Texas unveils giant 'monkey god' statue

Hindu Lord Hanuman as a white monkey with blue eyes, friend of Ganesha (pinterest)

Mahayana Buddhist monks and nuns among Hindu parishioners at Sunday's Pran Pratishtha ceremony, during unveiling of 90-foot statue of Lord Hanuman (Sri Ashtalakshmi Temple)

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Monkeys are fun-loving and inquisitive mammals

Astonishing photographs of a 90-foot statue of the Hindu God Lord Hanuman — the third largest statue in the U.S.A. — have been obtained by Newsweek, following the unveiling ceremony in Texas.

The monument, known as the Statue of Union, stands at the Sri Ashta Lakshmi Temple in Sugar Land, Texas. Lord Hanuman is depicted as human, but with the head and tail of a monkey, as is customary.

• Huge half-monkey half-human statue in Texas sparks Christian conservative backlash (Newsweek)

Lord Hanuman namaste (Singapore)

The statue is holding both hands palm forward (mudra) and the end of the tail is twisted above the head, creating a halo effect.

Hanuman is a Hindu god known for his power, courage, and selfless service. He is also a symbol of power and celibacy.

The statue's unveiling on Sunday marks rapidly changing religious demographics in the U.S., with surveys showing a decline in the proportion of Americans who identify as Christian and a rise in those who say they are "nothing in particular" (the NONEs) or belong to religions which are followed by a minority in the U.S.

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Speaking to Newsweek Ranganath Kandala, joint secretary of the Ashtalakshmi Temple, confirmed the statue is 90-foot-tall and said it was inaugurated in a Pran Pratishtha ceremony on August 18, celebrating it as a living embodiment of the deity. USA's new 'third tallest' statue

• These are 10 of the great Hindu temples to visit in the USA

The breathing life into the statue ceremony

Most famous American Hindu Julia Roberts

The Sanskrit word pratiṣṭhā, which in general usage means "placement" of a murti (embodied solid object), is translated by Apte as "the consecration of a vessel or dwelling" [3].

The adjective pratiṣṭha means "installed" [4]. Prana means "life force, breath, spirit." The phrase Prana Pratishtha is a ritual that means "placing the breath-of-life into the image to establish it" [WQ] or "bringing life to the temple" [2].

It is also referred to as murti sthapana (image placement inside the temple). Traditionally, this was the step when the eye of the murti was sculpted open [2], inside the inner sanctuary (garbhagriha, the Purusha space) of a Hindu temple.

Young Hindu sadhvi priestess

This ritual typically involves a devotional ritual (puja) and the chanting of Sanskrit mantras as the deity is moved from outside into the center place.

It includes inviting the deity to become a resident guest of the temple, bathing and cleansing it, similar to welcoming a revered guest after a long journey.

This is followed by dressing and seating the deity in a place of comfort, with the image's face oriented towards the east (signifying the sunrise), followed by a Nyasa ceremony with hymns (act of touching different parts of the murti, symbolizing the presence of various gods as sensory organs:

• Indra [Sakka] as the hand,
• Brahma as the heart,
• Surya [Sol, Helios] as the eyes, etc.) [1].

The Hindu priest recites specific mantras and performs rituals to infuse the idol with the animating life force or "holy spirit" (prana).

During this process, the deity descends into the idol, making it a living representation [5]. After the infusion of prana, the deity is considered blessed and consecrated.

Devotees often seek the deity's blessings at this point. The ritual also includes the spraying of scented water and flowers, with the Chaksu͡unmilan ceremony (Sanskrit chakshu unmilan, "opening of the divine eye"), marking the high point of the ritual [6]. The image is then considered fully consecrated. More

• James Bickerton, Newsweek.com via MSN.com, 8/22/24; CC Liu, Crystal Q. (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly