Exit Jesus, Enter Krishna! Udupi Seer buys Church, Modifies into Temple
Mangaluru: It’s sad to note that thousands of churches are closing down each year in The United States. Sources reveal that there is less than half of the number of churches in US today than there were only 100 years ago, and nearly 4000 people leave the church every single day. Since 1950, there are 1/3rd fewer churches in the U.S. Of the 250,000 Protestant churches in America, 200,000 are either stagnant (with no growth) or declining. That is 80% of the churches in America and maybe the one you attend, if you attend at all. Even Catholic churches are also closing in thousands- and for that matter, the Catholic church that I belonged to as a parishioner in Chicago suburbs (when I lived there for over two decades) also closed down three years ago- there were six Catholic churches in our community, of which the Catholic diocese decided to close down five, and keep one large church open.
Lord Krishna Temple in Eddison, New Jersey-USA
What are some of the reasons that churches in the U.S. are closing down? Number one reason- attendance is very very low- you always see seniors attending the mass, while younger generation stay away. Other part of the reason that the church is declining in America is that expository preaching is no longer the rule but the exception. And also some of these decades-old large churches are very expensive to maintain, from maintenance cost to electricity expenses- in some places due to winter you need heat- and during scorching summer you need air conditioning- where electricity bills become enormous. Sad to note that some of these Catholic churches are converted into restaurants, clubs/pubs, and other social establishments. And now we are seeing a Church being bought by a Udupi Math Seer and converted into a Hindu Temple in Addison, New Jersey-USA.
According to sources, Udupi Puttige mathseer Sri Sugunendra Teertha Swami has accomplished a first of its kind act in purchasing a church and converting it into a Krishna temple, at New Jersey, USA. A statement issued by the math states that shortage of vacant land to construct a new temple inspired the seer to come up with the idea of purchasing an old church on a highway in New Jersey-US, located in a sprawling 4.5 acres and converting it into a Krishna temple. The old church structure has not been demolished but a clever modification has made it to look like a temple, the statement says. The idol of Kadegolu Krishna will be installed here shortly. There is a parking space to park 600 cars at a time. The temple has a seating arrangement for 1,000 devotees at a time. Sources reveal, the pontiff, who bought the church sometime back, decided to retain the existing structure, but architectural changes were made. The interiors of the temple will be in white (white flooring and walls). The existing chandeliers and lamps will be the added attraction.
Sri Sugunendra Tirtha Swami of Puttige Math, one among the Ashta maths of Udupi, is the man behind the move, which came as a huge surprise for Indians living in the north-eastern American state. Hindus, particularly the ones from Karnataka, are happy about this development. So enthused are the locals that they are extending all the help for the completion of works and inaugural. The preparations for the installation of the Krishna idol holding a churning rod sculpted out of Saligrama Shile are in full swing. [The Saligrama Shile is found in Gandaki river in Nepal. It was sculpted by Harish Acharya of Sirsi, Uttara Kannada.] The idol is being welcomed at devotees’ homes and it has already earned silver armour weighing 2 kg, which was donated by devotee Roopa Iyer. Janardhan Rao, who has settled there for 35 years, has dedicated golden eyes and other ornaments for the idol. Several Over 1,000 devotees have registered themselves to participate in the inaugural of the temple.
Back here in Udupi, the 19-inch idol of Lord Sri Krishna sculpted out of Saligrama Shile, which will be installed at Sri Krishna Vrindavana at the branch math of Puttige Math at Edison in New Jersey, U.S., was given a rousing welcome here on 3 May 2017. The idol was brought in a procession from Gita Mandira to Sri Krishna Mutt/Temple-Udupi. The idol was dipped in the Madhwa Sarovara pond and then taken to the mukha mantapa of Sri Krishna Math/Temple. Vishwesha Tirtha Swami of Paryaya Pejawar Math and Vishwaprasanna Tirtha, junior seer, performed mangalarti to the idol.
Vishwesha Tirtha Swami of Paryaya Pejawar Mutt performing mangalarti to the Krishna idol in Udupi on 3 May 2017, which is now installed in New Jersey Temple-USA. Suguendra Tirtha Swami of Puttige Mutt is also seen.
Vishwesha Tirtha speaking to the media had said “This idol is going from the west coast of India to the east coast of U.S. May this idol increase Krishna consciousness there. This is a momentous occasion. The Saligrama Shile is found in the Gandaki river in Nepal. The idol of Lord Krishna sculpted out of Saligrama Shile is 19 inches high. It was sculpted by Harish Acharya of Sirsi, Uttara Kannada. He stayed in Nepal for six months to sculpt the idol so that its sculpting and carving were neatly done.
