INDIANAPOLIS: Five-days of elaborate ancient rituals commencing June 3 by 30 priests will mark the “Maha Kumbhabhishekam” ceremony that would formally launch the consecration of the newly built Hindu Temple of Central Indiana (HTCI) in Indianapolis.
This mega-ceremony will also mark the formal inauguration of Shiva, Radha Krishna, Ram Parivar, Durga, Mahavir Jain, Balaji, Ganesha, Saraswathi, Ayyappa, Bhoodevi and Shirdi Sai Baba shrines and Rajagopuram. Seventeen moolamoorthies, made of granite and marble in India, will go through elaborate series of rituals.
A large tent will be set-up next to the temple located on North German Church road to accommodate devotees and visitors who will be served free food and drinks during the five-day event. There are over 4000 Indian American families in areas close to the temple and it was a crying need to have a place of worship for hundreds of devotees, said Dr Arun Jain, Vice Chair Trustee Board.
“This is the third phase of the $10 million temple and it took nearly a decade to get completed. Once it is over, the temple will be truly monumental and one of the best in the entire country,” Jain added.
“Maha Kumbabhishekam” ceremonies will include poojas, homams, aradhanams, archanas, nyasams, jaladhivasam, cultural programs, snapanam, chaayasnapanam, dhaanyadhivasam, gopurakalshasthapanam, pushpadhivasam, nethronmeelanam, dashadarshanam, shayaadhivaasam, yantra sthapanam, grudhashirorpanam, thrikandaparikalpanam, purnahuti, kumbhabhishekam, pranaprathistapanam, mahaneerikshanam, abhishekam, aalankaram, mahanivedanam, baliharanam, mangala aarati, kannika darshan, thalapoli, harivarasanam, etc.
Procession with kalashams and young girls carrying oil lamps will be held. Devotees will apply oil at the feet of all deities. Dr Satyanarayana Reddy Marri is Chairman of the Kumbhabhishekam Planning Committee. Devotees can garland all deities at HTCI for about $200 worth of fresh flowers.
The age-old temple ritual of Kumbhabhishekam aims to synergize-unite-homogenize the mystic powers of the deity and it involves ritual bathing with sanctified sacred waters accompanied by chanting of appropriate mantras, thus transforming the deity statue into a vibrant representation of the God.
Thirty-two temple craftsmen from India are currently engaged in giving final touches to the temple spread in about 13.5 acres, which will include 11,000 square feet worship hall and 400 square feet havan-room, reports suggest. Once finished, it will have the distinct appearance of an Indian Hindu temple.
HTCI, open all days, besides worship services, also organizes festivals, havans, daily poojas and aartis, bhajans, lectures on scriptures, talks, cultural programs, children’s forum, heritage camps, youth programs, Hindi-Sanskrit-yoga-Indian music and dance classes; and undertakes educational, cultural, charitable, religious and spiritual projects. Vijayapal Reddy and Arun Jain are Chairman and Vice-Chairman respectively of its Board of Trustees, while Ambat Babu and Jagannath Pandey are President and Vice President respectively of its Executive Committee. Bardinath Shastri and Ramaswamy Bhattar are priests.
Applauding the efforts of temple management and area community for realizing this wonderful Hindu temple complex, Rajan Zed President of Universal Society of Hinduism, observed that it was important to pass on Hindu spirituality, concepts and traditions to coming generations amidst so many distractions in the consumerist society and hoped that this temple would help in this direction.
Zed stressed that instead of running after materialism; we should focus on inner search and realization of Self and work towards achieving moksh (liberation), which was the goal of Hinduism.
Ramesh Soparawala
India Post News Service
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