Hindu school, shrine opens this weekend near Grayslake

For hundreds of suburban Hindus, this weekend marks the unveiling of a new religious school and shrine near Grayslake offering a link to their culture and traditions.

The Chinmaya Mission Chicago-Yamunotri, situated on 7 acres at 30877 N. Fairfield Road in unincorporated Lake County, opens for business after two days of sacred ceremonies.

Celebrations begin at 7:30 a.m. Saturday and culminate with a cultural program at 1:30 p.m. Sunday presented by the school's young students.

Chinmaya Mission, an international spiritual organization, teaches the ancient Hindu philosophy of Vedanta and its application to modern life.

The group runs more than 300 religious education centers around the world, and more than 40 centers in the United States. Hinsdale is home to the only other Illinois center.

Construction of the Lake County facility began in July 2006, but it has been envisioned for several years.

Shubi and Deepak Mansukhani of Libertyville used to drive their three kids to the Hinsdale school before classes were offered in Lake County in October 1999.

It started with 32 students and one adult study group meeting at the Libertyville Civic Center. Classes have since been held at Fairhaven School and West Oak Middle School, both in Mundelein.

"Just a few of us got together and we started it, and it just kept growing from there," said Shubi Mansukhani, whose children are now in college. "We accept kids as young as 3 years old and it goes right through high school, and we also have adult classes."

Today, the Lake County center has a student enrollment of more than 250 children and four adult study groups. It caters to more than 200 families in Lake, Cook, McHenry counties and southern Wisconsin.

Religious classes for children, known as balavihar, are offered every Saturday. Lessons are value-based promoting positive character traits conveyed through stories and parables, said Mansukhani, who teaches ninth and 10th-grade students.

"Vedantic teaching does not belong to any one religion," she said. "It's like when you are teaching honesty and compassion … those values are universal and don't belong to any one religion."

The new 19,000-square-foot Lake County facility will offer weekly religious education and meditation classes for children and adults, and a place for worship.

It is the second Hindu facility in Lake County. Nearly 5 miles to the east, the county's first Hindu temple off Peterson Road also near Grayslake opened this summer with similar pomp.

For information about the Lake County mission center or this weekend's inauguration program, visit http://www.chinmaya-yamunotri.org or call (847) 680-4735.