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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Sayone Arasratnam at Youth Network in Canada

Sayone is the Founder/President of the Hindu Youth Network (Canada's largest and fastest growing Hindu youth movement). While working as an IT Analyst and Management Consultant (for companies such as IBM, AT&T, Bank of America, United Online), he also serves on the steering committees of various national and international non-governmental organizations. His educational qualifications include a B.Sc. (Honours) in Computer Science, Specializing in Software Engineering. Believing that it was his spiritual duty to bring peace and happiness to those around him, he launched and developed HYN. He has been involved in mentoring (working with Toronto police to rehabilitate at-risk youth), service work with the Sathya Sai organization, feeding the homeless, as well as countless social initiatives. More recently he has been studying the classical scriptures, both dualistic and non-dualistic.

Canada's largest Hindu youth movement: HYN

Brahma Kumaris World Spiritual University(BKWSU)

We are individuals of all ages and backgrounds who regularly attend classes at more than 8,500 centres of the Brahma Kumaris World Spiritual University located in 110 countries.

We study spiritual knowledge that nurtures respect for all faith traditions, coherently explains the nature of soul, God, time, and karma, and delineates an enlightened lifestyle.
We practise and teach a form of meditation that relaxes the mind and nurtures a healthy balance between our inner and outer worlds. Through numerous social service activities and partnerships, we promote spiritual understanding, leadership with integrity and elevated actions towards a better world.

All of the Brahma Kumaris centres offer courses in meditation and spiritual knowledge, as well as seminars and special events facilitating self development and personal change. All courses, seminar and workshops are offered to the public free of charge, as a community service.

The Foundation Course in Meditation, described below, is available at every Brahma Kumaris centre on a regular basis. The other courses are offered from time to time. For information as to what is available in your area, contact a Centre near you.

Russian Tantra Sangha

Tantra Sangha has fifteen spiritual communities and satsang groups with estimated 250 members in Moscow and other towns. As of December 2005, the Federal Registration Service of Russia has registered only two Tantra Sangha branches. The first registered branch is in Moscow, the Second Tantra Sangha branch at Nizhniy Novgorod was officially recognized on December 7, 1993. Tantra Sangha perform Vedic fire ceremonies under the open sky near rivers and forests according to orthodox Vedic Hindu rites adjusted for the Russian situation.

 Nizhny Novgorod: colloquially shortened to Nizhny, is, with the population of 1,250,615, the fifth largest city in Russia, ranking after Moscow, St. Petersburg, Novosibirsk, and Yekaterinburg. It is the economic and cultural center of the vast Volga-Vyatka economic region, and also the administrative center of Nizhny Novgorod Oblast and Volga Federal District.
From 1932 to 1990, the city was known as Gorky after the writer Maxim Gorky who was born there.