INDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA, USA, February 6, 2006: With the symbols of their God in place, Hindus who joyously celebrated the statues’ arrival Sunday can today begin regular worship in the new Hindu Temple of Central Indiana. “This is the only temple in the whole state of Indiana,” said board chairman Girdhar Ahuja, one of hundreds who helped sanctify the new building and honor the deities in weekend initiation ceremonies. The Far-Eastside temple — in reality a wing of a much grander facility being built in phases — opens today at 3350 N. German Church Road. On Sunday, following a day during which the temple and its congregants were sprinkled with purifying holy water as part of the prayer and preparation for its opening, Hindus applauded as the deities were introduced. “There’s a misconception that Hindus believe in many gods,” said Indu Vasudevan. “We believe in just one God that takes many forms,” she said. “It’s not simply the forms, but the grace of God that we are welcoming in this place now.”
One of the deities, the Radha Krishna, had been at the India Community Center on the Northwestside for 20 years. Until today, the center was the place where the area’s diverse Hindu community could gather for worship. “This is the first time that the Hindus have had a place dedicated only to worship,” said Vasudevan, whose husband is on the temple’s board of directors. Ahuja said it is his dream to complete the US$5 million temple and community center in three to four years. He said it took five years of fundraising to complete the initial portion. Atul Bhargava, chair of the committee that organized the weekend’s celebration, said the reality of a new temple brought in pledges and donations of nearly $250,000 over the weekend. “It’s more people than we really expected,” an excited Bhargava said of the Hindu faithful who patiently removed and stored their shoes in an outer room before filing into the crowded temple and joining in spiritual chants and hymns. Sameer and Kalpna Desai were among those who saw the temple as an important foundation for their children’s future. The Fishers-area couple, both Indians, lived in Texas before moving here and have gone to temples in Dayton, Ohio, and Chicago for special spiritual occasions. They think the addition of the temple here will make them and their daughter, 2-year-old Shailey, regular worshippers. “She needs to learn about both cultures,” said her mother, Kalpna Desai. “America as well as India.”