Chinmaya Mission Orlando is happy to share two exciting new developments – installation of idols of Lord Krishna and Mother Ganga in the prayer hall and successful completion of our building expansion project. Since many years, Lord Shiva has presided over our temple-cum-prayer hall, christened Kaivalya by Pujya Gurudev. He has now been joined by Lord Krishna and Mother Ganga! In an arrangement that evokes memories of the Lord Jagadeeswara temple at Sandeepany Sadhanalaya, Lord Krishna stands to the right of Lord Shiva while Mother Ganga graces his left. Over three days in July 2014, the black stone idol of Lord Krishna and the three Kumbhas representing Mother Ganga were consecrated by priests from the nearby Hindu temple in accordance with prescribed Vedic rituals. We feel blessed to have had the opportunity to participate in a once in a lifetime ceremony such as this and to share it with the Chinmaya family and Hindu community in the Orlando area. Our joy was compounded by the simultaneous conclusion of our building expansion project that had been ongoing for several months. Since the inception of the Orlando center, the Chinmaya family has grown manifold and the place was starting to feel a bit cramped. As part of this project, we have doubled the size of our temple-cum-prayer hall and added twelve brand new classrooms adjoining it. We are now able to comfortably accommodate our children and are well positioned to sustain many years of growth in the future. The entrance to the newly expanded prayer hall features two exquisitely carved marble statues of Lord Ganesha and Mother Saraswati, imported from Jaipur.
The crowning glory was the inauguration of the newly expanded facility by Pujya Guruji Swami Tejomayananda. At the beginning of a three day visit in July 2014, Guruji cut the ceremonial ribbon at the entrance to Kaivalya and the long-cherished dream of the Orlando Chinmaya family – to have a modern, more spacious facility for spreading Gurudev’s message and to have it blessed by Guruji – became a reality! The enlarged Kaivalya hall was then put to immediate use when Guruji enthralled capacity crowds over three days with his talks on “Glories of Lord Krishna.”
It was indeed a magical moment in the history of the Orlando center. The combination of once-in-a-lifetime Vedic rituals, consecration of Lord Krishna and Mother Ganga, new buildings to enjoy and Guruji’s visit was special enough. But even dearer to our hearts is the knowledge that we are bequeathing this wonderful legacy to our future generations. As Pujya Gurudev’s birth centennial approaches, we look forward to using our bigger campus to continue spreading His vision and teachings for many years to come.
