Swaminarayan Akshardham (North America)

The Swaminarayan Akshardham in Robbinsville, New Jersey, is a Hindu mandir (temple). The mandir, one component of the campus, was inaugurated and opened to the public on August 10, 2014.[1][2][3][4] Plans for the complex include the Swaminarayan Akshardham Mahamandir and a visitor's center, which will house an exhibition on Indian history and culture.[5]

Swaminarayan Akshardham
अक्षरधाम
Religion
AffiliationHinduism
DeitySwaminarayan, Radha-Krishna, Rama-Sita, Shiva-Parvati
Location
LocationRobbinsville
StateNew Jersey
CountryUnited States
Architecture
TypeVastu Shastra and Pancharatra Shastra
CreatorBlessings:-H.D.H Pramukh Swami Maharaj & Inspirer:- H.D.H. Mahant Swami Maharaj
Completed2021(Finalised date)
InscriptionsSpiritual-Cultural Complex
Website
www.baps.org

BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Mandir

The BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Mandir in Robbinsville in Central New Jersey is a Hindu place of worship built by the BAPS Swaminarayan Sanstha and consecrated by Pramukh Swami Maharaj. The BAPS Swaminarayan Sanstha, led by Mahant Swami Maharaj, is a denomination of the Swaminarayan branch of Hinduism. The mandir is built of hand-carved Italian Carrara marble, Turkish limestone, and Indian pink stone. The mandir was constructed according to guidelines outlined in ancient Vedas, or Hindu scriptures. The mandir is open daily to visitors and for worship. In addition to the mandir, the complex includes a congregation hall.

Mandir and daily rituals

The mandir is a shikarbaddha mandir, built according to principles laid out in the Shilpa Shastras, Hindu texts prescribing standards of sacred architecture.[6] Within the mandir, murtis, the sacred images of the deities, have been consecrated. The central shrine holds the murtis of Swaminarayan and Gunatitanand Swami, together worshipped as Akshar-Purushottam Maharaj. Similarly, different shrines hold other murtis, including Radha & Krishna, Shiva & Parvati, Sita & Ram, Hanuman, Ganapati, and the lineage of BAPS gurus who are Swaminarayan's spiritual successors.[7]

According to Hindu beliefs, once the divine has been invoked in a murti, it becomes an embodiment of the Divine.[8] Accordingly, Swaminarayan sadhus, or monks, offer devotional worship to the deities throughout the day. Before dawn, they awaken the deities by singing prabhatiya (morning hymns). The deities are then bathed and offered food and garments depending on the time of the day and season.[9] Food that has been offered to the deities is considered sanctified and distributed to the devotees as prasadam.[9] Aarti, a ritual where devotees sing the glory of God while a lighted wick is circulated before the murtis, is performed five times a day and named mangala aarti, shanagar aarti, rajabhoga aarti, sandhya aarti and shayana aarti, respectively. Finally, sadhus adorn the murtis with night garments and ask the deities to retire for the night.[9]

Construction

The BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Mandir in Robbinsville, New Jersey was first proposed and envisioned by Pramukh Swami Maharaj in 1997 as a part of Swaminarayan Akshardham in North America.[10] The mandir's construction commenced in 2010. The mandir was built in the Nagaradi style using 68,000 cubic feet of Italian Carrara marble. The marble obtained from quarries in Europe was shipped to Rajasthan, India where hundreds of artisans carved the stones. After the finished pieces of stone were assembled in workshops, engineers sequentially numbered the pieces and shipped them to Robbinsville. Upon their arrival, the pieces were organized using the numbering system to facilitate the mandir's construction.[10]

A decorative mandap, or enclosure, was built around the mandir to shield the it from harsh weather and facilitate its year-round use. The structure is 87 feet wide, 133 feet long and 42 feet high.[11] The entrance to the mandap, called the Mayur Dwar, contains carvings depicting peacocks, elephants, and celebrated Hindu devotees of past eras.

