HPI
KAUAI, HAWAII, USA, August 9, 2005: We received several responses to our request for temple by-laws. There are several available on the web: Nebraska Temple, here; Calgary Temple, here; Hindu Temple of Arizona, here; and Kentucky Hindu Temple, here. None of these has been evaluated for “recommendation,” only given as examples.
There is an account, here, of the difficulties faced by the Ganesha Temple in Flushing, New York, over a dispute about their by-laws.
Over the years, several issues have surfaced with regard to temple by-laws which we summarize here:
Board of Directors: Is the board democratically elected or self-appointed? The Flushing temple dispute is in this category, with one set of by-laws providing for election and a subsequent one for self-appointment. Both methods are legal (usually), and the temple should be clear what is intended. In an extreme example, one temple board which is self-appointed is also claiming they can pass their position on to their children. Satguru Sivaya Subramuniyaswami recommended that the head temple priest be included on the board. The by-laws can also spell out the general policies to be followed by the board with regard to money, such as limits on the taking of loans. Priorities can be established such as the promotion of Hinduism among children and youth.
Membership: In some temples, it is not clear if a member has to be a Hindu or not. If non-Hindus are allowed to join, then some criteria should be stated.
Deities: There is a general inclination to include more Deities over time, beyond the original ones installed in the temple. This can go so far as to change a temple originally with a Saivite orientation into one with a Vaishnavite orientation. The by-laws should state which Deities are intended to be installed and a procedure, if any, for adding new ones so that there are not future debates.
In the following article, Satguru Bodhinatha Veylanswami lists out the key historical, philosophic and procedural elements he recommends each temple clearly define for itself. These can then be incorporated in the by-laws.