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Deities To Be Installed At The Hindu Temple of Kentucky

A P Kamath in Louisville

Religious discourses, bhajans, cultural programs are part of the four-day celebrations at one of the largest temples in the Midwest, the Hindu Temple of Kentucky, which will have deities installed between June 16 and June 20. A number of distinguished Hindu and Jain religious leaders, including Gurdev Chitrabhanu, Swami Dheerananda, Swami Chidananda and Swami Pratyagbodhananda are part of the program.

The following listing covers just about half of the events planned for the four days of prayer, meditation, religious discourses, ceremonies and a slew of cultural events.

The event will begin with a Ganapati homam, from 10 to 11 am on June 16, followed by vastu pooja and homam, bhajans, swasthi vachan (prayer for auspiciousness), laya pradakshina (procession around the Temple), acharya ritvikarna (religious assignments for the priests and distribution of deeksha vastra), maha sankalpa (pledge by congregation to fulfill the religious injunctions for the installation of deities), Ganapathi pooja (prayer for removal of obstacles), punyavachanam vishwaksena pooja (prayer for removal of all obstacles according to Vaishnavite tradition) and the matruka pooja (Devi pooja). Thereafter will begin the mandala pooja, which will go on for 48 consecutive days.

There will be a discourse by Swami Dheerananda (Chinmaya Mission) on the power of pooja will be followed by a Kuchipudi dance by Madhuri Viswanadham and Sagarika Kalapatapu at the Ballard High School Auditorium.

Among the highlights on June 17 are the bhajan program by Swami Chidananda of the Vivekananda Vedanta Society, followed by maha kumba and the upakumba aradhana and the covering of deities with flowers.

A discourse by Swami Chidananda on disciplines of devotion is to be followed by an Odissi dance by Anuradha Potalawala

On the 18th, among other poojas a mandala pooja is also slated. After the lunch break Devi Parvathi is to hold a special session for youth. A session on Carnatic music by Sitalakshmi Madhavan and Bharat Natyam by Sujatha Srinivasan will be held between 7.45 and 11 pm at the Ballard High School Auditorium.

On June 19, a moola murthi mantra homam (homam for the main deities) will be held; among other activities is the 10-11 am discourse by Gurudev Chitrabhanuji (Jain Center) on the essence of religion. This will be followed by a discourse by Swami Pratyagbodhananda (Arsha Vidya Gurukulam) on the spirit behind the forms at 11-12 noon. Bhajans by Shamal Desai (Cincinnati), Anupama Sahasrabudhe and Sukhen Dey (Louisville) will be held between 2 and 3.45 pm, followed, in the evening by a mana unmana pramana homam (fire sacrifice to ward off evils due to any blemishes).

From 8-11 pm, Maneesha Sathe of the Kathak Dance Troupe (India), will perform at the Ballard High School Auditorium.

On June 20, a pran prathishtanga homam will be held and a procession led into the new temple. There will be then maha kumbha samprokshana.

There will be a Lord Mahavir snatra pooja and blessing by Gurudev Chitrabhanuji

For more information, contact S Srinivasan, Chairman, Kumbhabhishekam Committee, (502) 394 - 0441, (502) 314 - 3444, srini@louisville.edu.

For local arrangements, contact Rammohan Ragade (502) 425 - 8482 and Janardhan Alse (812) 246 - 3268

Website: http://www.kytemple.org

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