Lotus temple

The Lotus Temple in New Delhi, India

The lotus temple at night

The Lotus Temple Information Center

The gardens surrounding the lotus temple

The Lotus Temple is the second youngest of the eight continental Baha'i temples in the world . This is located in the Bahapur district of the Indian capital New Delhi . It was designed by the Iranian - Canadian architect Fariborz Sahba , who was commissioned with the execution in 1976. The name is derived from the shape of the building, which is supposed to be reminiscent of a lotus flower . The building opened on December 24, 1986 and has since won numerous architectural awards and has been featured in countless magazines and newspapers. The sacred building is one of the best-known in the Baha'i communityand has already been visited by over 50 million people, which corresponds to around three million visitors per year. The building serves as the mother temple for the Indian subcontinent and is an outstanding example of modern architecture in India .

Devotions

Like all sacred buildings of the Baha'i, the lotus temple is open to followers of all religions, as Baha'i believe that all believers can worship God in their sacred buildings. So all Holy Scriptures are recited in their respective language and accompanied by choirs. However, no musical instruments or religious ceremonies are welcome. The Baha'i scriptures do not allow the placement of pictures or statues and the use of altars or pulpits within the buildings.

architecture

The houses of worship are characterized by common features, which are set out in the writings of the Baha'i, among others. A nine-sided circular shape forms the floor plan, which is supposed to symbolize openness to other religions. Although all houses of worship have a dome, this is not an integral part of the architecture.

Inspired by a lotus flower, the floor plan is surrounded by 27 free-standing marble petals, which are placed in groups of three on the nine sides. The central building is 40 m high and can accommodate up to 2500 people. The interior and exterior facade were designed with white marble from Mount Pendeli in Greece , which was also used for many old monuments and other sacred buildings of the Baha'i. Together with the nine surrounding ponds and gardens, the area comprises 26 acres , which corresponds to 105,000 m² or 10.5 hectares.

Most of the money needed to buy the land was donated in 1953 by Ardishir Rustampur of Hyderabad , who gave away all of his savings. Some of the construction costs were saved and used to build a greenhouse to find native plants and flowers suitable for the gardens.

Individual evidence

^ University of Georgia : Bahá'í Houses of Worship, India - The Lotus of Bahapur. Retrieved October 31, 2011 .
^ Bahá'í House of Worship in Delhi. (No longer available online.) Baha'i Community of Canada, archived from the original on October 20, 2004 ; accessed on October 31, 2011 (English). Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2
^ Commemorations in Chicago highlight the immense impact of House of Worship. One Country, accessed October 31, 2011 .
^ ^A ^b V. Rafati, Fariborz Sahba : Bahai temples . In: Encyclopædia Iranica . 1989.
^ Abdul-Baha : The Promulgation of Universal Peace . Ed .: Bahá'í Publishing Trust. Wilmette, Illinois, USA 1982, ISBN 0-87743-172-8 , pp. 71 ( online ).
↑ Shoghi Effendi : The Light of Divine Guidance. The messages from the Guardian of the Bahai Faith to the Bahais of Germany and Austria . Bahai-Verlag, Hofheim-Langenhain 1982, ISBN 3-87037-145-5 , p. 229 ( online ).
^ Architecture of the Bahá'í House of Worship. Bahá'ís of India, accessed October 31, 2011 .
^ Bahá'í Houses of Worship. (No longer available online.) Bahá'í International Community, 2006, archived from the original on April 29, 2011 ; accessed on October 31, 2011 (English). Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2
↑ Penteli marbles for Bahai temples. (No longer available online.) Dionyssos Marbles, 2010, archived from the original on July 26, 2010 ; accessed on October 31, 2011 (English). Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2
^ Gloria Faizi: Stories about Bahá'í Funds . Ed .: Bahá'í Publishing Trust. New Delhi, India 1993, ISBN 81-85091-76-5 .
^ Gardens of Worship. (No longer available online.) Recreating Eden, 2006, archived from the original on March 1, 2012 ; accessed on October 31, 2011 (English). Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2