BELTSVILLE, Md. (RNS) — After more than a decade of grassroots fundraising efforts, the Jain Society of Metropolitan Washington has officially opened a new community temple complex — a $14 million white marble marvel located just 15 minutes away from the nation’s capital.
“You will see a theme here: White is our color,” said Rahul Jain, longtime devotee and head of public relations for the 45-year-old organization. “Everything is white, which symbolizes peace. This Jain center will become a symbol of peace in Washington, D.C.”
On the weekend of May 31, thousands of Jain Americans from the capital region and beyond gathered in celebration of the temple’s Param Pratishtha — the inauguration ceremony in which divine essence is officially infused into the worship space. Dressed in the sacred colors of yellow and white, families chanted and chatted with loved ones, some breaking their fasts on the auspicious occasion.
For 40 years, the community had gathered in a nearby single-family home built in the 1960s, as well as a few elementary school classrooms, to meet its spiritual needs, including a thriving Sunday school program that teaches 170 kids from ages 3 to 16. Though local Hindu temples have offered to include a Jain deity or two in their worship space …