Lotus Temple - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

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Coordinates: 28.553325N 77.258600E

Lotus Temple
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Lotus Temple, located in New Delhi, India, is a Bah' House of Worship completed in 1986. Notable for its flowerlike 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.[1]

Lotus Temple Bah' House of Worship

Contents
1 Worship 2 Structure 3 Tourism 4 Distinctions 4.1 Awards 4.2 Publications 4.2.1 Articles 4.2.2 Books 4.2.3 Stamps 4.2.4 Music 4.3 Most visitors 4.4 Notable visitors 5 See also 6 Notes 7 External links
Type

Lotus Temple, illuminated after dark General information House of Worship Expressionist New Delhi, India 13 November 1986 24 December 1986 34.27m Technical details Structural system Diameter Concrete frame and precast concrete ribbed roof 70m Design and construction

Architectural style Location Completed Opening Height

Worship

Architect Structural

Fariborz Sahba Flint & Neill

engineer Like all other Bah' Houses of Worship, the Lotus Temple is open to all regardless of religion, or any other distinction, as Other information emphasized in Bah' texts. The Bah' laws emphasize that Seating capacity 1,300 the spirit of the House of Worship be that it is a gathering place where people of all religions may worship God without denominational restrictions.[2] The Bah' laws also stipulate that only the holy scriptures of the Bah' 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.[2]

Structure
All Bah' Houses of Worship, including the Lotus Temple, share

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certain architectural elements, some of which are specified by Bah' scripture. `Abdu'l-Bah, the son of the founder of the religion, stipulated that an essential architectural character of a House of Worship is a nine-sided circular shape.[3] While all current Bah' Houses of Worship have a dome, this is not regarded as an essential part of their architecture.[4] Bah' scripture also states that no pictures, statues or images be displayed within the House of Worship and no pulpits or altars be incorporated as an architectural feature (readers may stand behind simple portable lecture stands).[2] 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.[5] The nine doors of the Lotus Temple open onto Model of the temple at the information a central hall slightly more centre than 40 meters tall[6] 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 Bah' Houses of Worship are built.[7] Along with its nine surrounding ponds and the gardens, the Lotus Temple property comprises 26 acres (105,000 m; 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 Ardishr Rustampr of Hyderabad, who gave his entire life savings for this purpose in 1953.[8] A portion of construction budget was saved and used to build a greenhouse to study indigenous plants and flowers that would be appropriate for use on the site.[9]

Visitors approaching the Lotus Temple Bah' House of Worship

Interior view

Interior view of the symbol of the Greatest Name, set at the top of the temple

Tourism
Since its inauguration to public worship in December 1986, the Bah' House of Worship in Delhi has, as of late 2002, attracted more than 50 million visitors, making it one of the most visited buildings in the world.[10] Its numbers of visitors during those years surpassed those of the Eiffel Tower and the Taj Mahal. On Hindu celebrative days and holy days, it has drawn as many as 150,000
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people. This House of Worship is generally referred to as the "Lotus Temple". In India, during the Hindu festival Durga Puja, several times a replica of the Lotus Temple has been made as a pandal, a temporary structure set up to venerate the goddess Durga.[11] In Sikkim a permanent replica is of the Hindu Legship Mandir, dedicated to Shiva.[12]

Distinctions
The Temple has received wide range of attention in professional architectural, fine art, religious, governmental, and other venues.

