New shrine to be unveiled at Hare Krishna temple in Leicester, UK.
A community of Hare Krishna monks will be celebrating with civic dignitaries as two new sacred statues arrive at their temple on Sunday.
Last month the monks finally moved into the bank, six years after an accidental gas explosion led to their former base in North Evington burning to the ground.
On Sunday the murtis of Radha and Krishna will be unveiled at the centre to create a new shrine that will be the focal point of worship.
City mayor Sir Peter Soulsby, along with two of his assistant mayors, are due to visit the ISKCON centre in Leicester’s former main HSBC branch in Granby Street for the ceremony.
The welcome ceremony will begin at 8am and preparations have been going no all week at the centre.
Spokeswoman Nima Suchak said: “The event is for the shrine to be established at the centre. It’s an important thing for our community as it’s the first time we’ve had a shrine in six years.
"We will be hosting a few VIPs and hundreds of people.
"The shrine will be in a purpose-built room upstairs at the former bank and it’s a lovely space with a fresh feel.
"It feels new but it retains lots of the period features that come with a building of that calibre.
"We’re super excited about Sunday.”
The shrine will be set up just in time for the most important event in the religious calendar - the celebration of the birth of Lord Krishna, which takes place on Thursday.
On that day there will be an estimated 3,000 people passing through the centre between noon and midnight.
Nima said: “While Sunday will be the official ceremony, Thursday is going to be a massive public event and we expect thousands of people throughout the day.
"That will be taking place in the Grand Banking Hall downstairs, which can accommodate hundreds of people at a time.
"It’s going to be a chance for many people from around the country to come and see the changes we’ve made at the centre for the first time.”
Nima said the purchase of the former bank and the recent work that has been going on inside had “fast-forwarded” things for the community, which had been left homeless and living and worshipping in temporary locations after the explosion.
The 1870s bank, which is a grade II-listed building, had been standing empty for about three years when it was bought using a donation from two Leicester members of ISKCON, which stands for the International Society for Krishna Consciousness.
The group received permission from Leicester City Council to change the use of the building from a bank to a place of worship, with a vegetarian restaurant, creche, offices and accommodation for the group’s monks.
Source: http://goo.gl/e7K1YX