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| Front View |
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| Carved marble front arches |
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| Lord Srinath |
(SHRI SANATAN HINDU MANDIR)
The second Mandir we visited was Shri Sanatan Hindu Mandir
located at Ealing Road, Wembley. It is managed by
Sri Vallabha Nidhi,U.K.(SVNUK). The objectives of this organization are to
popularize the principles of the great Vaishnavite religious
teacher, Sri Vallabhacharya (1479- 1531), who was a great scholar,
philosopher and orator. He stressed the importance of Bhakti or devotion and termed his philosophy as
Suddha Advaitha (Pure Non-dualism) and
his tradition is called Pushti Sampradaya (Path of
Grace). Importance of love and
compassion coupled with social service activities and propagation and preservation of Indian culture and philosophy make this temple
dynamic and universal in its functioning and other activities. It took nearly fourteen years to complete his magnificent
and wonderful
creation in lime stone and marble. It was opened to public on 31st
May, 2010. The cost of the construction
of this temple is sixteen million pounds.
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| Bala Krishna |
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| Sculpture on the wall |
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| The ceiling with beautiful carved sculptures |
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| Sculpture on panels |
The tall ochre-colored towers of the
temple attracted our
notice as we set foot inside the premises. The carvings on the sand-colored
limestone and light pink-shaded
marble were very much fascinating. These stones are from Jaisalmer and Banshipahadpur
in Rajasthan . They are hand-carved as per norms of Indian classic temple
architecture and sent to
London to build this beautiful temple.We saw an array of Hindu gods and
goddesses in various
arched shrines. Signifying the tolerance and Catholic outlook of the Hindu
philosophy that all are various
aspects of the same Brahman (Universal spirit), there are forty one shrines for
different gods, goddesses,
saints and religious preachers. The
presiding God (Main deity) is Lord Srinath (Lord Sri Krishna) in
black marble with one hand raised as if he were lifting the mount of Goverdhan to give shelter to
his cowherd friends and beloved milk-maids from the wrath of enraged Indra, (Head of gods), who was
showering thunderbolts and heavy rain from the sky. All these statues and work
on limestone were done in
a tiny Gujarath town called Sola in a traditional style. The ceiling of the temple looked like a lotus
done with many circular rows of figures delicately carved inside. A slab of
mirror was kept on a stone pedestal so that one can get a view
of the ceiling without straining one’s neck by turning upwards. At the time of our visit some construction
work is still going on to provide some amenities to visitors. This
temple is spread over an area of four acres (9,700 square metres) and is nearly
twenty meters tall
with the backdrop of the spacious Wembley Stadium behind.
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| Lord Rama with Lakshman and Sita |
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| Krishna and Radha |
In both these temples I found that much
importance was given to cleanliness, and orthodox conventions
like breaking coconuts and lighting oil-lamps are done away with.Only arti and
bhajans are done during scheduled timings.A serene atmosphere with a sense of devotion is seen without causing
disturbance to others.As someone said, silence is the language of gods and
cleanliness goes with godliness.
Lastly I can’t but refrain from expressing my
feelings on the surroundings of Wembley which has gained much
popularity for its spacious football stadium and arena, where many exhibitions
and celebrations take place.
Besides having many commercial and educational complexes, it has a majority of
mixed population coming from countries like India, Bangladesh, Pakistan and Africa. So we feel
suddenly transported to our native country on seeing Indians everywhere chatting loudly in large groups. Most of the shops are also run by Indians. In the restaurant the South Indian dishes rejuvenated our
taste buds with their spicy steaming smells. Most of the serving staff are young Indian graduates
doing part-time to meet their hefty educational expenses. Some unlucky ones gave up their educational
pursuits and reconciled themselves to their meagre means of livelihood till they earn enough money to
get back to their native country. The restaurant also seemed vibrant with crowded customers
conversing in diverse
tongues creating a noisy atmosphere. We stepped out of the restaurant with a
sense of satisfaction
viewing the Indian shops stacked with familiar commodities and items available
in India only.
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Dated 7th April, 2014 Somaseshu Gutala
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