 
A
Mahalakshmi temple called 'Sripuram' and made of more than
a tonne of pure gold will glitter and gleam under the sun
on August 24 when it is unveiled for consecration by the
Sri Narayani Peetam headed by a 31-year-old godman who calls
himself Narayani Amma. Devotees hail the temple as 'one
of the wonders of the world' and say that it is the only
temple covered fully with gold.
More
than 400 gold and coppersmiths from the Thirupath Thirumala
Devasthanam are said to have worked for six years to craft
the Rs 600-crore gold temple located on 55,000 sq ft of land
on a 100-acre salubrious stretch in Malaikodi, about 6 km
from Vellore in north Tamil Nadu. According to official sources,
the gold bars were purchased through RBI in "a transparent
manner."
First
the coppersmiths set to work creating a copper base on the
temple structure with engravings and etchings before the gold,
beaten into nine layers of foils, was draped around it. The
sanctum sanctorum will hold the deity of Mahalakshmi made
of stone granite, but covered with gold kavacham (adornments).
"The
Sripuram or Spiritual Park is Amma's dedication to the world
and mankind," said P Murali, a trustee of the Peetam,
adding that the temple has more gold than the Golden Temple
of Amritsar.
Messages
by 'Amma' have been laid out along the path to the temple
with messages from the Gita, Bible and Quran. "When one
enters the Sripuram, their focus is just on the magnificent
temple. But when they leave, they cannot do so without taking
some messages and gaining some wisdom," according to
a booklet detailing the 'services' rendered by the Peetam.
"In this quagmire of materialism, Sripuram rises as an
inspiration to man to find the divinity within him,"
adds a brochure.
Murali
said arrangements were being made to hire personnel to throw
a security cover around the temple. "But the gold sheets
have been laid out in such a manner that it would cost more
to rip it off than purchase the gold," said a top Vellore
district official.
 
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