The small Hindu temple of Bhartiye Mandir in Sydney's west is a holy place, and now it is the scene of a senseless crime.
On Sunday a devotee of the temple arrived early ahead of a scheduled evening prayer service.
She was shocked to see smoke coming from inside the building.
Shivani Kumar is involved with the temple, and recounts what the woman saw.
"First our member who came around 6:30pm on Sunday night, she usually comes in to decorate and get the place going, and she came in her car and she was looking outside her car into the temple and she saw flames through the windows and she was a bit confused as to what was going on and she thought oh maybe the prayers have already started or something like that, but then she saw a young girl running out of the temple and grabbing a hose and bringing it inside, and she got really scared, and being an elderly lady she was confused and she didn't really know what to do, so she waited for another couple to come and they alerted the police."
Holy statues were strewn across the floor and smeared with ghee, a substance used to light lamps during prayer.
Vandals broke instruments, covered the room with paint, smashed items and even scribbled the word "Jesus" on a wall.
Temple President Indrajit Rai says he is still in a state of shock, and is struggling to understand why someone would do this.
Idols broken at Hindu temple at Regent's Park, NSW. Source: Hindu Council of Australia
"We walked in first and thought maybe they came in to rob for money, and then we saw that the statues are broken, there's no money in the statues, musical thing, our musical instruments they popped pin in them so we couldn't use, that's because our sound system was new and they pour water on that, and then when I looked at the donation box i was shocked because at least if they came for money they would've picked it up and thrown it, it was not too heavy, so we realised whatever they came is just to destroy the place."
The tight knit Hindu community in Sydney's west is reeling, because this is one of the holiest times of the year for them, as they celebrate the nine-day festival of Navratri.
It seems those responsible didn't come for money or goods, instead they set small fires inside and damaged irreplaceable treasures, many of which came from overseas.
The damage bill has topped $50,000. Members of the temple are asking for help to rebuild.
Ms Kumar says the community has banded together.
Relics and furniture have been damaged at a much-loved Hindu temple in Sydney. Source: The Hindu Council of Australia
"So we really rely on the support of the community now to help us raise funds to be able to buy all our statues and photos and decorations that we had, probably also to replace things like the carpet that's been damaged. So we're going to call on the public to really help us and all our supporters as well."
Volunteers will meet at the temple this weekend to start the clean up process.
As for the investigation, police say they are continuing to work on the case.
It has also prompted members of the temple to review their security measures.
