A Brief Description of the Hindu Temple of Central Texas
It was in 1999 that the seeds of the Hindu Temple of Central Texas were sown under the leadership of Madhava R Beeram. His persuasive power won the hearts of eight other members of the community to establish the first traditional Hindu temple between Dallas-Forth Worth and San Antonio. VP Subramanaian donated the land in 2000 and the temple opened its doors on December 9, 2001, with Sri Sreeram Hariharan as the resident Priest. Services at the temple have continued ever since without interruption. In 2011, Sri Srinidhi Bangalore joined Sreeram and together they take care of the services at the temple without interruption and in the most traditional manner.
The temple has grown significantly to meet the needs of the community. The temple itself expanded the sanctum area; Rajagopuram and Saraswathi Nilayam were added to the main structure that consisted of the sanctum and Anna Poorna Hall. Outside, Balaganapthy Sannidhi, Aanjaneya Sannidhi and Sarpa Raja Sannidhi were added. Homakundam and the ॐ Dhyanamandapam were the more recent additions. The Dhyanamadapam is a place to sit and meditate or just to sit and enjoy the beauty of the temple.
Since 1981 classes in Hinduism have been ongoing for children under the tutelage of Shyamala Nair. Once Saraswathi Nilayam was built, these classes moved to the temple. Now the children are grouped into batches with different teachers for different age groups. During these COVID-19 times, classes are held via Zoom. Cultural programs and community events are held in Saraswathi Nilayam and the hall is available for rental for private functions.
With the COVID-19 contingency, the temple is open only for limited hours and restrictions are in place to protect the devotees and the priests. Streaming Poojas/Homam are held on special days and most Fridays. A daily evening Prayer meeting, HEALing Prayers or Sandhya Vandanam, are held via Zoom on weekdays. All are welcome to join. Just click on HEALing Prayers icon on the website.