Sri Venkateswara Swami Temple, Helensburgh, Sydney, Australia.

HELENSBURGH is one of the famous abodes of Lord Venkateswara in the southern hemisphere and is held in veneration by all his devotees.

The Temple
The temple is built on top of a hilly area 400 feet above sea level. The temple has four 'praharam' (encircling corridors). There is also a road for motor vehicles to reach the temple.

Legend
Helensburgh is a place of natural beauty with hills and groves surrounding it and Lord Venkateswara & Goddess Lakshmi remained here bestowing their blessing to the devotees.

Significance of the Sri Venkateswara Temple
The Construction of Sri Venkateswara Temple started in 1978 when a small group of people had a vision to build a Hindu temple according to Vedic principles (Agama Sastras). They selected this divine site in Helensburgh because:

"it is said the gods always play where groves are, near rivers, mountains and springs and in towns with pleasure -gardens " -Brihatsamhita.

According to the ancient principles of Hindu temple construction, there are five requirements:

1. The land must be a virgin land (No building must have been constructed before)
2. The land must be an island
3. There must be a forest surrounding the land
4. There must be a water source nearby
5. There must be a ocean nearby

It is significant to note that the Sri Venkateswara Temple site has met all of the five requirements.

It is the first object visible to us whenever we approach any temple. Hence, the construction of the Rajagopuram forms a very important aspect of the construction of a Hindu temple. Our temple, being a Siva Vishnu Temple, will have two Rajagopurams. Hence the time taken for this construction stretches to a period of four years. There is saying in 'Tamil Gopura Darisanam Kodi Punyam'.

Temple history
From times immortal the Divine has been worshipped in India and South East Asia in the form of archa or images, and although God is God everywhere and at all times whatever the Names we give Him or the local traditions, still in some Forms or Names God stamps Himself inedibly on the imagination and sensibility of generations of God-lovers. Thus the Lord on the summit of the Seven Hills at Tirupati (Andhra Pradesh, India) is known and worshipped as Venkateswara or Srinivasa in South India and as Balaji in North India, there are temples consecrated to Him in many parts of India, as also at Singapore, Pittsburgh (U.S.A.), and elsewhere.

Seen in this wider context, it was inevitable that the swelling number of Hindus in Australia should want to have a temple constructed in the traditional Indian style of architecture based on the appropriate Agama principles. The Sri Venkateswara Temple Association was formed on 17th November 1978 in Sydney and it was proposed to build a temple for Sri Venkateswara near Sydney so that it would be a House of Light and spiritual guidance and solace, not only to comparatively small and scattered community of Hindus in Australia, but all those who, irrespective of their credal adhesion, could join in the ancient and still urgent Vedic prayer.

It is customary in Hindu temples to install, along with the Deity, His two Divine Consorts, as also Ganapathi who is the auspicious beginner, sustainer and fulfiller of all good works.

The Mahakumbhabhishekam (consecration of the temple by sacred waters) of the Ganapathi ( Sri Vara Sithi Vinayagar) and the Main temple of Sri Venkateswara, Sri Maha Lakshmi and Sri Andal took place on 30th June, 1985.

None of us who were part of the original group of people who embarked on this mammoth task had any ides of the problems involved in the construction of temples. But we had ample good will and support from a very wide circle of devotees both in Australia and elsewhere. The Tirupathi Tirumala Devasthanam was most helpful and gave us encouragement and much financial help.