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| 1 | HOUSE RESOLUTION
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| 2 | WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of | ||||||
| 3 | Representatives are pleased to congratulate the devotees of Sri | ||||||
| 4 | Venkateswara Swami (Balaji) Temple of Greater Chicago on the | ||||||
| 5 | 25th anniversary of the Temple; and
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| 6 | WHEREAS, Thousands of devotees from the Midwestern states, | ||||||
| 7 | especially from the Chicago area, used to travel to Pittsburgh | ||||||
| 8 | to have darshan of Sri Venkateswara swami; while the experience | ||||||
| 9 | was spiritually rewarding, the time and effort required to make | ||||||
| 10 | the trip was making it difficult for many to have his darshan | ||||||
| 11 | as often as their hearts desired; many felt a void in their | ||||||
| 12 | spiritual lives and their discontent was widespread; and
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| 13 | WHEREAS, As a result of the philanthropy of 9 families who | ||||||
| 14 | donated 20 acres of land with a farm house in Aurora, as a site | ||||||
| 15 | for the proposed Balaji temple, a beginning was made in the | ||||||
| 16 | realization of a dream; since Sri Venkateswara Swami (Balaji) | ||||||
| 17 | Temple is an institution that has to serve innumerable | ||||||
| 18 | generations to come, plans were drawn on a magnificent scale | ||||||
| 19 | related to the means available and the needs of the moment; and
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| 20 | WHEREAS, Padmasri M. Muthiah Sthapathy, a noted expert on | ||||||
| 21 | temple construction in India, collaborated with Sri Subhash | ||||||
| 22 | Nadkarni, a reputed architect of Chicago and a devotee of | ||||||
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| 1 | Balaji, and together they designed the temple; the design is an | ||||||
| 2 | excellent blend of ancient Shilpa shastra and modern | ||||||
| 3 | architectural technology; the design also served as a model for | ||||||
| 4 | other temples that were built later in the United States; a | ||||||
| 5 | unique feature of the temple is provision for circumambulation | ||||||
| 6 | (pradakshina) inside the temple, not only around the presiding | ||||||
| 7 | deity, but around all the major shrines inside the temple; and
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| 8 | WHEREAS, The mission of the Temple is continuing and | ||||||
| 9 | promoting the highest values of Hindu culture, philosophy, | ||||||
| 10 | religion, spirituality, and tradition in their adopted | ||||||
| 11 | Homeland with benevolence, compassion, and tolerance; and
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| 12 | WHEREAS, The Grand 25th anniversary celebrations will be | ||||||
| 13 | held May 29-June 5, 2011; therefore, be it
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| 14 | RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE | ||||||
| 15 | NINETY-SEVENTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that | ||||||
| 16 | we congratulate the devotees of Sri Venkateswara Swami (Balaji) | ||||||
| 17 | Temple of Greater Chicago on this momentous occasion and wish | ||||||
| 18 | them the best for years to come; and be it further
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| 19 | RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be | ||||||
| 20 | presented to the devotees of Sri Venkateswara Swami (Balaji) | ||||||
| 21 | Temple of Greater Chicago as a symbol of our respect and | ||||||
| 22 | esteem.
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