James Lochtefeld - The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Hinduism, 2-Volume SetRosen Publishing Group 2001 ISBN: 082393179X 0823931803 0823922871 Pages: 909 PDF 15.55 MB

As you drive through the cornfields of northern Illinois, just north of the town ofAurora, you may see a massive brick building that seems out of place. It stands threeor four stories high with an elaborate facade depicting pillars and cornices. Topped bytowering spires with flapping banners, it looks as if it belongs to another world. In asense it does—the architectural style comes from southern India, and the buildingitself is a Hindu temple.I was there late on a Sunday morning, and the parking lot was about half full.There were cars from as far away as Michigan. The building’s main entrance was a littlebelow ground level, and as is common with Hindu temples outside of India, the lowestlevel had a lobby, a kitchen, and a large meeting room that was comparable to the“church basements” of its Christian counterparts. The lobby was furnished austerely,with folding tables and chairs. There were a few people sitting near the kitchen, drinkingtea and chatting informally.By the staircases leading upstairs to the temple room were rows of simple shelves,fronted by low benches. I removed my shoes, as is customary before entering a temple,both to preserve the temple and to signify that one is walking on holy ground. Thestaircase marked the threshold between two regions, the outer and the inner world.Upstairs, the temple was richly decorated. The presiding deity was Venkateshvara, aform of the god Vishnu, whose image was placed in the center of the temple, the mostimportant space. Yet, as in most Hindu temples, there were images of deities fromthroughout the pantheon: Ganesh, Shiva, Subrahmanya, other forms of Vishnu, differentforms of the Goddess, and various subsidiary deities. Most of the images werecarved from black South Indian granite and polished to a mirrorlike finish. Many werehoused in small shrines built out of white marble. The primary function of a Hindutemple is to serve as the home for the deities it contains, and it was clear that thepeople who had commissioned the temple had spared no efforts. The temple hadbeen lovingly built and has been carefully maintained.

link: http://rapidshare.com/files/269231412/ku05.rar