Lotus Temple at sunset

Awards
1987, the architect of the Bah' House of Worship, Mr. Fariborz Sahba, was presented the award for View of the Bah' House of Worship at excellence in religious art and night architecture by the UK-based One of the nine ponds Institution of Structural Engineers surrounding the Lotus for producing a building "so emulating the beauty of a flower and so striking in Temple its visual impact".[13] 1987, the Interfaith Forum on Religion, Art and Architecture, Affiliate of the American Institute of Architects, Washington, D.C., gave their First Honour award for "Excellence in Religious Art and Architecture" 1987 to Mr. F. Sahba for the design of the Bah' House of Worship near New Delhi.[1] 1988, the Illuminating Engineering Society of North America conferred the Paul Waterbury Outdoor Lighting Design Award - Special Citation for Exterior Lighting[1] 1989, the Temple received an award from the Maharashtra-India Chapter of the American Concrete Institute for "excellence in a concrete structure".[1] 1994 edition of Encyclopaedia Britannica, in its 'Architecture' section gives recognition to the Temple as an outstanding achievement of the time.[1] 2000, Architectural Society of China as one of 100 canonical works of the 20th century in the recently published "World Architecture 1900-2000: A Critical Mosaic, Volume Eight, South Asia".[14] 2000, GlobArt Academy, based in Vienna, Austria, presented its "GlobArt Academy 2000" award to the architect of the Lotus Temple, Fariborz Sahba, for "the magnitude of the service of [this] Taj Mahal of the 20th century in promoting the unity and harmony of people of all nations, religions and social strata, to an extent unsurpassed by any other architectural monument worldwide."[14]

Publications
Articles As of 2003, it had been featured in television programmes in India,
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Russia, and China. The Baha'i World Centre Library has archived more than 500 publications which have carried information on the Temple in the form of articles, interviews with the Architect and write-ups extolling the structure.[1] In France, the magazine "Actualite des Religions" published a four-page article on the Lotus Temple in the fall of 2000 in a special edition called "Les religions et leurs chef-d'uvres" (Religions and Their Masterpieces).[15][1] Guinness World Records 2001 Architecture (magazine) September 1987 Lighting Design+Application Vol 19, No. 6, Illuminating Engineering Society of North America "Taj Mahal of the Twentieth Century" Wallpaper* October 2002 Progressive Architecture, February[1] and again December 1987 World Architecture: A Critical Mosaic 1900-2000, Vol 8, by Kenneth Frampton, Springer-Verlog Wien publishers, New York - "A power icon of great beauty ... an import symbol of the city." Faith & Form - Journal of the IFRAA affiliate of the American Institute of Architects, Vol XXI "an extraordinary feat of design, construction and appropriateness of expressions" Structural Engineer, UK (annual) December 1987 Encyclopaedia Iranica 1989 Books Forever in Bloom: The Lotus of Bahapur, Photographs by Raghu Rai, text by Roger White, Time Books International, 1992 The Dawning Place of the Remembrance of God, Thomas Press, 2002 Stamps 6.50 postage Stamp featuring Baha'i House of Worship, New Delhi, India[16] Music Temple Dedication service (1986).[17] Jewel in the Lotus (album) produced in 1987 by the keyboardist Jack Lenz for Don't Blink Music, Inc., in Ontario, Canada with songs or voices by Seals & Crofts, Layli Ericks, and others.[18]

Gardens at the Bah' House of Worship

Surrounding area

Information centre at the Bah' House of Worship

Some of the displays at the entrance of the information centre

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Most visitors
"The most visited building in the world, according to a CNN report" [19] "The most visited building in India, surpassing even the Taj Mahal with some 4.5 million visitors a year."[20] "The most visited religious building in the world" Guinness World Records, 2001

Notable visitors
Pandit Ravi Shankar sitar maestro Ambassadors of Tanzania, Hungary, Panama Officers of Government (Ministers, Premiers) from Bermuda, Hungary, India, Ivory Coast, Nepal, USSR/Russia, Romania, Singapore, Tajikstan, Yemen, Yugoslavia, Zambia Members of the Supreme Court of India Prince Niranjan Shah, of Nepal Dr. Uton Muchtar Rafei, Regional Director, World Health Organization The President of Iceland, lafur Ragnar Grmsson was the first Head of State on an official state visit[21] First Lady of the Slovak Republic, Silvia Gasparovicova Sathya Sai Baba in April 2010[22] 1998 article with short list of notable visitors[23] 2003 list of notable visitors [1] 2004 addition [24]

See also
Bah' Faith in India Sydney Opera House - a modern structure with a similar design

