Author Archives: Melissa Moy

Written by Christine Karwoski: May 4, 2005 A Brief Introduction The first time I attended Sunday service at the Vedanta Society of New York (VSNY), “America’s first Hindu organization” (Eck 2003, 98), I was struck by the Hindu and Christian … Continue reading →

Written by Christine Karwoski: April 11, 2005 History In 1894 the Vedanta Society of New York, the first Hindu organization in the United States, was founded by Swami Vivekananda, a disciple of the Bengali saint Sri Ramakrishna.  Since that time, … Continue reading →

Photos by Derek Mitchell Sri Vallabhacharya’s birthday celebration at the Vaishnav Temple of New York happened on Sunday, April 27th in 2003. The day began with a “yatra,” a procession, of an image of Sri Vallabhacharya through the temple’s neighborhood. … Continue reading →

Written by Shilpa Lakhani   I have discovered that the goal of field work is to reveal and report the distinctive characteristics of the subject material. With a primarily immigrant, religious group such as the Vaishnavs of Holliswood, Queens, it … Continue reading →

Written by Derek Mitchell: May 8, 2003    The establishment of Hindu religious life in the diasporic setting has often involved a degree of unification, summarization, and adaptation. By this I mean that as Hindus set up temples and societies … Continue reading →

Written by Maryellen Dougherty: May 2003 We see mansions painted and whitewashed with ornamented doors. They were constructed to give pleasure to the heart, and through love and regard for worldly things, but they shall fall to ruin. So the … Continue reading →

Written by Anamika Arora Concise History of Sikhism Sikhism is one of the youngest religions of India. It is a religion about 500 years old. It was founded in Punjab, India in the early sixteenth century by the spiritual thinker … Continue reading →

Written by Rovika Rajkishun: March 18, 2003 Introduction             The Sri Guru Ravidas Sabha, like many other places of worship in Queens, NY, is unidentifiable by the structure or the outlook of the building. Except for a banner outside that … Continue reading →

Written by Purvi Dave: May 2, 2005 Introduction In mainstream American society, yoga has become a growing trend, with an increasing variety of styles and techniques being offered to “suit individual needs.”[1]  Due to the popularity of this practice in … Continue reading →

Written by Purvi Dave: May 2, 2005   History The Sivananda Yoga Vedanta Center of New York City was founded in 1959 by Swami Vishnu-devananda, a disciple of the renowned yoga teacher, Swami Sivananda.  Swami Vishnu-devananda came to the west … Continue reading →