BAPS Swaminarayan Sanstha Lawsuit

A BAPS Swaminarayan Sanstha Temple is in Brunswick, a suburb of Cleveland, Ohio.  Another Shree Swaminarayan Hindu Temple was established in Strongsville, Ohio a few years back.  This one seems to have a link to the temple in Kalupur, Ahmedabad.  These are chill temples and the folks here are pleasant and welcoming.  The structures are relatively simple and efficient unlike the temple in Robbinsville, New Jersey.    

A Gujarati friend asked me, why do we need so many temples?  They keep asking us for donations and isn't there a better way of spending the money?  

I know a bit about Pramukh Swami Maharaj and he and his followers have done a lot of work that benefits people.  

Marketing drives the construction of 
gawdy temples, churches and mosques

 

Class Action complaint against BAPS Swaminarayan
Sanstha Inc., Bharat Bhai, Pankaj Patel, Kanu Patel
and Swami Prasanand

 

The article was published by New York Times which is the most unbiased newspaper in the United States, right? This an excellent opportunity to put Hinduism and Prime Minister Narendra Modi down, right?.

During the Covid pandemic Swaminarayan Sanstha delivered PPE to hospitals & clinics, offered aid during natural disasters (such as housing & warm meals), and they even go as far as building schools + hospitals for the underserved populations in India. So let’s not jump the gun here and say these people are “bad”. Are the workers in American restaurants fairly compensated? Are the cleaning crew in hotels in the US fairly compensated? Are non-immigrant H1B workers fairly compensated for their many hours of overtime work? Are the workers in big box stores fairly compensated? Aren't Mexican workers in American restaurant kitchens exploited? If all workers in the United States were fairly compensated and political corruption was eliminated, the economy would collapse like the house of cards it is.

A lot of clothing that the suits in Washington DC and the Pappus of this world wear is likely made by Dalit workers in Bangladesh, Vietnam, India, China. The corporate douches will go wherever they can exploit humans. Many of us ridicule China for their sweat shops. Where do you think your Apple phone and your various electronic devices are made?

Have you talked to a sweat shop worker? Several are thankful for that job as it created new avenues for them and their families. Per American standards, yes, sweat shops are bad. But to their standards? Not so much. It’s all perspective.

Not saying that BAPS Swaminarayan Sanstha hasn't done anything illegal. Looks like they made have fooked up. In any case, the BAPS temples in major American cities are gaudy and ostentatious and WTF.