Only about a mile east of Greenwich Village on Manhattan Island is New York’s first downtown Hindu temple. The Ramakrishnananda Yoga Vedanta Mission is set right in the heart of the Big Apple, a location that is usually anything but serene! That doesn’t stop the disciples of the Mission’s founder, Swami Ramakrishnananda.

It was in 2003 that Swami Ramakrishnananda, who had only recently come to the United States, was asked by his Gurudeva (spiritual teacher) to start a formal institution with the purpose of spreading his teachings and sharing his heart. The Mission is founded with the purpose of teaching the Hindu religion on a large scale and to work toward peace and harmony among all religions. Their purpose also includes training and education about hatha yoga, as well as other aspects of spiritual and physical health and well being.
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Anyone who loves the Beatles has heard of Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, but did you know he started a project of opening 3,000 Peace Palaces around the world? One such palace is the Maharishi Peace Palace of Bethesda, Maryland. Like all the palaces in the project, both those already built and those still in the planning stage, the Bethesda Peace Palace is dedicated to spreading the teachings of Maharishi Mahesh Yogi and to training people in the science of Transcendental Meditation, or TM. Another of the primary functions of the Peace Palaces like the one at Bethesda is as an alternative to modern medical practice, offering instead a variety of ancient and modern non-medical healing techniques.
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Arunachala (uh-roo-NAH-chuh-luh) Ashram is part of the legacy of Sri Ramana Maharishi, a south Indian saint who lived around the turn of the last century (the late 1800s). Arunachala is the name of the hill in the town of Tiruvannamalai, in southern India, upon which the original and flagship ashram is located. The New York ashram is one of only two outside of India, the other being in Nova Scotia.
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One hour northwest of New York, nestled in the Catskill mountain foothills, is the Ananda Ashram. This gorgeous retreat center is dedicated to teaching the universal principles of yoga and Vedanta, and to the exchange of culture between east and west. Open all year, it welcomes visitors of all faiths, origins, and cultures.
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While Hinduism in general has been very accommodating of the westerners who’ve approached it, very few American ashrams offer the level of meaningful integration with the western lifestyle that the Yoga Satchidananda Ashram does. They do it coming and going! While extending a warm welcome to newcomers, they deliver the ongoing support necessary to turn starry-eyed yoga practitioners into credentialed yoga teachers.
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