Taos Hanuman Temple
Maharajji once asked a man to go to US and invest. He came to Taos (New Mexico) and bought some land. After living there for a while he thought of making a hanuman temple there. Western devotees of Maharajji got together and brought Hanuman to the US. By grace of Maharajji, there stands a beautiful temple today on the same piece of land amidst wilderness. Adorning one of the biggest statues of Hanuman in US and the most uncommon (since Hanuman is in a flying pose), this temple pulls hundreds of Indians and Americans alike. They travel hundreds of miles to come here and get some peace. Taos is a quaint peaceful village surrounded by hills from all sides and reminds one of the Kainchi Ashram in Nainital. The temple and ashram are made of adobe (sun-dried bricks and plaster) as is common in this part of US. The setting in the ashram is very Vrindavan like. If you look at the picture of the takhat below, it looks exactly like the one in Maharajji's kutiya in Vrindavan. Beautiful flower decorations adorn the takhat everyday. In the centre of the room is the beautiful and charming idol of the flying Hanuman. Taos is possibly the only place with such an idol. In one corner, there is the Shivling and Nandi. Again in another corner is Devi Durga. At 7:00 am, the caretaker of the ashram comes and performs the morning aarti. Devotees can then have hot tea (chai) from the kitchen.