Off Highway in Monroeville - is that a Hindu Temple? (Pittsburgh: chapel, university) - Pennsylvania (PA) - City-Data Forum

Tiger Beer · 03-17-2010, 08:05 PM

I recently took a long road trip, and passed through Pittsburgh again, etc. Saw a huge seemingly Hindu Temple off the highway in Monroeville....is that a Hindu Temple? What was that up there? Anyone know what I'm talking about? Don't know what it was, in traffic, and didn't go back to see...but made me curious about it.

In that blur of being on the highway, it looked like a Hindu-like Temple though...but in Monroeville in Western Pennsylvania? Could it have been?

Copanut · 03-17-2010, 08:09 PM

If you're talking about the one along Route 22, yes it's a Temple and has been there over 30 years.

Hopes · 03-17-2010, 08:10 PM

Yes, there is a Hindu temple near a highway in the Monroeville area.

There are two Hindu temples in the Pittsburgh metro and they're both near Monroeville. One is in Penn Hills and the other is in Monroeville near Murrysville.

The one in Penn Hills is supposedly one of the oldest Hindu temples in the United States.

Here are the links for the temples:

http://www.svtemple.org/Default.aspx...5-249c256085b4

http://www.hindujaintemple.org/

pcc09 · 03-17-2010, 08:10 PM

That is a Hindu temple. It's an exact replica of one that exists in India. An Indian friend of mine's parents live not to far from it and were actually married at the original one in India.

bradjl2009 · 03-17-2010, 08:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tiger Beer

I recently took a long road trip, and passed through Pittsburgh again, etc. Saw a huge seemingly Hindu Temple off the highway in Monroeville....is that a Hindu Temple? What was that up there? Anyone know what I'm talking about? Don't know what it was, in traffic, and didn't go back to see...but made me curious about it.

In that blur of being on the highway, it looked like a Hindu-like Temple though...but in Monroeville in Western Pennsylvania? Could it have been?

There are Hindus here in Pittsburgh, mainly due to jobs in the university and high tech field, but there is a large and stable enough population of them that the two temples are able to do well in this area. Pittsburgh actually does have a lot of interesting religious history to it such as the Hindu temple and St. Anthony's Chapel in Troy Hill which has more relics than anywhere in the world outside of the Vatican.

BrianTH · 03-17-2010, 08:42 PM

The one you can see from the highway is the SV Temple, which I am led to believe is a pretty big deal.

Tiger Beer · 03-17-2010, 10:27 PM

Yeah, that's it, so my eyes didn't fail me. Even though I'm still learning about Pittsburgh, I'd have thought the West Coast would have the large hindu temples...never expected that in Pittsburgh.

Any Baha'i Faith ones? While I don't know much about them, always been a bit intrigued by them.

Hopes · 03-17-2010, 11:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tiger Beer

Any Baha'i Faith ones? While I don't know much about them, always been a bit intrigued by them.

Zen Center of Pittsburgh - 412-741-1262

groar · 03-18-2010, 06:47 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BrianTH

The one you can see from the highway is the SV Temple, which I am led to believe is a pretty big deal.

yeah, it is - we go to udipi (the vegetarian south indian restaurant near there) a lot and there are always people from all over the country who've come here to go to that temple.

BrianTH · 03-18-2010, 07:20 AM

Someone may correct me, but my understanding is the SV Temple is modeled after a temple in India which is an extremely popular pilgrimage site (I believe the one in India may be the most-visited place of worship in the world). Both are dedicated to Venkateswara, a form of Lord Vishnu apparently worshipped across sectarian lines, and supposedly the geography of the site in Pittsburgh actually resembles the site in India.

So the idea is that the one here in Pittsburgh is viewed as a kind of alternative pilgrimage site for people who can't get to the one in India. Of course take that for what it is worth . . . I'm just passing along stuff that I have been told or read somewhere. I do think it is well-confirmed, however, that the SV Temple is a major pilgrimage temple in North America . . . maybe THE most important one in North America.

Edit: So after some quick googling I think I got that mostly right. Apparently the Confluence also played a role in deciding to locate the SV Temple here, because it echoed the Triveni Sangam, which is the confluence of three rivers, the Ganga, Yamuna and Saraswati, another major pilgrimage site in India. Interestingly, the Saraswati is an invisible underground river which is believed to emerge at the Triveni Sangam, and I found one source equating the fountain at the Point with the Saraswati (again, take that for what it is worth).

Also interesting to me, apparently they brought artisans from the region in India where the model temple is located to help build the SV Temple.