- To provide a place of worship to Hindu community in Centeral Jersey.
- To keep our children in touch with religion and culture.
- To educate our children about our religious and cultural values.
- To provice a place to our community which they can use at the time of their need to celebrate happy events and share sorrow at sad events.
- To acquaint the community at large with our culture.
- To create better understanding among community members with different backgrounds in a multi-ethnic society.
The Association consists of two major administrative units i.e. THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES AND THE EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE. The Executive Committee, which is elected annually, has the responsibility for the day-to-day affairs of the Association, whereas policy decisions are made by The Board of Trustees.
The CJHA started with a modest beginning by organizing kirtans at individuals' houses on third weekend of every month. Because of great demand, the frequency of kirtans was later increased twice a month. In 1994, CJHA started renting the VFW hall at route 27 north and Henderson Road, and requested individuals to sponsor kirtans every Sunday of the month so that all interested individuals could attend kirtans without any special invitation. In addition to kirtans, the CJHA successfully organized Jagrans twice a year at Ved Mandir, East Brunswick, NJ, which gained a wide-spread popularity among the community members.
Encouraged bythe community's interest and support, CJHA decided to look for a permanent place for worship and community functions. Several community members started actively cooperating with CJHA to achieve the objective of setting up a Temple and Community Center in Central Jersey. After evaluating different properties at different locations, CJHA decided to purchase the property located at Route 27, South Brunswick.
In order to purchase property, a fund raising drive was launched. A number of individuals expressed their willingness to support the Association for purchase of the property by lending money to CJHA. It was decided that individuals who would lend $10,000 or more to CJHA for the purpose would be appointed as members fo the Advisory Board. The Advisory Board was given the responsibilities of making binding recommendations to the Board of Trustees on policy decisions related to finances, use of facilities, etc. The Advisory Board members were later made trustees fo the Association.
In December 1996, the building located at Route 27, South Brunswick was purchased with money collected from kirtans, donations and loans from the Advisory Board members, and other community members. The amount of loans was approximately $500,000. The property purchased by CJHA consited of three buildings, a large building, a small building and a house for priests.
In January 1998, DURGA TEMPLE was inaugurated on a temporary basis in the small building, which accommodated about 200 persons. The Association started working on converting the large building to a permanent DURGA TEMPLE. After hard work of three years, renovation work on the large building was completed in 2001. DURGA TEMPLE was inaugurated on 05/13/01 in the left wing of the large building. With BHAGWATI MAA'S blessings, the temple has gained wide popularity among the community members and it is visited by a large numbers of worshippers and devotees. The temple organizes several programs, which are regularly updated on this web site.
The remaining portion of the large building is being converted into dining halls and community center in different phases. Presently, we are in the process of converting the Northern Wing of the building into dining , meeting and marriage halls and a kitchen. The third phase will consist of converting the second floor of the building into a library and a place of religious learning. The fourth phase will consist of renovating the outside of building to giva it an appearance of a temple from the outside. Additionally, we are planning to establish a Shiv Temple in the open on the backside of large building.