Hindu school, worship center completed
Chanting mantras and offering gems, hundreds of Lake County Hindus welcomed home idols of their deity, Shri Radha-Krishna, Thursday at Chinmaya Mission Chicago's Yamunotri school of Vedantic studies near Grayslake.
The "moortis," or idols, 5 feet tall and each weighing roughly 600 pounds, are handcrafted in marble from Jaipur, India.
Their installation marks the center's completion, though the school opened its doors last December.
"Before it was just the inauguration of the building," said Lakshmi Bhagavatula of Vernon Hills, a volunteer teacher at the school. "This now makes it complete. This is an important day for the mission because we do not actually have an idol (now)."
Until now, worshippers had been praying in front of a picture of Lord Krishna.
Worshippers laid gems at the base of the shrine where they will later place the idols of Lord Krishna, who Hindus believe is the incarnation of the god Vishnu, and his ardent devotee Radha chanting both their names. The idols will be unveiled Saturday morning at the culmination of three days of festivities.
"That's a shrine," Bhagavatula said. "That's where we have our prayers."
Chinmaya Mission, an international spiritual organization, teaches the ancient Hindu philosophy of Vedanta and its application today.
"An idol represents an ideal," said Shubi Mansukhani of Libertyville, a center volunteer and member of its board of trustees. "It just signifies the concepts that we are learning. It also inspires devotion and it inspires that love for god, whatever that means to each person."
The Yamunotri center, located on seven acres at 30877 N. Fairfield Road in unincorporated Lake County, has 270 students enrolled in classes from prekindergarten through 12th grade. It also offers adult scripture classes catering to more than 200 families in Lake, Cook and McHenry counties and southern Wisconsin.
"We just enjoy coming here and learning about our Vedanta and literature," said Uma Shah of Libertyville, who takes adult scripture classes at the school. "The main thing is there is a place we can call our own."
Her husband, Dilip Shah, chimed in, "A place for worship and peace."
The celebration continues today and Saturday with prayers, religious discourses by Swami Tejomayananda, head of Chinmaya Mission Worldwide, and a cultural program offered by the center's students Saturday afternoon.
Welcome: Festivities continue today and Saturday