The concept of Hiranyagarbha temple was created by Sri Yukteswar Giri, a pioneer of Cosmic Astrology and a great Kriya Yoga master. He had a dream of building a circular meditation hall for the disciples. Circular, to enable the energy to flow unobstructed unlike in a square where the energy can never be centralized to infinity because square has corners. The energy flows in a circular direction. Swami Shankarananda Giri , a disciple of Sri Yukteswar Giri, built the Hiranyagarbha temple at Kriya Yoga Ashram in Rishikesh. The temple is a huge hall with a dome like structure that depicts the four yugas namely Satyuga, Dwaparayuga, Tretayuga and Kaliyuga along with the stars and planetary systems. The disciple can sit in the hall and easily see his/her cosmic birth sound, star sign, birth sign and astrological constellation. Those who enter this temple get the sound both inner and outer due to the constant flow of energy and the circular structure of the temple. Yukteswarjee was aware that if the temple will be built with sixteen petals or pillars the sound will echo sixteen times which is best for meditation.
The number sixteen is a symbol of 16 sholas (kalas). Half of sixteen is eight which is the last petal the Hiranyagarbha or the golden egg of the womb. Sixteen is called shodash in Sanskrit which is used after the samadhi of a saint. Samadhi is a state of stillness of the body that is not a real death rather it is great departure. Once pure praan – life energy enters the golden womb in the cranium the person has the power to transfer his soul from one body to another with the rhythm of their breathing. He leaves his body with the last exhalation and enters another human body with the first inhalation. The body can be destroyed but the soul will remain unmanifested. It is an uninterrupted flow of prana. Moreover Sixteen petals are contained in the word Brahman, the centre of sound which is the ether element the (akash tatwa) and the 5th chakra (Vishuddha).
The hall has an aura with serenity which facilitates an intimate connection between God, the universe/cosmos, time (past, present and future) and the individual. This place reminds us of oneness of everyone whom god has created and the presence of god in every human being. The hall brings together in one place all these connections. The quest for Truth and self realisation ends here.
The temple resembles a huge planetarium with larger than life experience with huge statues of 5 Kriya masters. The ceiling consists of 12 planetary signs engraved in a position which is considered astrologically favorable along with the four yugas and 27 stars. The outside wall of the hall has 16 caves for the people to meditate for as long as they wish.
Swami Shankarananda Giri has fulfilled Sri Yukteswar Giri’s dream by building the Hiranyagarbha, the unique planetarium-temple with a circular hall. It includes life-size statues of 5 Kriya masters and has capacity for 200 people to sit and meditate in the meditation hall. The domed ceiling incorporates all 12 planetary signs engraved in astrologically correct positions. The 4 major yugas and the 27 stars are depicted. The meditation hall harmonizes deep resonances and powerful vibrations enabling deep meditation. On the outside wall of the meditation hall, there are 16 caves. This enables any disciple to meditate in a cave for as long as he or she wishes.
Also read
