Sixteenth Annual HMEC Held in New Jersey

The sixteenth HMEC (Hindu Mandir Executives’ Conference, now Hindu Mandir Empowerment Council) was held at DoubleTree by Hilton, Monroe Township, New Jersey on September 29th, 30th and October 1st 2023. In the past 15 years, over 200 Temples have participated across North America and the Caribbean Islands and Bharat.

This year, there were 10 Hosts and Co-Hosts of the conference mainly from the USA and Canada. Approximately 200 adult and youth delegates from over 70 organizations and four countries participated in the conference.

The theme for the conference was: “Hindu Mandir – A community anchor in changing times.” Hindu temples are facing challenges due to the changing nature of technology and society that affect the traditional beliefs and practices. The 16th HMEC enabled Hindu leaders to focus on how to make the temple a stable center for our community by the means of temple management, youth engagement, religious programs, Balvihars and serving seniors and society.

In the inaugural session, held on September 29th 2023, the Deep Prajwalan was done by Swami Svatmananda Ji, Sriman Murali Bhattar Ji, Swami Vigyanananda Ji and Shri Abhay Asthana Ji along with the Swasti Vachchan done by all the attending Priests to give blessings for a successful 3-day conference. We were warmly welcomed by our Grand Host team, BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Mandir, Robbinsville. Next, Smt. Tejal Shah, Joint General Secretary of VHPA and Convenor of HMEC, gave a welcome speech in which she highlighted how far we have come in the last 15 years and what was our goal for this conference.

The HMEC Keynote speech was given by Swami Svatmananda Ji from Arsh Vidya Gurukulam and the HMPC Keynote speech was given by Shri Murali Bhattar Ji from Hindu Society of Minnesota. The special guest address was given by Shri Swami Vigyanananda Ji, founder and global chairman of World Hindu Foundation (WHF).

The plenary sessions on Friday, September 29th 2023 set the stage for the rest of the conference. Sessions addressed key points through a great lineup of speakers: Evolving Role of Priests by Shri Anant Dixit, Emotional health and Spiritual care by Smt. Madhu Sharma, Mandir involvement in community Seva projects by Brahmchari Suryanarayan Ji, meeting spiritual need of seniors in community by Shri Ashwani Kumar (covered by Smt. Sunita Agarwal), Sanatani Heart Healthy Lifestyle by Shri Laxman Prajapat & Happy and Healthy Family (Key to a Peaceful Society) by Shri Yoginder Gupta. This session was closed by the introduction of the Sponsors by Smt. Tejal Shah. This was followed by a presentation on Temple Management Software and dinner by Shri Ravi Pulipaka.

The next day started bright and early on Saturday, September 30th 2023 with Yoga, Prayer and meditation. Then the session began which covered an array of topics under the umbrella of “Mandir and Dharma Education”, a panel discussion moderated by Smt. Sahana Singh. The topics included, Approaching the educational system by Smt. Deepa Karthik, Dharma activities through Dayton Hindu Temple for local Educational Institutions by Smt. Sunita Agarwal, Priest engagement and help in the Interfaith community by Shri Madana-gopala Dasa, Challenges and Opportunities faced by youth by Kumar Ravi Kheradia and Kumari Uma Kalluparambil & HMEC and HUA partnership by Shri Kalyan Viswanathan.

The next session was divided in two parts, “Mandir’s role in Dharma Advocacy Part I and Part II”, both moderated by Smt. Vallabha Tantry. The topics in Part I included: Mandir and Public Engagement by Shri Thanedar (covered by Smt. Vallabha Tantry), Electoral advocacy and Voter registration drives in Mandirs by Smt. Shruti Parikh, How to Navigate Public engagement as 501 (c) (3) by Padma Bhushan Ved Nanda ji & leveraging federal grants and strengthening the Hindu community and Dharmic centers by Shri Prem Pusuloori.

The Part II of the session covered Impact of Caste resolution on Mandirs by Shri Ajay Shah, Social issues and impact on Mandirs by Shri Satish Sharma (who traveled from UK to be a part of the HMEC) & Writing grants for Temple security – Physical violence, Hinduphobia by Dr. Smt. Anita Gupta.

