Om Namah Sivaya!
Om Namo Bhagavate Sri Ramanaya!
By Sri Bhagavan’s Grace, devotees shared their vision of the Sri Sadisvara Mandiram by coming together and supporting this holy project.
October 22, 2013 marked the beginning of construction on the Sri Sadisvara Mandiram at the SAT Temple. Below are images showing the progress.
Taking the initial concept of the Sadisvara Mandiram from the model, Scott prepares drawings on the computer, refining and defining the details of the design.
Constructions begins.…
A temporary wall and door leading to the Lotus room are built to contain the dust created while construction is in progress, as well as keep the little ones and big ones out of harms way.
Nome enters from the Lotus room to observe the progress.
First, all of the walls must come down.
The area in the concrete floor where the new columns will be installed is marked out and ready to be removed.
Marcello cuts away the concrete to expose the earth below.
Two feet of concrete must be poured as the foundation for the columns.
Lucio pours the concrete and a strong metal bracket that will be secured to the column is buried deep into the concrete.
Marcello continues with demolition, removing walls.
The drinking fountain must be removed as it is in the new pradakshina pathway.
Looking through the wood framing, what used to be the shoe and coat room is now disappearing. All of the framing must be removed, too, but not before a structural beam is in place connected to two new columns to carry the load.
The new columns are fastened to the brackets in the concrete and a very large supporting beam is hoisted with rope and placed on top of the columns. This beam is fundamental to the strength of the temple itself.
Now that the columns and beam are in place, the remaining wood framing can be removed and new sheetrock installed.
Here, Marcello and Lucio prepare the sheetrock to cover the areas that were removed to install new electrical outlets.
Marcello adheres the sheetrock to the wall, the columns, and the beam. The vision of the Mandiram is beginning to coalesce to soon become a reality.
After the sheetrock is installed, it is all covered with “mud” and texture.
Meanwhile, Nandi waits in the Lotus Room, silently, patiently, for His new home to be finished.
After the “mud” and texture, Lucio paints the new walls.
How beautiful it looks! Now it is ready for the next phase…the embellishments.
The floor is marked with tape showing the location of the two tier steps where the Murtis and Lingam will be placed. Nome looks at all of the progress.
Scott frames the first tier.
The framing for the first tier is complete where Ganapati, Subrahmanya, and Chitragupta will reside.
Then, the framing for the second tier where the Siva Lingam and Sivakami will reside is completed.
Scott and Raman cut the plywood and adhere it to the framing.
Here, Raman screws the plywood to the frame…
while Scott cuts the plywood.
The first tier is complete with plywood. The second tier awaits its plywood surface.
Ganesh uses caulk to fill in the spaces between the plywood tier and the columns.
Siva places caulk in all the seams and holes that are in the plywood.
Meanwhile, Raman screws the upper tier framing onto the lower tier plywood making it secure, while baby Ribhu peeks over the edge in the background to see the progress being done.
Sangeeta adheres special glue to the framing before the plywood is screwed into it to add extra strength.
As the Sri Sadisvara Mandiram progresses, additional blogs will be posted for your enjoyment!
Prostrations to Sri Bhagavan!
Salutations to Sri Ramana Maharshi 
It is wonderful to see the progress! The photo of the completed space and the windows from the Ramana Shrine room gives such a good sense of the feeling of the new space of the Mandiram. How much longer until the pooja to open it?
By: Richard Clarke on December 21, 2013
at 2:07 am
Namaste dear Richard,
Thank you for your message. Yes, the Mandir occupies a small area, but feels very spacious because of the tall ceiling. There is a natural “echo” in this area so that when we recite or sing bhajans the sound is enhanced and very beautiful. From here on, much of the work will be done by devotees whose hearts are set on engaging in the actual “hands-on” creation of the embellishments of the Mandir. We are hoping to have the Murti-s and Lingam placed in the Mandir sometime this summer, however, it is all in Bhagavan’s hands as to when the opening puja will occur. Blogs will be posted each step along the way for your enjoyment.
With love,
in Sri Bhagavan,
Sasvati
By: satramana on December 21, 2013
at 9:15 pm