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Calabasas Hindu Temple;
treasure of the Conejo Valley |
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Artisans were
flown from India and spent many months completing the sculptural
work of the temple by hand. |
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The Sri Venkateswara Temple,
also known as the Malibu or Calabasas Hindu Temple,
is a landmark in the greater Los Angeles area and a
treasure of the Conejo Valley. Neatly nestled at the
Las Virgenes base of Malibu Canyon, the temple is an
expression of authentic Hindu architecture. Devotees
from all over Southern California come here to worship
and practice Hinduism.
According to a long-time temple attendee, a small group
of founders, searching for land availability, chose
the construction site in 1978. The location was selected
for a number of reasons including cost of land and geographical
similarity between it and a temple at Thirupathi, located
in southern India. |
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The 26,000 square foot temple is the work
of famous Hindu temple architect Muthiah Sthapathi.
Constructed according to a traditional Hindu design,
of the Temple Silpa Shastra in Chola, India, few details
are missing. One veteran devotee said, "Artisans were
flown from India, and stayed for many months completing
each piece of the sculptural work by hand." The initial
construction of the main temple, of Sri Venkateswara,
was completed in 1984, at a cost of approximately $3
million. A second phase of construction was completed
in 1988. A new temple complex devoted to the God Shiva
was started in 1996 and is yet to be completed.
The Calabasas Hindu Temple hosts shrines to several
deities. The main temple is devoted to Lord Venkateswara
with other shrines in the name of Lord Rama, Goddess
Padmavati, Lord Ganesha, Goddess Andal and several others.
Hinduism worships each of these only as a form of the
one and only God, Brahma, that expresses itself in trillions
of forms.
While the Calabasas Temple focuses on Lord Venkateswara,
other Hindu temples focus on even different deities.
The long-time temple devotee said, "that this may broadly
seem to separate Hindus into different sects, but by
worshipping these different named gods, Hindus really
are worshipping the One Supreme Being. God says: I am
one, though people call me by various names". Hinduism
is really far more than a religion; it is the Indian
culture of India. Hinduism is a way of life. It is not
an organized religion like Christianity or Islam, the
only two religions with more worldwide members. Hinduism
has no founder or celebrated figurehead and it has no
structured hierarchy. Hinduism is based on a tremendous
volume of scriptures. These scriptures, while teaching
Hinduism, actually examine the history and culture of
India.
Hundreds of devotees worship at the Calabasas Temple
regularly each week and over one thousand have gathered
for special functions. There is no active recruiting
or plan to gain more attendees. The Temple is operated
by a volunteer Board of Directors and is funded by donations
of the devotees. The Calabasas Hindu Temple serves as
a peaceful and spiritual sanctuary for Hindu worship
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