JORDAN UTTA: Sri Ganesha Hindu Temple of Utah held four-day elaborate ceremonies called “Maha Kumbhabhishekam” involving ancient rituals for 12-year re-dedication of the expanded-renovated temple.
Ceremonies at this Temple in South Jordan included pujas, aarthis, havan, homams, adhivasams, archanas, yagnams, etc., leading to the actual Kumbhabhishekam for the gopuram spire (gopurashikharam), which include installation and sanctification of kumbhas (brass vessels) on top of a 40-foot tower (gopuram). Expansion-renovation project is budgeted at $2.65 million.
The expansion of the temple and construction of the 40-foot Gopuram is the culmination of years of work for Hindus in Utah, numbering over 5,000.
The construction of a Hindu Temple in Utah had been in the planning stages since 1993. The original temple was consecrated in 2003.Main sanctum of this Temple, is dedicated to Sri Ganesha, while it also contains shrines of various other Hindu deities. The temple expansion began in 2012. It doubled the size of the existing temple hall and includes individual shrines for Hindu ditties, an expanded entrance and courtyard and construction of the Gopuram in the front of the temple.
The project, budgeted at $2.65 million, was led by the Temple Development Committee and includes new priests’ quarters to better accommodate the faith community’s three full-time priests, who are from India. Ancient temple ritual of Kumbhabhishekam is believed to synergize-unite-homogenize the mystic powers of the deity and it involves ritual bathing with sanctified sacred waters accompanied by chanting of appropriate mantras, thus transforming the deity statue into a vibrant representation of the God.
The temple opens every day and organizes various pujas regularly. Prominent area business-leader Dinesh Patel is the Temple President while A. R. Krishnan, N. S. Satish Kumar and Manikandan Raghavan are the priests.
Rajan Zed, President of Universal Society of Hinduism, has applauded efforts of the temple leadership and area community for realizing this Temple expansion-renovation.
India Post News Service
