very traditional fashion, under the guidance of
Brahmins and temple experts and artisans from
India. However, each has its own unique style.
Further reading: Vasudeva S. Agrawala, Evolution of
the Hindu Temple and Other Essays (Varanasi: Prithivi
Prakashan, 1979); R. Champakalakshmi and Usha Kris,
The Hindu Temple (New Delhi: Roli Books, 2001); Stella
Kramrisch and Raymond Burnier, The Hindu Temple
(Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass, 1976); George Mitchell, The
Hindu Temple: An Introduction to Its Meaning and Forms
(Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1988); Malory
Nye, Place for Our Gods: The Construction of an Edinburgh
Hindu Temple Community (Richmond, England: Curzon
Press, 1995); Paul Younger, The Home of Dancing Shiva:
The Traditions of the Hindu Temple in Citamparam (New
York: Oxford University Press, 1995).
Temple of Cosmic Religion
In 1966, while attending the KUMBHA MELA, a
much-celebrated festival of ritual bathing at the
confluence of the YAMUNA and GANGES rivers in
ALLAHABAD, Lord Panduranga Vittala, an incarna-
tion of KRISHNA, approached Satguru Sant KES-
HAVADAS (1934–97), an independent teacher of
various paths of Indian philosophy, and told him,
“Go to the West: spread the cosmic religion.”
Later, after returning home to Delhi, Keshavadas
experienced a vision in which he understood
the spiritual reason for such a journey. The key
VEDANTA principle that there is only one truth, he
realized, should be used to include, not exclude,
others. Religion could be a force to gather together
the sacred bonds that unite humanity.
The next year, 1967, Keshavadas toured
Europe, the Middle East, and the United States.
In 1968 he founded a small center in Washington,
D.C., that would become the American head-
quarters of the Dasashram International Center,
as it was known in India. In the mid-1970s he
relocated the center to Southfield, Michigan, near
Detroit, and changed its name to the Temple of
Cosmic Religion.
Keshavadas had a primary goal of introducing
the wisdom of Hinduism to the West. He wanted to
usher in a cosmic religion founded on the princi-
ples that truth is one and that all paths lead to God.
Keshavadas taught YOGA and MEDITATION as a way to
know God and encouraged his followers to dance,
sing, and chant. Central to Keshavadas’s beliefs are
the precepts of KARMA and REINCARNATION.
The world headquarters of the Temple of Cos-
mic Religion is now located in Bangalore, India;
there are five other centers in India. The U.S.
headquarters is currently in Oakland, California.
Since the death of Keshavadas in 1997, the temple
has been led by his widow, Guru Mata Kesha-
vadas. The temple also has centers in Trinidad
and England.Further reading: Sant Keshavadasji, The Doctrine of
Reincarnation and Liberation (Bangalore: Dasashrama
Research, 1970); ———, The Purpose of Life (New
York: Vantage Press, 1978); ———, Satguru Speaks
(Washington, D.C.: Temple of Cosmic Religion, 1975);
Mukundadas (Michael Allen Makosky), Minstrel of Love
(Nevada City, Calif.: Hansa, 1980).Temple of Kriya Yoga
The Temple of Kriya Yoga was established on the
North Side in Chicago in the 1960s by the Ameri-
can Goswami Kriyananda (b. 1930), who had
been teaching yoga since the 1940s. The head-
quarters of the temple is still located in Chicago.
Goswami was born Melvin Higgins; he is not to be
confused with his compatriot Swami KRIYANANDA
of the ANANDA MOVEMENT.
Kriyananda studied YOGA and was initiated by
his first GURU, Sri Shelliji, a disciple of Paramah-
ansa YOGANANDA, founder of the SELF-REALIZATION
FELLOWSHIP. Kriyananda, an excellent astrologer,
also opened the College of Occult Sciences, which
offered many courses in esoteric traditions.
During the 1970s Kriyananda established a
retreat in South Haven, Michigan, and in 1977
founded the Kriyananda Healing Center as aK 442 Temple of Cosmic Religion