Dr. Avnish Lugani, born in 1933 in India, was since 2015 the president of the temple committee of the Sri Ganesha Hindu community eV in Berlin. He emigrated with his family to Germany in 1965 and has long practiced as a veterinarian. His engagement with the Hindu tradition and religion sprang from the desire to preserve the his homeland’s culture and religion in a foreign country and to convey this to his children born in Germany. Together with other countrymen and women Dr. Lugani began to build a community that has become stronger over time. To facilitate its meetings, the community first rented some spaces in the city and eventually decided to build a Hindu temple on a plot in Hasenheide park. Dr. Lugani worked for many years with Ayurvedic medicine, one of the first in Germany, he also did research with Vedic knowledge, especially with Homa (Yagya) rituals. Dr. Lugani has two children, who also live in Berlin.

Approximately 6.000 Hindus live in Berlin today. They’ve been waiting for several years for the completion of the second largest Hindu temple in Europe, which is being built now on a plot in Hasenheide park in Neukölln. For now the community gathers in an old sports hall, which was renovated by the Sri Ganesha community of Berlin and serves as a meeting place and a place of worship. Every day pujas are held, church services in the Hindu tradition. The Sri Ganesha community is, as the name suggests, dedicated to Sri Ganesh, the god of wisdom and bliss.

Music

Links:

Website of the Temple

http://www.indienhaus.de/