BHARATIYA
TEMPLE OF LANSING:
QUESTIONS
AND ANSWERS
July 25, 2008
Bharatiya Temple of Lansing
955 Haslett Road
Haslett, Michigan 48840
Temple Phone: 517-339-6337; the Temple has no Fax.
Temple website: http://lansingtemple.org
Contact: Mr. Rajiv Das, Chairperson, Board of Trustees
(Home phone: 517-347-9843; e-mail: rajivrdas@hotmail.com)
BROAD OUTLINE
1. How did the idea originate? -
Motivation/Needs - Brief Background
The Bharatiya Temple of Lansing had its origin in the desires of a few people around 1980 to build a temple in the Lansing area. There were about 100 Hindu families living in and around Lansing at that time, some of them since the 1960s. The need for having a place where they could worship the Divine and also preserve their cultural heritage was acutely felt. The initiative to build the temple was initially led by Sudhakar Kulkarni, Shrikumar Poddar, and Prakash Kapoor.
2. How many people were involved with the
project to start with?
The three Founding Trustees named above, and a group of some 20 families who supported the idea of a temple right from the beginning.
3. Did it start with hired premises or a plot
of land/built up area acquired/bought for the Temple?
We never had hired premises. During 1983-88, intensive (and ultimately successful) efforts were made by the Board members to acquire land for the construction of the Temple. In December 1988, the land on which the present structure of the Temple stands was purchased. After making land improvements, site development, and construction of sidewalk, the Sanctum of the Temple was completed in April 1992 and the deity of Shri Ganesha was installed there. This deity, gifted to the Hindu community of Lansing by Satguru Sivaya Subramuniyaswami of Hawaii in November 1982, remained in the home of Usha and Sudhakar Kulkarni for 10 years (1982-92) and was worshipped there by the community. Also, during the years 1982 through 1993, a monthly Satsang (prayer meeting) was held at the homes of different devotees.
4. Did the local authorities cooperate by
making land available at a cheaper rate?
The local authorities were cooperative and gave us some insider tips. For example, they were the ones who suggested that we buy the land where the Temple now stands, because a church was coming up in an adjacent plot and the area was being re-zoned. The owner of the land gave us a discount on the price.
5. Composition of Indian communities involved
in the project?
A broad cross section of the Lansing-area Indian community, coming from all the regions of India, was involved.
6. What was the attitude of neighboring
communities/City council?
The City council by and large supported the temple project from the beginning. The neighboring community initially had reservations, but after a dialog was initiated with some of its representatives, its attitude became positive. It took educational effort on our part to convince the community that we were a peaceful people who just wanted to worship in our own way.
FUNDS
7. Through donations/fundraising/endowment?
Through donations, fund-raising, and a bank loan of (initially) $ 200,000 from Old Kent Bank without any personal guarantee.
8. How long did the process of acquisition of
funds take place?
This is an ongoing process; it took 12 years for substantial funds to be collected. Only a small amount of the needed funds was collected between 1981 and 1992; major donations, as well as the $ 200,000 bank loan, came in 1993. The Temple had a debt of about $300,000 in 1998 and progressively reduced this amount over the next several years, becoming debt-free in 2002. In the fall of 2003, the Temple assumed a new debt (mortgage) of about $100,000 upon the purchase of a second home to accommodate the priest families.
9. Is the temple associated with any other
temples/institutions/organizations in India or in the US?
No.
10. Did any donations in cash/kind come from
India?
No.
CONSTRUCTION AND
ARCHITECTURE
11. When did it begin? In how many stages?
There have been three stages so far. The construction of a small, one-room structure, to serve as the Sanctum, was started in May 1991 and completed in April 1992. The extension of the Sanctum to include a large Hall, restrooms, and kitchen facilities, was completed in the first week of March 1994; that was when we had a fully functional Temple. The third stage was the addition of 1,670 square feet of space, so as to extend the sanctum, have a structure strong enough to support a Shikhara, and provide for a library and a coat room. In the expanded sanctum area, seven garbha-grihas (mandirs) for the seven groups of deities were constructed under the direction of renowned temple architect Shilpakalamani Muthiah Sthapathi of Chennai. Construction of this third stage began in mid-1997 and was completed in November 1998 with the installation of three Shikharas atop the Sanctum area. With the Temple having become debt-free towards the end of 2002, we are revisiting the issue of starting on a fourth stage when sufficient funds are collected for that purpose. We hope to replace the present make-shift arrangement for performing Havans (offerings through fire) with a proper Yagnashala; establish the Navagrahas (planetary deities) properly; expand the dining facilities; and possibly add an auditorium.
