By our reporter
MISSISSAUGA: Ram Mandir head priest Roopanauth Sharma is not your typical temple pandit.
A trained IT and computer professional, he has held senior positions in various corporate giants such as RBC, PricewaterhouseCoopers, Camco Inc., Oracle, Ernst & Young, Philips, Mold-Masters Limited, Huck International, etc.
Born in Guyana, 72-year-old Sharma traces his family roots to Uttar Pradesh in India.
“My forefathers came as indentured labour to Guyana in the Caribbean in the 19th century. But I don’t know what place in India they came from,” says Sharma.
He says his family have been lifetime pandits. “My grandfather died when my father was five. So my father became a lifetime pandit. Then he trained me to become a priest.”
But at age 13, he says, he told his father that he doesn’t want to become a pandit.
“That was the end of my priestly pursuit. In 1968, I moved to New York for my computer diploma. Finishing it, I moved to Canada in 1970,” he says.
In Toronto, he landed a job at the RBC after doing odd jobs. And he also found a girl from Trinidad who was to become his wife. “We married at the age of 20.”
He says there were about a dozen Hindu families from the Caribbean at that time in Toronto. “We used to get together for festivals. On some occasions, people would ask me: `Can you do havan or paath?’ I will do these things. One thing led to another. And I started attending Hindu events by various organizations and going to the local Vishnu Temple.”
In the 1980s, the Hindu families from the Caribbean decided to have a temple of their own. “We bought an industrial unit in Mississauga to start Ram Mandir. That’s when I resumed my priestly pursuit. In 2000, Mandir shifted to this location.”
For years, Pandit Roopanauth Sharma discharged his priestly duties at this temple even while employed full-time in the corporate world.
He retired from his job about 10 years ago to fully focus on his temple duties.
Helped by his support staff, he today runs this spiritual place with corporate efficiency.
“We have no debt. We have not done any fund-raiser in 15 years and never asked for money from anyone. We have a seating capacity of 450 in the temple and are expanding. We have got some big events lined up next year to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the temple.”
Ram Mandir is in the right hands.
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