Man Who Survived 9/11 Attack Now President of New Jersey Hindu Temple, Plans Expansion

February 9, 2006

Source: Asbury Park Press

http://www.app.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060209/LIFE/602090434/1006

On February 9, 2006 the Asbury Park Press reported, "When United Airlines Flight 175 struck the south tower of the World Trade Center on Sept. 11, 2001 Nandakumar Balija was in his Morgan Stanley office, just like he had been when terrorists attacked eight years earlier. 'I am alive because of the God I worship,' says Balija, 57, who was on the 56th floor. 'I was there when we had 9/11. When the plane hit in the south tower, the whole building collapsed. It took me two years to recover. I saw people jumping out of the building.' Much of that recovery took place in quiet meditation. Balija felt more connected to his Hinduism... Today, Balija is president of the Hindu American Temple and Cultural Center... where an expansion project is planned on the 31 acres that once contained a Jewish school for troubled youth. Eventually, Balija wants to build a $6 million ornate Hindu temple — 50 feet high — intended to celebrate God. When that happens, the existing facilities will be converted into a hall that Balija envisions will be a place to feed the poor."

See also: Hinduism, Civic