Source

OMAHA, NEBRASKA, May 15, 2004: Gopala Krishnan stood barefoot and quietly prayed before an elephant-headed statue in Nebraska’s first Hindu temple Friday. As he lowered his head to the statue of Ganesha, he noticed that it was still dripping wet from milk that was poured on its belly during a prayer service. Krishnan said he takes pride in the massive 2.5-ton Ganesha that sits in the main sanctum of the newly renovated temple. The granite sculpture was brought to Omaha from India and is the temple’s main deity. There are 11 images of Gods or Goddesses now residing in carefully crafted sanctums of the temple.



The Hindu temple opened its doors Friday to the public as final touches were being put on the temple. “Spiritually it gives me a great satisfaction that this is here,” Krishnan said. “I’ve seen what it was before and now it’s a phenomenal achievement for the Hindu community.” Once a spaghetti restaurant, the building has been entirely gutted and revamped as part of a $2 million expansion project, said Jagdish Nijhawan, chairman of the temple. Private donations and several fund raisers made it possible for the temple to undergo construction. Without the new temple, about 800 Hindus who live in Nebraska would have to travel to Kansas City to attend the closest temple, Nijhawan said. “It was in 1994 that the community thought we should have a temple,” Nijhawan said. “We’ve taken great strides to expand the temple.”



Work on the temple has taken two years. A dozen artisans, known as shilpis, traveled from southeast India to create and hand carve the sanctums and decorative statutes. Shilpis often work from scratch and don’t use diagrams, Nijhawan said. The workers have a limited time to mold and carve poured concrete to make deities and other detailed sculptures using only three small tools. “There are no drawings for this,” Nijhawan said. “They just envision an image and duplicate it.”



Before the temple was created, members of the community would pray and practice their religion at home, Krishnan said. “Now it gives me the opportunity to sit down and pray with others,” he said. Krishnan’s two daughters, ages nine and seven, also attend the Hindu temple. The young girls are able to learn about their culture, language and religion through a class held at the temple each Sunday. “I’m able to bring culture and education back to my children,” he said. “Hinduism has a wealth of knowledge this is just one way to share that knowledge.”



A second story on this same temple is located here.

Post Views: 856