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 is a silent monk from the Kumaon region of northern India. He has not spoken since 1952 and communicates by writing on a small whiteboard. His silence is a yogic discipline, which quiets the mind and develops inner peace.

Bābāji has lived in the United States for nearly 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 has 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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