The Karla Durga Parameshwari Temple's Religious Trust, with a registered office in Mumbai, was created in February 1994 by Shri Nalkur Sripad Rao and a few like-minded devotees for worship at the shrines of Devi Durga Parameshwari and other deities and at the Sanjeevani Samadhi of Parama Pujya Parijnanashram Swamiji III. Shri N.S.Rao supported the activities of the Trust with financial and managerial resources for two decades.
The KDPT's Religious Trust covers the day-to-day temple expense and cost of the prasad bhojan. The Durga Parameshwari Temple was built in 1991. Guru Swami’s Sankalpa to have a Dhyan-mandir and to consecrate Devi Durga Parameshwari’s idol with the ceremonial prana-pratishtha was realised in February 1993. A beautiful temple with a majestic gopuram was built and the idol of Devi Durga Parameshwari was brought in a grand procession from the foot of the sacred hill of Ekvira Devi and consecrated in the temple sanctum with a Shata Chandi-homa.
The holy temple comprises a spacious hall called the Dhyan-mandir which has the Devi Durga Parameshwari’s shrine in the centre, with the stone idols of Ashtalakshmi and Lord Nataraja placed above the large windows. The gopuram was designed as per the Agama Shastra by Stapati Karuppiah Acharya of Pudupattinam (Tamilnadu).
The Sanjeevani Mahasamadhi of Parama Pujya Parijnanashram Swamiji III is on the southern side of the Dhyan-mandir. To its north are – Guru Swami’s ashram – Jnananand- , the Nagalaya consecrated in 2007(where devotees can consecrate their family’s Naga-katte), a raised area with a homa-kund to enable the Vaidik- s and participating devotees perform various homa-s comfortably, the dining hall ( where devotees are served prasad at breakfast, lunch and dinner-time) and which also doubles as a community centre on occasion, Swami Parjnanashram Arogyadham – a spotless, compact complex of 30-self- contained rooms and at the north-west corner -well-maintained washrooms for visitors to the temple.
As you face the beautiful idol of Devi Durga Parameshwari inside the Dhyana-mandir, the Sanjeevani Samadhi of Guru Swami is to Her left. Parama Pujya Parijnanashram Swamiji III had chosen the exact spot where the Samadhi should be built and also given instructions about the exact manner of construction. Guru Swami took Mahasamadhi in Bengaluru on August 29, 1991 and soon after the Samadhi was constructed with all proper rites and rituals at Karla. In 1993, during the prana-pratishtha of the Devi, when the Samadhi was exhumed for the formal consecration of the Shivalinga over it, devotees were wonderstruck for an overpowering scent of sandalwood filled the air! Not just that, the two roses, bilwa leaves and tulsi placed upon Guru Swami’s mastaka, inside a mala of 108 small rudraksha beads, were all intact! There was absolutely no evidence of any degeneration or decay! Even the vastra that had been placed around the flowers and leaves was still damp with the water sprinkled upon them. After all the overwhelmed devotees who were present for this sacred event had Darshan of this Gurumahima and the Linga-pratishtha was done the Sanjeevani Samadhi was sealed once again. This holy shrine is a perennial source of spiritual energy and peace.
Parama Pujya Parijnanashram Swamiji III personally supervised the construction of the ashram- Jnananand- which was His abode. Even today His vibrant Presence can be sensed here. Every morning the daily newspapers are placed here and tea, bhiksha and phalahaar are offered reverentially. The clock in the room where Guru Swami stayed stopped working at the exact moment when He took Samadhi in Bengaluru and it has been preserved just so till date.
During the week from Monday to Saturday the temple remains open to visitors and devotees from 6am to 1pm and again from 3,30pm to 8pm. It stays open all day on Sundays and special occasions. Devotees can book seva-s till 10.30 am every day at the seva-counter in the Dhyan-mandir.
The daily routine of the temple comprises Suprabhatam at 6am, arti at the Sanjeevani Samadhi and then at the Devi’s shrine at 11.20 am and 6pm, Deepanamaskar at 7pm and Ashtavadhan Seva at 7.20pm. The schedule during festivals or camps of Parama Pujya Sadyojat Shankarashram Swamiji is announced in advance.
Some of the ongoing activities at the temple wherein devotees from different sabha-s from all over the country and abroad participate are :-
- Seva-Saptaha - for which 7-10 persons from a designated sabha spend a week (from one Sunday to the next) offering different kinds of physical participation and spiritual seva in the main temple, kitchen , ashram, reception and seva counters.
- Sannikarsha Seva – in which devotees from a designated sabha come on a Sunday and offer seva-s like pujan, anushthan, shastra-pathan and so on.
- Shrama-seva – for which 7-10 Yuva-s come annually and get an opportunity to clean the Math premises, help in the kitchen, volunteer to serve in the dining hall, clean lawns and so on.