A culmination of years of hard work, and three days of rituals, Swamishri completed the inauguration of the first Shikharbad Mandir in America by performing the Murti Pratishtha ceremony. In this ceremony, Swamishri transformed a spectacular and beautiful work of art into a divine house of God by requesting God to reside eternally within the murtis.

After the Mahapuja Vidhi was conducted within the Mandir itself, Swamishri arrived through a majestic swan gate to the accompaniment of rhythms provided by the Akshar Dhwani Band. Balaks dressed in traditional attire lined the pathway to the Mandir to receive Swamishri.

Upon entering the Mandir, Swamishri performed all the Vedic rituals for the Pratishtha. He gave blessings immediately after this ceremony, in which he emphasized that the deities are not mere statues, but are God incarnate, and countless will be blessed by their darshan. Finally, Swamishri performed the first aarti of the murtis before leaving the Mandir.

Also, for the first time ever, devotees all over the world had darshan of this Murti Pratishtha ceremony through a live television broadcast.