Thousands Expected for Consecration of Hindu Temple in IL

August 7, 2004

Source: The Chicago Daily Herald

http://www.dailyherald.com/search/main_story.asp?intid=3820639

On August 7, 2004 The Chicago Daily Herald reported that, "the Hindu temple that rises in Bartlett... sits on Route 59, the same road that bustles with morning traffic and sprouts gas stations, strip malls and other staples of daily suburban Chicago life. As many as 7,000 visitors, most of them Hindus from around the world, are expected to turn out Sunday for the temple's grand moment: A consecration ceremony that will see the gods brought in, set upon their elaborate shrines and have life breathed into them... His Divine Holiness Pramukh Swami Maharaj, a leader from India that for Swaminaryans is the equivalent of the Catholic pope, will lead the event. The deities, however, will make their public debut in Chicago this morning, in a parade downtown."