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Iraivan Temple

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Capstone of Iraivan Temple, Kapaa, Hawaii

The San Marga Iraivan Temple is a white granite stone Hindu Śaivite temple sculpted in India and erected on Kauai, Hawaii. "Iraivan" means "He who is worshipped", and is one of the oldest words for God in the Tamil language. The Iraivan Temple is located next to the Wailua River bordering Wailua River State Park. It is the first stone-carved temple built for at least a century and the first built in the West. It is maintained by the Saiva Siddhanta Church.

Temple

Iraivan Temple is a Śaivite Hindu temple, dedicated only to Siva. Born out of a vision of Satguru Sivaya Subramuniyaswami, the temple is a creation of Dr. V. Ganapati Sthapati, the former principal of the Government College of Architecture in Tamil Nadu. Sri Trichy Mahaswamigal of the Kailash Ashram describes its importance: "The Iraivan Temple is going to be to America what the temples of Chidambaram, Madurai, Rameshwaram, and other jyotirlingas (light center of Siva) are to India."

The temple is located on 51 acres land by the Wailua River, on the eastern side of Mount Waialeale. The land is shared with the existing Kadavul Hindu Temple and Kauai's Hindu Monastery. Temple carving began in 1990 and completion is tentatively scheduled for 2012.

Architectural features

  • Hand-carved temple: Without any rock-cutting equipment, stone craftsmen follow and preserve traditional methods, shaping the stone with simple chisels and hammers. The temple is made entirely of 3.2 million pounds of hand-carved granite carved in Bangalore, India. The stones are sent to Kauai in containers and assembled on site by Indian sculptors. The temple is built to last for at least 1,000 years.
  • Crystal Sivalingam: A 700-pound, 39-inch tall, 18-inch across, six-sided crystal representing the icon (murti) of Siva to be worshipped, is the world's largest. It was found in 1975, 65 feet below ground in Arkansas.
  • Fly ash foundation: The 4-foot thick foundation is made of a crack-free, 7,000-psi formula using "fly ash", a by-product of coal burning. Fly ash consists of inorganic, incombustible matter present in the coal that has been fused during combustion into a glassy structure.
  • Pillars: Six stone lion pillars are stationed around the sanctum. Each lion holds a stone ball in his mouth, movable, but impossible to remove. First outside of India, two musical pillars hold 5 feet tall rods designed to resonate precise musical tones when struck with a mallet. 240 bas-relief carvings portray a visual library of Saivism with sacred symbols, philosophical concepts, and sculptural depictions of Hawaiian and Hindu cultures.
  • Sandalwood doors: Sandalwood from India is used to build matching 6-inch-thick teak and sandalwood doors to the main sanctum.
  • Capstone (vimanam): The capstone of the sanctum tower is a 7-ton, single stone cupola gilded with 23-karat gold.
  • Plates and time capsules: Copper plates recording the history of the temple’s creation are stored in a rock crypt under the floor. The rock crypt also contains the same records preserved in a modern, argon-gas-filled stainless steel canister.

Mystical aspects

The temple is facing south and built according to vastu science. Vastu architecture aims at creating a space that will elevate the vibration of the individual to resonate with the vibration of the built space, which in turn is in tune with universal space. The whole space of the temple is defined in multiples and fractions of one unit, 11 feet and 7 inches. Pillars through the temple are spaced and structured to serve as energy points for the building. Iraivan Temple will be completely free of electricity for mystical reasons found by Satguru Sivaya Subramuniyaswami.

The quartz crystal (sphatika) of the Sivalingam is considered sacred in India because of its spotless and transparent consistency, like space.

Gallery

References

  1. http://www.gurudeva.org
  2. U.S. Federal Highway Administration. "Fly Ash".
  3. "Vaastu_Shastra".
  4. "Island Temple" (PDF).
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