Shree Swaminarayan Temple, Chicago, IL is a
Swaminarayan Hindu temple located in the
Chicago suburb of
Itasca . Opened in 1998, it comes under
ISSO of the
Nar Narayan Dev Gadi (
Swaminarayan Sampraday ). It was built at the cost of $10 million, reportedly the most expensive
Hindu temple in the
Midwest at that time.
History
Acharya Maharajshree Tejendraprasad Pande inaugurated the temple on 2 August 1998. It is the first Shikharband Swaminarayan temple in the USA. The temple boasts of marriage and banquet facilities and is 34,000 square feet (3,200 m) in size. The temple claims to have devotees from Islam , Christianity and Buddhism apart from Hindus.
10th Anniversary
The temple celebrated its 10th anniversary in 2008 with carnival games and raffles, Indian craft exhibits, henna temporary tattoos, historical exhibits, guided tours of the temple, live dance performances and native foods. Indian culture was the focal point of the nine-day celebrations. The celebration culminated with a mile long procession with 3 floats attended by people from different parts of the United States, India and England. Of the three floats, the first had children in a cultural representation, the second had pictorial representation of Swaminarayan, with a bejeweled umbrella on the top of the float and the last one had Acharya Maharajshree Koshalendraprasad Pande , the current acharya of the Nar Narayan Dev Gadi who attended the festivities and ascetics. During the two-hour procession, women in swirling jewel-toned saris danced to a rhythmic beat on traditional drums. Eleven different cultural performances were organized by temple youth as part of the procession. Officials expected 5000 people to take part in this celebration.
Notes
^ Holt, Douglas (6 November 1998), HINDU SECT ENRICHES COMMUNITY OF ITASCA NEW TEMPLE PART OF GROWING PRESENCE , Chicago Tribune , archived from the original on 21 October 2012, retrieved 9 June 2009
^ Williams 2004 , p. 138
^ "Anniversary Celebrations at Swaminarayan Temple In Midwest" , Rediff.com , 23 June 1999, retrieved 9 June 2009
^ About Midwest Swaminarayan Mandir
^ Temple to celebrate 10th anniversary , Daily Herald , 25 July 2008, retrieved 9 June 2009
^ Thousands gather for Itasca temple's anniversary , Daily Herald , 3 August 2008, retrieved 9 June 2009
References
Williams, Raymond (2004), Williams on South Asian Religions and Immigration: Collected Works , Ashgate Publishing Ltd., ISBN 0-7546-3856-1
External links
Swaminarayan Temples (Mandirs) Establishments Major Deities Noted Saints Scriptures and other books Present Heads Devotional Songs Organisations
Nar Narayan Dev Gadi
Lakshmi Narayan Dev Gadi
Akshardham
BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Mandir Atlanta
BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Mandir Chicago
BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Mandir Chino Hills
BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Mandir Houston
Boise Hare Krishna Temple
Durga Temple of Virginia
Hindu Temple and Cultural Center of Birmingham
Hindu Temple and Cultural Center of Iowa
Hindu Temple and Cultural Center of Kansas City
Hindu Temple and Cultural Center of the Rockies
Hindu Temple of Atlanta
Hindu Temple of Bloomington-Normal
Hindu Temple of Central Indiana
Hindu Temple of Dayton
Hindu Temple of Delaware
Hindu Temple of Florida
Hindu Temple of Greater Chicago
Hindu Temple of Greater Cincinnati
Hindu Temple of Greater Wichita
Hindu Temple of Las Vegas
Hindu Temple of Minnesota
Hindu Temple of Omaha
Hindu Temple of St. Louis
Hindu Temple of The Woodlands
Hindu Temple of Toledo
Iraivan Temple
Kadavul Temple
Karya Siddhi Hanuman Temple
Maha Ganapati Temple of Arizona
Malibu Hindu Temple
Murugan Temple of North America
Northwest Arkansas Hindu Temple
New Vrindaban
Prabhupada's Palace of Gold
North Texas Hindu Mandir
Oklahoma City Hindu Temple
Radha Madhav Dham
Radha Krishna Temple, Dallas
Santa Barbara Vedanta Temple
Society of Abidance in Truth
Shiva Vishnu Hindu Temple of Greater Cleveland
Shri Lakshmi Narayan Mandir Orlando
Shri Swaminarayan Mandir, Chicago (Itasca)
Shri Swaminarayan Mandir, Chicago (Wheeling)
Shri Swaminarayan Mandir, Downey
Shri Swaminarayan Mandir, New Jersey (Colonia)
Shri Swaminarayan Mandir, New Jersey (Weehawken)
Sri Ganesha Temple of Alaska
Sri Kasi Vishwanatha Temple Flint
Sri Meenakshi Temple (Pearland, Texas)
Sri Somesvara Temple
Sri Siva Vishnu Temple
Sri Venkateswara Temple of North Carolina
Sri Venkateswara Temple, Pittsburgh
Sri Rajarajeswari Peetam
Sri Sri Radha Krishna Temple (Spanish Fork)
Vedanta Society Of Southern California, Ramakrishna Monastery
Sri Lakshmi Temple, Ashland
Vraj Hindu Temple
Yogaville
41°58′38.2″N 88°02′58.4″W / 41.977278°N 88.049556°W / 41.977278; -88.049556