About

The history and development of Murugan Temple of North America is a fascinating and simultaneously heart-warming experience for those who have been involved since its inception. It is a story to be told, read and preserved for posterity. It is the story that reflects the glory of Lord Murugan and His immeasurable blessings to all His devotees, wherever they may live and worship him.

In the decade beginning 1980 Dr. Gopal Gurusamy and Dr. Baskaran were part of a small group that was considering a temple for Lord Murugan. Around the same time, a group of devotees headed by Sri Arumugam Saravanapavan were offering prayers to Sri Valamburi Vinayakar, generously donated by Satguru Subramuniya Swami of Kauai Aadheenam, Hawaii, in an informal setting in Maryland. The two groups with the similar thought met, discussed and decided as proposed by Dr. Gopal Guruswamy to adopt the name ‘Murugan Temple of North America’ for the temple to be built. The vision was to build an authentic temple for Lord Murugan on a national level near the US capital, with the objective of preserving the cultural and ethnic values of our great people. A large gathering of devotees unanimously selected Dr. Gopal Guruswamy as the President of the congregation, they had just $3400 as the seed money.

After an extensive search for about four years, in 1986 an area of 11.5 acres was purchased at the current location of the temple. The determination and hard work of the officers at that time resulted in the land purchase. In 1987, Sri Valamburi Vinayakar was moved to the premises and the Balalayam for Lord Murugan was established to begin the process of planning the temple construction.