The Hindu Temple of Greater Chicago (HTGC) is a

Hindu temple A Hindu temple, or ''mandir'' or ''koil'' in Indian languages, is a house, seat and body of divinity for Hindus. It is a structure designed to bring human beings and gods together through worship, sacrifice, and devotion.; Quote: "The Hind ...

complex in Lemont,

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolita ...

. It was inaugurated and opened to the public in 1986. It includes a

Rama Rama (; ), Ram, Raman or Ramar, also known as Ramachandra (; , ), is a major deity in Hinduism. He is the seventh and one of the most popular '' avatars'' of Vishnu. In Rama-centric traditions of Hinduism, he is considered the Supreme Bein ...

temple and a temple dedicated to

Ganesha Ganesha ( sa, गणेश, ), also known as Ganapati, Vinayaka, and Pillaiyar, is one of the best-known and most worshipped deities in the Hindu pantheon and is the Supreme God in Ganapatya sect. His image is found throughout India. Hindu d ...

Shiva Shiva (; sa, शिव, lit=The Auspicious One, Śiva ), also known as Mahadeva (; ɐɦaːd̪eːʋɐ, or Hara, is one of the principal deities of Hinduism. He is the Supreme Being in Shaivism, one of the major traditions within Hindu ...

, and

Durga Durga ( sa, दुर्गा, ) is a major Hindu goddess, worshipped as a principal aspect of the mother goddess Mahadevi. She is associated with protection, strength, motherhood, destruction, and wars. Durga's legend centres around co ...

History

In 1977, a group of South Indian community leaders formed the Hindu Temple of Greater Chicago organization. They chose

as the main deity of their future temple due to his wide appeal among Hindu immigrants. After considering around thirty sites in the

Chicago metropolitan area The Chicago metropolitan area, also colloquially referred to as Chicagoland, is a metropolitan area in the Midwestern United States. Encompassing 10,286 sq mi (28,120 km2), the metropolitan area includes the city of Chicago, its suburbs and hi ...

, the organization bought eighteen acres of undeveloped bluff land near Lemont, a southwestern suburb. Accessibility, seclusion, and cost were the deciding factors. To finance the temple's construction, the organization conducted fundraising activities and secured loans. In 1982-83, it started holding its rituals and gatherings in a home and in rented halls in southwest suburban

Downers Grove Downers Grove is a village in DuPage County, Illinois, United States. It was founded in 1832 by Pierce Downer, whose surname serves as the eponym for the village. It is a south-west suburb of Chicago. The village is located between I-88 and I-55. ...

and

Romeoville Romeoville is a village in Will County, Illinois, United States. The village is located southwest of Chicago on the Des Plaines River. Per the 2020 census, the population was 39,863. It is located in the southwest suburban area of Chicago near I ...

on a temporary basis. In 1983-84, frustrated by slow progress toward temple construction, a group of

Telugu Telugu may refer to: * Telugu language, a major Dravidian language of India *Telugu people, an ethno-linguistic group of India * Telugu script, used to write the Telugu language ** Telugu (Unicode block), a block of Telugu characters in Unicode S ...

professionals left the organization to build their own

Venkateswara Venkateswara, also known by various other names, is a form of the Hinduism, Hindu god Vishnu. Venkateswara is the presiding deity of the Tirumala Venkateswara Temple, located in Tirupati, Sri Balaji District, Andhra Pradesh, India. Etymology ...

temple in west suburban Aurora. Commenting on the split, scholar Padma Rangaswamy wrote, "The history of temple building in

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

is also the story of bitter infighting among rival groups." Author Raymond Williams remarked, "The difficulties encountered in developing the plans and in raising the funds for the temple indicate how hard it is to unite people from the various regions and sects in support of one project." After the split, the organization continued with its plans. The foundation stone of the Rama temple was laid in June 1984. After two years of construction, the temple was inaugurated with a ''

kumbhabhishekham ''Kumbhabhishekam'', also known as ''Samprokshanam'' is a Hindu temple ritual that is believed to homogenize, synergize and unite the mystic powers of the deity. It is part of the consecration ceremony of Hindu temples. ''Kumbha'' means the Hea ...

'' on July 4, 1986. In 1994, the original building on the site was converted to a temple dedicated to

, and

. A ''kumbhabhishekham'' was performed for the temple in the summer of 1994.

Temple complex

It consists of four buildings, the Rama temple, Ganesha-Shiva-Durga temple a community center connecting the two temples and Vivekananda Spiritual Center. The Rama Temple includes sacred images of Rama,

Sita Sita (; ) also called as Janaki and Vaidehi is a Hindu goddess and the female protagonist of the Hindu epic, ''Ramayana''. She is the consort of Rama, the avatar of the god Vishnu, and is regarded as a form of Vishnu's consort, Lakshmi. She ...

Lakshmana Lakshmana ( sa, लक्ष्मण, lit=the fortunate one, translit=Lakṣmaṇa), also spelled as Laxmana, is the younger brother of Rama and his loyalist in the Hindu epic ''Ramayana''. He bears the epithets of Saumitra () and Ramanuja (). ...

Hanuman Hanuman (; sa, हनुमान, ), also called Anjaneya (), is a Hindu god and a divine '' vanara'' companion of the god Rama. Hanuman is one of the central characters of the Hindu epic ''Ramayana''. He is an ardent devotee of Rama and on ...

Venkateshwara Venkateswara, also known by various other names, is a form of the Hindu god Vishnu. Venkateswara is the presiding deity of the Tirumala Venkateswara Temple, located in Tirupati, Sri Balaji District, Andhra Pradesh, India. Etymology Venkatesw ...

(Balaji), Mahalakshmi,

Krishna Krishna (; sa, कृष्ण ) is a major deity in Hinduism. He is worshipped as the eighth avatar of Vishnu and also as the Supreme god in his own right. He is the god of protection, compassion, tenderness, and love; and is one ...

, and Radha. The Ganesha-Shiva-Durga Temple includes sacred images of

, Ganesha,

Devi,

Subrahmanya Kartikeya ( sa, कार्त्तिकेय, Kārttikeya), also known as Skanda, Subrahmanya, Shanmukha (), and Murugan ( ta, முருகன்), is the Hindu god of war. He is the son of Parvati and Shiva, the brother of Ganesha ...

, Parvathi, Nataraja, Ayappasamy, and Navagraha. The complex also includes The Swami Vivekananda Spiritual Center, which houses many of the spiritual activities organized by the temple. Sitting on "Vivekananda Hill", next to the Spiritual Center is a 10-foot statue made of bronze of Swami Vivekananda. The design of the statue was inspired by a photograph taken of

Swami Vivekananda Swami Vivekananda (; ; 12 January 1863 – 4 July 1902), born Narendranath Datta (), was an Indian Hindu monk, philosopher, author, religious teacher, and the chief disciple of the Indian mystic Ramakrishna. He was a key figure in the intro ...

in Chicago after the World's Parliament of Religions in 1893.

References

External links

The Hindu Temple of Greater Chicago Homepage
{{Hindu temples in the United States Hindu temples in Illinois Religious buildings and structures in Cook County, Illinois Tourist attractions in Cook County, Illinois 1986 establishments in Illinois Buildings and structures in Cook County, Illinois