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DES MOINES, IOWA, USA, June 3, 2005: Iowa State’s first Hindu temple, nestled at a bend in the Des Moines River near Madrid, will be consecrated in a five-day ceremony beginning Saturday. The Hindu Temple and Cultural Center of Iowa is the realization of a four-decades-old dream of about 1,000 Indian families who have settled here, according to Sri Krishna Kumar Pandey, priest of the temple. “For the first time, people will not have to travel to Kansas City, Minneapolis or Chicago to worship at a temple,” Pandey said. “People have been longing to come to pray to God in the same way they would in India.” Built in a Hindu tradition more than 2,000 years old, the shrines and towers make the new place of worship authentic, according to Shashi Tenneti, spokeswoman for the congregation. Shilpis, or skilled craftsmen from India, have completed the “Indianization” of the temple, dedicating 30 months to carving intricate designs into the 12 shrines and sculpting depictions of the deities out of cast concrete. During the consecration ceremonies, Hindu priests from India and the United States will anoint each shrine, and mantras will be chanted several times a day. The shrines will be decked with flowers and bathed with river water. On the final day, Wednesday, the ceremonies will continue until about 10 p.m., Tenneti said. In addition to the teams of priests, little girls and gentle cows and calves are part of the ritual.



“On these auspicious days, when all the mantras have been chanted and the mystic powers are united with the deities, the crown of the temple is sanctified and the temple is blessed with God’s presence,” Tenneti said. Prayers and other ceremonies will take place for an additional 43 days after the initial consecration is completed. Audio broadcasts will enable the expected crowd of several thousand people from all over the United States to keep abreast of the activities in the temple. “According to our Vedas, or holy scripture, building a temple of worship, contributing to the purpose, participating in these rituals and performing service during these ceremonies are highly commendable acts of Hindu dharma (cosmic law),” Tenneti said. “The combined prayers in the temple are believed to be very powerful and benefit the entire community.”



Suren Gupta, who is co-chairman of the temple board of trustees, believes the temple’s presence in Iowa comes at an important time. “We talk about cultural diversity, but those words have lots more meaning now under the circumstances of what is going on around the world,” Gupta said. “It is more important now than ever before to foster understanding about other cultures, religions and promote tolerance.” The public is invited to attend the event. Vegetarian Indian food will be sold on the temple grounds throughout the event.



During the dedication ceremonies of the Hindu Temple and Cultural Center of Iowa near Madrid on Saturday through Wednesday, special prayers and rituals begin at 8:30 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. each day. To schedule a group tour of the temple or to invite the priests to speak to your group, or for other information, call (515) 795-2635.

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