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FESTIVALS THIS MONTH:
TAMPA/ST. PETERSBURG/CLEARWATER
HINDU TEMPLE OF FLORIDA: 9 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. and 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Friday; 9:30 a.m. to 9 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday; 5509 Lynn Road, Tampa, FL 33624; (813) 962-6890.
SHIV MANDIR: 10 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Sunday; officiating priests are Pandit Balraj Maharaj and Ram Maharaj; 2001 N. Howard Ave., Tampa, FL 33607; (813) 907-6311.
DADA BHAGWAN�S GROUP OF TAMPA BAY: Satsang every Sunday from 2 to 4 p.m.; everyone is invited; call Ramesh Patel at (813) 926-1143 or Mukesh Patel at (813) 969-1740.
JAIN SOCIETY OF TAMPA BAY: Monthly bhavna from 3 to 5 p.m. every fourth Sunday; also, non-Jains can take Dev Darshan of statues made of marbles by sculpture-artist from Rajasthan; 10 a.m. to 11 a.m. and 5 to 7 p.m.; both events at Days Inn hotel at Fletcher Avenue and Interstate 75; call Kini Shah at (813) 503-0715 or Pradeep Bavishi at (727) 525-5400.
VISHNU MANDIR: 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Sunday only, discourse by Pandit Vishnu Sharma; 5303 Lynn Road, Tampa, FL 33624; (813) 654-2551.
SANATAN MANDIR: 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. and 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. Monday through Saturday, and 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. and 5:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. Sunday; 311 East Palm Ave., Tampa, FL 33602; (813) 221-4482.
SHRI SARASWATI DEVI MANDIR: 9:30 a.m. to noon Sunday only; officiating priest is Pandit Purnanan Sharma; 16220 Livingston Avenue, Lutz, FL 33559; (813) 264-1539.
SHRI RADHA-KRISHNA MANDIR: daily morning arotik at 7 followed by Srimad-Bhavatavam class; 6 p.m. Sunday and 7 p.m. Wednesday Bhagavad-Gita class followed by prasadam; 14610 N. 17th St., Tampa; (813) 971-6474 or click on www.iskcontampa.com
BAPS SHRI SWAMINARAYAN MANDIR: 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. daily; darshan is closed between noon and 4 p.m. but reopens at 4 p.m.; 9226 E. Fowler Ave. (between Interstate 75 and U.S. 301); (813) 986-5473.
MANAV DHARMA ASHRAM: sumiran is from 7:30 p.m. to 9 p.m. first Thursday of every month; satsang is 5 to 7 p.m. on Sunday, followed by dinner; yoga classes begin at 7:30 a.m. Saturday; bhajans are 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. every third Sunday; 7520 Caron Road, Tampa, FL 33615; call the ashram at (813) 889-7155, Himatlal Parekh at (813) 969-1661 or Ashok Modh at (813) 935-3439.
SHREE YAMUNA PREETI SEVA SAMAJ: Pushtimargiya Satsang Mandal invites Vaishnavs of Tampa Bay area to weekend Satsang sabhas and kirtans; 1340 Robin Road S., St. Petersburg, FL 33707; call Smitabein Patel at (813) 961-3816 or Himatlal Parekh at (813) 969-1661.
ISLAMIC SOCIETY OF TAMPA BAY AREA MOSQUE: 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. daily; 7326 E. Sligh Ave., Tampa, FL 33601; Tel: (813) 628-0007.
GURDWARA: 8 a.m. till 8 p.m. daily; 15302 Morris Bridge Road, Thonotosassa, FL 33592; (813) 986-6205.
CHURCH OF SOUTH INDIA (CSI) CONGREGATION OF FLORIDA: Worship services at 10 a.m. every Sunday at Springhill Missionary Baptist Church, 8119 E. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd., Tampa, FL 33619; for information, call John Philip at (813) 986-6844 or Daniel Cherian (Anand) at (813) 985-9890 or click on www.csichurchflorida.org
ORLANDO AREA
HINDU SOCIETY OF CENTRAL FLORIDA: 8:30 a.m. to noon and 5 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. Monday through Friday; 8:00 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. Saturday and Sunday; 1994 Lake Drive, Casselberry, FL 32707; (407) 699-5277.
GURDWARA, SIKH SOCIETY OF CENTRAL FLORIDA: 11:30 A.M. to 1 p.m. Sunday; 2527 W. Aloma Ave. (west State Road 426), Oviedo; (407) 805-0404.
MASJID AL-RAHIM, ISLAMIC SOCIETY OF CENTRAL FLORIDA, WEST ORLANDO: five times daily prayers and pray on Friday; 4962 Old Winter Garden Road, Orlando, FL 32811; (407) 523-7882.
SARASWATI DEVI MANDIR/INDO CARIBBEAN CENTER: Sunday service is from 9:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m.; all special days observed with worship; 1453 N. Pine Hills Road, Orlando, FL 32808; for information, call (407) 522-1988 or click on www.saraswatidevimandir.com
SHRI SHIVDHAM HINDU TEMPLE AND BRAHMRISHI YOGASHRAM: 7 a.m. to 1 p.m. and 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. daily; 460 O�Berry Hoover Road, Orlando, FL 32825; (407) 380-2661 or e-mail [email protected]
SANTOSHI MA TEMPLE: bhajan and aarti first Friday of every month; 10900 Park Ridge Gotha Road, Windermere, FL 34786; (407) 996-2830.
SHRI DEVI BHAVAN: 9 A.M. TO 11:30 a.m. every Sunday; Pandit is Eshwar Persaud; 6206 W. Amelia St., Orlando, FL 32835; (407) 822-8057.
