SALT LAKE, CITY, UTAH, July 16, 2011 (Salt Lake Tribune): Prompted by news out of India, Utah Hindus have been asked repeatedly in recent days if treasure is buried under their South Jordan temple. The answer is yes. But before people suggest devotees dig it up and give it to the poor, they should know this treasure is more symbolic than bankable.
Potential thieves digging under the South Jordan temple would come away disappointed, says temple president Chaitanya Achan. At the 2003 consecration ceremony, members of Utah’s 9,000-strong Hindu community gathered around, while a priest blessed the soil. They then dug a hole below where the sanctum would be, and people dropped in gold coins, costume jewelry and ornaments.
[HPI note: This is called the panchashilanyasa ceremony. Unlike a temple treasure, these materials are not supposed to ever be removed from the temple. They are there for esoteric reasons, holding mystical connections and acting as a beacon for divine power. Any Agamic temple will have such a small stash of selected gems, which relates to astrology, embedded in its structure.]
The question of hidden Hindu wealth has percolated across the globe since the astonishing discovery in Kerala, India, that its famous 16th-century Sree Padmanabhaswamy Temple was sitting on a pot of jewels worth more than $20 billion.
Precious metals and stones were consecrated as a devotion to the Gods or for use in times of scarcity as a kind of emergency fund, Neelameggham says. Builders also stored giant pots of grains to feed people during famines, thus allowing temples to serve as both a protective fortress and a community center in times of trouble.