Hindu Temple of Greater Chicago

I have been a regular visitor for some time here are some plus and minus points
PLUS
Great location
Very peaceful
Not much focus on food
MINUS
All scantily clothed yoga folks who come with their sweaty stinky bodies after yoga class on weekends distracting the pleasantness of the temple; distraction and constant chatter is ongoing without paying attention to other devotees who are in pursuit to spend some quality time after driving so long and far. I do not understand why they allow these yoga folks to sit right at the entrance… There are signs clearly stating do not wear shorts and skirts etc. But yoga pants are allowed; it is bad to smell such people on the way into the temple; I have nothing against them but I feel that the temple authorities or somebody of influence is running the yoga class here and they allow them to wander about in the areas where the devotees are during weekends. Why follow double standards???
It is just boring to hear their conversations in the cafeteria etc. long after the class is complete… Somehow this is just too much to handle; I don’t think any temple in India allows people to enter temples this way .?Why cant they have another entrance to get in and go out …
Some of the god/​goddess are not there for Daarshan (Viewing) in spite of being the weekend; the priest takes a really long time to finish up the «Alankar» (Dressing up with flowers) of the gods; and then they take their time to dress up to open the viewing to devotees; all this should be done before the opening of premises .
Anyways in the place of temple such things should not matter; but it does irritate me when I see such things.

This is probably one of the best Hindu Temples I have been to in America. It reminds me of the original Pittsburg, PA temple we used to go as a kid. The temple is huge with multiple different sections dedicated to special places of worship. There is also a large auditorium used for performances.
As far as the food… The cafeteria is located downstairs and they have this interesting token system that I don’t quite understand the prices are reasonable. The food is straight up south indian vegetarian food. They have everything from dosa’s to idli’s and tamarind rice and yellow rice, all authentic and made by volunteers. They also have some good snacks that you can take to go.
Overall a very beautiful temple that offers a peaceful sanctuary and great place to get some good south indian food.

Saw the Temples at a distance from the hilly quaint town of Lemont. Hark! what goes there! Black Guy Speakin of course! Wowed of the detailed 80 foot temple, but disappointed of the paint job up close.

I love this place. I found it accidentally after getting lost trying to go home from my Lemont volleyball league. Serindipity! I recently started attending the yoga classes here. I’ve done yoga at a bunch of places – including yoga studios, east bank club and other health clubs – but have never enjoyed it as much as I do here. They have 2 weekly classes each of which is 2 hours long, which initially I found intimidating, but I actually like it now and people come and go at various times anyway. It is one large class – like 50 – 60 people and I enjoy that there is a variety of levels and races, and ages participating. There is usually a lecture of some sort during class while posing, and there is an authenticity to these classes that I’ve found lacking at other places, which feel more like places that have jumped on the yoga bandwagon. I leave here with a peacefulness which I’ve never expereinced before from a class. I actually debated not reviewing this place because I like it so much and didn’t want the whole world to head over there – but in the name of greater good for mankind, am posting! Two things I would point out, you need to bring your own mat and it should be a thick one. Typcially the class is held on a hard! floor which my thin mat was not adequate for. (whew that’s a n awful grammatical sentence!) and typically you’ll smell food cooking during the class– so consider yourself forwarned.

I’m not going to review their temple services. Honestly that’s just wrong, its God, and whatever grace he gives me in whatever way he can is fine by me, I will accept it.
But if you want a hidden gem for food come to the Temple and try the cafeteria. You are going to be amazed by the South Indian cooking down there. They have lemon, yogurt, and tamarind rice. They have wonderful dosas, both masala and paper. They also have great mendhu vada. I love eating here after I pray. And you would be blessed to try the cooking at this temple, its an amazing array of vegetarian food.

What a lovely place. I have been driving by for some time and have always wanted to visit. Beautiful temple and friendly people.
I felt intrusive as people worshiped. I dropped in on a Tuesday after work and would have liked for someone to explain the rules, and rituals. I got a little lost at one point and was unsure of what areas I was allowed access into.
I would love for someone to show me around and explain things to me.

If you’re setting up a tour, plan on spending about 2 hours at the temple. I visited this for a high school geography class, and the man who took us through the facility had a 15 minute talk for everything he showed us.
Nevertheless, it was a very interesting experience, and I am grateful that we were given such a comprehensive tour showcasing the temples and the Hindu religion. The length of it just caught me off guard. I learned a ton from the visit, and the architecture was breathtaking.

The space is a little tighter and dirtier than the Aurora temple. Devotees have been known to become a little irritated and pushy on special events or holy days.
The store here is far nicer than the one in Aurora.
This location creates great difficulty in locating parking due to the parking area spirals up the hillside — hard to find parking spots and doing a u turn or three point turn to go back down to look for more parking. Dangerous driving in winter time with slick roads.

For some reason I believe that there is something inherently wrong with Unilocaling a house of worship. However, I will fudge that belief for a moment and review this Hindu temple. When I was in high school, I had the unique opportunity to take a survey class on non-​western religions. I was an outsider looking in when I visited this place, but I found it to be amazing… an eye-​opener of the grandest proportions. Our class was escorted into a side room, where we removed our shoes, and ushered into the main worship area. I saw gaunt long-​haired men wrapped in white and saffron robes bowing in obeisance to humongous statues. Some of them wore beaded necklaces. Some placed various fruit or nut offerings into small bowls before the statues. From what I recollect, they are not statues but gods and goddesses. It isn’t simply a different word. Their holy men really believe that these giant hunks of carved rock are actually deities. This fascinated me because it seemed so far removed from the religious traditions to which I was exposed as a young person.