from the Priests on these matters. The panel consisted of Pandit Shreyas Joshi, Pandit Madan Gopala Dasa, Pandit Jayesh Vyas, Pandit Mukundan and Pandit Krishna Kumar. The team discussed effective communication when addressing sensitive topics like interfaith weddings and caste issues. A Code of Conduct booklet to be developed.

There was a poster session where different individuals/organizations can bring their posters and display it and explain what their poster is about.

The Seventh session was about Advocacy – Hindu Hate/Hinduphobia/Hindudvesha. It was a panel discussion that touched on various Advocacy topics like SB403/Caste as the Classified Class, Mandir Vandalism, Difference between Swastika and Hakenkreuz, Holiday for Diwali. The moderator for this panel was Pandit Satish Sharma. The panelists were Shri Ajay Shah from HinduPACT, Shri Utsav Chakravarthi from HinduAction, Shri Sangeeta Sarkar from Hindu American Foundation and Shri Mohinder Gulati from Global Hindu Temple Network.

This day was concluded by a Community event which consisted of Welcome speech by Shri Sajjan Agarwal, the Chairman of the Hindu Society of North Carolina; Ram JanmaBhoomi Celebrations across the USA by Shri Amitabh Mittal, General Secretary of VHPA, Hindu Diaspora and Mandirs Across the Globe (outside Bharat) by Mananiya Milind Parande Ji from Vishwa Hindu Parishad, Bharat; Hindu University of America activities overview by Shri Kalyan Viswanathan, President of the Hindu University of America and Presidential Remark by Shri Ajay Shah, President of VHPA. This was followed by a lively cultural program.

Our last session took place on Sunday, which was about Youth Engagement and Empowerment. This session was moderated by Kumari Priya Amaresh. This session discussed strategies for engaging and empowering the youth in Hindu communities in the diaspora to connect with their cultural and spiritual heritage. Explore the role of education, mentorship, and community involvement in fostering the next generation of leaders committed to upholding Sanatan Dharma values. Mandirs ought to establish strong bonds with Hindu students in nearby colleges and universities. This can be done by establishing and nourishing Hindu Chaplains (or spiritual care givers), establishing a regular food program or even a host family program. The speakers in this session were Shri Sudi Thota (Geeta Pariksha student), Kumari Siddhi Tantry (Hindu Society of Minnesota), Kumari Vasundhara Pathak (Hindu Yuva), Kumari Arushi Ramka (Hindu Students Council), Kumari Shraddha Upadhyay (VHPA Atlanta), Shri Shashank Bhattar (Hindu Society of Minnesota).

We had the HMEC team advisory committee members talk about how far HMEC has come in the last Seventeen years. The esteemed Priests were awarded for their years of hard work towards our Dharma.

There were two awards given to Key Contributors who have supported the HMEC all along. They are Stephan KnapJi (Nandnandan DasJi) from Michigan,  and Arunima SinhaJi from South Carolina.