Radha Madhav Dham is a nonprofit, religious, educational, and charitable organization that follows the path of raganuga bhakti. It is a Hindu temple and ashram complex, the oldest Hindu Temple in Texas the largest in North America. The temple is involved in numerous charitable educational projects including JKP Education, which won the Nelson Mandela Peace Award instituted by the Economic Growth Society of India in April 2014.
The temple was founded by Prakashanand Saraswati. Saraswati was convicted in 2011 of 20 counts of criminal sexual contact with a minor and sentenced to 280 years of prison. As of 2015 all images and mentions of Saraswati have been removed from the temple, which has said that its leadership has been changed and that it has no knowledge of Saraswati's whereabouts.
History
Radha Madhav Dham (Barsana Dham) was established in 1990 as the main US center of the International Society of Divine Love, which was founded in the 1970s. Radha Madhav Dham was built to be a representation of the holy land of Braj in India where Radha and Krishna are believed by Hindus to have appeared, over 5,000 years ago. It has been designed as a place of pilgrimage in America. Areas of Radha Madhav Dham have been developed to be the places for meditation. Places of Braj like Govardhan, Radha Kund, Prem Sarovar, Shyam Kuti, and others are represented in Radha Madhav Dham where a natural stream named Kalindi represents the Yamuna river of Vrindaban.
Festivals
Radha Madhav Dham celebrates all the major Hindu festivals which attract thousands. The Temple is home to one of the biggest Janmashtami celebrations in North America. To commemorate the yearly Rath Yatra festival at the temple, October 27, 2001 was named 'Radha Rani Rath Yatra Day' by Austin Mayor Kirk Watson. The 2011 Rath Yatra celebration was attended by "Bhajan Samrat" Anup Jalota. Various other Mayors of Austin and Governor of Texas have visited or offered commendations to Barsana Dham. 50,000 visitors from both Indian and Western communities participate in the lessons, religious programs and celebrations there.
Address: 400 Barsana Rd, Austin, TX 78737, United States
Phone: +1 512-288-7180
