ELMHURST, QUEENS, NEW YORK, December 17, 2005: Puja Swami Jagdishwaranandaji of The Geeta Temple and Divya Dham, Queens, New York, has attain Maha Samadhi at age 70. The Geeta Temple has arranged a Shradhanjali for Puja Swami Jagdishwarananda ji on Friday, December 30, 10AM—1PM.
The Geeta Temple Ashram in Elmhurst, Queens owes its existence to the lives touched by Swami Jagdishwarananda, the temple’s founder and spiritual leader, who both lived and worked at the temple. The temple serves the Hindu community in New York with programs, rituals, and festivals on a regular basis, and was established by Swami Jagdishwarananda in 1979 with the help of devotees.
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 was 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.