LOTUS Comes to Asia

It was also Sri Gurudev’s dream to see a LOTUS built in his Motherland of India and he spoke about this often as he traveled the globe. The spirit of reverence for all faiths is a foundational tenet of Hinduism, whose original name was Sanatana Dharma, meaning “eternal truth.” While modern times have seen strife among the believers of the different religions throughout India, Sri Gurudev hoped that building the LOTUS in India would be a reminder of the Vedic proclamation, Ekam Sat Vipraha Bahuda Vadanti: There is One Truth though sages call it by different names.

During Sri Gurudev’s visit to India in late 2000, he visited the property of Dr. P. G. Viswanathan family (managing trustees of Integral Eye Institute) in Pannimadai, 15 kilometers north of Coimbatore. This site is in a pristine valley at the foot of the majestic Western Ghats. Sri Gurudev loved this property and declared that great good to innumerable people would emerge from it. The Viswanathan family offered the land to Sri Gurudev and he performed the bhoomi puja (blessing of the land) there on January 31, 2001. 

In 2004, devotees Satish and Veenu Daryanani joined in the project and generously came forward to finance the initial costs of construction. With this very beautiful property consecrated by Sri Gurudev’s prayer and with this endowment, it is now possible to launch this blessed project. Top architects have been engaged (the original design of LOTUS is being slightly modified to suit the South Indian climate and setting), vastu shastra experts (knowlegable about ancient Vedic architecture) have been consulted and the initial stages of landscaping have commenced. The project will go forward under the supervision of Sri K. Ramaswamy (President of the Integral Yoga Institute of Coimbatore and Managing Director of Sri Gurudev’s school, Satchidananda Jothi Nikethan in Mettupalayam) who spearheads all of Sri Gurudev’s service in South India. 

The LOTUS project spans generations, cultures and nations. This will be a temple dedicated to every soul’s unique journey to God.  LOTUS reminds us that, while God is approached by a variety of paths and represented through a variety of forms, the truth behind all of them is the same. LOTUS will be a permanent monument to interfaith peace and harmony.

A seed has been planted. We welcome your participation to help this blossom into a magnificent LOTUS, a shrine to the Universal Light and an offering to the glorious feet of the Lord.

For more information, please contact the Integral Yoga Institute of Coimbatore: hariom@md2.vsnl.net.in.

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