Hinduism in Poland

Ratha-Yatra in Wrocław, Poland.

Hinduism in Poland is a minority religion. Hinduism has spread to Poland through ISKCON missionaries since 1976. First groups of Polish devotees were established in Warszawa and Wrocław. The first Polish Hindu temple was established in 1980 in Czarnów, Lower Silesian Voivodeship (New Shantipur Temple in Czarnów). Main ISKCON temple is New Ramana Reti Temple in Mysiadło (est. in 1989).[1]

The Communist regime in Poland promoted an antireligious campaign. After the breakdown of this regime in 1989, missionaries from other Hindu religious denominations have arrived and met with very limited success.[2]

Hindu organisations in Poland

There are around thirteen Hindu religious movements in Poland[3] Some of the important organisations are ISKCON, Chaitanya Mission, Satya Sai Baba movement (though it is partially Hindu), Brahma kumaris, Sivananda Yoga, Radha Govind Society of Poland, and Sahaja Yoga.

ISKCON in Poland

There are 915 (official sources) ISKCON followers in Poland. There are 3 main temples in Czarnów, Warszawa, and Wrocław.[1] Additionally ISKCON has its centres in almost all important cities.

ISKCON centres/temples in Poland[1]

Temple president: Kashi Mishra das, Deities: Gaura-Nitai

  • Wrocław (New Navadvip Temple), ul. Brodzka 157, 54-067 Wroclaw, Poland.

Temple president: Premadana devi dasi, Deities: Gaura-Nitai

  • Czarnów (New Shantipur Temple in Czarnów), Czarnów 21, 58-424 Pisarzowice

Temple president: Raghunatha dasa, Deities : Pancha Tattva

Chaitanya Mission in Poland

Chaitanya Mission - Science of Identity Institute (Instytut Wiedzy o Tożsamości "Misja Czaitanii"), followers of Chris Butler a.k.a. Jagad Guru Siddhaswarupananda Paramahamsa) has ashrams and centers in all major Polish cities.

Chaitanya Mission had 6 Clergy, 1 Temple and 97 devotees in the Year 2003

Brahma Kumaris in Poland

The Brahma Kumaris community was founded in Poland at the beginning of the eighties.

The development of Brahma Kumaris in Poland coincided with the main events of political transformation.

Main Centre — ul. Smolna 11, Warsaw 00-375

Second Centre — ul. Grunwaldzka 6/5, Gdańsk 80-236

Third Centre — ul. Piotrkowska 82, Łódź 90-102

The Brahma Kumaris Meditation Centre practices Raja Yoga, a technique of self-development.

Bhakti Marga in Poland

The Bhakti Marga Foundation led by Swami Vishwananda established its first Polish temple in Warszawa in 2009.[4]

Indians in Poland[5]

The Indian community in Poland is relatively small and is estimated at around 2,000 persons. The large majority are NRIs and there not more than 100 PIOs.

The NRI community, who are, by and large, recent arrivals in Poland's post-Communist phase, fall into two categories. There is a business and trading community which is mainly specialised in textiles, garments and consumer electronics, though a small number are in manufacturing as well. These companies also have a number of Indian employees who are in Poland on work visas.

The second category of NRIs consists of young professionals working with multinational or Indian companies and software/IT experts. They are in Poland on projects or against fixed contracts and stay from a few weeks to several years.

Sai devotees in Poland

The number of the Sathya Sai Baba devotees in Poland is very hard to state, because many of them do not belong to the Sathya Sai Organisation. In 2002 around 300 Sai devotees came to the all-Polish meeting of the Sai organisation. But the membership of the organisation has grown since then.

The Satya Sai Organisation has organised many meetings in the country.

Demographics

According to the 2011 Census,there are 866 Hindus in Poland.Among them 341 belongs to the Hindu Bhavan Religious Association,285 belongs to ISKCON,and the remaining belongs to Chaitanya mission,Radha Govind Society of Poland.[6]

Yoga in Poland

Yoga is gaining popularity in Poland.

International Sivananda Yoga Vedanta Centres in Poland

Yoga in daily Life Centre in Poland

  • Centrum Jogi Joga w Zyciu Codziennym, Warszawa.

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 Polish ISKCON history (in Polish), accessed 2010.8.4
  2. ↑ Dominican Information Centre about New Religious Movements and Sects (in Polish), accessed 2010.09.12
  3. ↑ "Adherents.com: By Location". www.adherents.com.
  4. ↑ "Bhakti Marga Polska".
  5. ↑ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2003-10-31. Retrieved 2008-10-10. Embassy of India in Poland
  6. ↑ https://stat.gov.pl/en/national-census/national-census-of-population-and-housing-2011/
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.