© 2013 French-speaking Association of Readers of the Urantia Book
The Lotus Temple, located in Bahapur, a southern suburb of Delhi, India, is one of the eight main Baha’i houses of worship. It is considered the “Mother Temple” of South Asia. It is a monument that is open to all beliefs. Regardless of its religious character, this remarkable architectural work has received numerous awards.
Construction
On land acquired in 1953, the Iranian architect Fariborz Sahba built for the Indian Bahúí Association a temple in the shape of a lotus flower, a symbol of purity inextricably linked to the religious spirit in India. The site opened in 1980 and, on December 24, 1986, the building was officially dedicated to the One God, to the Unity of Religion and Humanity.
Description
Two lotus flowers, one closed the other open.
Designed as a barely open lotus flower, the work includes 27 petals on 9 sides (an important symbolic number for the Bahá’í faith), covered in marble. The interior is mainly a vast auditorium allowing assemblies of more than 1,300 people. Only the holy scriptures of the Bahá’í faith and other previous divine Revelations can be publicly read or recited in this large prayer room. No religious ritual can be performed there. Everything there leads to personal silent meditation. Like certain obediences that populate India such as Auroville, the temple is intended to be open to all religions. Under the exterior petals are the annex rooms: reception, library, exhibition or conference rooms. Around the building, nine water features recreate the usual setting of the lotus, a pond flower. Le Nôtre-style gardens lead to the slightly raised Temple, giving the building a very clear perspective.
Visitors
Since its opening in December 1986, the Lotus Temple has been receiving a large number of visitors, both Indian and foreign, tourists and pilgrims, men and women of different faiths and religions. It receives an average of four million visitors per year, especially during the Hindu festival season.