Serving the Hindu community in Australia

Welcome to the website of the Australian Council of Hindu Clergy. We are a council of Hindu priests, monks, nuns, astrologers and preachers (kathakaras) coming from a wide range of backgrounds:— India, Srilanka, Nepal, Fiji and South Africa and practicing throughout Australia. We are dedicated to the service of the Hindu community at large  and the promotion of the Hindu Dharma in general and have been operating since 1989.
We are here to help you to celebrate your festivals and observe  your sacraments such as birth, marriage and funerals etc. As well as playing a role in educating and instructing the community in all matters pertaining to the theory and practice of the Dharma.

Application for Clergy Membership
Download an application form, fill it in, scan and send it to us by email.
To download an application form click HERE

Marriage Equality

Our official position on the Marriage Equality debate is that marriage,  (vivaha) as defined by Hindu Dharma Shastras is between a man and a woman for the purpose of performing their duties (dharma) i.e. fulfilling their obligations towards their families, societies, professions and the environment. For the birthing and raising of worthy progeny  (praja)  and companionship (Sahatva) in all the above.

We understand marriage according to the Australian secular Law is NOT a sacrament (samskara), and it is about the legal union of two persons and involves social security,  inheritance of property, legal and human rights and social privileges. It has nothing to do with vivaha as interpreted by Shastra — the two concepts are separate — the religious vs the secular.

We affirm that the samskara (religious sacrament) of vivaha (Hindu Marriage) is technically between a Hindu man and woman and not applicable to same sex couples — the traditional Vedic mantras are very specific and cannot be modified.

We totally support human rights and equality of gender within the secular Australian society in which we live, and have no opposition whatsoever to any changes in the law and the legal definition of marriage that the democratic society deems necessary for the well-being and happiness of all citizens whatever be their gender.

         sarve bhavantu sukhinaḥ |
                          May all beings be happy
         sarve bhadrani paśyantu |
                        May all beings achieve their own good.
         mā kaścit dukha bhāg bhavet |
                         May none experience suffering.

                          om śāntiḥ śāntiḥ śāntiḥ
                         om peace, peace, peace.
Swami Bodhananda Saraswati, a Vedanta teacher, on the question of same-sex unions  said, "There is no official position in Hinduism. From a spiritual or even ethical standpoint, we don't find anything wrong in it. We don't look at the body or the memories; we always look at everyone as spirit."

Swami Bodhananda Saraswati is an accomplished teacher of Vedanta, meditation, and management. He is the founder and spiritual director of the Sambodh Society in Michigan. He also directs several other ashrams and organizations, including the Bodhananda Research Foundation for Management and Leadership Studies in India. He is the author of twenty books, including The Five Spiritual Questions of Arjuna. www.sambodh.com.
For a more detailed discussion paper on Hindu Law and Vivaha download from HERE
adhyāpanam adhyayanaṁ  yajanaṁ yājanaṁ tathā |
dānaṁ pratigrahaṁ ca-eva brāhmanānām akalpayat || 

To Priests was assigned the duties of teaching and studying (the Veda), performing rituals for their own benefit and for others in the community, giving and accepting (of donations). (Manu 1:88)

Wedding and House entering muhurtas 2016 from Drik Panchang

False Advertising by so-called PANDITS

There are a number of so-called PANDITS that advertise in the local Indian Newspapers, claiming to be able to remove black-magic and witchcraft, to practice faith-healing, bring back-loved ones and to solve every problem with 100% Guarantee and 100% satisfaction.

These so-called PANDITS are not members of this organization and have nothing to do with us. We do not approve of their practices nor do we endorse their claims. No one, not even scientists can give 100% guarantee about anything and to claim this regarding voodoo and black-magic and other personal problems is plainly misleading, deceptive and false advertising.

We request you to avoid these charlatans by all means.
               THE LOTUS MANDAPA
 
We are proud to announce that the Bhumi-Puja and ground-breaking ceremony for the Lotus Mandapa will be done on the 14th September 2016 mid morning.
 
This beautiful mandap which is the first of its kind in the Southern Hemisphere will be shared with all the Dharma communities (Hindu, Buddhist, Jain and Sikh).
                            Disclaimer
All the articles and comments on this site are the personal opinions of the author and not reflective of the views of all the members unless otherwise  stated.