Hindu temple linked with 'supremacist' group erases Texas church, residential community from website image
$10 million temple ranked among largest in Dallas area
Why did a Hindu temple linked with an alleged “Hindu supremacist” group erase a Lutheran church and surrounding residential community in North Texas from its website?
The Karya Siddhi Hanuman Temple, located in Frisco, about 25 miles north of Dallas, is an ornate 34,000-square-foot facility that towers over the adjacent Rejoice Lutheran Church as well as nearby residential subdivisions.
But Rejoice Lutheran — which shares an access road with the temple — as well as all nearby homes and other identifying structures, have inexplicably been removed from a main header image on the homepage of the temple's website.
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The westward-facing image, captured well above the height of the temple’s 72-foot-tall "rajagopuram" tower, instead depicts a non-existent landscape of lush, green fields and several small bodies of water — none of which are located on any satellite map of the area.
In fact, apart from the temple site, an adjacent education building, and the Frisco Independence Cricket Ground across the street, the 1,366-pixel-wide header image otherwise appeared to be completely Photoshopped to exclude any structures and landmarks from the community.
The Rejoice Lutheran building can be seen in several videos of the temple’s exterior, including one video in which the videographer quickly pans away from the church’s steeple in the background.
Another video shows the church’s proximity to the temple, but there are no ponds, lagoons or any other bodies of water visible in the surrounding area.
Rejoice Lutheran, which is part of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), was established at the location off Independence Parkway in 2009, according to its website.
CP reached out to Karya Siddhi Hanuman Temple for comment on Thursday. This story will be updated if a response is received.
Founded in 2015 by Indian guru Ganapathi Sachchidananda, the Hanuman Temple is one of two temples in the Frisco area and is ranked among the largest Hindu temples in the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex.
The $10 million temple, which began with a 10,000-square-foot building that now operates as an education center, draws hundreds of visitors on weekends and up to thousands for its holy day and consecration events.
Prakasarao Velagapudi, one of the temple’s leaders, told a local outlet in 2015 that the site is home to altars for multiple “images” — a term which is preferred over “idols” — including statues of Hanuman, the Hindu monkey god, and Ganesha, the elephant god whose image also adorns the exterior of the temple.
In a celebration of a return to the temple in October 2021, worshipers reportedly “made a goddess out of 5,000 vegetables” and prayed to the vegetables as part of Navaratri, a nine-day Hindu celebration.
“Especially providing to the needy, and removal of disease, especially during this pandemic, we pray to her,” one worshiper told WFAA.
Led by Sachchidananda, the temple has also hosted a number of senior Indian officials, including political leader and Hindu nationalist Subramanian Swamy, who visited the site in 2019.
Dr @Swamy39 visited in Frisco Near Dallas TX USA Karya Siddhi Hanuman Temple,prayed & sought blessing of His Holiness Ganapathy Sachchidananda Swamiji (MYSORE) along wid @SreeIyer1 Dr Prakasrao Shri @jagdishshetty & others
— Sanatan Dharma (@HinduDharma1) July 19, 2019
Momento of Sri Rama frm Srilanka Was presented to Swamiji pic.twitter.com/2YhAednUW3
Sachchidananda himself is considered by some Hindus to be divine: one group calls him “the living example of divinity personified,” while another organization refers to Sachchidananda as “an incarnation of the Great Cosmic Power.”
In 2006, Velagapudi started the Frisco-based Global Hindu Heritage Foundation (GHHF), which has been characterized by some Indian Christian groups as a “Hindu supremacist” organization.
GHHF was also a key partner in the planning and construction of the Hanuman Temple, according to Dallas Morning News.
A coalition of Christian and interfaith leaders in Texas urged Congress in 2022 to condemn "anti-Christian hate and bigotry" from GHHF for allegedly raising funds to demolish churches in India.
At a December 2022 news conference at Frisco City Hall, officials with the Federation of Indian American Christian Organization in North America (FIACONA) told reporters the GHHF is raising money in the United States to level churches and forcibly convert Christians and Muslims in India to Hinduism.
On its website, GHHF refers to Christian pastors as “leeches” and calls the teachings of Christianity “utter lies.”
Leaders from the temple have been invited in the past to open Frisco City Council meetings with an invocation, such as in November 2023, when priest Sreeram Panyam was invited by the council.
The Indian American population in Frisco is growing, and, according to the 2020 Census, comprised roughly 26% of the city's population four years ago.
Ian M. Giatti is a reporter for The Christian Post and the author of BACKWARDS DAD: a children's book for grownups. He can be reached at: [email protected].
