The Temple and Image

Ceremony for the Installation of a Murti (Bartlett, IL)

Installation ceremony at the Jain Center of Metropolitan Chicago in Bartlett, Illinois, 1993 (Photo: Courtesy of Pramod Shah)

Consecration of a New Murti (Cincinnati, OH)

Jain laity at Pratishtha ceremony in Cincinnati, Ohio, September 1995. A Pratishtha ceremony is a ritual to consecrate a new murti at a Hindu temple. (Photo: Courtesy of Naresh Shah, New York)

Jain Worshippers Performing Arati (Bartlett, IL)

Arati at the Jain Center of Metropolitan Chicago in Bartlett, Illinois, circa 1993. Aratis is a ritual performed during Jain and Hindu worship that involves offering light to deities in the temple. 2082 #28

Jain Offerings at the Jain Center of Greater Boston (Norwood, MA)

Offerings including fruit, lentils, and rice are assembled ornately in a ceremony that involves many community members. Nearby, devotees chant, sing, and dance, adding to the aesthetic beauty of the 2010 inauguration of the Jain Center of Greater Boston