GLENVIEW: It will be a dream come true for many devotees of Hanumanji in Glenview and surrounding suburbs of Chicagoland with Hanuman Mandir Spiritual and Community Center formally conducting a Bhumi Pooja for establishing a Hanuman Temple along with a facility for community and spiritual activities for people of all ages.
The event held on April 26 was attended by top officials of the Village of Glenview, President James Patterson, Dan Owens. and Congressman Robert Dold besides a large contingent Indian community leaders and devotees numbering 600 plus.
A team of fifty dedicated volunteers, comprising various committees like Decoration & Maintenance, Food Distribution, Reception & Registration, IT Support and others, very efficiently managed the event.
The Bhoomi Puja (the ground breaking) program was the culmination of a two year search for a suitable site on the part of a group of Indian Americans headed by Dr Chandra Khurana. Their efforts paid off when they found a 4.1-acre plot at 3623 West Lake Avenue in Glenview and they decided to construct a 37,200 square-foot, two story building after an Okay from the Village trustees.
This project will include a Hanuman Mandir and a community center. This will serve the long standing need of the community to have a multi-facility public place to celebrate various cultural, spiritual and educational programs. The Center will benefit members of all the communities and will offer a broad-based opportunity for social interaction.
The Mandir with the project is expected to be completed in about a year. It would have two distinct areas, which are, performance of spiritual activities and organizing various cultural community programs.
The Center, now known as Hanuman Mandir of Greater Chicago, will have the carving of deity idols done in India. The sculptors experienced in carving world-famous Makrana marble in Rajasthan are actively working to complete these holy artistic ventures in a timely manner.
The auspicious ceremony started with the worshiping of cow. The arrival of a healthy, live cow at 8 am at the temple site was a pleasant surprise for all those braving somewhat winter weather in the morning. The priest Shri Nagendra Rao from Sri Bala Ji Mandir in Aurora, performed the ‘Gau Pooja’ amidst the chanting of mantras and putting tilak on the forehead of the cow.
The prayers and chanting continued at the ‘Hawan Sthan (place of hawan’ inside the existing old building structure) for two hours. The Hawan fire was started by Dr Chandra Khurana in the company of many senior members of the Indian community. The Hawan Samagri was distributed among over 700 devotees to enable them to offer their ‘ahutis’ (offering to the holy fire) from their respective places.
The devotees dedicatedly sang the Bhajans highlighting the divinity of Hanuman Ji. The event announcements were ably handled by Satish Chander who kept the audience motivated to chant the holy words of ‘Hanuman Ji Maharaj ki Jai’.
All the devotee families were offered a steel plate and a red holy scarf as a gift to mark the occasion. At the end of the ceremony everybody received fresh and dry fruit prasad and a packed food box. The food boxes were donated by Viceroy of India and sweet ladoos were donated by Punjab Sweets.
Asian Media USA
