Shree Vaishnav Parishad America

Shree Vaishnav Parishad America (SVPA) is a Hindu religious nonprofit incorporated by Bhutanese-Nepali refugee leadership in the United States to preserve and articulate the Vishishta-Advaita Vedantic tradition of the Sri Vaishnava (Shrivaishnava) sampradaya. The organisation is registered as a 501(c)(3) under EIN 47-4838320, with IRS exemption granted in November 2016, classified under NTEE code X70 (Religion-Related, Spiritual Development / Hindu).^[1] SVPA operates the Shree Laxmi Narayan Mandir and the Jagadguru Yogiraj Shree Kamalnayanacharya Ashram/Gurukulum at 14376 East Broad Street, Reynoldsburg, Ohio.^[2]

In 2018 the organisation purchased the Reynoldsburg property to establish a permanent temple site. Its 2024 IRS Form 990 reported total revenue of US$382,491 and total assets of US$1,712,810, the largest publicly documented Bhutanese-Nepali Hindu institution in the United States by audited assets.^[1]

SVPA's leadership is drawn from the Lhotshampa community resettled from camps in eastern Nepal between 2008 and 2018. President and chairperson Gopal Baskota was born in Bhutan in 1967, lived for more than eighteen years in the refugee camps in Nepal where he worked at a Save the Children Fund (UK) injection-and-dressing centre, and was resettled to Syracuse, New York on 2 August 2011 before moving to Ohio in November 2016 and naturalising as a US citizen in 2017.^[2]

Founding and incorporation

SVPA was incorporated and granted IRS 501(c)(3) determination in November 2016. The organisation purchased its Reynoldsburg property at 14376 East Broad Street in 2018 to establish the Shree Laxmi Narayan Mandir.^[2] The site now houses both the temple and the affiliated Gurukulam ashram, which provides residential religious-philosophical instruction in the Sri Vaishnava tradition for Bhutanese-Nepali community members and others.

Leadership

SVPA's 2024 IRS-filed officers were:^[1]

• Gopal Baskota — Chairman / President. Born Maugaon block, Dovan, Sarbhang district, Bhutan, 23 May 1967.
• Tilachan Pokharel — Vice Chairman.
• Narayan Phuyel — Secretary.
• Gopi Dhital — Treasurer. Born Dagana District, Bhutan, 1978.
• Tanka Humagai — Assistant Secretary.

The organisation's website also lists a Spiritual Director (Shadananda Kafley), a Financial Auditor (Ranga Raj Adhikari), a Central Core Member (Saraswati Dahal) and additional board members.^[2]

Theological tradition

SVPA articulates the Vishishta-Advaita Vedantic tradition rooted in the philosophy of Bhagavad Ramanuja and the principle of prapatti (surrender). The Reynoldsburg facility is dedicated to Lord Vishnu in the form of Lakshmi-Narayan, with the affiliated ashram named for Jagadguru Yogiraj Shree Kamalnayanacharya — the Sri Vaishnava acharya whose lineage SVPA's leadership recognises as authoritative.^[2] The Gurukulam programme provides "holistic education, spiritual growth and self-discovery" rooted in the Gurukul tradition of integrated spiritual and material instruction.

Programmes and activities

SVPA's documented activities include:

• Daily temple worship. The Reynoldsburg mandir holds regular puja, devotional services and observances.
• Festivals. The organisation observes Ram Navami, Janmashtami, Tihar (Diwali) and other festivals on the Hindu lunar calendar central to Sri Vaishnava devotion.
• Gurukulam residential instruction. The affiliated ashram offers structured religious-philosophical training rooted in the Sri Vaishnava sampradaya.
• Community gatherings. The site hosts community programmes that draw the wider Bhutanese-Nepali population of central Ohio, alongside other Hindu and South Asian communities of the area.

Affiliated entity: Shree Vaishnav Parishad Harrisburg

A separately-incorporated sister entity, Shree Vaishnav Parishad Harrisburg (SVPH), operates the Shree Laxmi Narayan Hari Har Dham temple at 6641 Clearfield Street, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania 17111. SVPH is registered as its own 501(c)(3) under EIN 83-2743696 and was founded on 17 November 2018; the temple was inaugurated on 5 April 2019 during Ram Navami after Bhutanese-Nepali former refugees in the central Pennsylvania capital area pooled funds to purchase a permanent place of worship. Tika Ram Dhungana, then president of the broader Shree Vaishnav Parishad, attended the inauguration.^[3][4]

SVPA (Reynoldsburg, Ohio, EIN 47-4838320) and SVPH (Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, EIN 83-2743696) are not legally a parent–branch structure: they are separately incorporated 501(c)(3) entities, each with its own board, finances and IRS determination. The two share doctrinal alignment within the Sri Vaishnava sampradaya and are connected through the Bhutanese-Nepali leadership and devotee community that supports both, but governance is independent.

See also

• Bhutanese-American organisations directory
• Global Bhutanese Hindu Organization
• Bhutanese Nepalese Churches of America
• Lhotshampa
• Bhutanese refugee resettlement in the United States

References

1. "Shree Vaishnav Parishad America (EIN 47-4838320)." ProPublica Nonprofit Explorer.
2. "About." Shree Vaishnav Parishad America — official website.
3. "About Us." Shree Vaishnav Parishad Harrisburg — official website.
4. "Shree Vaishnav Parishad Harrisburg (EIN 83-2743696)." Candid / GuideStar profile.
5. "Shree Vaishnav Parishad America — Rating." Charity Navigator.
6. "Shree Vaishnav Parishad Temple, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania." Shree Ram Mandir 2024.