New Hindu temple draws Midwest followers

Since its opening Feb. 5, Indianapolis' new Hindu temple has provided Bloomington-area Hindus with a place to worship only an hour away.\nThe Hindu Temple of Central Indiana, located on the city's eastside, is Indiana's only Hindu temple. Its continuing construction and expansion underscores the growth of the Hindu community in Indianapolis, which has reached nearly 3,000 families, according to the HTCI.\n"The temple serves a very important spiritual, religious, social and cultural need in the Hindu way of life," said Srinivasan Chandrasekhar, vice chairman for the HTCI. "Naturally, we are absolutely thrilled about having built the first phase of the temple."\nThe temple -- in the first of its three development phases -- is currently an 11,500-square foot multipurpose hall that contains classrooms, a kitchen and space for religious services and community gatherings. Eventually, the temple will cover more than 30,000 square feet on a 13-acre site and is projected to cost $7 million. The architecture will be distinctly Indian, with a wide stone staircase ascending to an elevated colonnade, and three-dimensional elephant murals that will appear to be towing the temple like a colossal chariot. \nThe shrines of 12 Hindu deities will be installed inside.\nThe temple is planning classes that will provide guidance to children regarding the practice of Hinduism in a modern setting. Plans for a variety of cultural activities involving local and visiting artists are also in the works, Chandrasekhar said.\nThe opening of the temple has caught the attention of members of IU's Indian community.\n"When I heard they were \nbuilding the temple, I thought that was really great," said Karan Chaudhri, president of IU's Indian Student Association. "I was shocked that a state the size of Indiana didn't have one."\nUntil recently, the only option for the state's Hindus was to worship at home or travel out of state to places like Chicago, Cincinnati, St. Louis, Dayton or Columbus, Ohio.\nThe idea of the temple in Indianapolis has evolved over decades. With the influx of Hindu families to Indiana in the 1960s and '70s, the Indian community debated between building a community center or a temple. A community center was decided upon, and a small room was leased to Geetha Mandal, a Hindu religious group, to conduct religious services once a month, Chandrasekhar said. \nSix years ago, the Hindu community evaluated the situation and concluded that a full-fledged temple was needed and possible. With a fund-raising event in October 2000 that resulted in a pledge of $1.5 million and a land donation from a group of devotees, the temple committee began the planning. The special architectural design of the temple was developed by an architect from India who subsequently worked with a local architect and builder from Indianapolis.\n"Religion is a very important part of my life," Chaudhri said. "Now Hindus from abroad and Indian Americans have access to a temple where we can pray, practice our faith and educate others about Hinduism."\nHinduism is one of the world's oldest religions, about 4,000 years old, and revolves around belief in reincarnation and a supreme god worshipped as many deities. There are about 800 million Hindus in India and some 1.5 million in the United States, according to the U.S. State Department's International Religious Freedom Report 2004.