Indiaspora says Indian spiritual leaders shaped 250 years of the US story
Indiaspora has released a compilation on Indian-origin spiritual figures and institutions in the United States. It shows how their ideas, communities and philanthropy have shaped American religious and public life.
Indian thinkers and spiritual leaders, from Swami Vivekananda and Mahatma Gandhi to B K S Iyengar and B R Ambedkar, have left a lasting mark on the United States, diaspora body Indiaspora has said as the country marks the 250th anniversary of American Independence.
The non-profit advocacy group has released a curated compilation, titled '250 at 250: Moments of the Indian American Story', highlighting the contribution of people of Indian origin, including the spread of spiritual teachings from the subcontinent, in shaping the American story.
The compilation lists the role of Swami Vivekananda and Paramahansa Yogananda, along with newer figures such as Deepak Chopra and Rajan Zed, in spreading Hindu philosophy in the US. Vivekananda drew wide attention at the World's Parliament of Religions in Chicago in 1893 with his call for religious tolerance and universal acceptance. The speech was the first time a Hindu monk addressed a major Western audience in the United States. He went on to help establish the Vedanta Society of New York in 1894, one of the earliest permanent Hindu institutions in the country.
Indiaspora said B K S Iyengar helped transform yoga in the United States in the 1950s by presenting it as a disciplined system of physical therapy and holistic wellbeing. "Today, approximately 10 per cent of the US population practices yoga ... and there are around 36,000 Yoga studios in the US," Indiaspora founder M R Rangaswami said.
The first Hindu temple opened in San Francisco in 1905, followed by the Gurdwara Sahib of Stockton in 1912. Over the next few decades, the Jain Centre of America, the Mar Thoma Syrian Church and the Zoroastrian Association of Greater New York helped permanently spread South Asia's diverse faith traditions within the American religious landscape.
In 1920, Paramahansa Yogananda settled permanently in the United States and became the first major Hindu spiritual teacher to build a lasting American movement through the Self-Realization Fellowship. His influence reached the White House in 1927, when President Calvin Coolidge invited him for a personal visit. Indiaspora said his book, 'Autobiography of a Yogi', became one of the most influential works on Eastern spirituality in the United States, inspiring readers from Steve Jobs to many spiritual seekers.
The compilation also said Mufti Muhammad Sadiq, who was born in undivided India in 1872, widened the reach of Islam in America by founding The Moslem Sunrise in Chicago in 1921. A C Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada founded the International Society for Krishna Consciousness in New York City in 1966, introducing the devotional traditions of Gaudiya Vaishnavism in the US.
Inspired by B R Ambedkar's conversion to Buddhism, Dalit immigrants set up Buddhist communities across the United States that linked spiritual practice with social justice and anti-caste advocacy. This led to the formation of the Ambedkar Association of North America in 2008.
Indian Americans are among the fastest-growing major immigrant groups in the United States. According to Indiaspora, there are 5.1 million people of Indian origin who were born in the US or emigrated there. Indian American households contributed more than USD 1.5 billion in philanthropy in the US in 2023, and more than 150 were nominated to senior public service positions that year.
"This collection spans 15 categories of American life and was built through a rigorous research and editorial process, with external reviewers engaged to validate the final selection. It is not comprehensive," Niranjana Rajagopal, managing director of Indiaspora, told PTI on July 2, when the compilation went live. The compilation presents a broad account of how Indian-origin spiritual figures, institutions and communities have shaped religious and public life in the United States over the years.
With PTI Inputs
Indian thinkers and spiritual leaders, from Swami Vivekananda and Mahatma Gandhi to B K S Iyengar and B R Ambedkar, have left a lasting mark on the United States, diaspora body Indiaspora has said as the country marks the 250th anniversary of American Independence.
The non-profit advocacy group has released a curated compilation, titled '250 at 250: Moments of the Indian American Story', highlighting the contribution of people of Indian origin, including the spread of spiritual teachings from the subcontinent, in shaping the American story.
The compilation lists the role of Swami Vivekananda and Paramahansa Yogananda, along with newer figures such as Deepak Chopra and Rajan Zed, in spreading Hindu philosophy in the US. Vivekananda drew wide attention at the World's Parliament of Religions in Chicago in 1893 with his call for religious tolerance and universal acceptance. The speech was the first time a Hindu monk addressed a major Western audience in the United States. He went on to help establish the Vedanta Society of New York in 1894, one of the earliest permanent Hindu institutions in the country.
Indiaspora said B K S Iyengar helped transform yoga in the United States in the 1950s by presenting it as a disciplined system of physical therapy and holistic wellbeing. "Today, approximately 10 per cent of the US population practices yoga ... and there are around 36,000 Yoga studios in the US," Indiaspora founder M R Rangaswami said.
The first Hindu temple opened in San Francisco in 1905, followed by the Gurdwara Sahib of Stockton in 1912. Over the next few decades, the Jain Centre of America, the Mar Thoma Syrian Church and the Zoroastrian Association of Greater New York helped permanently spread South Asia's diverse faith traditions within the American religious landscape.
In 1920, Paramahansa Yogananda settled permanently in the United States and became the first major Hindu spiritual teacher to build a lasting American movement through the Self-Realization Fellowship. His influence reached the White House in 1927, when President Calvin Coolidge invited him for a personal visit. Indiaspora said his book, 'Autobiography of a Yogi', became one of the most influential works on Eastern spirituality in the United States, inspiring readers from Steve Jobs to many spiritual seekers.
The compilation also said Mufti Muhammad Sadiq, who was born in undivided India in 1872, widened the reach of Islam in America by founding The Moslem Sunrise in Chicago in 1921. A C Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada founded the International Society for Krishna Consciousness in New York City in 1966, introducing the devotional traditions of Gaudiya Vaishnavism in the US.
Inspired by B R Ambedkar's conversion to Buddhism, Dalit immigrants set up Buddhist communities across the United States that linked spiritual practice with social justice and anti-caste advocacy. This led to the formation of the Ambedkar Association of North America in 2008.
Indian Americans are among the fastest-growing major immigrant groups in the United States. According to Indiaspora, there are 5.1 million people of Indian origin who were born in the US or emigrated there. Indian American households contributed more than USD 1.5 billion in philanthropy in the US in 2023, and more than 150 were nominated to senior public service positions that year.
"This collection spans 15 categories of American life and was built through a rigorous research and editorial process, with external reviewers engaged to validate the final selection. It is not comprehensive," Niranjana Rajagopal, managing director of Indiaspora, told PTI on July 2, when the compilation went live. The compilation presents a broad account of how Indian-origin spiritual figures, institutions and communities have shaped religious and public life in the United States over the years.
With PTI Inputs
