The Arya Samaj of Chicagoland has been promoting Vedic philosophy in the Chicagoland area over the last 30 years. President and Founding member, Dr. Sukhdev C. Soni, came to Chicago from Burma in June, 1968 with his wife, young son and daughter.  At that time, there were very few Indians in Chicago, let alone temples or mandirs. Mr Ram Goel started the Geeta Society from his home (it was later changed to the Hindu Society and now called the Hari Om Mandir and Hindu Satsang). Between Mr. Goel and our family, we kept havan kunds and Vedic books in our car trunks, driving long distances to do havans for special occasions. To allow more people to come together, we started monthly havan services in Oak Park with the Hindu Society until the early 80s. Around this time, we joined hands with the Arora family (co-founders of the Hari Om Mandir) and started havans at the Hari Om Mandir every month. In the early 90s, we got the opportunity to buy and convert an old church in West Chicago to be the current Arya Samaj as it stands today. Mr. & Mrs. K. B. Rai were the main pandits followed by Acharya Om Dutt.  In 1993, Pandit Dilip Vedalankar ji joined us from Houston until his recent passing three years ago, growing the Arya Samaj community to a strong network in the Chicagoland area.