Answer:
The stone images of the Hindu gods that are enshrined in America’s temples come from India. Those of white marble are usually made in the artist colonies of Jaipur in Rajasthan in North India, while those carved of dark granite come from the studios of Mahabalipuram in Tamilnadu in South India. Whether white marble or black granite, the stone has been carefully chosen by the ritual architects who mark and measure each slab for carving, a process that brings forth the Divine image concealed within. When the images arrive in huge packing crates on the shipping docks in New Jersey or Galveston, they will be transferred to the temple site and treated with care. Until they are fully consecrated, however, they are still but stone.
The transformation of an image of stone to the embodiment of the Divine is a critically important ritual process. Undertaking these rites is a major step, requiring Hindus to make a permanent commitment to the temple and its roots in American soil. If, for example, a community has not yet consecrated its deities, the priest may offer prayers of invocation when they gather, bidding the Divine come and be present for the period of worship and then giving the Divine leave to go at the end. After they build a permanent temple and undertake the rites of consecration, however, the image will become imbued with the permanent presence of God. Once this is done, a priest must be in residence to offer honor, praise, and hospitality to the Divine guest every day of the week, every week of the year, from that day on, whether anyone else is there or not.
Explanation:
