The Hindu Educational & Cultural Society of America, located in Hillsboro, is planning to break ground in Washington County for a Hindu temple in the next few months.
The organization bought about 11.5 acres of land in January for a cost of approximately $1.1 million.
The temple will be located at 9480 N.W. Glencoe Road, which is in unincorporated Washington County near the intersection of Glencoe Road and Highway 26, just south of North Plains.
Temple construction is expected to be completed in various phases, with the temple itself projected to be 15,000 square feet.
Rajan Zed, president of the Universal Society of Hinduism, said it is important to pass on Hindu spirituality, concepts and traditions to coming generations amid so many distractions in a consumerist society. He said he hoped the new temple would help move people in a more spiritual direction.
Zed said he believes that instead of running after materialism, citizens should focus on an “inner search and realization of self,” and work toward achieving liberation, which is the goal of Hinduism. Hinduism is the oldest and third-largest religion in the world, with about 1 billion adherents. There are approximately 3 million Hindus living in the United States.