An Authentic Hindu Temple in Queens

If you measure the importance of an institution by the height of its buildings, Wall Street has it over religion here in New York City. (Considering that the New York region was originally colonised by Dutch merchants rather than English Puritans, this makes some sense.) Still, New York is a vibrant quilt of religious ideas and practise - a diverse, tolerant (for the most part), disunited, immigrant-energised phenomenon that grew up under the eye of mercantile sensibility. And one of the places where this is most evident is the enormous Hindu temple in Queens.

So... I actually went to this location way back in October and meant to write about it then but got the awful news about my nephew's death before I could. Still, I recently found my notes I'd taken when visiting and figured it was still worth recapping. SO.

Queens is probably the most diverse borough in New York City - the 7 Train has been nicknamed "the international express" due to the fact that it passes through neighbourhoods primarily populated by immigrants from Thailand, Mexico, Tibet, China, Korea, India, and more. And if you get on the 7 Train, and get off in the Flushing neighbourhood, you'll find yourself in the centre of one of the most authentic Chinatowns in New York.  That's worth visiting in and of itself, but if you walk out a little further (it's about a 15-20 minute walk from the 7-Train), you'll spot - rising above apartment buildings and bodegas - an intricately carved Granite structure that looks as if it's been airlifted from the heart of India. (It is actually built of granite imported from India, so that's not entirely inaccurate.)

This is the Hindu Temple Society of North America, commonly referred to as the Ganesh Temple as Ganesh is its primary deity. It was the first Hindu temple in the United States, it's definitely one of the larger religious structures in NYC (though there are churches that are larger), and it's an experience like no other.

When I arrived at the temple, I was informed of the rules before stepping inside. The temple follows rules of Hinduism which is traditionally vegetarian, so no one wearing animal products (leather, fur) is allowed inside. (Luckily I don't really wear leather or fur as a rule.) Shoes are also not allowed inside, but socks are okay, so I took off my sneakers and placed them into a rack next to the coconut breaking area.

I was lead upstairs where I joined a small group, greeted by a priest in all white clothing with a friendly "namaste!" (I have never heard that word spoken by anyone but culturally appropriative white hippies before my visit to this place.) He showed us around the main sanctuary space, as well as two additional rooms in the back and the temple's outdoor rooftop space.

Unfortunately, photos were not allowed inside, and I wanted to be respectful of that, but it was so beautiful in there! I had never been inside a religious structure devoted to multiple deities before. Though, as I understood it, Hinduism is more pantheist than polytheist, but still! There were 5 large shrines - also hand-carved from Indian granite - in each cardinal direction (north, east, south, west) and in the centre of the room, each with a different deity represented within. The stature were draped in colourful cloth and flowers and sparkling jewelry, with offerings of fruit and milk in silver vessels before them. Ganesh was in the centre shrine.

Some further things to note about the temple construction - in keeping with traditional Indian architecture, it was built without the use of electric construction tools, so it took 7 years to build, from 1970-1977. Also, there's no cement - rather, the granite blocks interlock, which is an ancient Indian construction technique that I had read about in the past but never seen in person until now.

There were also smaller shrines along the walls, with more deity representations inside, and the texts of mantras written on the walls. I watched people bow and prostrate themselves and chant these mantras and leave offerings, and despite all the movement and noise, it was surprisingly calm feeling.

Photos are not allowed in the main sanctuary, so this is from the basement

The priest leading us around the sanctuary explained to us that one of the rituals done inside the temples involves fire, with the smoke going up to the heavens and thus to the god(s) - but rather than burning wood, various sacred plants are burned instead. The residual ash is collected and can be used for both spiritual and medicinal purposes - it's good for relieving itchy bug bites, and I know this because I had a bug bite when I visited and the priest demonstrated on me.

Turmeric is also in little bowls by the shrines next to the little bowls of ash. It's another powder that can be used spiritually or medicinally, and worshippers in the temple apply it between their eyebrows over their spiritual "third eye". (I did not do this, though he invited us to if we wished, because it's not part of my own spiritual practise and I didn't want to be disrespectful.)

Behind the very large main sanctuary was a corridor with two additional rooms, as well as a doorway to the roof. One of these rooms was a designated area for lighting Deepas - flame lamps lit with either oil or ghee. The other was a shrine space for Navagrahas - representations of celestial bodies in our solar system, each draped with its own colour of cloth.

This in particular was surprising to me. I had had no idea that Hinduism included worship of the cosmos, but it's very very cool to learn that it does! The representations in this room were:

• Chandra (the moon) in lilac
• Surya (the sun) in bright red
• Budha (Mercury - not to be confused with the Buddhist Buddha with 2 d's) in green
• Sukra (Venus) in coral pink
• Angaraka (Mars) in deep red
• Guru (Jupiter) in yellow
• Sani (Saturn) in black

The ritual space on the roof, our friendly guide explained, was so that worshippers could, as he worded it, "give respect to all living things, including plants and animals." It is a large space, with another statue of Ganesh watching over it. A couple times a year, a live cow is brought up there for devotees to interact with, and there's always a plant up there to allow worshippers to "connect with creation".

Also, I would be remiss if I didn't mention that this temple visit would not have been complete without a visit to the temple's basement canteen, which serves up delicious homemade Indian delicacies for very affordable prices, with the profits going back into the temple's upkeep.

Of course I had to eat here - I wanted to give some financial support (I also made a small donation upstairs) to thank the Hindu gods for allowing me to glimpse a culture of worship so different from my own. (No, I'm not gonna convert to Hinduism, but I do endeavour to be polite, as They were so very welcoming to my curiosity...)

I'm more familiar with northern Indian food (samosas are one of my fave things) than southern Indian food, so I haven't had many dosas in my life, but this temple canteen had one of the best dosas I've ever had. I also got myself chai and burfi (an Indian dessert that I really love).

All in all, I'd say the experience of visiting a place like this, so different from anything within my own culture, was TOTALLY worth the long walk from the 7-train! The beauty and overall hospitable nature of the Hindu Temple Society, along with the deliciousness of the food below, made my visit to the Hindu Temple Society one of the most unique and authentic experiences I've had since I moved to New York City 2 and a half years ago. I highly recommend taking the trek and experiencing this for yourself if you ever get the chance!

-Nym