Notes
1. ^ a b c d e f g h i Bah' Houses of Worship, India (http://www.uga.edu/bahai/india.html) The Lotus of Bahapur 2. ^ a b c Rafati, V.; Sahba, F. (1989). "Bahai temples". Encyclopdia Iranica. 3. ^ `Abdu'l-Bah (1982) [1912]. The Promulgation of Universal Peace (http://reference.bahai.org/en/t/ab /PUP/pup-30.html#pg71) (Hardcover ed.). Wilmette, Illinois, USA: Bah' Publishing Trust. p. 71. ISBN 0-87743-172-8. 4. ^ Shoghi Effendi to an individual believer, Lights of Divine Guidance (volume 1), pg 311 (http://reference.bahai.org/en/t/se /LDG1/ldg1-156.html#pg229) 5. ^ Architecture of the Bah' House of Worship (http://www.bahaihouseofworship.in/architecture) 6. ^ "Bah' Houses of Worship" (http://info.bahai.org /article-1-6-0-7.html). Bah' International Community. 2006. Retrieved 2008-03-09. 7. ^ "Penteli marbles for Bahai temples" (http://www.dionyssomarble.gr/Projects.aspx). Dionyssos Marbles. 2010. 8. ^ Faizi, Gloria (1993). Stories about Bah' Funds. New Delhi, India: Bah' Publishing Trust. ISBN 81-85091-76-5. 9. ^ "["Gardens of Worship" (http://www.recreatingeden.com/index.php?pid=8& season=03&episode=30%7C)]". ["Recreating Eden" (http://www.recreatingeden.com/%7C)]. Season 03. Episode 30. 2006. 10. ^ Baha'i Community of Canada (http://www.ca.bahai.org/main.cfm?sid=79) 11. ^ Chakraborty, Debarati. "Newsline 28 September 2006: Here's Delhi's Lotus Temple for you at Singhi Park!" (http://bahaisonline.net /index.php?option=com_content&task=view& id=637&Itemid=8). Retrieved 2007-05-29.

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12. ^ Satellite image (http://wikimapia.org /#lat=27.277637&lon=88.2761014&z=18&l=0& m=b&v=8) in Wikimapia. 13. ^ An Architectural Marvel (http://www.bahai.in /index.php?option=com_content&task=view& id=80&Itemid=56) Published in The Tribune, Chandigarh, by Anil Sarwal. 14. ^ a b Baha'i Temple in India continues to receive awards and recognitions (http://news.bahai.org /story/89) New Delhi, 5 December 2000 (BWNS) 15. ^ Architect's Website (http://www.sahbaarchitect.com /)(enter->publications) 16. ^ Baha'i Stamps (http://bahai-library.com/stamps /BahaiStamps.htm) 17. ^ Baha'i Prayers and Songs (http://www.archive.org /details/BahaiPrayersAndSongs) 18. ^ Jewel in the Lotus (http://www.sealsandcrofts.com /lyricsj.html)

19. ^ http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0107/14 /i_hs.00.html 20. ^ Commemorations in Chicago highlight the immense impact of House of Worship (http://www.onecountry.org /e151/e15104as_Temple_50th_story.htm) OneCountry, Volume 15, Issue 1 / AprilJune 2003 21. ^ President of Iceland visits Baha'i Temple in New Delhi (http://bahai-library.com/newspapers /2000/111400-2.html) 22. ^ Sri Sathya Sai Baba's trip to Delhi and Shimla 2010 (http://www.saibabaofindia.com/day-4-12-april2010-sri_sathya_sai_babas_trip_to_new_delhi.htm) 23. ^ An Architectural Marvel (http://www.bahai.in /index.php?option=com_content&task=view& id=80&Itemid=56) by Prof. Anil Sarwal, First published in The Tribune, Chandigarh 24. ^ Distinguished visitors praise Baha'i Temple (http://www.uga.edu/bahai/2005/050112.html)

External links
Official Website (http://www.bahaihouseofworship.in/) Lotus Temple - thedivineindia.com (http://www.thedivineindia.com/lotus-temple/5777/) Delhi Gallery : Lotus Temple (http://www.delhiwonders.com/Delhi-gallery-lotus-temple) Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Lotus_Temple&oldid=559039863" Categories: Bah' institutions Buildings and structures in Delhi Religious buildings completed in 1986 Religion in Delhi Bah' Faith in India Temples in India Places of worship in Delhi This page was last modified on 15 June 2013 at 07:54. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional terms may apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization.

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