Located in Delhi, the Lotus temple is a “Baha’i house of worship” and of high religious importance to the Hindu community. The Lotus temple has earned a lot of attention mainly because of its lotus like structure. Its fame has spread not just within India but across the Indian subcontinent.
Having won several awards for the architectural skills and detailing, the lotus temple is worship place as well as a prominent tourist attraction that should be visited in New Delhi.
The temple looks splendid when illuminated in the evening. The focus lights showcase the petals and attract the attention of any passerby. It goes unsaid why the temple has hogged limelight and coverage in publications, news articles and magazines.
Temple of all religions
Besides being a religious place, the temple is not restricted to Hindu’s only. The temple is open to people from different community, class, creed and sect. The interesting aspect about the temple is that you can chant scriptures and verses from any religion within the temple but you can preach, practice a sermon or conduct a ritualistic ceremony. The temple indeed is a standing epitome of secularism that India and its constitution are known for.
The temple does not comprise of any altar, pictures of god and goddesses, statues, idols etc. You can do your prayer or chats standing behind a portable lecture stand and that’s all there is within the temple. There are nine doors to the temple and they open to a center hall that’s 40 meters tall. The white marble used on the surface of the temple was brought from PenteliMountain in Greece. The lotus temple comprises of nine surrounding ponds and gardens and the property is spread across 26 acres.
Splendid architecture
Standing in the village of Bahapur, the architect of the temple is an Iranian presently residing in Canada. Thefunding’s to build the temple came from Ardhishir Rustampur of Hyderabad-Sindh. HE gave up his entire savings for the building of the temple treating it as a quintessential cause. A major proportion of the budget went towards raising the structure and a small portion of it was spent on a greenhouse which was built to study indigenous plants and flowers.
The temple was opened to public worship in the year 1986. With years passing by, the number of tourists has increased to nearly 50 million visitors. The increasing number of tourists visiting the Lotus temple was estimated to be higher that the number of visitors visiting Eiffel tower and TajMahal.
Festival
During the festival period a pandal is set up which replicate the the lotus temple looking like the “House of worship” – Lotus temple,
The Lotus temple is an interfaith forum on religion where art and architecture meet in unison and complete harmony.
