• Know briefly about history of migration of Indians to the U.S. and importantly which are prominent Hindu temples in USA.

No one immigrates to a country with just a suitcase. Immigrants come with their religion, culture, language, mannerisms, outlook on life and aspirations, along with their pride and prejudices. Indian immigrants to the United States of America (USA) are no exception.

This article was first published in the Bhavan Journal.

Immigration of Indians to the US

Immigration to the US from India started in the early 19th century in small numbers. The then Indian immigrants began settling in along the West Coast. The first wave of Indian immigrants found work mainly in agriculture, lumber, and railroad industries. Their presence remained small through the early 20th century because of discriminatory laws favouring Europeans and excluding Indians from immigrating to the US.

The Luce-Celler Act of 1946 established a yearly quota of 100 for Indian immigrants. In 1965, the Immigration and Nationality Act removed national-origin quotas altogether, paving the way for larger numbers of Indians to immigrate. Through educational exchange programmes, provision for temporary visas for highly skilled workers, and expanded employment-based immigration channels, many highly skilled and educated Indians immigrated to the US with their families.

Indian immigrant population in the United States increased thirteen-fold from 1980 to 2019. An estimated 2.7 million Indian immigrants had made USA their second home by 2019. At present, Indian immigrants are the second-largest immigrant group in the US after Mexicans.

As more Indians adopted the US as their second home with their families, they felt an urge to maintain their culture and pass it on to the next generation. This urge found its expression in the construction of temples. Indian immigrants are more likely to be highly educated, to work in management positions, and to have higher incomes. Their increasing numbers along with their economic prosperity led to the establishment of temples, especially in larger metropolitan areas.

Venkateshwara temple Atlanta. 

Growth of Hindu Temples in the US

Swami Vivekananda, following his historic speech in the Parliament of World’s Religions, established Vedanta Societies in New York and San Francisco in 1890. Subsequently, centres were established in other cities but their numbers remained small. 

Paramahansa Yogananda came to the US in 1920 and established several centres of the Self Realization Fellowship for promoting yoga, popularising it through his book Autobiography of a Yogi. By the 1950s, the Self Realization Fellowship had become the most prominent Hindu organisation in the US. During 1960s, with the rise of counter culture, many gurus and swamis came to the US and they were instrumental in establishing centres and ashrams; some of which are still active.

Temple of Leaves. Yogananda Ashram, Los Angeles, 2019. 

As more Indians adopted the US as their second home with their families, the urge for constructing temples became more intense, replacing sporadic attempts at constructing religious institutions. The Hindu students and professionals who immigrated in the late 1960s and 1970s often kept small altars and puja rooms in their homes for their religious needs. They organised religious communities and cultural associations.

These associations rented halls, churches, and school auditoriums to celebrate Hindu festivals such as Diwali, Holi, Navratri, etc., bringing the immigrant community together. The religious groups often met in members’ homes to study the scriptures, conduct pujas, and sing bhajans. By the 1970s, the religious groups and cultural associations started creating ‘Hindu Temple Societies’ in large metropolitan areas that had substantial Hindu immigrants. 

The goal of the societies was to create permanent temples. For this purpose, existing properties such as private homes, former churches, warehouses, and office buildings were purchased and converted to temples. In some instances, land was purchased and new temples were built in accordance with the Agama Shastras.

6 Inside Sanatan Dharam Mandir in Los Angeles. They provide free medical checkups and meets for Senior Citizens too. 2019.

The Sri Venkateswara Temple in Pittsburgh, inaugurated on June 8, 1977, and the Hindu Temple Society of North America in New York, consecrated on July 4, 1977, were the first Hindu temples in the US built by Indian immigrants. Spurred by the experience and the success of these two temple constructions, many other temples of elegance were built during the 1980s and 1990s in nearly all major metropolitan areas.

Akshardham in Robbinsville, New Jersey, is the largest temple in the US. It was built over a period of 12 years, on a 183-acre plot at an estimated cost of $94 million, with contributions from 13,000 artisans hailing from different parts of the world. It is 213 feet high and contains around 10,000 statues. There are about 196 temples in the US and many more are under construction.

Malibu Hindu Temple in California. 

Temple Management

Like churches, synagogues, and mosques, Hindu temples are eligible to be regarded as tax-exempt religious entities. A tax-exempt entity must have an organisation and the most popular form of organisation is that of a corporation. In general, temples, like other religious places of worship, must be registered in the state of their location and adhere to federal, state and local laws concerning public safety and welfare. There is no governmental intervention in the internal matters of temples.

As a corporate entity, a temple must have a board of directors and its own by-laws concerning a vision statement, eligibility criteria for membership, election/selection of office bearers, term of office, etc. In addition to the board of directors, temples have committees to manage different aspects of a temple such as the building, puja, finance, cultural affairs, etc. Most of the office bearers and committee members serve voluntarily.

Priests are selected based on their qualifications and the requirement of the temple. They are well-respected and are supported by the community in terms of salary, health insurance, housing, etc.

Radha Madhav Dham Texas.

Not only do the temples function as places of worship but they are also centres of education for children and adults about the Hindu culture and religion. At these sacred sites, Sunday schools are organised for children and philosophical discussions are held for adults. Charitable work is also done here by maintaining health clinics and soup kitchens to help the poor, distressed and needy people. Through the cross-cultural activities organised here, goodwill and understanding is fostered, promoted and encouraged. And one of the goals of these temples is to co-ordinate and co-operate with other similar organisations in their activities and programmes of mutual interest.

The achievement of the immigrant Hindu community in building and managing temples in the last few decades is quite remarkable. It is a testimony that Hindus can manage their own temples without government intervention and interference. Furthermore, they have demonstrated temples as places of worship, centres of learning and focal points for social service as temples in India used to be. This achievement of the Hindu community in a foreign land, within a span of about 50 years, should make all Hindus proud and this can serve as an impetus for reorganisation of management in India.

This article was first published in the Bhavan’s Journal, 1 December 2024   issue. This article is courtesy and copyright Bhavan’s Journal, Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, Mumbai-400007. eSamskriti has obtained permission from Bhavan’s Journal to share. Do subscribe to the Bhavan’s Journal – it is very good.

Also see albums

1. Ashrams Los Angeles and around

2. Museum of Fine Arts, Boston

3. Gurdwara San Jose

4. Shanti Ashrama, California

5.  Hindu Temples in USA 

6. Hindu Temples in North America