Local Hindu Temple

Jackie attended a retreat at a Hindu temple that used to be Barsana Dam, now Radha Madhav Dham. The ashram occupies 200 acres about one-half hour’s drive south and five minutes’ drive from the Salt Lick BBQ restaurant. It’s the oldest Hindu Temple in Texas and the largest in North America. It was founded in 1990 by Swami Prakashanand Saraswati. In 2011 Saraswati was convicted of 20 counts of criminal sexual contact with a minor and sentenced to 280 years in prison. But before he could be imprisoned, he skipped his $10 million bond (provided by a TV infomercial entrepreneur) and disappeared, creating quite a local scandal. Federal officials believe the Swami’s followers moved him to Mexico and then helped him travel to India on a fake passport.