How I Helped Build a Unique Hindu Temple in the United States — Swaminarayan Akshardham, North America! — *In my head* Okay I got this... Don’t mess up this cut… Keep going… Push… Almost there… SUCCESS! The sounds of machines buzzing. The smell of your sweat under the mask. The dust that flies on your goggles. I was surrounded by an unknown environment, yet constantly filled with a…

The story behind Pramukh Swami Maharaj’s Smruti Mandir —

Navigating Through the First-Year of University — This article is also available as a podcast on Apple, Google, or Spotify. As we finished taking all of my boxes up to my dorm room, I hugged my parent's goodbye as I began a new chapter in my life. Tears welled up in my mom’s eyes. Tears that were…

How Playing The Trombone Taught Me The Importance of Harmony — The Best Instrument I might be biased, but the best musical instrument is the trombone! The trombone is quite a versatile instrument. It is a Western instrument that is a member of the brass family. I used to play the tenor trombone, which has no true valves and only a single slide to…

The Value of Forgiveness — This article is also available as a podcast on Apple, Google, or Spotify. “Forgive Others Not Because They Deserve Forgiveness but Because You Deserve Peace.” — Jonathan Lockwood Huie. Defining Forgiveness Merriam-Webster defines forgiveness as, “to cease to feel resentment against (an offender).” There are many instances in our daily life where…

Prathanatrayi Series #1 — The Prasthānatrayī are three scriptures that are foundationl in Vedanta philosophy of Hinduism — the Upanishads, Brahmasutras and Shrimad Bhagavad Gita. Today, we will look at the Akshar-Purushottam Darshan, one of the seven Vedanta darshan, through the words of Shri Krishna Bhagwan in the Bhagavad Gita. This article is directly…

And It’s Happening Before Our Eyes. — What if I were to tell you… A Muslim-ruling country giving land… To build a Hindu mandir (temple) led by a Hindu organization… Where the lead architect is Christian Catholic… The chief consultant is Chinese… The project director is Sikh… The construction company is Parsi… The workers are from India…

“What is that symbol on your forehead?” — As I was leaving Follinger Auditorium — a large auditorium at the University of Illinois — I head someone yell from the crowd of students. “Hey! Wait up!” I turned around to see a student catch up to me. “Jay Swaminarayan,” he said. “umm… Jay Swaminarayan,” I replied, not knowing…