TEMPLE ACTIVITIES
The Hindu Temple of Antelope Valley is a hub for cultural and religious activities, where individuals and families alike come together to worship, build knowledge, and carry out service.
Our temple serves devotees near and far, from Southern California, across the US, overseas in India and beyond. Our virtual livestream events have attracted international participants, and we aspire to continually widen our virtual reach while staying true to our local devotees whose dedicated efforts give life to the temple on a daily basis.
Please visit us to experience the radiant energy of our divine temple deities, and partake in our year round activities.
VOLUNTEERING AT HTAV
HTAV relies on a bedrock of community volunteers, who donate their time and talent on a regular basis. Throughout the year, we hold a variety of volunteer-run events that require donations and volunteer coordination.
Some examples of volunteer work include:
Making and/or serving prasad for puja offerings
Event set up work
Decorating work
Event clean up
General cleaning and maintenance
Gardening
Managing the HTAV Meditation Center
Overseeing Social Hall rental events
Etc.
Please email HinduTempleAV@gmail.com to express your interest in volunteering at HTAV, and how you would like to contribute.
COMMUNITY SERVICE
Community service is an integral aspect of the temple’s mission. Some of our past efforts include weekly homeless feedings at the Grace Center (on Yucca Ave. in Lancaster), scholarships for low-income students at Antelope Valley High School, provision of free health care by local physicians, and regular blood drives with the American Red Cross. We also are an active sponsor of Palmdale SAVES center, contributing every month to their mission of providing accessible food services.
We encourage all temple members to participate in and lead community-service efforts, both through funding and volunteering.
JAGADISH FELLOWSHIP
The Jagadish Fellowship aims to empower brilliant students of Hindu and South Asian civilization with support and opportunities to pursue their academic and cultural endeavors.
In 2020, this program began as a “Jagadish Scholarship”, to support education and fulfill the temple’s Seva activities. Through this initial effort, twenty Jagadish Scholarships of $250 each were awarded to under-resourced students at Antelope Valley High School in Lancaster, California. In addition to scholarship support, the students were provided educational materials as well as opportunities to meet with professionals, interact with mentors from the Temple, and financial support for traveling to colleges while applying.
In 2021, HTAV initiated the “Jagadish Fellowship” to encourage Masters and PhD students in universities across the US studying subjects related to Hinduism. Recipients of the Jagadish Fellowship are awarded an unrestricted grant of $10,000 each to pursue a specific academic or professional project.
Previous fellowship recipients include a Harvard University student of South Indian music, a Columbia University student researching Hindu groups reaching out to aborigines in Gujurat, and the Kalapeetham School of Dance in Southern California, which produced and staged a dance on the famous Tamil hymn, Kanda Sashti Kavacham.
The Jagadish Scholarships and the Jagadish Fellowships are awarded through funds donated specifically for this purpose and do not draw from donations to the Temple.
Coming Soon: Applications for the 2024 Jagadish Fellowship
The Jagadish Fellowship was founded by the late founder and President of HTAV, Dr. Anil Kumar. Born in Gwalior, India, Dr. Anil Kumar was highly regarded for his professional prowess, unfailing generosity, and his passion for educational projects, literature, travel, and community service.
He was an interventional cardiologist who practiced in the Antelope Valley for 40 years, serving as Chief of Staff of AV Hospital and founder and Head of the AV Hospital’s cardiac catheterization unit. Dr. Anil Kumar was a founding board member of Sierra Canyon School in Chatsworth. Over a period of 30 years, he supported more than 20,000 students (from kindergarten to graduate school) in India and in the Antelope Valley in their educational endeavors.
Dr. Anil Kumar was a mighty visionary and a born leader. He dedicated his time and energy to accomplishing his ultimate and long cherished dream of gifting our community with the Hindu Temple of Antelope Valley.
CLASSES
BALAVIHAR CLASSES
HTAV partners with Chinmaya Mission Los Angeles to offer weekly Balavihar classes for young children.
Students are grouped into classes based on age, and the class meets every Sunday from 11 am to 12:30 pm.
Reach out to one of the following volunteer coordinators to learn more:
Radhika Kumar: (661) 400-0249
Vaidehi Krishna: (818) 256-9357
LEARNED SPEAKER SESSIONS
HTAV regularly invites learned speakers to deliver discourses on topics related to Hinduism, scriptures, spirituality, and health.
Check our monthly calendar to learn about our latest speaker offerings. If you are interested in organizing a speaker event that would be of interest to the temple community, please contact Seema Misra at seema_msr@yahoo.com to make your request.
YOGA CLASSES
HTAV is pleased to offer weekly yoga classes on Saturday mornings at the HTAV Social Hall from 8am to 12pm.
Click here to view a flyer about yoga classes at HTAV.
Please contact the Yoga Instructor, Anjana Warudkar, at ShubharambhYogaTherapy@gmail.com with any inquiries or to sign up to attend classes.
GROUP MEDITATIONS
