சிக்காகோ பார்ட்லெட்டில் மாபெரும் இந்துக்கோவில் திறப்பு

சிக்காகோ பார்ட்லெட் நகரத்தில் ஸ்வாமி நாராயண் இந்துக்கோவில் வெகு விமரிசையாக திறக்கப்பட்டுள்ளது. இதன் கலையழகுக்காகவும் ஆன்மீக உணர்வுக்காகவும் இந்தியர்களும் அமெரிக்கர்களும் இதற்கு அதிக அளவில் வந்துகொண்டிருக்கிறார்கள்.

Bartlett’s Hindu temple draws worshippers, architecture buffs
By GENEVA WHITE

Some things in life really are as beautiful as we imagine.

A Hindu temple on Route 59 in Bartlett is as majestic on the inside as it is on the outside.

“What happens is people just keep driving by,” said volunteer and tour guide Hiren Patel. “They never know they can come in. It’s when they stop and say ‘What is this?’ that we welcome them.”

Welcome might be an understatement. Visitors of all faiths and backgrounds are encouraged to view the BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Mandir, currently the largest Hindu temple in North America, for free. Boasting a spectacular interior of Italian marble and an exterior of Turkish limestone, the temple contains more than 1,700 uniquely sculpted images.

Each of those intricate images were hand carved in just a year by stone artisans in the Indian state of Rajasthan. With carvings of peacocks and swans and flowers such as lotuses, the images tell India’s history and stories. The artists were so detailed in their work, one can even see the toenails and the lines on the hands of gods and goddesses.

The American Institute of Architects named the temple this year among the 150 Great Places in Illinois. Although tours occur throughout the day, photography is not allowed inside. This helps the facility maintain the atmosphere as a place of worship rather than a museum.

“A lot of times people come here to see an architectural place,” Patel said. “When they go in, they literally feel more spiritual. That’s how people have been enjoying this.”

Perhaps an appropriate slogan for this suburban gem, open since 2004, would be “Come for the architecture, stay for the spirituality.” No matter what your faith, that feeling of being in the presence of something phenomenal is apparent.

“I felt amazed that [the temple] was so close,” said Homewood resident Lora Irwin, 28. She was visiting the temple recently with a senior citizens group from Country Club Hills. “It’s magnificent. Up until now, the most beautiful building I’ve been to was the Chicago cultural center.”

Adding vibrant color among the pure white marble of the temple are shrines that display scared deities or figures of past spiritual leaders, as well as present leader Pramukh Swami Maharaj. The Mandir has no specific registered congregation or group of devotees, Patel said.

“This place is considered a place of God,” he said. “According to the Hindu faith, a place of worship is open for everyone. “

With at least 1 million followers, BAPS – which stands for Bochasanwasi Shri Akshar Purushottam Swaminarayan Sanstha – is a sub-faith of Hinduism, Patel said. The faith has five basic goals: No addiction, no meat, no alcohol, no adultery and no impurity of the body and mind.

Visitors enter the temple through the adjoining cultural complex, or Haveli. With hand-carved wooden designs, the complex offers the perfect prelude to what awaits. While walking down the hallway toward the temple in stockings or socks (shoes must be taken off at the cultural complex) visitors can learn about India’s culture and contributions to the world.

Tours of museums and other attractions always seem to end inside a gift shop. Not the temple. Still, the small shop at the cultural center, offering books, post cards, soap, incense and other souvenirs is worth stopping at before you leave.

“Normally, we stay in our neighborhood,” Irwin said. “But this was worth traveling to.”

By the numbers

• 151 elaborately carved pillars support domes and spires in the temple.

• The temple is made of 8,430 tons of Italian marble and Turkish limestone.

• Artisans in India carved the entire temple in one year.

• Volunteers spent 16 months and 2.5 million hours assembling the facility.

• There are 75 ceilings with 35 different designs.

• A carving of a lotus in one of the ceilings was carved from a single stone and weighs more than 10,000 pounds.

If you go

Where: 47N739 Route 59, Bartlett

Hours: 9 a.m. to 7 p.m., seven days a week.

Cost: Free

Info: (630) 213-2277 or www.swaminarayan.org/

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