History, Timing, Architecture, Interesting Facts and Travel Guide of Malibu Hindu Temple, Calabasas, Malibu, California, America
The Malibu Hindu Temple is a holy pilgrimage for Hindu devotees. The temple is situated in Calabasas city, in the Santa Monica Mountains (California, the United States). The temple is devoted to Lord Venkateswara. It was made up in 1981. The Hindu Temple Society of Southern California operates the temple.
Southern California is full of Hindu residents. It was built mainly because of them. The temple arranges many ceremonies and gatherings. It has a giant area to perform meditation. A large theater is there in the temple. Many enlightening programs and Hindu functions are performed there. The temple has two compounds. The top compound is for Lord Venkateswara and the bottom one is for Lord Shiva. Apart from them, Goddess Andal, Goddess Lakshmi, and Garuda Deva are also worshipped here.
When a large group of Indian citizens started moving to the United States, they were all scattered in every part of the country. People, who started their lives in California, did not have any proper place to worship. They had to congregate in each other’s houses to perform the spiritual traditions. Eventually, the number of people started to increase and they felt the absence of a significant place of worship. Vasan Srinivasan was an Indian civil engineer residing in the Los Angeles area. He noticed this problem of the local Hindu people and started collecting funds from them. Eventually, he also started supervising the making of the temple. He brought a few priests from India to perform the rituals. He was the founding head of the temple. Finally, the whole construction was completed in 1981. The temple appeared in many Hollywood movies because of its magnificent view. The 1997 film “Beverly Hills Ninja” directed by Chris Farley and the 1998 Tamil movie “Jeans” was shot here. Even Britney Spears came to visit this temple in 2006 to perform a large observance for her son.
To maintain the essence of Indian culture, the temple was built following the Dravidian Style of architecture. This type of architecture is very common in South Indian temples. The interior of the temple has excellent carvings. The walls are decorated with different sculptures. The top of the temple resembles the common South Indian Hindu temples.
Maha Shivratri is a significant festival celebrated here to glorify the presence of Lord Shiva. All the local and neighboring devotees gather to celebrate the festival. They follow all the rituals to complete the worship. People offer flowers, fruits, milk, and other things to show their gratitude toward the deity. The Maha Shivratri festival units a large number of followers here.
Apart from this festival, many other cultural programs and ceremonies are performed at the temple.
The daily worships are followed by a series of rituals. The priest performs all the rituals with great devotion. Devotees also take part in this. Different types of Aartis are performed during separate times of the day. Apart from that, Archana, Sahasra Nama Archana, Abhishekam, and different types of Homams are performed.
There are different time schedules for summer and winter.
In summer, the temple remains open from 9.00 am to 12.30 pm and 5.00 pm to 8.00 pm.
This schedule is only for summer weekdays.
On holidays and weekends of summer, the time is from 8.00 am to 7.00 pm.
In winter, the temple remains open from 9.00 am to 12.30 pm and 5.00 pm to 7.00 pm.
On holidays and weekends of winter, the time is from 8.00 am to 7.00 pm.
To have any further information, people can contact the temple committee at info@malibuhindutemple.org / (818) 880-5552.
ConclusionThe temple is one of the biggest Hindu temples in the United States. It became a famous shooting spot for regional films. At present, tourists from all over the world come to visit this temple.
How to Reach Malibu Hindu Temple, Malidu, California USA
The exact address of the temple is 1600 Las Virgenes Canyon Rd, Calabasas. Many public buses run from neighboring cities regularly to the temple. It is not very tough to reach the temple by road. If anyone is traveling from India, they can take a direct flight to the Los Angeles Airport. Cab facilities are frequently available outside the airport to reach the temple.