12. How long did it take to construct
the temple?
See #11. We have had a fully functional Temple since March 1994. It took 12 years of effort (1982-94) from conception to completion.
13.
Details about the architecture along with plans?
The design made in 1997 by master architect Muthiah Sthapathi for the sanctums for the various murtis was constrained by the fact that the Temple building already existed. The sanctums are in the style of atmaartha griham (a "private" shrine in one's own home). He also designed a beautiful entrance gate (Maha Dwaaram). The three shikharas on top of the building were done by the William Reichenbach Company of Lansing and are constructed of steel frame and coated with water-proof stucco, and as such require minimum maintenance. On top of each shikhara is mounted a golden Kalasha on a copper base.
14. Where are the architects based - India/US?
The architect for the stage-2 building (completed in 1994) was Vijay Vasantgadkar, who is based in Windsor, Canada. All the traditional temple architectural features we have were designed in 1997 by Shilpakalamani Muthiah Sthapathi of Chennai, India, and executed in 1998.
15. Where did the artisans come from: in India
or US?
Civil work for all the stages of the construction was done by local construction-company crews. The temple architectural features were implemented by six shilpis provided by Muthiah Sthapathi. They came from India (Chennai) and stayed in Lansing for 11 months to do their work.
16. Are all the phases of construction complete?
Essentially, yes. But we hope to replace the present make-shift arrangement for performing Havans (offerings through fire) with a proper Yagnashala; establish the Navagrahas (planetary deities) properly; expand the dining facilities; and possibly add an auditorium.
17. Difficulties faced if any?
There were two difficulties, besides the difficulty of collecting needed funds.
(a) Getting visas from the US Consulate in Chennai for the visit of the six artisans was a very prolonged and frustrating process that almost derailed our plans to have the Pratishtha of the murtis in the summer of 1998. The dialog with the Consulate went on for about 4 months, in late 1997 and early 1998, and the visas were issued only after the Temple hired an immigration attorney and the Chair of the Temple Board made a special trip to India to meet with the US Consular officers.
(b) The Indian style of architecture was initially not allowed by the Township (even in 1993, when they approved the stage-2 expansion), but later (in 1997) we were allowed to go ahead with the installation of the Shikharas.
18. Architectural style? Inspiration for the style? From where?
In 1993, a small group of devotees, including representatives from the Board of Trustees, visited various temples in USA and Canada and thereby gathered ideas for the style of the temple. They liked a temple in Toronto and chose the architect (Vijay Vasantgadkar) who had designed it to design our Temple. Mr. Vasantgadkar made several designs for the building, and one of them was chosen by the community at a town meeting. That was in 1993. In 1997, Muthiah Sthapathi provided the inspiration and the design for the sanctums. They are in the style of atmaartha griham (a "private" shrine in one's own home).
DEITIES
19. How were the deities chosen? Were these deities commonly worshipped by
the community in the area?
The deities were chosen to represent the three main traditions of Hinduism: Shaivism, Vaishnavism, and Shaktism. The chosen deities also met the worship preferences of the members of the community.
20. Who are the deities?
Sri Ganesha, Sri Karttikeya, Sri Uma-Maheshwara, Sri Amba Mata, Sri Rama Parivar, Sri Radha-Krishna, and Sri Venkateswara.
21. Where did the
deities come from?
The deity of Sri Ganesha was a gift to the Hindu community of Lansing by Satguru Sivaya Subramuniyaswami of Hawaii and may have been made in India. All the other deities were made in India and shipped over in the second half of 1994. The deities of Sri Kartikeya, Sri Uma-Maheswara, and Sri Venkateswara are of black granite in the South Indian style and were made in Bangalore and Tirupati, while the deities of Sri Amba Mata, Sri Rama Parivar, and Sri Radha-Krishna are of white marble in the North Indian style and were made in Jaipur and Bombay.
22. How was the Pratishtha done? Did any priest come from India for this
purpose?
The Prana Pratishtha of the deities was celebrated on a grand scale as a 5-day event during June 10-14, 1998. A Yagnashaala was set up on the Temple grounds for this purpose. There were 7 participating priests, but none came from India. Besides our own two priests, 5 others came from other temples in the US.
23. Apart from the main temple devoted to the
main deity/deities, are there any secondary temples? If so, for whom?
