Sri Ranganatha Temple
Organization background

The Sri Ranganatha Temple in Pomona, NY is a Vaishnavaite temple (presiding deity is Lord Vishnu (Sriman Narayana)), located in Pomona, NY. It follows the Visishtadvaita Philosophy as given by Bhagavad Sri Ramanujacharya, as elaborated by Sri NigamAntha Maha Desika and as currently followed by the Jeers of Sri Ahobila Mutt, India. Its construction was insprired by the 44th Jeeyar of Sri Ahobila Mutt (His Holiness, Sri Mukkur Azhagiyasingar), with the objective of having an exclusive place of worship in the USA for Sriman Narayana. The Trust that runs the temple was registered in NY in Oct 1987, and the temple has been operating since 2001. In addition to carrying out regular religious functions, the temple also conducts classes relating to Hindu religious scriptures for adults and children, cultural programs relating to Indian dance, and music, and summer camps for children to educate them about Hindu culture and values. For further details, see here.

Project background

Religion and Culture are an important component of the sense of identity of an individual, and preserving that sense of group identity is an important facet of human life. Of the religions practised today, Hinduism is one of the most ancient. The Hindu religion places a great deal of emphasis on spiritual development. The basic idea is that a human being is more than just an individual, who is born, lives according to the whims of fate, and then dies, but is part of something much more grander and ever lasting. The Hindu religion encapsulates this concept of something grander and ever lasting in its various deities. Ancient Hindu mythology postulates a triumvirate of deities and their consorts: Lord Vishnu (the Preserver), Lord Brahma (the Creator) and Lord Shiva (the Destroyer). In addition to these three main deities, there are also many other deities in the Hindu religion. The worshippers of Lord Vishnu are called Vaishnavaites, and there are several temples all over the world dedicated to this Lord and his various incarnations. The rituals of worship and code of living for Vaishnavaites are specified in several books - however, slightly different interpretations of these books, have led to slightly different sub-groups of Vaishnavaites, one of which are Srivaishnavaites.

The Sri Ranganatha temple helps preserve Srivaishnava traditions by celebrating all major Vaishnava festivals, and providing religious and cultural services to the throngs of devotees who visit.

GKF contribution to SRT