SHRI LAXMINARAYAN MANDIR: 8:30 a.m. to 11 a.m. Sunday; 269 N. Klondike Ave., Pine Hills, FL 32811; (407) 877-7916.
SHRI SWAMINARAYAN MANDIR (BAPS): 1325 W. Oak Ridge Road, Orlando, FL 32809; (407) 857-0091.
POINCIANA HINDU MANDIR INC.: 9 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. each Sunday and on special festivals; 3999 Monterey Road, Kissimmee, FL 34758; (407) 873-2679.
ARYA SAMAJ OF ORLANDO: 9:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. Sunday; Santoshi Maa Building, 10900 Park Ridge Gotha Road, Windermere, FL 34786; for more information, call (321) 284-1839 or visit www.aryasamajoforlando.com
LAKELAND(POLK COUNTY)
SHRI SWAMINARAYAN TEMPLE: 2793 New Tampa Highway, Lakeland, FL 33815; (863) 682-8260.
ALACHUA (ALACHUA COUNTY)
ISKCON OF ALACHUA (International Society for Krishna Consciousness):
founder is A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, P.O. Box 819, Alachua,
FL 32616; (386) 462-2017.
INVERNESS (CITRUS COUNTY)
SHIRDI SAI CENTER: 4707 Pleasant Grove Road, Inverness, FL 34452; for timings of the center and any other information, call (352) 860-2181 or e-mail [email protected]
JACKSONVILLE/ORANGE PARK
HINDU SOCIETY OF NORTHEAST FLORIDA (HSNEF): 714 Park Ave., Orange Park; for information, call (904) 269-1155 or click on www.jaxhindutemple.org
SOUTH FLORIDA (MIAMI AREA)
SOUTH FLORIDA HINDU TEMPLE: 13010 W. Griffin Road, Southwest Ranches, FL 33330; for timings and classes at the temple, call (954) 438-3675 or e-mail [email protected]
SHIVA VISHNU TEMPLE OF SOUTH FLORIDA: 5661 Dykes Road, Southwest Ranches, FL 33331; 9 a.m. to noon and 6 to 9 p.m. Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Saturday, Sunday and holidays; call (954) 689-0471 or click on www.shivavishnu.org
SHIVA MANDIR: 3000 N.W. 29TH Ave., Oakland Park Blvd., Fort Lauderdale, FL 33309; for information, call (954) 735-3560 or click on www.fhosm.com
ISLAMIC CENTER OF BOCA RATON: 3100 N.W. FIFTH AVE., Boca Raton, FL 33431; for information, call (561) 395-7221 or click on www.icbr.org
SIKH GURUDWARA: 1600 S.W. 60th St., Fort Lauderdale, FL 33331; for information, call (954) 680-0221.
RELIGION CHARITY IN ISLAM Story provided by Husain Nagamia, MD, chairman, TBMA
However, Islam has a unique perspective on charity. It has made charity compulsory and as a tenet of faith. In essence, this means that if a Muslim earns enough to have savings at the end of a year, unless one gives away 2 � percent of what one has saved to the poor and needy, one is not practicing one�s religion. This �compulsory poor due� is termed as �Zakat� and Zakat is among the �five� fundamentals of Islamic faith. The others are: 1. �Assertion� of the belief in one God; 2. The practice of praying five times a day called �Salaat;� 3. Observing the 30 days of fasting from dawn to dusk during the month of Ramadan called �Saum;� 4. Performance of �Hajj� or pilgrimage to Mecca once in a lifetime.
Besides this compulsory act of charity, there are other �voluntary� acts also proscribed for the wealthy in Islam. One is called �Sadaqah�. �Sadaqah is a voluntary donation to the poor either to an individual in need or to an institution of knowledge or learning, or community service such as a hospital, school, orphanage or any other welfare institution that benefits a community. Endowment to such institutions would be considered in this category of �sadaqah�. One of the benefits of such a charity is that the giver bears the fruit of such giving �perpetually� even after he/she is dead and as long as the institution benefits the community. This is termed as �Sadqa-e-Jariyah� or �perpetual charity.�
This tenet of faith led to great advancement of the Islamic civilization in the 10th and 12th centuries on account of large sums of moneys being invested in community welfare projects and funding of foundations, universities, schools, houses of knowledge, hospitals and orphanages. This led to the concept of �Waqf� or �Endowment� for the purpose of �Sadqa-e-jariyah� or �perpetual charity.�
I reproduce here an authentic �Waqf� document of an Islamic hospital (Mansuri Hospital of Cairo built 1248 CE), which was one of the largest hospitals in the �Islamic Civilization� with 8,000 beds! The endowment paid for the care of all the patients and the treatment was entirely free (for all 8,000 patients):
The Waqf document of the Mansuri Hospital specifically stated: �The hospital shall keep all patients, men and women until they are completely recovered. All costs are to be borne by the hospital whether the people come from afar or near, whether they are residents or foreigners, strong or weak, low or high, rich or poor, employed or unemployed, blind or sighted, physically or mentally ill, learned or illiterate. There are no conditions of consideration and payment; none is objected to or even indirectly hinted at for non-payment. The entire service is through the magnificence of Allah, the generous one.�
Unfortunately, although laid down clearly as a tenet of faith, this concept of �Islamic religious donation� is not exploited fully in the Islamic countries of the world of today, leading to the poverty, hunger, sickness and lack of education.
Thus, charity in Islam is geared to the welfare and upliftment of the individual and the community, and distribution of the wealth equitably in the society rather than a few �with all� and the rest with �hardly any.�
Dr. Husain Nagamia of Tampa can be reached at [email protected]
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