All the deities in the Temple have equal status and they are all located in a common sanctum area. There is no designated chief deity. Also, till 1999, there were no secondary temples or sanctum areas. In 1999, at the request of the Lansing-area Jain families, a separate sanctum was completed in the Temple building for installing Jain murtis. A Svetambar murti of Bhagvan Mahavir (37" high, made of marble) and a Digambar murti of Bhagwan Parsvanath (9" high, made of ashtadhatu) arrived from India in December 1999, and were consecrated during Memorial Day weekend in 2000 (May 26-29, 2000). Jain devotees conduct a Puja on the 4th Sunday of every month at 11 AM and Arati every evening at 7:30 PM.
24. Costume/jewelry of deities? Does it change with festivals?
There is not a great deal of jewelry: the deities wear gold chains, and the goddesses also have mangal sutras. The dresses are changed weekly, but the jewelry remains the same.
PRIESTS/DEVOTEES
25. Number of priests? Where do they come from - India or locally
based?
We have presently two priests, Sri Balasubramanian Kannan (Sharmaji), who has been with us since January 1998, and Sri Surendra Bhardwaj (Shastriji), who joined us at the end of May 2002. Both priests came from Delhi. Having two priests makes it possible to cater to the needs of individual families for priest services in their homes without compromising the needs of the Temple.
26. Languages spoken
by them?
Sharmaji speaks Hindi, Telugu, Tamil, Kannada, and some English. Shastriji speaks Hindi, Sanskrit, Punjabi, Haryani, Rajasthani, and some English.
27. How many devotees/people visit per day?
Daily, about 25 to 30. On weekends, about 40 to 50. On first Sundays of each month, when we have a Satsang, about 150. On third Sundays of each month, when we have Havans, about 100. On major festival days, 250 to 400.
MAJOR
FESTIVALS/ACTIVITIES/RITUALS
28. Major festivals celebrated?
Makara Sankranti, Maha Sivaratri, Srirama Janmotsavam, Mahavir Jayanti, Krishna Janmashtami, Ganesh Chaturthi, Navaratri, Diwali, Skanda Shashti, Gita Jayanti.
29. Day-to-day activities?
Temple is open for worship on weekdays from 9 AM to 1 PM and from 5 PM to 9 PM. On weekends, the hours are 9 AM to 2 PM and 5 PM to 9 PM. There are pujas daily, both in the morning and in the evening.
30. Daily rituals (worship/arati) and the kind
of rituals - what language rituals are conducted in?
The daily schedule of Pujas is:
Sunday: Shri
Ganesha Abhishekam at 9:30 AM (45 minutes)
Monday: Shri Rudra Abhishekam at 9:30 AM (45 minutes) and at 7 PM (75 mins.)
Tuesday: Shri Kartikeya Abhishekam at 9:30 AM (45 minutes); Shri Kartikeya and
Shri Hanuman Prayer-Chanting and Puja at 7:15 PM (45 minutes).
Saturday: Shri Venkateswara Suprabhatam at 9:30 AM (45 minutes), Shri
Venkateswara Abhishekam at 10:15 AM (45 minutes), and Navagraha Devata
Abhishekam at 11 AM (75 minutes).
On Sankatahara Chaturthi days (see Religious Calendar),
Shri Ganesha Abhishekam is performed at 7:15 PM.
Daily: Abhishekam for Bhagavan Mahavir at 10:30 AM.
The rituals are all conducted in Sanskrit. Usually, during the evening pujas, there is singing of bhajans by devotees in various Indian languages.
31. What kind of music accompanies the rituals?
No music accompanies the rituals. Only mantras.
32. What priest services are offered, and what
are the rates?
The priests provide services for all 16 samskaras (rites of passage), both in the Temple (where appropriate) and in the homes of individual families. The rates and regulations concerning priest services are posted here.
33. What does the temple do to foster the arts
(cultural activities)?
Devotional
music and classical dance programs are organized frequently at the Temple. Celebrations of major festivals provide
occasions for members of the community, particularly our youngsters, to exhibit
their talents in dance, music, and variety entertainment.
34. Are the premises
used by any other organizations/institution/Indian community members? E.g.
teaching, hosting community functions, marriages, etc.
As the focal point of the Indian community in the greater Lansing area, the Temple premises are used extensively by various groups in the community. Activities include: Shishu Vihar class for children aged 4-6; Bala Vihar class for children aged 6-12; Hinduism class for middle- and high-schoolers; Hindi class for people with little or no prior exposure; Bharata Natyam classes for children and adults; Bhagavad Gita class; and yoga classes. For private functions like marriages and upanayanams, the Temple facilities are available on a rental basis for members. About 5 to 8 weddings per year have been conducted in the Temple since 1996.
