Join my journey offers informations on temples and spiritual places of India. India has rich cultural and historical heritage well preserved in its temple architecture and pilgrim sites. From the majestic Himalayan ranges in the North, to Kanyakumari in the South, India is arrayed with thousand of shrines, temples, pilgrimage and worship places dating back to hundreds of years..
Lotus
Temple, the central theme of Bahá'u'lláh's message
is that humanity is one single race and that the day has come
for its unification in one global society. God, Bahá'u'lláh
said, has set in motion historical forces that are breaking
down traditional barriers of race, class, creed, and nation
and that will, in time, give birth to a universal civilization.
The principal challenge facing the peoples of the earth is to
accept the fact of their oneness and to assist the processes
of unification. Located in Kalkaji in the south of Delhi, it
is lotus shaped and has rightly been given the name. It is made
of marble, cement, dolomite and sand. It is open to all faiths
and is an ideal place for meditation and obtaining peace and
tranquility. It is a very recent architectural marvel of the
Bahai faith. The Bahá'í Faith is the youngest
of the world's independent religions. Its founder, Bahá'u'lláh
(1817-1892), is regarded by Bahá'ís as the most
recent in the line of Messengers of God that stretches back
beyond recorded time and that includes Abraham, Moses, Buddha,
Zoroaster, Christ and Muhammad.
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The structure of the House is composed of three ranks of nine
petals; each springing from a podium elevating the building
above the surrounding plain. The first two ranks curve inward,
embracing the inner dome; the third layer curves outward to
form canopies over the nine entrances.
The petals, constructed
of reinforced white concrete cast in place, are clad in white
marble panels, performed to surface profiles and patterns related
to the geometry. Nine arches that provide the main support for
the superstructure ring the central hall. Nine reflecting pools
surround the building on the outside, their form suggesting
the green leaves of the lotus flower. Translating the geometry
of the design, in which there are virtually no straight lines,
into the actual structure presented particular challenges in
designing and erecting the framework. Fariborz Sahba, Canadian
architect of Iranian origin, spent 10 years in designing and
project management, and with the help of a team of about 800
engineers, technicians, artisans and workers brought to realization
one of the most complicated constructions in the world. Not
only was it difficult to align, so as to produce accurately
the complex double-curved surfaces and their intersections,
but also the closeness of the petals severely restricted workspace.
Nevertheless the task was carried out entirely by the local
laborers. Thanks to each one who contributed in its construction.
To avoid construction joints, petals were concreted in a continuous
operation for approximately 48 hours. Concrete was carried up
the staging by women bearing 50-pound loads in baskets balanced
on their heads. All the steel reinforcing for the shells of
the lotus petals was galvanized to avoid rust stains on the
white concrete in the prevailing humid conditions, guaranteeing
the life of the delicate shell structure of 6 to 18 cm thick
shells of the petals. India is well endowed with human resources.
The lotus represents the Manifestation of God, and is also a
symbol of purity and tenderness. Its significance is deeply
rooted in the minds and hearts of the Indians. In the epic poem
Mahabharata, the Creator Brahma is described as having sprung
from the lotus that grew out of Lord Vishnu's navel when that
deity lay absorbed in meditation, There is a deep and universal
reverence for the lotus, which is regarded as a sacred flower
associated with worship throughout many centuries. In Buddhist
folklore the Boddhisatva Avalokiteswara is represented as born
from a lotus, and is usually depicted as standing or sitting
on a lotus pedestal and holding a lotus bloom in his hand. Buddhists
glorify him in their prayers, "Om Mani Padme Hum",
"Yea, 0 Jewel in the Lotus!" Lord Buddha says you
have to be like a lotus which, although living in dirty water,
still remains beautiful and undefiled by its surroundings. So,
we realise that the lotus is associated with worship, and has
been a part of the life and thoughts of Indians through the
ages. It will seem to them as though they have been worshipping
in this Temple in their dreams for years. Now their vision has
become a reality and. God willing, some day they will all enter
and worship in it. History of the Bahá'í Faith
in India: The history of the Bahá'í Faith in India
started with the inception of the Faith in Iran when the Báb
(literally, the Gate) inaugurated a new era in the history of
the human race. The Báb Himself had appointed one of
the Indian believers as the 'Letter of Living' in 1844-45, the
first year of His Ministry. Since then, India is spiritually
connected with the Bahá’i Faith.
As foretold by the Báb, the Promised One of all ages
and peoples, Bahá’u’lláh (literally the Glory
of God) revealed Himself in 1863. He, Himself, dispatched one
of the distinguished Bahá'í teachers, Jamal Effendi,
to teach the Cause of God in the years 1874-75. Jamal Effendi
(left) traveled to many States and was successful in attracting
many learned people and few Navaabs (ruler of the states) including
the Navaab of Rampur State (now in U.P.) to the Faith. One young
man who accepted was Syed Mustafa Roumi who later became distinguished
in his manifold services and was appointed as a Hand of the
Cause of God. Some of them accepted Bahá’u’lláh
as the Universal Manifestation of God whose advent has been
prophesied in all the Holy Scriptures. The other teachers who
came to India during Bahá’u’lláh's Ministry included
Mishkin Qalam, the distinguished Bahá'í Calligrapher.
A series of teachers from the East and the West continued visiting
India and traveling throughout the country during the time of
‘Abdu’l-Bahá (literally, the Servant of Bahá),
the much-loved Master of the Bahá'í Faith. Prominent
among them were Mirza Mahram and Mirza Mahmud Zarqani.
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