Sree Venkateswara Temple of Cleveland to Open in May 2013

Balaji Venkateswara idol at Tirupati Temple, India.
However, Balaji is a myth; like Spider, Batman, etc; imaginary

S. V. Temple aka Sri Venkateswara Temple of Cleveland located at 4406 Brecksville Road in Richfield, Ohio is scheduled to open on May 22, 2013.  This Hindu temple area is approximately 3000 sft on a 7 acres of land lot. 

Venkateswara means "the Lord who destroys the sins of the people".   According to the Hindu scriptures, Vishnu, out of love towards His devotees, incarnated as Venkateswara and appeared for the salvation and upliftment of humanity in this Kali Yuga age. He is considered the Supreme form of Vishnu in this age.  Venkateswara's consort is Lakshmi aka Padmavathi.  Lakshmi is said to exist in several other forms. The most famous amongst them are Sridevi, Bhoodevi, and Neeladevi

The pranapratishtapanam program at first Sree Venkateshwara Temple in Northeast Ohio is scheduled to be held from May 22 through May 28, 2013.  According to Hindu Scriptures, special rite(s) are performed before deities are placed in the Sanctum Sanctorum of a temple, referred to as Prana-Pratishta, to infuse divine force into the deities. "Prana means ‘breath’ and Pratishta means ‘establishing’/’stabilizing’. So, Prana Pratishta is literally the process of ‘establishing the breath’ within the sacred image. In other words, it is bringing the sacred image to life! A theological explanation that recognizes the all-pervading and omni-present God, yet reflects on the idea of establishing the breath of the deity within an image, lies in the deeper meaning that the rites and ceremonies uncover. The pur-pose of the ceremony is therefore not so much to establish the Deity within the image, but to awaken the mind of the participants, us devotees, through the power of ritual, to the presence of divinity within that sacred image. At the beginning of the ceremony people see only stone or metal, but at the end they see God! The real installation takes place not in the stone or metal image, but in the minds of the participants.

There is an auction for first Pattuvastram offering to Lord Venkateswara with a starting bid of $5,000.  Starting bid for first Pattuvastram for Sridevi and Bhoodevi is $2,500.  There are other auctions and inaugural pooja sponsorships available for devotees.   

Mailing address for donations etc. is P.O. Box 305 Richfield, OH 44286.  Checks should be made payable to Sree Venkateswara Temple of Cleveland.

Richfield, Ohio is a village in Summit County, Ohio, United States.  This area is approximately equidistant between the downtown areas of Akron and Cleveland.  Richfield is part of the Akron Metropolitan Statistical Area.

Before you go to any temple, here is a must read related post on the meaning of Venkateshwara: http://clevelanddesis.blogspot.com/2013/05/brahman-hindu-god-and-relational.html