Namastasyai: We Gather to Pray as One
A morning of havan, prayer, reflection, and togetherness.
On April 19, community members gathered at Sarvamangala Shri Saneeswara Temple NY for Namastasya: We Gather to Pray as One, a morning of havan, prayer, reflection, and shared belonging.
The event brought together people across faith, cultural, and community spaces to honor a simple but powerful idea: that prayer can be more than a private practice. It can also be a public offering of love, dignity, and solidarity. At a time when so many communities are made to feel isolated, targeted, or pushed to the margins, Namastasyai created a sacred space where people could come together as they are — in devotion, in hope, and in community.
Held at the temple in New Hyde Park, the gathering invited participants into a spirit of welcome and collective care. The havan offered a chance to pause, breathe, remember, and recommit ourselves to one another. Fire, prayer, flowers, music, and shared presence became part of a larger message: that our spiritual traditions can help us build bridges instead of walls.
Namastasyai was rooted in the belief that our communities are strongest when we honor the fullness of who we are. For many LGBTQ+ Hindus, South Asians, Indo-Caribbeans, and allies, sacred spaces have not always felt easy to enter. Too often, people have been asked to divide themselves — to separate faith from identity, culture from queerness, family from freedom, or tradition from justice. This gathering offered another vision: one in which prayer and belonging meet, and where the sacred is made more beautiful by the diversity of those who gather.
A highlight of the gathering was the beautiful performance by Pandita Pratima Doobay, whose presence brought depth, grace, and devotional energy to the morning. Through her offering, she helped create a sacred atmosphere that was both intimate and expansive — inviting everyone present to enter more fully into prayer, reflection, and shared community. Her performance reminded us that music, ritual, and embodied devotion can open the heart in ways that words alone cannot, helping transform the gathering into a space of healing, reverence, and belonging
We are deeply grateful to Sarvamangala Shri Saneeswara Temple NY for opening its doors and helping create a meaningful sacred space for this gathering. The generosity of the temple community made it possible for participants to experience not only ritual, but also warmth, hospitality, and connection.
We also extend our gratitude to everyone who attended, offered prayers, helped organize, took part in the havan, supported the event, and brought their presence into the room. Each person helped shape the morning into something tender and powerful.
Namastasyia was sponsored by Hindus for Human Rights, Sadhana, Caribbean Equality Project, Shridevi Arts, and Desi Rainbow Parents & Allies. Together, these organizations helped support a gathering that reflected the best of what community can be: prayerful, inclusive, courageous, and rooted in love.
As we reflect on the event, we carry forward its central message. Our traditions are not static. They live through us — through the ways we welcome one another, protect one another, and make space for one another. They live in the courage to say that no one should have to leave any part of themselves outside the temple door. They live in the insistence that faith can be a source of liberation, not exclusion.
Namastasya reminded us that sacred community is not only inherited. It is also made. It is made when people gather with open hearts. It is made when prayer becomes an offering for justice. It is made when our many communities come together and say, with tenderness and conviction: we belong to one another.
May the spirit of this gathering continue to grow. May it strengthen our communities, deepen our commitments, and remind us that love, dignity, and prayer are powerful forces for healing.
And may we continue to gather — as one.
This event was sponsored by Hindus for Human Rights, Sadhana, Caribbean Equality Project, Shridevi Arts, and Desi Rainbow Parents & Allies.
May this gathering be one more step toward a world where all of us can stand fully in our faith, our identities, our families, and our communities — with pride, peace, and love.
