My family invited the Hindu priest Mr. Vinod Dave to perform a Satya Naryana Puja in our new family home (Griha Pravesh) in Santa Clarita. The minute I met Mr. Dave, I felt touched by his level of warmth and friendliness. He also has a rather thorough knowledge of the vedas and the Bhagavad Gita in particular. The Satya Narayan Puja began with Mr. Dave leading us to pray to lord Ganesha to remove our obstacles. And then we eventually prayed to Satya Narayan. Mr. Dave took us outside and we prayed in front of our new home and blessed it as we re-entered our home. He also recited a beautiful katha (meaning narrative) to help explain the historical and religious significance of the puja. By speaking in both Hindi and English, Mr. Dave included everyone in the puja. After aarti, I had the pleasure of sitting down and getting to know Mr. Dave while he was taking prasad, and I found him to be one of the friendliest and warmest human beings I have ever met. My family feels blessed to have met him. And we will definitely be inviting him for future occassions. read more

I have Known Pundit Dave my entire life. He had been long time friends with my father who passed 5 years ago. My father was a professor at many colleges including Howard University, Ohio State an UCSD and started his own textbook publishing company and was good friends with Pandit Dave. Pandit Dave has done a lot of ceremonies in my family including my mother and fathers wedding 25 years ago. Pandit Dave has come every year since my fathers passing, including this year, to do puja and ceremonies to help bring our family together to celebrate the life of my father. Pandit Dave is the kindest person I know. He always shows me what he's written to say at the ceremony before hand to explain what he will say and what it means. At the ceremony he will always say an english translation to help those who don't understand hindi. Thank you Pandit Dave for the years of your company! read more

Pundit Vinod ji is not only a very warm, well mannered and a peaceful natured person, he is also very humble and genuine in his work. And since he is very sensitive to his client's time and needs, he is very organized and sincerely accommodating when he does his pujas. It is very easy to notice that he performs all his pujas with dedication and in a very respectful manner. He comes well prepared and is well versed in his profession. We have known him for a few years now as he has performed pujas in our home as well as funeral rites in our family. I have also seen that he goes out of his way to help anybody - known and unknown - thus touching every person's life that he comes across with. I would highly recommend him for any traditional or cultural ceremony. read more

Pandit Vinod Dave recently conducted the engagement puja for our daughter and future son-in-law on the west coast where our daughter is based. Our expectations by way of covering all the important "vidhis" and yet keeping it contained by way of time had been conveyed to Vinodji ahead of time. He came well prepared with a "script" of what he would be doing, and took the time to go over the details with us before the puja. During the puja he took the time to explain the various portions in English, so that the relevance and significance could be followed with ease, even by those who were not familiar with the puja rituals. We all were very pleased with the ceremony. We certainly recommend him highly! You will not be disappointed. read more

We had visited to my aunty's house for a vacation from india and meanwhile they had kept a puja at their house during our visit an there we met Panditji and I was amazed to find that the our tradition and prayers which we follow in india were very well practiced by Panditji although the manner of puja is different but to carry out such pujas in a country like USA where the culture is moving so fast i was blessed to see the puja performed by him?He explains everything in a polite way and ensures that each one of us understands what he says because of his translations.I am happy to see that our traditions are even followed abroad and it because of such people only It can be practiced in an efficient manner. read more

My family had the blessing of having Pandit Vinod come and preform the last rites for my father at the cremation as well as at our home for the 12/13 day puja. My father had requested both to cermonies to include immediate family members. It was very difficult on all of us espicially the children to lose their beloved grandfather. Uncle had, as per our request, personalised the puja, included the children and let them participate, answered their questions and provided all of us with so much love and comfort. He is a loving kind and warm person and we felt very blessed to have him perform the puja and give our family guidence during a difficult time. read more

