Sri Sadisvara Mandiram (Part 8): Phase III (Construction)

Om Namah Sivaya!

Om Namo Bhagavate Sri Ramanaya!

 

By Sri Bhagavan’s abundant Grace much progress has been made in the Sri Sadisvara Mandiram over the past 5 months. Below are images of the progress. Enjoy!

The lower tier is complete and a red sealant has now been painted onto it to protect the wood from moisture and the top tier framing has been secured to the lower tier.

Siva secures the top tier planks to its framing with screws.

Once the planks have been secured and cut to proper size more red sealant is applied.

Janani paints red sealant while Raman secures the planks with extra screws.

The two tier platform is now ready to be covered in marble tile.

The marble is carefully chosen for the top tier so that the pattern in the tile blends nicely.

 

Meanwhile, Scott uses the bottom tier as a work surface cutting out the arches with plywood . . .

. . . and secures them into the framework above the platform.

Watching Scott work from the Inner Shrine room.

Next, Raman places spacers between the two pieces of plywood upon which a screen will be placed. Once the screen is placed on the arch it is ready to mud.

 

Next, Scott screws the sheetrock onto the plywood.

Here, Ganesh adheres the screen material to the arch. . .

. . . while Nome observes.

Then, mud is applied to the screening material.

 

Scott and Sangeeta apply mud to the sheetrock.

A special substance is sprayed onto the mudded sheetrock to give it a nice texture.

Here Scott and Raman prepare the floor for the marble by sanding it smooth….dusty job!

Meanwhile, Sangeeta and Siva mud the temporary wooden pillars.

Prema sands the very edges of the floor where the large sander can not reach.

 

Once the mud is dry, Ganesh sands it smooth.

Scaffolding is set up to complete the painting of the high walls.

Siva hands Scott and Raman pieces of scaffolding as they build it higher and higher.

The highest point over 20 feet.

The scaffolding provides a very nice view into the Inner Shrine.

Anandhi and Sangeeta begin painting the floor with red sealant.

While painting is being done above, Siva and Sangeeta paint below.

How elegant it looks with the white ceiling and walls and blue arches.

After the red sealant on the floor is dry, Sangeeta and Ribhu choose tiles that are similar to one another to be placed together on the floor.

 

Ribhu sweeps the floor making sure it is nice and clean for the tiles.

 

Now it is time to adhere the tiles to the floor. Scott, Sangeeta and Jayalakshmi use a substance called thinset to “glue” the tiles to the floor and then spacers are placed between the tiles for proper distance.

A view from the Inner Shrine shows the floor coming together very nicely.

The thinset must be even and level. Dhanya points out an area that needs smoothing out.

Laying tiles took many days of work, but everyone had a joyous time of it! The atmosphere was very sattvic and devoted. Gnana Prakash said, “When would one ever have such a precious opportunity in life as that of being involved in the building of a holy Siva temple. It would be rare indeed!”

While the floor tiles are being placed, Jayalakshmi and Myra adhere the base tile to the wall.

Once the whole tiles are placed, Scott cuts all the odd shaped tiles.

Once all the tile is in place and the thinset is dry, Eric, Tim, and Raman remove the spacers between the tiles and clean out the space preparing for grout.

Jaylakshmi and Gnana begin grouting.

After the grout is placed between the tiles the excess grout must be washed away. Here Sangeeta washes the tiles making the floor nice and clean.

Although more must be done to complete the floor we are still able to use the Mandir for meditation during the March retreat. A temporary Ramana altar is placed on the top tier that will eventually hold the Siva lingam.

Scott adheres a decorative wooden baseboard on top of the tile baseboard giving a more finished look. Sangeeta caulks the gaps making it nice and clean.

The next step is grinding the edges of the tile on the tiers making them nice and smooth. Here Siva grinds the tile with a wet grinder while Tim vacuums up the water.

While wet grinding is going on, Scott begins construction of the Siva Lingam altar.

Ribhu and Sangeeta begin assessing the tiles to be used on the Siva Lingam altar choosing just the right ones.

More wet grinding. . .

The Siva Lingam altar is almost ready for tile.

Still, more wet grinding . . . Nandi’s altar is seen in the background already in place.

While Ganesh wet grinds you can see that the Siva Lingam altar has been painted with red sealant and tiles are going on.

The Siva Lingam altar is complete and ready for Siva! Thick black tape has been placed on the edges to protect the altar while the Siva Lingam is being placed upon it.

Next . . . installation of the Siva Lingam and Murtis.

Om Namah Sivaya!