The mandir was constructed primarily through the efforts of artisans and volunteers who provided an estimated 4.7 million human hours.[10] Volunteers engaged in various tasks during the construction process, including design & engineering, carving coordination & stone shipping, site preparation, lighting & electrical wiring, polishing, cleaning the assembled marble, tent-building, meal preparation, and offering medical services.[11]

Opening

The mandir was officially opened to the public on August 10, 2014, after the murtis were consecrated in the presence of Pramukh Swami Maharaj and senior sadhus of BAPS.[12] A number of dignitaries were present during the opening ceremony, including New Jersey Senator Cory Booker, Maryland Rep. Steny Hoyer, Pennsylvania Rep. Mike Fitzpatrick, New Jersey Rep. Frank Pallone, New Jersey Attorney General John Jay Hoffman, and Indian Consul General Dnyaneshwar Mulay.[12] The opening was part of a three-day celebration and featured a grand yagna in which participants prayed for world peace and a women's cultural program focused on interfaith harmony.[13] Over 20,000 visitors participated in the various events.[11]

Akshardham Mahamandir

Construction

The installation ceremony of the first marble pillar of the Akshardham Mahamandir took place on September 4, 2017. The celebration was marked with tours of the complex and cultural programs culminating with the Vedic ceremony in the presence of Mahant Swami Maharaj.[14]

  • Mandir exterior
  • Mandir exterior
  • Mandir interior
  • Mandir carving
  • Mandir carved grill
  • Mandir carving
  • Mandir carving
  • Mandir carving
  • Mandir exterior
  • Mandir carving - Swaminarayan
  • Mandir carving
  • Mandir carving
  • Mandir carving
  • Mandir interior dome
  • Mandir interior dome
  • Mandir interior dome
  • Mandir interior
  • Bhagwan Swaminarayan and Gunatitanand Swami
  • Pramukh Swami Maharaj
gollark: I guess you could, if you could transmit enough maths, send along equations and our units.
gollark: I would start by establishing a numbering/encoding system by sending Fibonacci or whatever, then defining (through examples, probably) arithmetic operations, and then... it might be hard to relate physical information actually, hm.
gollark: It's pictographic, except bad.
gollark: I would probably *not* do it this way, but it's a start.
gollark: Presumably, an entire civilization working on it might come up with some sensible interpretations.

See also

References
  1. Frances Kai-Hwa Wang. "World's Largest Hindu Temple Being Built in New Jersey". NBC News. Retrieved December 3, 2016.
  2. "New Jersey Welcomes BAPS Hindu Temple - One Of The Only Traditional Stone Mandirs In North America". HuffingtonPost. Retrieved 23 August 2014.
  3. "Stunning Hindu temple in New Jersey is one of the largest in America". Daily News. Retrieved August 26, 2014.
  4. "Thousands celebrate dedication of traditional Hindu temple in Robbinsville". NJ. Retrieved August 16, 2014.
  5. "BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Mandir - Robbinsville - Mandir Information". BAPS Swaminarayan Sanstha. Retrieved 2016-08-17.
  6. Das, Mukundcharan (2005). Hindu Rites and Rituals. Aksharpith. p. 7. ISBN 81-7526-356-3.
  7. Kim, Hanna (2001). "Being Swaminarayan: The Ontology and Significance of Belief in the Construction of a Gujarati Diaspora". Columbia University Press. 347-349.
  8. Nagendra, Kumar Singh. Encyclopaedia of Hinduism. ISBN 8174881689.
  9. Brady Williams, Raymond (2001). An Introduction to Swaminarayan Hinduism. Cambridge Press. ISBN 978-0521654227.
  10. Project, Sadguru Pujya Ishwarcharan Swami Head of Akshardham. "Making of historic BAPS Robbinsville Mandir - Person of year". www.thesouthasiantimes.info. Retrieved 2016-08-02.
  11. Academy, Himalayan. "Temples: Fully Enclosed Ornate Marble Temple Opens in New Jersey - Magazine Web Edition > January/February/March 2015 - Publications - Hinduism Today Magazine". www.hinduismtoday.com. Retrieved 2016-08-02.
  12. Editor, Antonia Blumberg Associate Religion; Post, The Huffington (2014-08-23). "A Look At The New, Massive Hindu Temple Gracing New Jersey". The Huffington Post. Retrieved 2016-08-02.CS1 maint: extra text: authors list (link)
  13. "Mandir Mahotsav 2014, BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Mandir". BAPS. Retrieved 2019-08-15.
  14. "BAPS Temple holds installation of 1st pillar, Mandapam, and Visarjan in New Jersey - News India Times". News India Times. 2017-09-12. Retrieved 2017-11-07.

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