Western Converts
Shiva's welcome
Installation of the god's Lingam is celebrated by San Diego worshippers
By Sandi Dolbee
UNION-TRIBUNE RELIGION & ETHICS EDITOR
July 21, 2005
The temple room nearly vibrated from the cacophony. The rhythmic
chanting from devotees packed shoulder to shoulder on the floor and in
chairs was joined by a clanging bell rung for so long a half-dozen men
took turns pulling the cord.
The sounds, and the people, were for Lord Shiva, the powerful third
deity of what is often referred to as the Hindu trinity. There is
Brahma, the creator; and Vishnu, the preserver; and Shiva, the
destroyer who can do away with everything from bad habits to evil.
Behind a red cloth curtain sat the focus of the congregation's
anticipation: a Shiva Lingam, a newly arrived idol symbolizing Lord
Shiva, which was being installed at the Shiva Vishnu Temple of San
Diego.
And with its arrival came another symbol of how San Diego County's
religious diversity continues to deepen. The Shiva Lingam is believed
to be the first in the region, taking its place among other idols at
the 5-year-old temple that is tucked into the back of a business park
off Arjons Drive in Mira Mesa.
"It's very auspicious," said Usha Dilawri, a 49-year-old Rancho Peñasquitos resident, of the arrival of the Shiva Lingam.
Like many in the crowd, Dilawri was born in India, where Hinduism is
believed to have been founded and is the predominant religion today.
For her, Hinduism is like her second life. "It gives me peace and
satisfaction. It takes away my worries and my difficulties and gives me
the strength to live my life."
They cling to a faith that is not only part of their heritage but also
gives them a code for conduct ... particularly the cause-and-effect
teachings of karma. "I think if you think about it, you don't do wrong
things," saidSudesh Kumar, a 58-year-old Carlsbad resident who also is
from India. This lingam, which means form, is not the typical image of
Shiva that Westerners are used to seeing ... a princely looking man
holding a three-pronged trident or wearing a third eye or dancing about
with four arms.
Indeed, the ancient idol form isn't meant to look like a being, at all.
Instead, when the curtain was raised, what was revealed was a black
stone pedestal, a couple of feet high and shaped like a basin, with an
elliptical, watermelon-sized brown stone atop it.
The Shiva Lingam is a powerful and sacred symbol in Hinduism, so much
so that the Shiva Vishnu installation ceremonies took place over four
days – beginning Thursday and continuing through Sunday.
The temple services were elaborate, each step a part of a colorful
process to bring this manifestation to life. "When we pray to this one,
we're actually praying to Shiva," explained Pandit Srihari Kadambi,
chief priest, who was joined for the festivities by a visiting priest
from a Livermore temple.
The stone itself is from the Narmada River in India. "It has to come
from only that river," Kadambi said. Some Hindu writings describe the
stone's shape as phallic to represent "the regenerative aspect of the
material universe."
The Shiva Vishnu Temple of San Diego is one of at least three Hindu
temples in San Diego County, joining a landscape that includes an
increasing number of Jewish synagogues, Muslim mosques, Christian
churches, Buddhist congregations and other houses of worship. The Hindu
population also is growing – with some longtime members estimating that
there are several thousand devotees living here.
On Saturday, the modest temple overflowed with about 250 men, women and
children, dressed in a colorful mix of Indian clothing – along with
some San Diego-like ensembles of jeans and T-shirts. At lunchtime,
people gathered under the shade of canopies, the pavement cushioned by
mats and rugs.
"If somebody told me I have to give up chocolate or religion, I'd
probably give up chocolate," said Sharad Sundar, a 12-year-old
University City student who came dressed in a Nehru-style suit. Sharad
said that for young people, Hinduism gives us something to focus on
when we're in some kind of predicament."
Not all Hindus are of Indian descent. As East met West, over the last
half-century particularly, there have been converts from other faith
backgrounds.
Gary Hofacker, a 55-year-old Descanso resident, became interested in
Hinduism through the writings of Gandhi. Raised a Protestant, Hofacker
said one of the attractions of this Eastern philosophy is that it
accepts all religions.
"It's like every religion is right, just different paths to God," said
Hofacker, who wore a red dot on his forehead to symbolize the third eye
of Shiva.
Raised a Catholic, Erika Kalter came to Hinduism through practicing
yoga and then learning chanting. She's been attending the Shiva Vishnu
Temple for about a year. "I just really found that this really filled
something in for me, where there was an emptiness," said the
51-year-old Hillcrest woman, dressed in a burgundy and gold sari.
Over lunch, there was much talk about the universality of religions.
About how everyone breathes the same air and bleeds the same kind of
blood. Headlines, however, often tell stories of violence and
disagreement in the name of faith.
That's the fault of people, said Joe Kohli, a 64-year-old Carmel Valley
resident. "From God's point of view, when he's looking at it, they're
all the same," he said.