Another Hindu Temple in USA, that is North Carolina.

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Dear Friends,Another Hindu Temple in USA, that is North Carolina.Hinduism blooms in Triangle

Thousands attend joyful ceremony at new temple to god of prosperity

BY YONAT SHIMRON - Staff Writer

Published: Fri, May.. 29, 2009 05:02AM

Modified Fri, May. 29, 2009 08:06AM

CARY -- The

rose petals were the final flourish.

A helicopter flying above the Sri

Venkateswara Temple

on Thursday rained the red flowers atop the elaborate edifice honoring the

Hindu god of wealth and well being. The temple is the newest addition to the

Triangle religious community.

Thousands of Hindus from across the Triangle and beyond flocked to the

temple off Chapel Hill Road

during five days of ceremonies that concluded Thursday. Dressed in colorful

saris and long tunics they sat or stood through hours of long ceremonies,

snapping pictures and craning their necks for the best view of the proceedings.

 

 

Temple

openings are rare events, and Hindus believe they bestow on participants

health, longevity and prosperity.

"We have never seen this kind of thing in India," said Jyothi Gade of Cary. "It's a

once-in-a-lifetime opportunity."

There are 21,000 native-born Indians living in the Triangle, but not all are

of the Hindu religion.

Many skipped work and brought their children with them. Gade, who works as a

researcher in a biopharmaceutical company in Pittsboro, took the day off. She

arrived at the temple at 5:45 a.m. Thursday for special prayers.

House of nine deities

The $3.5 million building is made of cement with elaborately carved images

of swans, lions and other mythic creatures. It houses statues of nine deities.

The purpose of the consecration -- really, an installation -- was to bring

these statues to life. At Thursday's ceremony, the stone statutes were carried

into the building on a platform under a colorful umbrella. First though, they

were bathed in holy water and dressed in specially made garments.

On Sunday, the largest of the statues, the 9-foot, 2-ton statue of Sri

Venkateswara, began its journey from a shed on the property into its own

special niche in the temple's holiest spot, the sanctorum. Sri Venkateswara is

a powerful form of Vishnu, the supreme god, preserver and protector of the

world. He wears a gem-studded crown, leaf-shaped earrings, snake-like armlets

and is clothed in yellow fabric. In his hands, he holds the divine shanka, a shell, and chakra, a

discus. His lotus-shaped feet are covered in precious metal. Drawn on his

forehead is a sacred white marking called Namam that

screens his eyes.

All the statues were made by craftsmen in India

and shipped by boat to Charleston,

S.C.

Southern-style Hinduism

Orchestrating the festivities were six of the temple's resident priests

along with 30 others from India,

including a swami, or Hindu religious master, who came especially for the

occasion. They chanted prayers in Sanskrit, which were broadcast to all the

participants over several loudspeakers.

The five-day event, called a pranapratistha, has

been months in the making. About 150 volunteers were recruited to staff

registration tables, take donations, shoot video. To accommodate the crowds,

participants were asked to park at the WakeMed soccer park and take a shuttle

bus onto the property, 3..7 miles away.

The SV Temple, as it is called, is not the only Hindu temple in the

Triangle. The Hindu Bhavan in Morrisville was founded in 1986 and represents a

larger swath of Hinduism's eclectic heritage. But the SV Temple is the first in

the region representing the particular South Indian tradition. There are Sri

Venkateswara temples in Bridgewater, N.J., Pittsburgh and Chicago, too.

Pavani Nandagiri of Raleigh said she used to

travel to other temples in Washington and Atlanta.

"We always wanted something here," she said. "For South

Indians, this is the main god."

Devotion starts early

Many of Thursday's participants got up in the middle of the night and made

it to the temple before daybreak for special prayers. Ashwini Duggirala, 24, a

volunteer at the registration desk, said she slept 21/2 hours and arrived at

3:30 a.m., ahead of most of the others. It was worth it, she said, for the

feelings of goodwill that such an auspicious event bestows.

On Wednesday, Gov. Beverly Perdue toured the temple, along with U.S. Rep.

Bob Etheridge and Cary Mayor Harold Weinbrecht Jr.

The five-day ceremony cost $1million, but for many Hindus in the Triangle

who began the project 13 years ago, it was worth it. Ram Nagulpally, who

chaired the consecration committee, said the temple is a milestone for North

Carolina Hindus. It announces to the world, he wrote, that the "Carolina community of

Hindus has arrived."

To the hundreds of children who attended the ceremony, it was an opportunity

to play together. After the helicopter dropped rose petals and other flowers,

they ran onto a field to collect them, while mothers pinned the flowers in the

children's hair.

FROM: http://www.newsobserver.com/news/story/1546854.html

 

 

Temple

site: http://pranapratistha.svtemplenc.org/Pages/Slideshows.htm

 

Sincerely,Udayabhanu Panickaraum namaH Shivaaya The vow not to kill is great indeed, and greater still is non-eating of the flesh; there would be no butcher, if there is non to eat; in eating thus abides the cruder ill, as she/he is the reason for the killing.