Incorporated on October 19,1984 the Hindu Temple of Atlanta (HTA) is a Hindu temple located in Riverdale, Georgia, serves the Hindu population in Metro Atlanta. HTA promotes and practices the ideals of the Hindu religion through worship and education. The Temple strives for spiritual richness and human excellence through the assimilation of the values emphasized in Hindu scriptures and applying them in our daily lives, while recognizing and respecting other religions and belief systems in their due context.

Through this focus, it is our mission to be mindful of our Hindu heritage, develop a congregational sense of responsibility to the extended community we serve and create an atmosphere of extended family for all our members. Additionally, HTA provides cultural, social, charitable, educational and disaster recovery support to people in and around Georgia, USA.

 

Our Charity Programs

Apart from being a religious institution, HTA supports several secular programs.HTA partners with Habitat for Humanity, Atlanta Community Food Bank while extending a helping hand to the local students via the Need based Education Scholarships.

Inception of Hindu Temple of Atlanta

The Hindu Temple of Atlanta was incorporated on: October 19^th 1984

In the late70's a small group of like minded people pondered about having a temple in Atlanta. Drs. S.P. Reddy, B.K. Mohan, Shailendra and Hari Upadhyaya met on a few occasions and felt that there should a temple in Atlanta. In 1982 (on new year's eve) during post dinner chat at Dr. Vanapalli's house several members heard each others' views. Drs. Vanapalli, S.I. Naidu, I.J. Reddy and S.K. Naidu agreed to join in the effort. A quiet campaign commenced and Drs. Aruna Prasad, Raghava Reddy, Dronavalli, Mani, Kulkarni, Palghat Mohan and Kuppuswamy were on board. After initial deliberations and after visiting Nashville temple which was then located in a small house, a decision was made to proceed with the project. We thought we each can contribute $10,000 and we can accomplish this goal, happily pray and provide a place of worship for our community and our children. Naivety? You bet. We searched for land and looked at five different pieces of land. Decided on current property because of its elevation and proximity to highways and bi ways. Fifteen of us bought the land from Mrs. Jewel P. Quinn for the temple. The land was zoned for temple, thanks to philanthropic minded chairman honorable Charles Griswell and his excellent team of county commissioners.

Then we realized that the funds we thought were adequate, were only spent on buying the land itself. Dr.S.P. Reddy, Dr. Vanapalli and others actively worked on raising funds. The enthusiasm in the community and generous donations made us forge ahead with the project.

Very early in the project, Sri Sampatkumar Bhattar & temple architect Padmasri Muthiah stapathi were consulted and the planning for the temple has begun.