The Sri Ramakrishna Temples are distinct from the traditional Hindu temples. These were envisioned as a new type of temple that embody the ideals that Sri Ramakrishna represented; the harmony of all religions, the ideal of the unity of man and the synthesis of all faiths. Swami Vivekananda called it the ‘Universal Temple’.

One of the most important dimensions of the Ramakrishna Ideal is the universality and harmony of all religions. The theme of universality is crystallized in Sri Ramakrishna’s dictum, “as many faiths, so many paths”.

Sri Ramakrishna’s own life reflected the journey to this realization – He worshipped and realized God in many forms (each time to the exclusion of all else) – leading to the recognition that the outcome of all paths, however different they may be from each other, is the same Universal One.

The theme of universality is carried through into the interior of the temple building. All along the walls of the main hall are paintings of religious teachers, saints, prophets and incarnations of the world’s major religions.