By P G K Menon
In the past thirty years, hundreds of Hindu temples have been built outside India, especially in the USA. But most of them have been of a composite of materials, mainly of local materials with stone sculptures made in India.

Only in the case of the San Marga Shiva Iraivan Temple in Kauai Island at Hawaii (USA) a wholly and solely stone structure, with pillars/sculptures/vimana (uppermost storey) made of good old granite from India has been attempted, just like the Chola kings of South India created thousands of years ago.
Begun in 1975, it is estimated to cost forty crores of rupees. The pillars of this temple, mainly carved at a vast Silpa shala (carving ground) near Bangalore, is being regularly airlifted /taken by ships to the assembling grounds near the Iraivan Temple site in the Hawaii state of USA and is expected to be completed by 2017 according to Satguru Bodhinatha Veylanswami, the current guru and abbot of the Kauai’s Hindu monastery, which is building the temple.
It began, as Hindu temples traditionally do, with a vision. A western disciple of Lord Shiva, Satguru Sivaya Subramuniyaswami (Gurudeva) (1927-2001) had helped build 37 Hindu temples in places as far flung as Fiji, London, Anchorage (USA), Sri Lanka and Denmark. Gurudeva also led pilgrimages and established the Himalayan Academy to propagate Hinduism, as he instilled enthusiasm for Hinduism around the world until his death in 2001.
Early morning on February 15, 1975, he had a vision at his ashram on the island of Kauai in the Hawaii islands to build a Shiva temple. Thus was born the Iraivan Temple, its riverside site already sacred to the ancient Hawaiian people. Iraivan, “He who is worshiped,” is one of the oldest words for God in the ancient Tamil language.
He enlisted the services of Dr V Ganapati Sthapati, India’s foremost temple architect, who designed the temple strictly according to the Agamas and Vastu Shastras. Two eminent Indian swamis with hundreds of thousands of followers - Sri Sivaratnapuri Mahaswamigal (popularly known as Tiruchi Swami) and  Sri Balagangadharanathaswami--came forward to assist with the project  and in 1990 provided eleven acres of land outside Bangalore.
There, a village was built, and 75 silpi-, traditional stone carvers, were hired, and their families moved to the San Marga Iraivan Temple carving site at Bangalore - the only sculptors facility in India with a retirement program. Many pious Hindu families have come forward to sponsor parts of the temple. For example, three of the temple’s entry towers have been sponsored for $50,000 (25 lakhs of rupees). Other families are sponsoring one of 170 tridents on the railing ($1,008- 50 thousand rupees each) and individual pillars ($21,000- five lakhs of rupees each).
Each of the nearly 4,000 stones (the largest weighing 14,000 pounds) were hand-carved in India and then transported across the ocean to this Pacific island 8,000 miles away--about 80 container loads in all. The long-distance transportation Bangalore-Hawaii is adding heavily to project as it costs - Rs 5 lakh for every container. The 197-foot long concrete temple base alone, costs almost $500,000 (250 lakhs of rupees) due to exacting engineering requirements. When it is finished, the temple will measure roughly 90 by 150 feet and will stand 36 feet high from its foundation to the top of its gold-leafed capstone.
In order to ensure that the temple is maintained properly - half of the 16 million USD (80 crores of Indian rupees) donations received will be kept in a trust for maintenance of the shrine. The monks are practical too. At the gardens are quite a number of cats whose job is to control the rat population that invades the monastery from the surrounding jungles and sugar cane fields.   
Unique is the word for the enchanting components of the temple. Inside, softly lit shelves hold, bronze statues of Lord Siva in 108 dance positions. There are the two monolithic musical pillars, single black stones five feet wide and thirteen feet tall. Craftsmen carefully carved out 16 thin “rods” which when struck with a mallet give different and precise classical Indian musical tones. This is by far the most difficult challenge to the sculptors’ skills. The only other musical pillars carved in the 20th century, less elaborate than Iraivan’s, are the same V G Sthapati’s work, at a temple in New Delhi.
The stone chain and bell that will greet pilgrims at the entry gate look simple enough, but they, too, are rare. The chain’s links and the 32-inch diameter bell are all carved out of the same giant stone, so they are totally interconnected. The bell hangs from a ceiling in which the motto “One God, One World” will be carved in hundreds of languages. The bell is rung with a sandalwood mallet.
Two six-inch-thick sandalwood doors leading to the main sanctum will be elaborately carved with sacred motifs and hung on polished black-granite frames. Ironically, though scriptures require these, they have not been part of any temple for hundreds of years in India.
Asked why, the architect smiles and answers, “These doors are made from the finest sandalwood carved to perfection. In India the first time they are left unguarded, thieves take them off their hinges. So, Indian temples stopped making them.” The eight lion pillars are special, since a ball is carved inside the lion’s mouth.
The temple’s central murti the crystal Shivalinga is so rare that it may seem an innovation, but it is, in fact, of a kind lauded in olden scriptures. The temples inner sanctum enshrines the world’s largest single-pointed quartz crystal--a 700-pound, 39-inch-tall, six-sided natural gem, a sphatika Sivalingam that started growing 50 million years ago in a deep cave in Arkansas and was acquired by Gurudeva in 1987.
In the Hindu culture of worship, Sivalingams are made of many materials, such as earth, wood, metal and gems. Among gems, the sphatika (quartz crystal) is considered very significant and sacred because it is spotless and transparent, like space.
Also included in the temple will be a time capsule to be opened 1,000 years from the temple’s dedication date. The capsule will include instructions on how to build a new temple, as well as other information.
“Hindus believe in reincarnation,” the master sculptor said. “I’m planning on coming back to see the opening of the time capsule.”
Although you can count on one hand the number of Hindu families on this island of 55,000, each year the temple draws thousands of Saivite Hindu devotees from across the world.
While ordinary tourists traditionally make the pilgrimage to Hawaii to worship the gods of sun, surf and sand, these travellers come for serenity, solace and Lord Siva. MF