Hindu Temple of Arizona

Google This temple is 5 minutes away from me. I use to enjoy going here till about a couple years ago. That's when the current priest began. I love taking my kids and exposing them to my culture but the priest makes it very difficult to do so. When my oldest was 6 weeks I took him to be blessed, the priest asked me to remove him from the steps and would not bless my son. As a tradition, I was personally shocked. I recently took my son again and he was once again yelled at and I was told not to bring him if he can not sit still. My son is 2 and apparently it is a temple rule. The priest also gave me and 3 other people a handfull of grapes with fungi on all of them. I hate throwing offerings but I was forced to dispose of the grapes I was given. All this on a Friday afternoon at 12pm, the temple was empty. Needless to say, I will not be returning to this temple till the priest has moved on. He is a disgrace in my opinion. I have never met a priest that yells at children, asks people not to bring their children or take them outside in 106 degree weather if they are unable to sit and keep quite. What the priest failed to realize is children are an offering of God and to insult a child (like he has mine) is an insult to God's offering.2 stars

Google I won’t be returning here anymore. My partner and I have been here several times. At first I really enjoyed it but there is a specific priest who is extremely unpleasant. Won’t look you in the eye, just bizarre. Also, the people are not friendly unless you are native Hindi. We are both white and I personally felt evil eyes on me the entire time today. I have practiced Hindu faith for 8 years and I felt extremely judged at this temple of several occasions. The people and priests assuming I know nothing about Vedic principles or anything. Just awkward and not inviting at all. Which... it’s suppose to be, it’s a temple.... It’s hilarious to me, actually. Anyway my partner enjoys it so I’m sure he will return. I will not! Many other amazing temples out there.2 stars

Google It is a beautiful temple, where priests are also doing their duties honestly and nicely. The management is good too. I have always liked the pooja' also there. However, since 2-3 times we noticed that some devotees volunteer to serve prashad with the intention of keeping a major portion of the prashad for themselves n their friends and start filling up boxes before the prashad is served to everyone. I am amazed to look at the greed of some devotees for food at such a beautiful institution which preaches selflessness.3 stars

Google I love this temple. One of the main reasons is the priest who is pleasant, knowledgeable and who has a very loving and gentle spirit. The community as small and friendly to visitors. There are activities in which to engage and even though I was not born an ethnic Hindu I still feel loved and totally accepted by my community at this temple.5 stars

Google We visited this place last week. The Priest was courteous. We watched the pooja to shivlinga Deities were beautifully decorated and beaming. The temple was very calm and a fit place to pray. Rest rooms were also there and clean.. Parking places were spacious. Priest offered prasadams and Theertha for all of us. We were very happy for visiting this temple4 stars

Yelp I am Hindu Brahmin. I was raised Hindu. I was born in Chicago IL, and received my Upanayana from Sri Venkateshwara (Balaji) Temple in Aurora IL. My wife is Roman Catholic (Vietnamese). While the temple in Arizona is small, it is nice and well kept. I have gone many times to this temple in Scottsdale, and have found it to be small, but good. My wife accompanies me every time, and she has never expressed any concern of being intimidated when she comes. People of all faiths are welcome, though we do ask for modesty, tolerance, dignity, and respect. This is much the same as one would do going to prayer in a synagogue, mosque, or church. These are the tenets of any religion or belief system. If the outsider does not understand, please ask, and we are more then ready to explain. FYI: I accompany my wife when she goes to mass at the local Catholic church. I have never felt intimidated while inside the church.3 stars

Yelp This temple is 5 minutes away from me. I use to enjoy going here till about a couple years ago. That's when the current priest began. I love taking my kids and exposing them to my culture but the priest makes it very difficult to do so. When my oldest was 6 weeks I took him to be blessed, the priest asked me to remove him from the steps and would not bless my son. As a tradition, I was personally shocked. I recently took my son again and he was once again yelled at and I was told not to bring him if he can not sit still. My son is 2 and apparently it is a temple rule. The priest also gave me and 3 other people a handfull of grapes with fungi on all of them. I hate throwing offerings but I was forced to dispose of the grapes I was given. All this on a Friday afternoon at 12pm, the temple was empty. Needless to say, I will not be returning to this temple till the priest has moved on. He is a disgrace in my opinion. I have never met a priest that yells at children, asks people not to bring their children or take them outside in 106 degree weather if they are unable to sit and keep quite. What the priest failed to realize is children are an offering of God and to insult a child (like he has mine) is an insult to God's offering.1 star

Yelp Having been to many Hindu temples in my life, this one is on point. It's not the largest, but it's well-maintained. The priest is attentive (this can be an issue at other temples), and is very friendly (this can also be an issue). The temple committee has solid calendar with various community programs, so if you are not from the area and visiting, you will definitely make friends amongst the Hindu community. This temple is open to people of all faiths (Sikh, Jewish, Mormon, Catholic, etc.), so feel free to bring your friends and give them a little background on where you come from.4 stars

Yelp I read the other review and was shocked because my experience was very different. Yes, the temple is clean and open for business but polite and open the priest was not! I would say people from other faiths sure don't feel welcome when it's only the priest present. The current temple priest who performed my wedding (I married an Hindu) was RUDE, Rude, rude (had I known this was how it was going to go down I would have used the priest from Bharatiya Ekta Mandir of Arizona). Sadly we only met in-person (my fiance had several phone conversations the months leading up to out wedding) with the priest the week before our wedding and it was perfectly obvious that he disliked me and my lack of Hindi. I attempted to ask question to better understand the ceremony but that just got me scowls and grumbles. The day of our wedding the priest was not ready and was acting as if he had forgotten about the ceremony and/or the deposit we made. Finally, after the ceremony when it was time to sign the marriage certificate he asked (actually demanded) an additional $300 to sign the certificate. Of course we agreed- what were we to do? I am pretty sure that would be called extortion and why hadn't he simply told us before the ceremony? I am guessing because he is a thief!1 star