Vishnu Mandir Minnesota

The MHDS Vishnu Mandir (Minnesota Hindu Dharmic Sabha Vishnu Mandir) is a Hindu temple located at 4022 N Washington Ave, Minneapolis, MN 55412. It is the oldest official Hindu temple in Minnesota and the upper Midwest, excluding Illinois. The temple is a non-profit organization focused on preserving Hindu culture and traditions. 

The temple originated from a small community of Hindu West Indian immigrants, primarily from Guyana and Trinidad, who settled in the Twin Cities in the early 1970s. They sought a dedicated space for religious services and rites of passage, initially holding gatherings in members’ homes. After several years of meeting in various temporary locations, a store-front building on Lyndale Avenue in Minneapolis was acquired in 1984 and renovated to become the Mandir. The temple officially opened in 1995 after registering as a non-profit religious organization and adopting the name Minnesota Hindu Dharmic Sabha Vishnu Mandir. 

The community is primarily composed of Indo-Guyanese and West Indian families, many of whom are first or second-generation immigrants. It currently comprises approximately 100 families and includes a sizable youth population of about 50 members aged 8-18. 

The core of the temple’s activities is its weekly worship service held on Sunday mornings from 10 AM to 12 PM. This service typically includes a hawan, bhajans (devotional songs, often translated and explained in English, and accompanied by dholak, harmonium, and dhantal), closing prayers (aarti), kirtan, and a 30-minute discourse by an officiating pundit. The Vishnu Mandir also offers kirtan practice on Fridays from 6 PM to 8 PM, which includes chanting the hawan, singing, and playing instruments. 

The temple also celebrates all major Hindu festivals, including Shivratri, Holi, Ramnaumi, Hanuman Jayanti, Sita Jayanti, Raksha Bandhan, Pitri Paksh, Navratri, and Diwali, and hosts cultural shows to commemorate Holi and Diwali. Additionally, the temple can be used for family functions like weddings and anniversaries. 

The temple’s devotees also perform various rites of passage, including marriages, funerals, and birth rituals. The temple provides resources like Puja lists for various deities (Ganesh, Durga, Lakshmi, Saraswati, Shiva, Krishna, Ram, Hanuman, Vishnu, and Navagraha), as well as Shraadh and Funeral day guidelines.