THE LOTUS TEMPLE NEW DELHI ******************************************************* The Lotus Temple, located in New Delhi, India, is a Baháí House of Worship completed in 1986. Notable for its flower like shape, it serves as the Mother Temple of the Indian subcontinent and has become a prominent attraction in the city. The Lotus Temple has won numerous architectural awards and been featured in hundreds of newspaper and magazine articles. The Lotus Temple is open to all regardless of religion, or any other distinction, as emphasized in Baháí texts. The Baháí laws emphasize that the spirit of the House of Worship be that it is a gathering place where people of all religions may worship Godwithout denominational restrictions. The Baháí laws also stipulate that only the holy scriptures of the Baháí Faith and other religions can be read or chanted inside in any language; while readings and prayers can be set to music by choirs, no musical instruments can be played inside. Furthermore no sermons can be delivered, and there can be no ritualistic ceremonies practiced. Inspired by the lotus flower, the design for the House of Worship in New Delhi is composed of 27 free-standing marble clad petals arranged in clusters of three to form nine sides. The nine doors of the Lotus Temple open onto a central hall slightly more than 40 meters tall that is capable of holding up to 2,500 people. The surface of the House of Worship is made of white marble from Penteli mountain in Greece, the very same from which many ancient monuments and other Baháí Houses of Worship are built. Along with its nine surrounding ponds and the gardens, the Lotus Temple property comprises 26 acres (105,000 m²; 10.5 ha). The site is in the village of Bahapur, in the National Capital Territory of Delhi. The architect was an Iranian, who now lives in Canada, named Fariborz Sahba. He was approached in 1976 to design it and later oversaw its construction. The structural design was undertaken by the UK firm Flint and Neill. The major part of the funds needed to buy this land was donated by Ardishír Rustampúr of Hyderabad, Sindh, who gave his entire life savings for this purpose in 1953. Following are few accreditations and awards given to this great monument. • 1988, the Illuminating Engineering Society of North America conferred the Paul Waterbury Outdoor Lighting Design Award - Special Citation for Exterior Lighting • 1989, the Temple received an award from the Maharashtra-India Chapter of the American Concrete Institute for excellence in a concrete structure. • 1994 edition of Encyclopaedia Britannica, in its Architecture section gives recognition to the Temple as an outstanding achievement of the time. • The most visited building in the world, according to a CNN report • The most visited building in India, surpassing even the Taj Mahal with some 4.5 million visitors a year. • The most visited religious building in the world Guinness World Records, 2001
Posted on: Sun, 21 Sep 2014 17:45:32 +0000
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