Shri Lakshmi Narayan Temple - Hindu Society Of Saskatchewan

Area Served

About Shri Lakshmi Narayan Temple - Hindu Society Of Saskatchewan

The University of Saskatchewan in Saskatoon has attracted students from India since 1950s. In early sixties, many people from India joined the faculty of the University of Saskatchewan. These were later followed by medical and other professionals. In 1966, a need was felt by a few people of the Hindu community in Saskatoon to start some activities in order to satisfy their religious aspirations. They started meeting regularly at the residence of Nirmal and Narendra Bakhshi. The activities included bhajan-kirtan, readings from Bhagvad Gita, Deewali Pooja etc. By a fortunate circumstance, Swami Ranganathananda Ji, a senior monk of the Ramakrishna Order of India, visited Saskatoon in February 1969. He stayed with Dr. M. L. Dasgupta and Dr. N.N. Bakhshi and gave a highly thought-provoking talk on “Man’s Spiritual Life in the Light of the 20th Century Scientific Thought”. The Swami was told of the “Satsang” and was asked for guidance. His suggestion was that these “satsangs” should be regularized and books such as “The Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna”, Message of the “Upanishads” and “Bhagvad Gita’ should be read regularly. The Swami visited the Hindu community in Saskatoon again in February 1972.