Formation of the Hindu Dharma Acharya Sabha in India
In realization of Swami Vivekananda's vision of unifying all adherents of Sanatana Dharma, a sincere and first attempt was made through the formation of the "Hindu Dharma Acharya Sabha", an Apex Hindu Body, three years ago in 2003. And, history was thus made in Chennai starting on 29th November and ending on December 1st, 2003, when for the first time in modern Hinduism, the Heads of Maths and Mandaleshwars from different parts of India got together and deliberated upon the momentous issues facing the Hindu society and the nation. They crystallized the collective Hindu consciousness and spoke in a single Hindu voice. Thus, the Hindu Dharma Acharya Sabha, a body which represents almost all the important Hindu religious leadership in the country, has come about not a day soon. Swami Dayananda Saraswati, the convener of the Sabha, who guided the proceedings of the Chennai Sabha conference, highlighted the vision and the mission of this Apex Hindu Body as well as the basis for its formation. "Hindu Dharma requires one single voice" he declared, and exhorted the assembled Spiritual Heads thus: "You are our strength. You occupy a position, which is very significant. Your participation, therefore, in this conference is very important in formulating the resolutions. Later generations will take care of what they need to take care of. But in our lifetime, we need to make sure that this Dharma is protected; not only it is protected; it is handed over intact without any damage to the generations to come".

Conclusions Formulated During the Apex Conference
The following conclusions were formulated during the Apex Conference:
Proselytizing religions should not be allowed to erase the identity and spiritual and religious Sampradayas of tribals, Adivasis and hill tribes since these communities are far removed from the political power centers, are inherently weak and thus deserving of state protection for the maintenance of their spiritual and religious identities. Social peace and harmony will prevail in the country only with correct understanding of the concept of religious freedom, which means freedom to practice one's own religion without having to feel the "religious" need to denigrate the faiths of others. The latter obsession appears to be unique to the proselytizing varieties of the Abrahamic religions, particularly western Christianity and Islam.

The Acharya Sabha was not formed to antagonize any religion or religious community in India. India's tradition of grace and charity embodied in its Santana Dharma has always accorded from very ancient times hospitality and protection to other non-Dharmic faiths rooted in the western and or middle eastern religious traditions. However, the Sabha recognizes now that it is high time that we evolve a strategy to prevent the continuing disruption of Hindu families and the exsanguination of Hindu Society by proselytizing faiths which are frequently bank-rolled by foreign religious institutions or quasi-governmental foreign agencies cloaked under the pretext of ensuring human rights and religious freedoms of all people everywhere. In this context, the Sabha believes that the world should be made aware of the innate integrity of Sanatana Dharma to achieve precisely the same purpose, viz., of ensuring that all human-beings everywhere should be allowed to exercise their freedom of worship and pursuit of their spiritual enlightenment in whatever manner they deem fit. The Acharya Sabha was of the view that the spirit of tolerance and inclusiveness of Hindu Dharma have been exploited by aggressive religions for too long. The Sabha felt strongly that an organized and unified effort must be made to preserve the integrity and strength of Sanatana Dharma.

Dharma Summit 2005 in the United States
The Acharya Sabha's success in Chennai and its radiating effects reached the shores of the United States to kindle a similar move for the Indian diaspora there to come together as a united community to safeguard the interests of Sanatana Dharma through the fostering of solidarity among the leaders of Hindu Organizations and representatives of the Hindu temples there. For the first time in North America, 400 participants representing more than 80 Hindu temples and religious organizations came together for a Dharma Summit on August 13-15, 2005. The conference included Hindus, Jains and Sikhs.

The theme of the Summit was: "The Future of Dharmic Traditions in North America." The concern that many young generation Hindus in U.S.A. are not learning and maintaining Hindu traditions was clearly evident throughout the conference that brought together presidents and boards of trustees of many temples, Devalayas, spiritual institutions, and organizations, together with many intellectuals and committed volunteer leaders from throughout the U.S.A. The rich mix of Swamis, intellectuals, temple trustees and youth leaders provided a unique opportunity to exchange different viewpoints, thoughts and ideas and share experiences on how to impart spiritual and cultural education to future generations. They also discussed the serious problem of distortion and misinformation about Hinduism and India prevalent in schools, colleges, and in the media.

"Hindu Collective Initiative"
The positive experience of this conference resulted in overwhelming demand for a "Hindu Collective Initiative" that will allow all Hindu religious organizations to work together to shape the future of Hinduism in North America, raise awareness of issues, and provide a platform for a united Hindu voice. Together they will address issues such as promoting changes to enhance the participation of the new generation, correcting biased and distorted views of Hindu traditions in educational institutions and the media, improving temple management, developing resources, enhancing the role of the temple, and helping the temples and religious organizations to reach out to the larger community with voluntary services (Seva) and education.

Temple Issues, Fostering their Health & Dynamism etc.
Hindu temple issues, such as training of priests and their specific duties with regard to ceremonies at homes, temples, funerals, weddings etc and the division of duties among priests were discussed. Traditionally in India, these are handled by two different groups of priests. One performs temple ceremonies, the other performs all home ceremonies. In the absence of adequate priests, many temples have priests from either tradition performing both tasks, one of which they are not often trained for.

The second is the recognition of the need for both teachers of Hinduism and Counselors to deal with personal problems of devotees. Priests are trained to perform neither of these functions, though some priests have done both successfully.

Participants debated whether community members should be trained to fulfill the role of spiritual counselors, or if the priests should be so trained, with the general opinion favoring the former. Some temple leaders recognized the "disconnect" between temple priests and youth, and recommended that priests officiating here get trained in American cultural ways and language, preferably even while they are in India. It was reported there are 50 massive temples in America and over 700 smaller ones. Media and community relations, participation inter-faith groups, the legal aspects of temple management, legal obligations of temple trustees including financial and fiduciary responsibility, with a strong emphasis on liability, libel and defamation, avoidance of litigation and effective ways of responding to hate crimes were covered.