Hindu Sect Proves Worth of Idols in Ceremony

August 4, 2001

Source: Daily News

On August 4, 2001, New York's Daily News reported that "members of a Hindu sect in Secaucus, N.J., think their idols are worth their weight in gold - and...in an elaborate, unprecedented ceremony, they will prove it. Under the supervision of the chief priest of the Swaminarayanism sect, His Holiness Acharya Swamishree Purushottampriyadasji Maharaj, members will - one at a time - place three marble idols weighing about 550 pounds each on scales loaded with about $2.7 million worth of gold bullion borrowed from a New York bank. If things work right, the scales will balance. It's all part of the last day of a five-day festival to open a $7 million temple in the warehouse area of Secaucus."