About LOTUS
September 17 1989
THE LOTUS BLOSSOMS
Devotees of the Lord met after the regular monthly puja and approved the minutes of the meeting of September 16, 1989. The general body selected the name Lord of The Universe Society LOTUS) for our organization. Members agreed that necessary steps be taken to register the organization, and discuss improvements to the temple. Further progress in theis regard shall be reported at our next meeting.
Submitted by S Ramanathan for approval of the membership on 24 September 1989”.
Thus began the journey of LOTUS. The name “LOTUS” was conceived by Jerome Wallace, an artist and a devotee. But before this formal meeting there was another story of how the Temple of Wahiawa, the nucleus of LOTUS, was discovered.
In March 1988, Dr. Ramanathan, Dr Shankaran, their wives and a few other friends were led to the Healing Stone site in Wahiawa by Mrs. and Mrss. Savitri and Rajan, Shivani and Roshan, who resided in Wahiawa. Savitri, Rajan, Shivani and Roshan were devotees of the Kauai Shiva temple under Subramanyam Swami also known as Gurudeva. Gurudeva vitited the temple, he placed a copper plate under the stone which resembled Lord Ganesha. From the vibrations he felt and from the bibhutis he observed in the Healing Stone, he declared the place to be auspicious. He stated that the Healing Stone was in fact the image of Lord Shiva, the small stone on the left of Lord Shiva that of Lord Ganesha and the gray stone on the very left that of Nandi, the carrier of Lord Shiva. Later that evening Channel 4 TV broadcast a story of the rediscovery of Healing Stone by the Hindus as their icon. The first puja at the sacred site was held on April 1988. It became apparent to those who attended the open air puja that this place was indeed special, sacred and holy.
Healing Stone at 108 California Avenue sits on a site of 378 square feet on the right of way of California Avenue in Wahiawa. The small parcel was owned by the Financial Corporation and developed by Clifford Shin and Sons, Developers. The site was to be dedicated to the city and County of Honolulu.
LOTUS negotiated a ten- year lease agreement with Mr. Clifford Shin in 1991 to use the premises of Healing Stone for worshipping Lord Shiva for a total lease rent of ten dollars. The lease agreement papers were drawn up by Mr. Manoj Chhabra, an young Indian lawyer.
On November 2, 1989 the constitution of LOTUS was accepted by the members. Article 3 of the constitution states the objectives of LOTUS as follows:
“The objectives of L.O.T.U.S are to promote and enhance the understanding and practice of spiritual, cultural, and philosophical ideals through devotional activities and discourses at the historic Healing Stone in Wahiawa”.
Membership of LOTUS was to be held individuals as a families. “A member shall be a person who subscribes and respects the objectives and activities of L.O.T.U.S”.
The office bearers of LOTUS, who also constitute the Board of Directors, are President, Vice president, Secretary and treasurer and are selected by the members from among them.
In October 1989, the office bearers of LOTUS were elected. The founding members of the Executive committee and Board of Directors were:
Mr. Dipankar Sengupta – President
Mr. Jerome Wallace – Vice President
Dr. S. Ramanathan – Secretary
Mr. G. Srinivasan – Treasurer
The first job that the Board took upon itself was to improve the physical condition at the temple. A coconut tree was in the middle of an unkept premise partly grassy and partly covered with broken and uneven pavements. There were no provisions of water or electricity. The sanctum was dark with a rusted steel chest in the middle of the floor. Obviously, no one paid any attention to improve the ‘Healing Stone’ site. The committee made up plans to improve the site for an estimated cost of $30, 000. LOTUS started a campaign to raise the funds and as a part of its campaign held its first cultural program. The response was overwhelming. Within months LOTUS raised almost $20,000 mostly from the Indian community in Hawaii. The cultural program was held on September 21, 1991 at the Campus Center Ballroom of the University of Hawaii, Manoa. Approximately 500 people attended the program. Vegetarian dinner cooked by the Indian Ladies were packaged in boxes and served to all the guests.
For the first few months of its inception, the puja at the temple was conducted by a pujari from the Kaui Shaiva temple. Once a month, the priest would fly from Kauai to perform the puja. LOTUS decided to have their own priest as it was inconvenient and costly to bring the pujari from Kauai. Dr. Ramanath Sharma, a Sanskrit professor and linguist at the University of Hawaii Manoa offered to be the permanent priest. It became a routine that on the third Sunday of every month the puja for Lord Shiva was performed at the Wahiawa Healing Stone. Dr. Ramanathan became the assistant priest helped by Dr. Gopalakrishnan and others.
Although, LOTUS tried in various ways to get permit from the City and County of Honolulu to build a shed for the attendees, the City declined on the ground that the space available did not meet with the minimum standards for having a permanent structure for the congregation. LOTUS had no other choice but to improve the site as much as it could be done for the convenience of the attendees. A lease was agreed on between LOTUS and the adjacent Olive Methodist Church with the understanding that the Church will allow water to be used at the temple in return for a fee.
In 1996, LOTUS embarked on a major renovation program at the temple. The temple floor, ceiling, walls and the outside floor were to be covered with marble imported from India. Mr. Asu Sahni, an Indian businessman in Hawaii came forward to make this program a success. Not only did he bear the major portion of the renovation cost, but he also imported the marble and put his own labor to lay the marble.
LOTUS Membership Form
click here to view and print the Lotus Membership form.
