What is now Geeta Temple Ashram started quite simply in a rented basement apartment in Sunnyside, Queens. Swami Jagdishwaranand first met with other members of New York’s Indian community in the spring of 1971 to discuss opening a center of spiritual teaching, with the result that Geeta Ashram was legally incorporated that June. The five trustees came from various regions of India, which helped to establish a heterogeneous outlook. The ashram was named in honor of a group of affiliated temples throughout India, with which the Swami has continued his close association since coming to the country.

There is no precise equivalent in English to the word “ashram,” but it may be approximately described as a cross between a school and a monastery. Ideally, a master spiritual teacher (“guru”) and students live, work, and study together in an austere, disciplined way to further their spiritual development. In the early days of Geeta Ashram, however, space was so limited that the Swami kept his Bronx apartment and commuted to Sunnyside to teach yoga and lecture on Hindu thought. When it is recalled that the Asian Indian population of New York City was much smaller twenty years ago, it is not so surprising that the Swami’s first students were Americans from practically every background but Hindu.

Being so much the creation of its community and members, Geeta Temple Ashram is a vital part of their lives. Besides daily evening services, the temple offers Sunday afternoon devotional singing, and on Tuesday evenings regularly holds a song service in honor of Lord Hanuman. The many major and minor Hindu festivals throughout the year are celebrated enthusiastically, with most holiday preparation work done by volunteers.

A schedule of the festivals and holidays, fast days and other observances, is available at the temple. (Because the Hindu calendar is lunar, the dates shift considerably from year to year, by Western solar reckoning.) As noted visitors are warmly welcomed, and the Swami and others are also happy to answer brief telephone inquiries.