After these sessions, we broke into groups to attend the Parallel sessions “Sustainability of Dharmic institutions/Mandirs”. The topics for the Parallel sessions were as follows:

Effective Fundraising, Financial Stability Fund

Priest education for American-born Hindus

Unity and C collaboration across Mandirs (regional and national)

Seeking and engaging volunteers; internal and external to mandirs, youth program internship, Eco Dharma – Go green initiative (Reduce, Reuse and Recycle)

The HMEC delegates had a special invitation to the “Festival of Inspiration: Celebrate Sanatan Dharma” – The Inauguration celebration of one of the largest Mandirs in the World, Maha Mandir Akshardham, Robbinsville. We were invited for the Temple Tour and Mahas Yagna. We also attended the Sabha where we had the honor to see HH Mahant Swami Maharaj. The Priests  and HH Mahant Swami Maharaj blessed the inauguration of October as Hindu Heritage Month. Some of our esteemed delegates had the opportunity to do the Deep Prajwalan at the Sabha and also to speak at the Sabha. This blessed day ended with an open Networking session.

We began October 1st 2023 by Prayers, Deep Prajwalan and Bhav Geet and began HMEC concluding session. The ArchakaBhushan and ArchakaShri awarding ceremony was performed. There was a special HMEC recognition for key contribution, awarded to Shri Sant Gupta from the Durga Temple, Hindu Society of North Carolina & Mananiya Hiranya Gowda (accepted by Shri Saraswati Gowda) from Ganesh Temple, Tennessee.

Since its inception, HMEC has bred many worthwhile projects and initiatives. Among them are HMPC (Hindu Mandir Priests’ Conference), WHC (World Hindu Congress) and Publication of Sanskar books. A presentation was made on the Sanskar books, existing and upcoming by Shri Deepak Kotwal and Shri Sanjay Mehta.

HMEC 2023 was then summarized by Dr. Smt. Anita Gupta and Shri Laxmi Bhamidipati followed by the announcement of HMEC 2024 at the Hindu Society of North Carolina at Raleigh, NC. Parting thoughts were shared by VHPA President Shri Ajay Shah, where he announced that the Hindu Mandir Executives’ Conference will now be the Hindu Mandir Empowerment Council along with a new logo to signify the new beginning.

The conclusion of HMEC 2023 was followed by the inaugural function of Hindu Heritage Month.

The Hindu Mandir Empowerment Council is an attempt to unify all Hindu Organizations and make us stronger.

You can follow HMEC on different social media channels. Our handles are:

Facebook – Hindu Mandir Empowerment Council

Instagram – @hmec_vhpa

X (Formerly known as Twitter) – @HMEC_VHPA

The action items from this conference:

Organize webinars for the topics that Mandirs need guidance on.

Sanskar books to be launched in 2024 as explained by Shri Deepak Kotwal

Health and diet along with Sanatan Dharma and Satvik movement

Priests continuing education (non-ritualistic) workshop; Communication, contemporary issues, social issues etc.

Compilation of a list of books displayed at the conference along with the websites to purchase them from

Contact Details:

Smt. Tejal Shah – tejal.shah@vhp-america.org (Ph # 201-757-8491)

Smt. Niyati Vasani – niyati.vasani@vhp-america.org (Ph # 201-993-4048)

HMEC

The vision of HMEC is to be the network of Hindu Organizations for effective leadership generation to generation in North America. Representatives from Hindu temples and institutions meet to deliberate and solve issues collectively. This conference provides a great opportunity to community leaders to learn from each other and ultimately grow as one community. The World Hindu Council of America (VHPA), founded in 1970 and incorporated in the state of New York, is an independent, nonprofit, tax- exempt and volunteer-based charitable organization serving the needs of Hindu community in USA. It aims to build a dynamic and vibrant Hindu society rooted in the eternal values of Dharma and inspired by the lofty ideal of Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam, i.e. the entire creation is one family.  For more information on VHPA, please write to gensecy@vhp-america.org or visit www.vhp-america.org

II Narayanaya Namah, Namo Arihantanam, Buddham Sharanam Gachhami, Sat Sri Akal II

HMEC – An Initiative of World Hindu Council of America (VHPA) 
https://hmec.info