Located on Corona Avenue in Elmhurst, Queens, the Geeta Temple Ashram is a visually prominent temple serving the Hindu community in New York.  The temple hosts a variety of programs, rituals, and festivals on a regular basis, and was established in 1979 by Swami Jagdishwaranand (popularly known as Swamiji) with the help of a small group of his yoga students and followers, both Hindu and non-Hindu.  Swamiji is also the founder of the Sri Divya Dham temple, located somewhat to the west in a different section of Queens and also portrayed on this Web site.  He has thus played a significant role in the development and leadership of the Hindu community resident in New York. 

The Temple

The Geeta  Temple is located at 92-09 Corona Avenue in Elmhurst, Queens in a converted building that was once an A&P supermarket.  Corona Avenue is a long stretch of road dotted with residential townhouses as well as commercial buildings, towards the east end of which stands the temple.  The temple’s aesthetic qualities make it contrast boldly with the buildings that surround it.  The main altar at the temple accommodates the following deities, beginning from the extreme left of the center platform: Ram, Lakshman, Sita, Durga, Hanuman, Shiva, Parvati, Lakshmi, Krishna, and Radha.  Other prominent statues located throughout the room include Vishnu and Ganesh.  In addition, there are several deities not commonly found in other New York Hindu temples, most notably Santoshi Ma.  Much attention has been paid to the aesthetic details of the temple interior, which includes ornately carved pillars, walls, and doors.  Aartis take place every morning at 5:30 and at 6:30 every evening. 

The temple has a largely north Indian constituency, including immigrants from Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, and Punjab. One can infer this from the names that appear on plaques commemorating major donors of the temple at its entrance, but it also becomes plain in Swamiji’s references to some of the regional groups who frequent the temple and with whom he is well acquainted.  Swamiji himself hails from Gujarat and initially established connections with Indians who had also emigrated from there and other neighboring states in India.  Because Hindi is spoken across the broad range of north India, it is not surprising that the temple’s informational materials are printed not only in English but in Hindi.  These materials include advertisements for upcoming festivals or holidays, as well as hymns and epic narratives in Hindi and English. 

The Swami

Having been orphaned at an early age in India, Swamiji immigrated to the United States from Ahmedebad, a city in the state of Gujarat. There he was associated with a temple called the Geeta Mandir, after its dedication to the Bhagavad-Gita.  In founding his temple in Queens, Swamiji adopted the same name. Shortly after his arrival in New York, Swamiji began teaching yoga classes to an initially small group of non-Hindus.  The group soon grew to include a number of Indian professionals, who were eager to establish a place of worship and community center under Swamiji’s guidance. The temple’s current edifice was purchased in 1979 to satisfy the demand for a larger space on the part of Swamiji’s yoga students and devotional followers.  Thus the history of the temple is closely intertwined with the figure of Swami Jagdishwaranand himself.

Swamiji’s first group of disciples—yoga students—met in the garage of a friend in Queens, but before long the size of the group dictated a move—to a former beer house!  That move, still in Queens, was funded through Swamiji’s personal earnings as a yoga instructor and by donations he received from his students and their friends, who had come to include professional persons recently immigrated from India.  By chance, Swamiji also came into contact with a Jewish attorney who later became a good friend and follower.  This man credits Swamiji with playing a crucial role in enabling his sick daughter to recover her health.  With the help of this friend and the Jewish community of which he was a part, funds were raised to establish the Geeta Mandir in 1979. 

The relationship between the Geeta Temple and Swami Jagdishwaranand is a close one—closer than is the case with many similar Hindu places of worship in New York.  Swamiji is normally the only priest or swami present in the temple during most of the day.  Most visitors to the temple approach Swamiji to receive his blessings; if they choose, they are also welcome to speak with him more at length.  For someone like myself, a second-generation Indian-American Hindu, Swamiji’s past work with youth comes especially into play, but the remarkable range of his involvements has obviously had a great deal to do with his success in stimulating the development of the Geeta Mandir.