Chapter 8
A Temple of Faith Where Dreams Come True
Before I end this book, I must tell you the story of the Temple of Faith where dreams come true.
In the previous chapter, I recounted my Faith story, my history, success, challenges, beliefs, philosophy, circumstances and life. I mentioned there that at the age of 28, in 1995, I built a temple. This chapter is the story behind the creation of that temple; its conception, creation and legacy. The temple, I believe, was born from God, it continues with God and God willing, it will spread the power of God forever.
One morning in 1993, I had a vision; a dream to build a temple with a gigantic statue of Lord Shiva, sitting in an environment of peace, serenity and tranquility. It came as a picture from God, as if it was telecast to my superconscious mind from God’s satellite. It created an impression on my subconscious mind and compelled me to act on it.
As if by magic, my father received a similar vibration and was excited about the idea of this temple. I set out searching for vacant land. I searched and searched, but couldn’t find a suitable place within my budget, not even in the outskirts of Bangalore City. But I didn’t give up hope. The image engraved by God in my mind inspired me to continue my hunt.
I was simultaneously looking for a land to expand my business and was in luck when I found a large property, big enough to house both the temple and my new business venture. I was truly blessed! I could now own a large departmental store on the busy Airport Road and create this Temple of Faith deep inside, away from the hustle and bustle of Bangalore traffic! But when I began my search, I had no money, no land and no architect. I only had an inspiration from God to move on. And then it all fell into place. As we identified the land, our business grew and the money came. We found an architect and a shilpi (sculptor). Many people were to work together, internally and externally; it was like constructing a big, 65-feet tall, building! God gave us the power and the energy required for our venture. When we asked the landscape designer to design river Ganga flowing down from the head of Lord Shiva idol, he said that it was impossible. Since it was God’s project, we told him that nothing is impossible! We then made it possible.
The construction of the temple began in 1994. Once the foundation, columns and the base structure were ready, it barely took a few months for the iconic idol to come alive.
It was magical, mystical and spiritual to experience God being created by man! It was much later that I realized that it was not man who created the idol, but God himself was working through the hands of man. I say this because the sculptor who made this idol has tried to replicate this idol in other cities of India, but has not been successful in doing so. Here, the sculptor built the 65– 75 feet-tall idol in less than six months without a plan or a blue print or even a measuring tape! It was not a human achievement but God working through him. As the temple was nearing completion, we reached the auspicious date, Monday, February 27th, 1995, the festive day of Maha Shivratri, but we didn’t know how to inaugurate the temple.
A common friend brought to our attention that the Shankaracharya of Sringeri (a revered spiritual saint) was coincidentally in Bangalore and that we could approach him. Just two days before Maha Shivratri, we humbly approached His Holiness and he agreed to consecrate the temple. The D-day arrived and instead of the expected 3,000 people, an astonishing three lakh plus people visited the temple! When the pundits (spiritual priests) chanted the mantras “Om Namah Shivaya” and “Om Triyambakam Yajaa Mahe,” vibrations encompassed the idol, the temple and everybody present there. It was the most scintillating and spiritual moment of my life. It felt as if God was physically there! And the magic has continued ever since.
Lakhs and lakhs of devotees visit this temple every month. The temple, by itself, has evolved and grown into a spiritual destination. The laurels and additions to the temple only grew every year.
Over the years, the temple has added many idols, structures and activities to enhance the spiritual vibrations in the temple and help devotees build a connection with God. Some of these have been mentioned below, in detail, for you to understand the significance and importance of each of these additions.
108 Om Namah Shivaya Yatra – A spiritual journey seeking Lord Shiva’s blessings!
In order to build a connection with God, one needs to have strong faith in God. In an effort to help devotees enhance their faith in God, the temple initiated