Temple and Activities

Hindu Temples:

Upcoming Events  

Diwali 2011 Celebrations

Diwali, the festival of lights, perhaps the most known and celebrated of all Hindu Holidays.

Like every year, we celebrate Diwali with a festive puja followed by offering of Ghee lamps. Join us on this auspicious day.

For more information, visit the Ramakrishnananda Yoga Vedanta Center in Astoria - home to the new temple.

 
Exploring Swami Ramakrishnananda's Philosophy - a Comparative approach

A series of lectures on Swami Ramakrishnananda's writings on wholeness and integration, interpreted in the light of Eastern and Western philosophies, in-depth psychology and religion. This series of lectures, given by senior disciple Gopal, will concentrate on Purna Yoga, the complete and integral yoga.



The Lectures will take place at our Ramakrishnananda Yoga Vedanta Center in Astoria, click here for more information. 


The Hindu Temple

Our Deity worship ceremonies are performed strictly according to the laws and principles of the ancient Hindu Vedic religion.

The worship itself is performed in accordance with traditional Vedic Puja - an offering of different items like incense, flowers, and water.

It is performed by one devotee (a Pujari) while the other participants are chanting mantras and spiritual ancient songs, and is usually followed by Japa and meditation.

Radhe-Shyam Mandir is the first Hindu Temple in New York City. It consists of a central hall which contains temples for Lord Siva, Lord Ganesha, Lord Hanuman, Durga Ma, Kali Ma, Lakshmi Ma and Saraswati Ma. In addition to that there is another temple dedicated to Lord Krishna. We also celebrate all the major Hindu holidays and festivals.
 

About The Manhattan Temple

In the year 2003, Swami Ramakrishnananda founded the Vishwa Dharma Mandalam in order to spread the ancient wisdom of the Sanatana-dharma religion. As an intrinsic part of this endeavor, Swami Ramakrishnananda undertook the construction of the Radhe-Shyam Temple to be a center for the religious functions and a home for the community of devotees. The Radhe-Shyam temple is a fully functioning Hindu temple in New York.

Swami Ramakrishnananda’s vision was to create a place that will faithfully present Hinduism in all its different aspects, offer instructive knowledge to those unfamiliar with Sanatana-dharma, and at the same time provide an orthodox temple where any devotee or believer can receive proper darsana of the deities.

After considerable renovations, in which a simple East Village space was converted to a place appropriate for worship, the lengthy and delicate work began of preparing the temples devoted to each and every deity. One by one, the altars for Lord Shiva, Ganesha, Durga, Lakshmi, Saraswati and Kali were erected. A special place was chosen for Sri Sri Radhe-Shyam, the temple’s main deities.

With an authoritative installation ceremony led by several brahmanas, the temple was officially inaugurated. Ever since, puja ceremonies have been conducted every day for all the gods. The ceremonies are conducted by personal disciples of Swami Ramakrishnananda, and also by qualified brahmanas, striving together to achieve the highest standards of worship possible. Once a week, as well as on special holidays, an abhiá¹£eka ceremony is performed to one of the gods, usually followed by a kirtana, lecture or Vedic arts performance.

In the Radhe-Shyam temple, the recitation and proper pronunciation of Vedic mantras is incorporated into the sadhana, or practice, of the devotees at the Vishwa Dharma Mandalam. The recitation and proper pronunciation of Vedic mantras is an essential part of the worship. It has an intensely purifying affect on the both the listener and the person who chants. These Vedic hymns are taken from the pages of the Vedas, the most sacred and ancient scriptures of Hinduism, and consist of various prayers and invocations to the gods. After every recitation, when the mind is focused and purified, the conditions are appropriate for silent meditation.

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