Houston Meenakshi Temple
Houstan - Sri Meenakshi Temple
Sri Meenakshi Devasthanam located in Pearland, TX, a suburb of Houston, prevails as the third Hindu temple built in the United States since the 1970s, the peak of the Hindu immigrant settlement in the United States of America.
This temple is dedicated to Goddess Meenakshi, the only temple for the Goddess off the shores of India. However, in keeping with the spirit of Hindu civilization, viz., “Unity in Diversity” with so many religious paths, gods, sects and yet a single substratum “Brahman” (the single Godhead) activating this diversity, the temple is also dedicated to Lord Sri Sundareswara, or Lord Siva of the Saivite tradition.
To meet the diverse needs of the Hindu population, the Vaisnava tradition of worship is also celebrated and the temple is also dedicated to Lord Venkateswara (Sri Balaji), a form of Lord Vishnu. Thus this temple has become a confluence of the several traditions of worship, the Saivaite, the Vaishnavite, the worship of Lord Ayyappa, Devi Kannika Parameshwari, Lord Ganesha, Hanumaanji and several other deities – an affirmation of the theological “Unum” of the Vedas seen by devotees as many manifest forms – “Ekam Sat Viprah Bahudah Vadanthi” – “Truth is One, the wise speak of that One in many ways”.
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