If you drive south on Hooes Road, and slow down at its intersection with Silverbrook Road, you will see a towering building on your right. Far back on its roof sits a semi-circular dome topped by a spiral shooting up to the sky. Two identical smaller domes flank it. Recently added to the front of the roof is a large rectangular slab of stone, mounted by a dome bigger than these, with 33 minute identical spiral-topped structures studding it.
The building is the Durga Temple, an Asian Indian Hindu temple, religious home to approximately 1,000 Hindu worshippers a week and cultural focal point for the Hindu community. Like the religion and its traditions, the construction of these spiraled domes or Shikars, can be traced back to ancient times and is in keeping with the rules of Hindu temple architecture.
Full-time resident priest Mr. Acharya Trilochana Bhatt likens the Shikars to antennas on a roof. "Every deity inside a temple is represented by a Shikar on the roof." He says. "No temple is complete without this." He explains that the word Shikar, which traditionally means dome or peak, marks the location of the shrine or altar within and is placed to rise directly above the altar that it represents. It is meant to be an expression of the ancient belief that the deities within have a direct link to heaven.
But that is not the only reason for the Shikars. In the amalgam of religions and cultures that color the ethnic landscape of Northern Virginia and DC, the Hindu domes are a visual and public representation of the 3,000-year-old culture of dominant Hindu India. Says fellow priest Pandit Muralidhara Bhatta, "Just as the church has a cross on its roof, Islam a dome and the Jewish religion the Star of David, we have the Shikars."
The Shikars also stand out for their spiritual symbolism. "Not everybody can come into the temple and worship whenever they want to." Explains Pandit. Bhatta. "But as they pass by, if they can see these signs on the roof, they can draw power from it. It is the same as if they had entered and worshipped."
The big dome on the back of the roof corresponds to the temple's main deity, the Goddess Durga, who is portrayed in classical Hindu mythology as a supreme being and a dispeller of ignorance. The two smaller domes that sit on either side represent other deities within. The last dome with the 33 little Shikars is the main one, according to the priests.
The little structures on this dome are also known as Kalashas and represent the entire pantheon of the 330,000,000 forms of gods and goddesses that make up the religion of Hinduism. With its installation, the construction will finally be complete and the Durga Temple will have made its mark as the first Hindu temple in Northern Virginia that has a visual representation of all the deities. Mr. Bhatt states "I don't think any other temple has this kind of a dome." Members of the temple have been urged to sponsor one of these minute domes for $2,210.
"Though the shikars have to be installed when the actual deity is installed, we somehow did not do it at the time." Pandit Bhatta explains. Construction of the rooftop symbols began only in April 2005 and was stalled for several months by last year's severe winter, according to the priest. It was resumed again early this year. Then followed the accompanying religious ceremonies, the Shikar Prathista Apna or installation of the Shikars, on April 29 and 30.
The temple itself was constructed in 1994, with the goddess Durga being installed in 1999. It is less common in Hindu tradition to dedicate an independent temple to the goddess, making the Durga temple the first of its kind in Northern Virginia. The temple is a community project and has, since its inception, been completely funded and run by the community, though it has since acquired corporate sponsors such as Ascend Healthcare systems, iLOKA Inc., net GRAPHICS and Wachovia Bank.
Apart from the regular rituals and ceremonies that are performed according to the Hindu calendar year, the temple holds a discourse on the Bhagvat Gita, the holy book of the Hindus, every Sunday, cultural activities for children and tours for people from other faiths. "Many Americans, including students from George Mason University, visit us and we tell them about Hinduism and how it is connected to other religions." Says Pandit Batta.
He avers that the temple's philosophy extends to include everybody in the community and hopes that the Shikars too will inspire everyone who passes by to aspire to the right path. "Though the form of the deity is Hindu, anybody from any religion can pray and worship here." He says. The temple, apart from local devotees, has participation by people from other parts of the United States and Canada.
Pandit Murlidhara Bhatta, who is originally from southern India and was sponsored by the temple to work in the United States as a priest, arrived here in 2001 on a special religious visa, the R1 visa. Mr. Trilochana Bhatt, who hails from the northern part of India, arrived here on the R1 in 2000. When asked what the Shikar means to them and what message it could have for the local community, Pandit Bhatta said "For me, the Shikar is there so that every individual can aspire to that point of knowledge and peace. Almighty God is the ultimate power and we can only bow our heads and stay on the right path." Citing the recent Tsunami as an example of man's helplessness in the face of nature's destructive force, he calls to attention the importance of keeping our eyes on the Almighty and not getting carried away by mere material progress. "Looking at the Shikars, we must recall to our minds time and again that there is certainly a higher power who knows and guides everything.
"It inspires a clear mind and simple thinking." Added Mr. Bhatt.
Categories: Hindu, temples
No comments:
Post a Comment