Sankaṭ Mochan Hanumān

About the Temple

In 2001, long-time students of Bābā Hari Dāss returned from India with a beautiful Hanumān murti. When Bābāji saw the statue, he wrote on his board, “It needs a Temple.” He promptly walked to the Center’s rustic ceremonial site, scratched out a location for the Temple with his foot and the digging began. The Prāna Pratishṭa ceremony, “establishing the breath” within the sacred image, was performed in 2003.

Bābā Hari Dāss

Bābā Hari Dāss was a silent monk from the Kumaon region of northern India. He stopped speaking in 1952 and communicated by writing on a small chalkboard. The practice of silence is a yogic discipline, which quiets the mind and develops inner peace.

Bābāji lived in the United States for over forty years, coming several days a week to the Mount Madonna Center, founded by his students in 1978. Through his practice of selfless service or Karma Yoga, he helped to build and maintain the Center as well as develop the Temple complex.

Mount Madonna Center

Mount Madonna Center, where the Temple is located, is an intentional community established in 1978, which has about 80 residents who are all volunteers. It is also home to a retreat and conference center hosting programs in yoga, spiritual development, and wellness, as well as personal retreats and daily yoga classes. It is also the site of Mount Madonna School, a fully accredited K-12 private school with some 200 children, and the Mount Madonna Institute, a post-secondary college offering degrees in Yoga, Ayurveda and Community Studies.

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