35. What kind of
prasad (sanctified food) is served?
Fresh fruits, raisins, and nuts are served for the daily Prasad. Vegetarian meals during festivals and other big gatherings.
36. Any commerical activities allowed inside the
premises?
No.
MEMBERSHIP
37. Membership of Temple?
About 100 families are dues-paying members of the Temple. About 500 to 600 Hindu families, plus some large percentage of the 300 students of Indian origin studying at Michigan State University, visit the Temple quite regularly. These families come not only from the greater Lansing area but also from cities in Michigan as far away as 60 or 70 miles (e.g. Grand Rapids, Kalamazoo, Jackson). That is because these other cities do not have Temples of their own.
38. Who can become a
member of the Bharatiya Temple of Lansing?
Any individual or family subscribing to the objectives of the Temple and submitting the necessary dues and donations.
39. What is the annual
membership dues?
Any individual or family wishing to become a member must have:
a. Donated a total of $ 250 (excluding membership dues) to this Temple in their lifetime, and
b. Paid annual membership of $ 150 (family) or $ 75 (individual).
In order to be eligible to vote in a particular year, dues must be paid by June 30 of that year. We have strictly complied with this policy in the recent past and will continue to adhere to it in the future.
40. Are there any
exceptions to this policy?
Life members, which includes an individual or family who has donated a total of $10,000 (excluding membership dues) in their lifetime to the Temple, as well as honorary members, need not pay annual membership dues.
41. What are the
benefits of membership?
Membership in this great institution is a privilege. It primarily provides you and your spouse (family membership) the right to vote in the election of the Board of Trustees and therefore a voice in the administration of Temple activities. It also allows you to rent the Temple facility for private functions such as weddings, birthday parties, etc.
42. Who can serve as
a Trustee?
(a) Life member;
(b) Any individual or family who has donated a total of $ 1000 in their lifetime to this Temple and has paid the annual membership dues.
43. What type of
payments made to the Temple are tax-deductible?
Bharatiya Temple is a tax-exempt organization under Sec. 501(c)(3) of Internal Revenue Code. Our Tax Exempt ID number is 38-2399465; Michigan Incorporation Number is 881-085. We must use the tax-exempt status wisely and follow all regulations. IRS regulations state that any donations made to the Temple in cash or kind to the extent that the donor does not receive any value of goods or services back from the Temple are tax-deductible.
The following payments help the Temple activities but do not qualify for tax deductions as a contribution under the current IRS regulations: (These are just some examples.)
—Purchase of tickets for Temple-sponsored cultural events. However, if you sponsor the program to defer the cost, it will be a tax-deductible item.
—Cost of advertisement placed in Temple brochure.
—Purchase or rental of library books or videos
—Any amount paid towards services such as Sunday school, Temple rental etc.
44. Do I get a
receipt for my contributions?
Majority of the work done at the Temple is handled by volunteer workers. It is not cost effective or possible to send a receipt for every contribution we receive. Consistent with IRS regulations, we will mail you a receipt only when your contribution exceeds $ 250 per donation. For donations less than $ 250, your canceled check will be your receipt. We also publish in the January issue of the Temple newsletter a list of all donors for the previous calendar year.
PUBLICATIONS
45. Does the Temple have a
newsletter/journal/publication/website?
We mail out a newsletter to about 900 families/individuals every 3 months. Its contents are mostly news items about upcoming events at the Temple. There is no other publication. We also maintain an e-mail list of some 850 devotees and send out information about Temple events several times each month.
Two comprehensive brochures were published on the occasion of the Hindu and the Jain Prana Pratishtha ceremonies in 1998 and 2000, respectively:
Maha Prana Pratishtha Brochure (June 1998), 176 pages;
Jain Prana Pratishtha Mahotsav Brochure (May 2000), 100 pages.
The Temple has a website: http://lansingtemple.org.
MEMBERS OF THE
BOARD OF TRUSTEES FOR 2008
The nine-member Board of Trustees of the Temple for 2008 consists of:
Rajiv Das, Chairperson
Manohar Naga, Vice-Chairman
Pratin Trivedi, Secretary
Smruti Shah, Treasurer
Ashim Aggarwal, Executive Board Member
B.D. Agrawal, Executive Board Member
Pardeep Kumar, Executive Board Member
Sunit Patke, Executive Board Member
Jai Tripathi, Executive Board Member