Your review helps others learn about great local businesses. My wife is has been a caregiver for 14 years and had an unforgettable experience today. A Hindu priest named Vinod Dave was giving her patient last rites to her patient who was already unresponsive in coma. It was like a miracle that my patient suddenly opened her eyes and nodded yes when asked if she was happy. Vinod told her he was praying to Krishna for her. Please don't review this business if you received a freebie for writing this review, or if you're connected in any way to the owner or employees. read more

Vinodbhai is a very good priest, my family pooja's and rituals are always done through him. He does a splendid job of carrying the prayers and explaining them well. My kids appreciate his ability to break it down in simple English and give interesting examples in real day to day lives. Apart from his fabulous work as a priest he is a jolly human being as well, I know him from his wife who I met at a mandir trip. Definitely recommend him for all Hindu ceremonies, you won't be disappointed at all, he is very versatile and easy to adapt with. read more

Met him through a mutual acquaintance and he has been so kind and warm hearted to join and participate in taking his time to join in our peace dialogues at uci. He is very humorous and has enlightened me and all the youths sitting in to listen in regards to hinduism. He is so kind to always take the time to open up his schedule to speak at our events and always shares in regards to the wonderful things he has done traveling around the world. I definitely appreciate him and thank him for his kind heart and good relations we have together read more

I had the great pleasure of meeting and working with Vinod Dave to celebrate the life of my dog who passed away one year ago. The ceremony was beautiful and he worked so hard to make sure it was just perfect. He was extremely professional and took the time to translate everything to me in English. I walked away feeling at peace with the death of my dog and could not have been happier with the ceremony led by Vinod Uncle. I look forward to using his services again for future religious ceremonies. read more

I have known Pandit Vinod Dave for more than ten years. I had need of a Brahmin to perform puja for my teacher, Mirabai Devi, on the occasion of her birthday and he came highly recommended by the Krishna Temple in Mailbu. It is plain to see why. He is one of the kindest souls I know and he always takes the extra time to explain some of the origins and meanings for the uninitiated. I know that his handling of other ceremonies, i.e. weddings, must be equally as caring and complete. read more

Pundit Vinod Dave conducted my mother-in-law's final rites. It was a blessing to have his presence at this sacred, sensitive and sad time for our family. He explained what each ceremonial practice symbolized. He included each person present in the rites and each person felt a vital part of this important farewell ceremony. The holiness that he emanated was of great comfort to all. He is a very special person. read more

Panditji performed the Hindu last rights for my grandmother last week. We had people from different ethnicities present. Pandit Vinod was able to translate all the rituals and provide everyone with the meaning and reason behind them - something that all who were present appreciated. He conducted a very calm and dignified ceremony, appropriate for the solemn occasion. read more

Vinod Dave Ji performed our Griha Pravesh pooja. He performed this ceremony very nicely. We were really impressed with his sincerity in making sure all the rituals are performed to the best of our satisfaction. His services are very detail oriented and his story telling is very clear for everyone to understand. read more

Pandit Dave, what a charismatic soulful loving and caring human being. I came down from Sacto to Arcadia and Pandit Dave performed our family puja with great enthusiasm. I would recommend him for any spiritual services. FYI Mrs.Dave made one of the best lemonade drink I ever had. read more

Pandit ji performed the rituals for our wedding and many other home events. Hes wonderful, keeps the guests engaged and is very helpful with everything. We always invite him for all of our poojas and housewarming events. All of our guests love him and he is a wonderful host. read more

As a tourist visiting from India, I found Panditji's approach to performing puja very unique. He takes the extra effort of explaining the Sanskrit verses in English which is particularly helpful for youngsters like me. I would definitely recommend him. read more

Met Vinod Dave on the Amtrak Train today. Very nice person and welcomed me to sit next to him when searching for a place to sit. We had a great conversation and he is very knowledgable and passionate about what he does. read more

Awful; will use your wedding as his own personal stage. NOT a real priest and NOT well versed in traditions and culture. Trust me, you'll regret using him. read more