Hindu temples have served as important centers of personal and spiritual development for thousands of years. The foremost purpose of a temple is, of course, to provide an auspicious space to feel connected to the divine. A temple is a place we can go to with our wishes and anxieties, our hopes and dreams. It’s a place we can find mental relief, to get a sense of something larger than our own egos. But a temple is also more than a place of personal spiritual development–it is an integral place for community building. This is especially true for new temples like ours, growing out of an American context.