Bharatiya Temple

The Bharatiya Temple of Lansing was legally established as a non-profit religious organization with the monumental and dedicated efforts of Sudhakar Kulkarni, Prakash Kapoor, and Shrikumar Poddar on January 12, 1982. The first Constitution of the Temple was completed in May 1982. In November 1982, the Temple received the deity of ShriGanesha as a g... ift from SatguruSivaya Subramuniyaswami of Hawaii. The following year, the Temple received tax-exempt status. During 1983-88, intensive efforts were made by the Board members to acquire land for the construction of the Temple. In December 1988, the land on which the present structure of the Temple stands was purchased. After making land improvements, site development, and construction of sidewalk, the Sanctum of the Temple was completed in April 1992 and ShriGanesha was moved to the Temple from Usha and Sudhakar Kulkarni's house that month. For two more years after that, the Satsang (a meeting of devotees for worship) continued to be held monthly at the homes of different devotees, as it had been since 1982. On January 18, 1993, the Constitution of the Temple was amended to allow democratic election process, and twelve days later a new Board of nine members was elected, with Manohar Naga as the Chairperson. With the help of a loan of $200,000 from Old Kent Bank and the hard work and generosity of community members, the extension of the Sanctum to include a large Hall, restrooms and kitchen facilities, was completed in the first week of March 1994. The grand opening ceremony of the Temple was performed on March 12, 1994. In the period from June through September 1994, five sets of deities from India arrived at the Temple site and were installed temporarily at the Sanctum on October 2 ,1994. It took almost twelve years (1982-94) from conception to realization of a functioning Temple. The first group of trustees of the Temple not only had to keep the effort going with faith, dedication, and hard work in spite of many obstacles, but also had to debate and convince the ...Read More