LOTUS TEMPLE
Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION & HISTORY
This beautiful white marble “Lotus Temple or Baha’i Temple” is located near Nehru in Delhi. Baha Ullah of Iran founded a new religion in the 19th century, which talks about universal peace and unity among the human race, nations, and color. His teachings were well-received by his followers, and they built many temples in different locations in this world, and Lotus temple Delhi is one of them.
Interestingly, its huge white marble’s lotus petals with enormous green garden and blue pond make it the perfect place to go. Surprisingly, it is wonderful to find a peaceful place in a crowded city, and millions of visitors come here to see this beautiful place every year. Indeed, the Lotus temple has become the symbol of Delhi with its white beauty. Fariborz Shah designed it in the huge land of 26 acres; they completed it in 1986.
ENTRANCES: Certianly, it is free.
LOTUS TEMPLE DELHI TIMINGS
TIMINGS EVERYDAY : 8:00 MORNING TO 5:00 EVENING
MONDAY CLOSED
THINGS TO WATCH IN LOTUS TEMPLE DELHI ?
GARDENS
Delhi city is located on the bank of the river Yamuna, and the soil is very fertile, and you will always find gardens in every big monument here. Indeed, the temple’s main attraction is the white marble lotus, but we can not ignore the garden. Interestingly, they use a huge amount of recycled water every day to maintain this garden.
Moreover, there are many trees and flowers inside the green garden. Sadly, we can not enter these gardens because of maintenance. In the above pic, you can see pathways and a garden. Interestingly, there is also an information center near the garden, where you can learn about the lotus temple Delhi and Baha’i religion.
Architect Fariborz Shah designed it with a garden, as he knew the importance of a garden in such a structure. Importantly, there is no water canal and fountain in the lotus temple garden, and flowers of different colors are the main feature of this gorgeous green garden.
LOTUS POND
When you enter inside the complex, first thing you see is Lotus temple and green garden. Surprisingly, there is a lotus pond also around the main temple. Fariborz Shah designed it with all of his skills, he gave nine ponds design also which make lotus.
When you are on stairs, this lotus ponds are visible. The most important feature of these ponds is the cleanliness of water. undoubtedly, they maintain it so well that it looks always blue. There are fountains also but they do not use them. You can imagine the beauty of Lotus temple Delhi with blue pond fountains with white marble lotus’s petals.
Do you want to know best places to visit in Delhi?
EXTERIOR
The main attraction of the Lotus Temple complex is the white marble main hall. If I talk about the design then, they used Lotus design. Do many people ask why they chose the lotus flower? The answer is simple; the lotus flower has many cultural and religious values in India. For example, in Hinduism, Goddess Saraswati sits on a lotus. Finally, to give some Indian cultural features, we can say they chose lotus.
They used 27 petals ( leaf of lotus) of white marble to make a complete flower. The height of the whole temple is 34.27 meters. Interestingly, there are nine doors, which lead to a hall. Apart from this, around 2500 people can sit together and pray.
Importantly, they did not use Indian white marble to build the Lotus temple Delhi. According to facts, they imported white marble from Greece. The high-quality white marble looks fantastic. In other words, it seems a white marble lotus has grown from the earth.
INTERIOR
When we enter inside from any of the nine gates, there is one hall. According to the Baha’i faith, people who belong to any religion can come inside the hall and pray silently. Interestingly, there are many chairs to sit in and some space to stand. Every day Baha’i people read the religious text of every religion to give the message of unity. Apart from this, the ceiling also looks fantastic with the symbol of faith on the top.
If you want, you can sit for hours to meditate here. The most important thing here is peace, and many people come here to meditate. Otherwise, you can leave anytime from the hall. Notably, sculpture is prohibited; they do not worship idols.
LOTUS TEMPLE CONSTRUCTION DETAILS
Generally, in India, we have seen Hindu architecture, Islamic architecture, Indo Islamic architecture, Indo Saracenic architecture. Apart from this, there are also many regional architectures. In Lotus temple Delhi, the challenge was building a new religious architecture for India with some Indian elements.
