Kalpana Chawla (March 17, 1962 – February 1, 2003) was born in Karnal, India. She was the first Indian-American astronaut and first Indian woman in space. She first flew on Space Shuttle Columbia in 1997 as a mission specialist and primary robotic arm operator. In 2003, Chawla was one of the seven crew members killed in the Space Shuttle Columbia disaster.

Chawla completed her earlier schooling at Tagore Baal Niketan Sr. Sec. School,

Vivekananda Center of New York-Ramakrishna

May I be born again and again,

and suffer thousands of miseries,

so that I may worship the only God that exists,

the only God I believe in,

the sum total of all souls.

And above all my God the wicked,

my God the miserable,

my God the poor of all races,

of all species,

is the especial object of my worship.

Afghan Hindu Association in New York

Afghan Hindu Association, Inc. (the "Association") is a tax-exempt, not-for-profit, New York Corporation. It was incorporated in the State of New York in August 1991. Its membership consists of all Hindus and Sikhs from Afghanistan who presently live in the United States, which to date number approximately fifteen hundred families or seventy five hundred members.

The Association was formed in contemplation of providing a means for our members to congregate and to preserve a rich tradition and culture of Hindus from Afghanistan. We want our coming generations to continue the bond with our forefathers who lived and prospered in Afghanistan as a sophisticated and a well respected Hindu and Sikh community, whose history goes back to the time of Lord Krishna.
Our purpose is to (a) uplift our community; (b) provide guidance and assistance to our members and their dependents, not only in terms of providing religious and Hindi language classes for our children, but also in providing English classes to our elderly and other social and medical services for the needy in our community; (c) establish and promote charitable activities, including cultural, literary or educational activities, within the meaning of section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the "code"), including but not limited to exhibitions, performances, discussions, and other fora; and (d) carry on any and all other activities as shall from time to time be found necessary, appropriate and proper in connection with the foregoing insofar as they are lawful for a Not-for-Profit Corporation.
We want our children to remember and learn our religion, culture and language and provide an anchor and a place for them with which they can identify. It is in contemplation of this mandate that we purchased our temple, the Asamai Hindu Temple that is located at 45-32 Bowne Street, Flushing, N.Y 11355.. The temple provides us a venue to hold regular services, classes as well as a place to congregate to celebrate our festivals and holidays.
We welcome any inquiries, comments and suggestions you may have. These may be e-mailed to us or sent to our address at the Asamai Hindu Temple.

Afghan Hindu Association
45-32 Bowne Street, New York, NY 11355. Tel: 718-961-8838 
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Satya Narayan Mandir in New York

Satya Narayan Mandir - A brief Overview: The organisation operates and maintains a temple, called a GurMandir, in the SINDHI tradition, A GurMandir is a combination Gurdwara (Sikh place of worship) and Mandir (Hindu place of worship); this observance of both religions in the same premises is uniquely a Sindhi tradition.
Satya Narayan Mandir is the oldest and we believe, the only GurMandir in the Americas.
History on development of the organisation and reasons for its formation : With the growth of the ethnic Indian community in the New York tri-state area, prayer meetings outgrew individual homes and garages. Satya Narayan Mandir was established to provide a place of worship for members of the public and especially the Sindhi community.
The organisation was also to help promote our religious beliefs and Indian culture to preach non-violence through prayer meetings and discourses, to inculcate our traditional norms and values amongst the younger generation (mostly US-born) as well as encouraging them to gain proficiency in devotional hymns and to partiipate in volunteer activities.
The organisation also provides the mechanism (forum) to invite well respected individuals, priests and other learned and holy persons to conduct lectures/discourses and conduct prayer meetings.
The organisation was created (as a NY corproration) in 1987, it acquired its property in November 1988. The Mandir is also an IRS 501c3 corporation.
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The Hindu Temple Society of North America

Ganesh Temple History

The Hindu Temple Society of North America ("Society"), a non-profit religious institution was incorporated on January 26, 1970, under the laws of the State of New York. Soon thereafter, the Society acquired from the Russian Orthodox Church a site on which the present Temple is situated. It was in this small frame house that daily rituals were performed and weekend services conducted by volunteer priests, until the present structure, designed in accordance with the Agama Sastras (scriptures relating to temple building), was completed early in 1977, and the Temple consecrated on July 4 of the same year. His Holiness Sri La Sri Padrimalai Swamigal, a great siddha from Madras, had prepared twenty-six yantras for the temple and done pujas for them for five years before installing them on July 4, 1977.

The logo of the Society is a light surrounded by insignias of several religions with OM on top. It signifies universality, catholicity and spirit of tolerance of Hinduism. While stressing the supremacy of the Absolute and deifying some of the major aspects as represented by the main deities, the Center stresses the totality and fundamental unity at the core of all religion. Hinduism has no place for crusades.

As the first Hindu Temple in North America composed of largely imported materials, and constructed by artisans from India, Šri Mahã Vallabha Ganapati Devasthãnam (or the Ganeša Temple) is one of the most impressive and historically important Hindu temples in the West. Flushing, Queens was chosen as the location for the Ganeša temple based on three criteria: it was the gateway of the U.S. - all Indian immigrants came here and there was a large concentration of Hindus in the tri-state area of New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut; it was within walking distance for many, or one bus or subway fare; and the possibility existed to purchase a suitable site. Its strength and influence outside of New York is proven by the fact that the temple has served as a model for many other Hindu communities.

The Hindu Temple Society of North America today has over twenty thousand devotees on its mailing list. In addition to these, there are thousands of other devotees not necessarily on the mailing list who benefit from religious and cultural activities of the Temple, and to which generous contributions are made. It is the intent of the Society to offer formal instructions in religion, philosophy, culture and the arts to its devotees and their families. Fund Raising activities of the temple include organizing pooja sponsorship (services), cultural events, temple gift certificate, fund raising dinner, gold coin mala, sponsorship of chairs and constituent parts for the community center and other projects.

Neighborhood and Community

The Hindu Temple is situated right in the heart of Flushing, which is a part of Queens County. Although Queens is, politically speaking, one of the five boroughs of New York City, it is, in geographical terms, a part of Long Island and is, therefore, largely a residential area. The Temple is easily accessible to its devotees both by private and public transportation. Within walking distance of the Temple are two branches of the New York Public Library, the Queens Botanical Garden, Kissena Park, and Flushing Meadow Park, and the Main Post Office. The Flushing Council on Culture and the Arts is a stone’s throw from the Temple, while the Queens Museum is a short ride away by automobile or subway.

Community Center

Construction of Community Center was completed in June 1998. This community center is one of the largest and the finest of its type in the borough of Queens and has its main entrance at the corner of Holly Avenue and Smart Street. The center has three floors. The main floor is the wedding hall and can be divided into two, with a sound proof partition in between, so that two functions may take place simultaneously. The second floor is the auditorium with seating capacity of over 700 and it is equipped with state of the art audio and lighting facility. In the lower level is a large industrial kitchen with a large dining hall. Cultural programs, discourses, weddings and many other events take place in the Community Center. 

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