Hindu temple honors revered leader

FAITHFUL—From left, Ravindran Varadarajan, Raghavapillal Manavalan, Shipa Zed, Rajan Zed, Nadadur Varadan and Koka Venkatesh gather at the Malibu Hindu Temple at a recent event to honor reknown leader Rajan Zed for his contributions to the Hindu community. The well-known temple is on Las Virgenes Road in Calabasas. Acclaimed Indo-American leader Rajan Zed was honored by the Malibu Hindu Temple in Calabasas on Aug. 9 for his service to the Hindu and Indo-American community and his contributions to interfaith dialogue.

Temple president Nadadur Varadan presented Zed with a shawl and a fruit basket and applauded his various achievements. Chief Priest Narasimha Bhattar recited special blessing prayers in front of the sanctum of Lord Venkateswara.

Other temple leaders who took part in the welcoming included pooja director Koka Venkatesh and temple vice presidents Ravindran Varadarajan and Raghavapillai Manavalan.

Among other topics, Zed discussed the raising of Hindu children outside India and how Hindus can contribute to their local community.

Zed was the first man ever to read a Hindu prayer in the United States Senate. He also recited Hindu prayers in the state capitols of California, Arizona, Washington, Utah, New Mexico and Nevada. He is president of Universal Society of Hinduism, spiritual advisor to the National Association of Interchurch and Interfaith Families, and director of Interfaith Relations of the Nevada Clergy Association. He's also one of the panelists for "On Faith," an interactive conversation about religion produced jointly by Newsweek and washingtonpost.com.

The Hindu Temple in Calabasas was founded in 1977 and is owned by the Hindu Temple Society of Southern California. Built according to the Chola style by prominent Indian temple architect S.M. Muthiah Sthapathi, the structure is said to be one of the most authentic Hindu temples in the western hemisphere.

The upper complex has Lord Venkateswara as the presiding deity and the lower complex has Lord Shiva as the presiding deity. There are shrines for other deities throughout the 4.5-acre complex on Las Virgenes Canyon Road.