The idol of Lord Krishna holding a churning rod was installed at the branch math at Edison by Sugunendra Tirtha Swami of Puttige Mutt on 8 June.
Though the birthplace of Christianity is Europe, it gradually migrated to countries in the East/West. Over centuries, the faith in Europe/America too began to diminish. This lead to a panic hence the religious authorities began to import preachers from the poor countries where the faith had migrated. How long will the poor continue to send their sons/daughters as priests/nuns ? Because, honestly, the genuine call to work in the Lord’s garden may have been just 1%, the remaining 99% were the poor youth enticed by education. As generations grew up and poverty overpowered (by now educated/working adults), the number of… Read more »
Ms. Lydia Lobo, Though I am not an authority on religious matters and do not go around claiming to be religious, nevertheless I consider myself to be God-fearing, a fact that dictates my life and actions, I wish to correct you.
The birth place of Christianity is Palestine and it spread to Europe, when St. Peter travelled to Rome. St. Peter is buried in the Vatican and his grave is still to be found there.
Do agree with you Nelson, no denial with the fact that Jesus Christ’s birthplace is Palestine. However, official reference to Christianity is Rome, not Jerusalem – why ? Where do emissaries of the Holy Father go from – Palestine, or Vatican that is in Europe ?
Did not intend to hurt your religious feelings – apologies.
No Madam, You have not hurt my religious feelings and I take everything in my stride.
It was just a healthy exchange. Please do not take any offence.
Very good work by Respected Shree….Good move…hope more and more changes like this to come …through out the world..
ha Mr. Vasant Raj, there is no hate brigade like VHP/Bajarang Dal there so ur wish will come true, once the same mentality which is here is imported by the seer then things might change
I noticed that a saffron robed gentleman climbing a rather long ladder in one photo, and on top of the roof in the next photo. It appears to me that the gentleman has worn no safety harness. While it may be part of the tradition back in India, USA (like all Western countries) takes occupational health and safety very seriously. So, it may be in the interest of all users of the facility to takes the safety matters seriously, not only to save their own bones but also save the committee members from being heavily fines/jailed for negligence. Please consider… Read more »
Based on that map when Jesus was born that land was called Judea, and there was no country called Palestine at that time. However, we do have the Philistines which are a people and it is not a place, here are more details on the same https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philistines were people
I’ve always maintained that religious minorities in India are more communal and toxic than majority Hindus. The responses to above report, ranging from condescending to offensive, prove my point beyond any doubts. One reader very astutely points out the ‘missing safety harness’ while another reader brands hindu religion as ‘cult of spiritualism’. In fact, the same reader declares Europe as the birth place of Christianity!!Unbelievable!! Who cares about reading and history, right? Smiles….Foreign masters should be really proud of what they have managed to accomplish!! Look – I have no horse in this race. I consider religion as one big… Read more »
There is a mention by Jay that the land where Jesus was born was called Judea. Possibly true, from a Jewish perspective. But the local Arab people, currently called Palestinians, and most likely illiterate at the time, were also living on the land in large numbers. In fact, the place where Jesus was born, Bethlehem, is not a Hebrew word. It is an Arabic word “Beyt Laham” – meaning, the house of meat. Possibly there was a butcher’s place many years before the village came up. So Arabs have had a long affinity to the place, no matter what the… Read more »
Confused Desi. Here is a list of questions by a Japanese Prof. on Palestine. If you feel there were local Arab people, currently called Palestinians the please answer the following questions. A Japanese View of the Palestinians Talk about one picture being worth a THOUSAND words… An interesting questionnaire for Palestinian Advocates By Yashiko Sagamori If you are so sure that ” Palestine , the country, goes back through most of recorded history,” I expect you to be able to answer a few basic questions about that country of Palestine : 1.When was it founded and by whom? 2.What were… Read more »
With reference to Jay’s questionnaire: I have always believed that the ethnicity of people and the concept of a ‘nation-state’ are two different things. The concept of a nation-state is a relatively modern phenomenon. In a very few and relatively small parts of the world (like Japan) one could assume that the concept of a nation-state has been there for a couple of thousand years. But in most parts of the world, a nation-state is a relatively new phenomenon. People lived as tribes, with their ethnicity identified by their tribe (primarily), and their linguistic families (at the secondary level). A… Read more »
A few have wondered about the real identity of “Japanese Prof.” Yashiko Sagamori.
This link may help the readers:
http://www.think-israel.org/sagamori.minuszero.html
Go to the very bottom of the page to find out more about the “Japanese Prof.” that asks all sorts of questions to the Palestinians.