McGraths Hill was chosen to cater for the growing population from Indian origin especially from Telugu speaking background in the North Western suburbs of Sydney.

The location of the site was chosen based on the Vedic Hindu Vastu Shastra to build a Lord Shiva Mandir that is the proximity of the cemetery on the eastern side and the overflow of water from the Hawkesbury River on the norther side. These two aspects are very significant for Lord Siva Mandir, water that cleanses and remembering of the rebirth.

Temple precinct will be developed in 3 stages over a period of 6 to 8 years as noted below.

• Stage 1 – To build the Anthara Aalayam in Year 1/2 – Estimated costs around $1.25M
• Stage 2 – To build the Community Function Hall in Year 3/4 and upper level parking – Estimated costs – Estimated costs will be updated soon.
• Stage 3 – To build the Prakara Mandapam , Gaali Gopuram, priest accommodation and lower level parking in Year 5/6 – Estimated costs will be updated soon.

To commence the temple construction as soon as possible and to complete the Stage 1 within the above time frame, we need to raise the required funding for stage 1 by end of this year i.e. December 2018.

History

On 4th Dec 2010, a handful of spiritually inclined, religiously inspired individuals had come together to join hands with the Initiator & Priest, Sri Mamillapalli Manikanteswara Sarma Garu, to perform monthly EKADASA RUDRA ABHISHEKAM according to the SANAATHANA DHARMA principles and Telugu traditions in order to please Lord Shiva and gain His blessings for their personal and community benefit.

Since then this spiritual group has strengthened month after month and has outgrown everyone’s expectations and transformed itself into its present form, SRI SIVAJYOTHI TEMPLE LTD (SSJT) and SSJT PROPERTY LTD (SSPT).

SSJT is formally incorporated as a Non-Profitable Charity Organization on 7th August 2014 in order to meet the growing needs of wider Hindu Community in Sydney, Australia and perform rituals according to the SANAATHANA DHARMA principles.

SSPT is formally incorporated as a Non-Profitable Charity Organization on 12th December 2016to construct and maintain the Lord Siva temple on behalf of SSJT.

As a group, we regularly perform Rudrabhishekam once a month in Pendle Hill Scout Hall. We conduct 4 major events a year to celebrate ie. Maha Shivaratri, Gurupurnima, Dussera and Karthika Pournami.

• On Mahasivarathri day, we perform Ekadasa Rudrabhishekam and Lingodbhava kala Ekavara Rudrabhishekam.
• To mark Gurupurnima day, we perform Samoohika Sri Sai Satya vratam.
• To mark Dussera day, we perform Samuhika Kumkumarchana.
• To mark Karthika pournima and Karthika masam, we perform Parthiva Linga puja and Karthika deepotsavam.

One of the uniqueness of our Rudrabhishekam is to provide an opportunity for everyone to participatein the Abhishekam along with their family members i.e. Samuhika Rudhrabhisekham.

Fundraising

As noted in the Property Update section, to proceed further with temple construction and to start stage 1, we need to raise around $1.25M and SSJT is in the process of organising various fundraising events in the coming months .  Also, planning to meet with various community groups to seek their support in this great cause to raise necessary funds.

Further, we are requesting all the devotees to participate in this great cause by supporting whatever way they can and please visit     Membership & Details page which outlines various Membership and Donations options available to suit all devotes.