News of priest’s arrival surprises local Hindus

Ex-followers claim Annamalai ‘fraudulently’ overbilled them for services in Georgia.

Annamalai Annamalai, also known as Dr. Commander Selvam, has purchased the former Key Bank building in downtown Dayton. He has also purchased the former flea market buildings on Olive Rd. in Trotwood with plans to make it the Hindu Temple of Ohio.

Lisa Powell Annamalai Annamalai, also known as Dr. Commander Selvam, has purchased the former Key Bank building in downtown Dayton. He has also purchased the former flea market buildings on Olive Rd. in Trotwood with plans to make it the Hindu Temple of Ohio.

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By Lucas Sullivan and Tim Tresslar
Staff Writer Updated 8:09 PM Saturday, September 4, 2010

BEAVERCREEK — Annamalai Annamalai, the new owner of the former KeyBank building, 32 N. Main St., is a self-proclaimed guru and claims to be a Hindu saint. His followers worship him as a “living god.”

Many of Annamalai’s followers believe he is a medical healer and a doctor, though he is not licensed to practice medicine in any state.

“He has helped me and millions across the world,” said Narmada Iyer, 38, of Atlanta. “He is my god and he is a righteous man.”

But the Hindu leader is shifting his temple from Norcross, Ga., to an old flea market he purchased in June at 2222 Olive Road in Dayton. He has also purchased a home in the 4300 block of Baywood Street in Dayton.

His move and purchases follow the bankruptcy and liquidation of the Hindu Temple of Georgia, which Annamalai founded as a registered nonprofit organization.

Annamalai calls his new temple the Hindu Temple of Ohio and has nicknamed the property “Vishal’s Ranch” after his son. Annamalai also has started or been affiliated with Hindu temples in California and Arizona and advertises in his magazine, Karma, he wants to build 51 temples across the country.

He said the Dayton temple is undergoing a purification ceremony and visitors are not allowed in at this time.

News of Annamalai’s arrival surprised locals Hindus, including Ashwani Kumar, a priest at the Hindu Temple of Dayton.

“I don’t know how he calls it the similar name to our temple,” Kumar said. “This is very serious and I will take it up with our board.”

What’s troubling, Kumar said, is numerous pictures on the Internet and in newspapers of Annamalai, 45, holding his right hand up to his shoulder with a spinning dial in his hand — a gesture of Hindu gods.

“Only gods do this and these are our gods,” said Kumar, pointing to statues that anchor his temple in Beavercreek. “To claim you are a god is a very serious matter.”

Fees for religious services cause complaints

Hinduism is a medley of religious, philosophical and cultural ideals that originated in India.

It is the world’s third-largest form of religion behind Christianity and Islam, with more than one billion followers worldwide. Its followers adhere to beliefs that include Dharma, or righteous duty, reincarnation and Karma.

Many Hindus worship at home, but call on priests or pundits to perform ceremonies for funerals, prayers, engagements and other events. Fees for those services can range from $50 to $500 depending on how far priests have to travel and what is needed, a review of various temple websites and publications showed.

Some Hindu temples like the one in Beavercreek publish a fee list for religious services. Annamalai said he does not circulate such a list, but advertises his services without a pay scale through his Karma magazine, which he distributes for free.

Those unpublished fees are at the heart of a libel/slander lawsuit Atlanta attorney Mark Scott filed on behalf of three people who claim Annamalai “fraudulently” overbilled them for religious services and has harassed, intimidated or tried to sue them to recoup payment.

In the lawsuit Scott filed last year in Gwinnett County, Ga., he wrote:

“The practice at (the Hindu Temple of Georgia) has been to encourage worshippers to provide payment for these services by the use of credit cards, and a pattern of fraudulent, abusive or multiple charges to cards, without the authorization of the card holder, has emerged. Charges for religious services have also risen to amounts unheard of at other Hindu temples.

“Rituals, prayers or observances which tradition dictates might warrant a contribution of up to a few hundred dollars to another Temple or priest are routinely provided in exchange for fees up to several thousands of dollars at HTG, with prices set only after Defendants ascertain what the devotee does for a living or has the ability to pay.”

A jury trial has been set in the case for Sept. 20 in Gwinnett County, according to court records.

Religious clashes  led to lawsuits

John Scaccia, a Dayton attorney representing Annamalai, said his client first began training in atharava vedid — a 7,000-year-old Hindu science taught to select people — when he was 5. Scaccia added that it’s not uncommon in India for people to use multiple names and references for one another.

The rituals offered by Annimalai’s temple include an astrological reading as well as daily prayers conducted by one or more priests over a set period of days. Longer prayer sessions are interspersed throughout the process, Scaccia said.

Those paying for the prayers can be present for the longer sessions and also receive a video recording of these longer sessions. The person paying for the prayers decides how many priests should be involved in the ceremonies, Scaccia said.

“It depends on what the person wants and what they’re looking for,” Scaccia said.

In October 2008, Annamalai was charged by Gwinnett County authorities with theft, in a case related to credit card transactions, as well as practicing medicine without a license. In 2009, a charge of theft by taking was filed against Annamalai.

District Attorney Danny Porter later dropped the charges.

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