North Carolina : Hindu temple site dedicated

Hindu temple site dedicated




Beliefs differ by region in IndiaHinduism's traditions vary widely from one region to another. The third-largest of world religions, it lacks a common founder or set of teachings. Instead, it is a loose collection of traditions based on a set of religious texts and some central beliefs.
Hindus worship multiple deities, for instance, but most Hindus say these are manifestations of one supreme God. Hindus believe the soul does not die, but is reborn as a human being or an animal, with a person's acts in life dictating whether they become a higher-level or lower-level being.
The Sri Venkateswara Temple of North Carolina practices Vaishnavism, a form of Hinduism devoted to the god Vishnu. Its adherents believe that the ultimate goal of religious practice is to attain bliss,
HINDU AMERICAN FOUNDATION, RELIGIOUSTOLERANCE.ORG


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By Marti Maguire, Staff Writer
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CARY - In a wide plywood hut tucked behind a ring of tall pine trees off Chapel Hill Road, men wrapped waist-down in yellow cloth fed fruit and nuts into one of five fires.
Melted butter flowed through a pole carved in snake form and onto the flames, as Sanskrit chants boomed through a loudspeaker and rings of barefoot onlookers watched and prayed.

The scene Sunday at Sri Venkateswara Temple of North Carolina was part of an elaborate religious event to spiritually prepare a site where the growing Hindu congregation is building its new temple.

Such growth among Hindus has been common in the Triangle as transplants from India flock to a region thick with high-tech jobs. More than 45,000 Indians called North Carolina home in 2006, according to census estimates, up from 26,000 in 2000. Most of them are Hindus, and many are concentrated in the Triangle.

The Cary temple will be the second large Hindu gathering place in the Triangle, but the first to practice a style of worship common in southern parts of India. The Hindu Society of North Carolina is in Morrisville.

"Because India is such a large and disparate place, a variety of different traditions have evolved there," said Ram Nagulpally, a temple leader who helped build a new temple at his last home in California. "The south is more ritualistic."

Sunday was the last of a four-day set of rituals, organizers said. Many of the 21 priests who conducted various rituals were drawn from different states; all had been trained in India. Mango leaves were shipped from Florida. The wide hut, called a yagasala, was built the week before -- just for this event.

Small metal statues of various gods were bathed in honey, milk and water, then adorned in flowers and held on high platforms in several processions.

All told, more than 5,000 attended the weekend event, said Bhaskar Venepalli, chairman of the temple trustees.

Rohini Muthusubra-Manian of Morrisville was among a group of brightly dressed women who prevailed upon Venepalli to let them carry one of the platforms. Up until then, only the men had.

She said she had seen a celebration of this size only in India.

"It's really awesome to have this here," Muthusubra-Manian said of the event. "It's like a piece of India at home."

Karthikeyan Panchanathan drove from Charlotte to see a celebration on a scale far beyond that of his small temple. He said a similar event in India would be the same, though perhaps even larger.

"It's a rare opportunity to come and see something like this," Panchathan said.

One shed allowed visitors to view granite statues that will be placed in the new temple, all brought from India at a cost of tens of thousands of dollars. The temple itself is a $2.5 million project with an ornate 50-foot tower.

That's a far cry from 10 years ago, when a handful of transplants from the southern region of India decided to worship together. Until that time, there was no place in the Triangle where their particular brand of worship, known for its elaborate and detailed rituals, was practiced.

Now, more than 4,000 people worship in a tiny building on Chapel Hill Road. Behind it, the shell of the massive new temple is rising. Once the basic construction is complete, a team of artisans from India will fashion an intricate facade -- another piece of India making its home in Cary.


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