Interestingly, they found the answer in the form of Lotus. Surprisingly, Fariborz Shah used every Indian element but in his way. For Example, the paradise garden is an essential feature of Mughal’s tomb; he made different garden design. There are water canals with fountains; they made lotus water ponds. We can proudly say that he did a remarkable job. Moreover, they used White Greek marbles, red sandstone, and concrete.
LOTUS TEMPLE FACTS
BASIC FACTS: There are 27 white marble petals of lotus flower. They also build one blue lotus pond surrounded by the temple. Apart from this, Lotus temple Delhi represnts the Bahai religion, which was propagated by Baha Ullah of Iran.
CHILDREN CLASSES: If you visit with your children, you should avail of this facility. In the Lotus temple, the people provide excellent classes to children; they teach them kindness, generosity, and moral values.
MEDITATION: Many people from different places come here to meditate. You can get early morning because the ambiance is peaceful to meditate. Importantly, they do not stop other religions’ people from meditating.
PRAYERS: There are a few minutes of prayers every morning and evening. They recite verses of every religion to unite people. The main reason for building the Lotus temple Delhi was unity among humans.
LOTUS TEMPLE DELHI RELIGION?
INTRODUCTION: To understand the Baha’i religion, first we should know Abrahamic ( Judaism, Christianity, Islam ) religions. In these religions, there is a concept of Prophets, who gave the message of God to the people. For example, Judaism by prophet Moses, Christianity by prophet Isa (Christ), and Islam by Prophet Muhammad (SAW).
The Baha’i faith supports the prophethood of Baha Ullah (Iran) and claims; God sent him as his messenger. Interestingly, they also believe in all prophets who came before Baha Ullah. The followers of the Baha’i faith believe that God still sends prophets to teach this world.
TEACHINGS: Baha’i religion says there is only one God; he sends his messengers to teach humanity. Interestingly, they say that there should be unity among all faiths and humans, and there should be the oneness of humanity and politics without religion. Importantly, they welcome people from different faith in their house of worship.
Moreover, there are other teachings and beliefs: independent investigation of truth, Universal compulsory education, Gender equality and Abolition of poverty, etc.
RELIGIOUS BOOKS: Kitab al Aqdas is the holy book of the Baha’i faith. Apart from this, you can read other books, the Hidden words, Book of Certitude, Kitab I Iqan, etc.
BAHA ULLAH
Baha Ullah ( Hussain Ali 1817-1892 ) was born in Tehran. He was a religious leader and founder of the new faith Baha’i. As we already know, Iran ( Persia ) is a Muslim country. The core belief of Islam is that prophet Muhammad (SAW) was the last and final messenger of God. As a result, people consider him a fake prophet who claims prophethood. On the other hand, the Baha’i faith says God still sends prophets, and Baha Ullah was one.
Interestingly, there was one person also who claimed to be the prophet. His name was Bab, and he founded Babism in Iran. Baha Ullah also Supported his claim. When Baha Ullah started teaching, he faced a lot of backlashes, and they called him Fake and confined him many times. As a result, Baha Ullah left Iran and came to Iraq. He also faced difficulties here and finally said goodbye to this world in 1892. Interestingly, the grave and shrines of Baha Ullah are in Israel.
PLACES NEAR LOTUS TEMPLE
ISKON TEMPLE: Shri Shri Radha Parthasarathi, also known as Iskon temple, is located near Lotus Temple Delhi. They opened this temple for the public in 1983.
NEHRU PLACE: The center of all computers and it’s parts. There are many shops to buy electronics items, and Nehru Place is just next to Lotus Temple Delhi. Moreover, you can enjoy some delicious street food here also.
KALKAJI TEMPLE: This famous temple is in front of the Lotus temple. You can see many devotees entering the temple.
HOW TO GET TO LOTUS TEMPLE
Lotus temple Delhi is in south Delhi. There are many bus stops, but Kalkaji mandir is the nearest one. You can get off at metro station (Kalkaji) violate line near Lotus Temple; they also give enough parking space.
