Just imagine that by some blessing or perhaps pure luck you suddenly find yourself so rich beyond anything your mind's eye could have ever predicted, and that now you could fulfill your aspiration to use these riches to build the temple of your dreams!
Well, now is your chance to tell everyone the temple you would sponsor and build! There is no harm in it, to step away from our day to day activities and imagine.
So, let me know --- what temple would YOU build?
Share with everyone your dream temple, where it would be, what it would look like, and Who would live in it in Honor and Glory! Tell us how you would welcome the devotees, the pujas and prashadam, and tell us all of your dreams for such a wonderful temple to Deva or Devi!
And if you don’t mind, shall I be the first to imagine? And then I would like to hear YOUR dreams as well!
So now, I am suddenly so rich beyond imagination, that now my dream can come true! I will take these riches and I will sponsor and build a temple!
But immediately I have a dilemma. I am an ignorant Westerner, and while I may envision the overall motif of this home to my Deva or Devi, I am in no way qualified to make any conclusive rules regarding the important details of this endevour, I do not have the knowledge nor the purity to make any decision on how puja will be done, nor which way the Deva or Devi will be worshipped, or what time, or what calendar of holy days and special honors and celebrations, on rules of etiquette, or social norms and principles around proper welcome to devotees who come, or – well, a lot of very important aspects of what would entail the best and most auspicious and principled religious considerations, the maintenance of purity, tradition and knowledge that needs to live with the temple, nor even how to go about the day to day operations of a temple.
And so, I must do what my heart tells me is the correct thing to do first. I would sponsor a Brahmin family from India. I would incur all the costs necessary, the legal paperwork, the living expenses and salary of this Brahman family to come to the United States. They would be put in charge of all these matters for me, and be the final arbitrators of what is proper or not, what is allowed or not, and they would be the family in charge of the matters of puja, of the calendar of events, the matters of jyotish, the matters of Deva or Devi. If this family has any children, I would make the commitment to pay for the education of these children to attend any medical, engineering or technical schooling for which they qualify for and desire. This family would be given a house to live in on the same temple grounds, and would have the income to pay for all their family expenses. I would create a fund to continue to sponsor the Brahmins put in charge of the temple for generations to come.
So now you can see, we are not talking about rich. We are talking about super rich.
And that is exactly the vision you have to imagine as you build the temple of your dreams. I would ask myself, how would this temple be maintained after I leave this world? How will there be a continuum of the Brahmins who are the managers of the temple once my funds, slowly and eventually, are spent day to day for the Deva or Devi until they are all gone? For I need to think out into the future as well, because I would not, nor cannot, only consider this time and this day when the Deva or Devi comes to live in this temple. What about 20 years from now? Or 50 years? Or a 100 years, or maybe 1,000 years or more?
So this is a lot to think about.
That is why I will turn to the Brahmins for help and guidance. They have thousands of years of experience. I am a stupid Westerner, and I seek all the help and guidance I can find.
But now let me move on to the next step in this dream. Next I need to choose where to have this temple.
Well, my choice is clear. I would have this temple right here in the United States of America. Yes, so many may see the place of this temple, the home of the Deva and Devi, somewhere in India, perhaps a famous tirtha or holy site. But in my dream, this temple would be where I was born. There is no harm in that. Deva and Devi are everywhere, and will gladly come!
And so I would purchase a good plot of land, and actually this plot of land would have a small hill on it, and would have the acreage large enough to accommodate the vehicles of those devotees who come. Today that would be a parking lot – but this area would need to be something ready for the future as well whatever it brings.
And, this plot of land would be a location where those who are traveling on land could see the temple from a distance. Why? Because I plan to have white lights mounted to this temple which will light up the temple on special occasions. I imagine a bend in the travel way, and around that bend on a cool night in winter, suddenly the traveler sees the temple standing there on the small hill, alight in white light, marking its height and announcing to everyone that this is a special place!
When I say height, I mean exactly that.
For this temple will be in the Orissa style, a deul, the architecture of Bhubaneswar, where above the murthi housed stands a 150 foot high deul above the sanctum built of stone, and it will have japamohana porches, a dancing hall and a hall of offerings. On this 150 foot tower will be mounted white lights in four strings, each representing North, South, East and West, marking the very height of this temple with majesty.
Leading to the temple from where traveling visitors and devotees disembark will be a pathway of walking stones, carved into the stones will be the sun and the moon. In fact, there will be three such pathways, each parallel to the other, representing the three worlds. On each side of the pathways will be palm trees.
Just before you enter the temple grounds, there will be a gate you walk under. And at the top of this gateway, which will be in the Saranath style, will be engraved these words:
Satyameva Jayate
सत्यमेवजयते;
Truth Alone Triumphs
For this is the motto of the Nation of India. This is a quote that comes from holy Mundaka Upanishad, and it is verily the words in the first line of the concluding passage of the sacred Hindu Vedas.
On the North side of the temple tower will be carved the image of a Lion, and on the South side will be the Horse, and on the East side will be Elephant, and on the West side will be the Bull.
As you enter the gateway, there will be works of art displayed on walls and within smaller shrines. They will show Muruga and Valli. There will be Hanuman, Sita and Ram, and Lakshman. Ganapati and Nandi. There will be a special shrine for the nine planets known as the Navagrahas.
Of course all of the specifics of these arrangements will be decided by the Brahmins as the final arbitrators as to what is proper and sanctified. But I think you see the basic idea.
The inner sanctum would have the ability to both use modern light, the light of lamps using flame, as well as the ability to lift a stone from one side of the tower to allow natural light to shine down on the Holy Resident of the temple.
And Who would be this resident?
It would be Mother Annapurna Devi. She would stand four feet tall so that She can be also escorted on vehicles during very special occasions - of which material I know not and the Brahmins would decide. But if I am permitted to suggest Her Form, I would request the following.
That She has the skin tone of golden brown. Her Eyes will be Black. Her Hair will be Black. She will have 108 royal garments, which will use the colors of Yellow and Green and Red. She will have a necklaces of white decorations that are very, very long, almost touching the ground. She will hold a spoon with a very long handle, held in Her right hand with Her palm up and the spoon pointing sideways and parallel to Her forward looking Form. This is the spoon from which She gives holy porridge to Shiva and to Her devotees who beg alms, from which if you partake you will never be spiritually hungry again. In Her left hand will be the bowl that holds this porridge, and there will be no lid on this bowl.
When devotees go to see Her, Shiva may not be there. But the devotees will be told that She is also known as Parvati but in this form She is called Annapurna. And that this Annapurna has been so kind to come and visit us from a place called Kashmir.
In one special shrine just to Her right will be the form of Shiva. He will be standing, ashen, with palms up.
And on very special occasions this form of Shiva will be taken before Her to beg alms.
In the courtyard will be a special pavilion. It will be here that devotees if they so desire can sit on the floor at a given time, upon which will come a servant who will give each one a spoon of porridge to eat. This will be Her Prashadam.
This is my temple.
What is yours?
OM NAMAH SIVAYA
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Originally Posted by Believer
but for designing the buildings this is great! Happy building 
.
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