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Swaminarayan Akshardham
Swaminarayan Akshardham in Robbinsville, New Jersey
Religion
AffiliationHinduism
DeitySwaminarayan,
Radha Krishna, Venkateshwara-Padmavati,
Sita-Rama Lakshman Hanuman,
Shiva-Parvati Kartikeya Ganesha
Location
LocationRobbinsville, Mercer County, New Jersey, U.S.
Geographic coordinates40°15′15″N 74°34′40″W / 40.25417°N 74.57778°W / 40.25417; -74.57778
Architecture
Type
Creator
InscriptionsSpiritual-Cultural Complex
Website
usa.akshardham.org

The BAPS Swaminarayan Akshardham is a Hindu mandir (temple) built by the BAPS Swaminarayan Sanstha in Robbinsville, New Jersey. It is the largest Hindu mandir in the United States and the second-largest Hindu mandir in the world, rising 213 ft (65 m) above ground.[1]

The 183-acre (74 ha) Akshardham campus contains the main Akshardham mandir, a smaller traditional temple, Nilkanth Plaza, a welcome center, a vegetarian cafe, the BAPS Swaminarayan Research Institute, a museum, and an event center.[2] The Akshardham mandir is dedicated to the religious leader Swaminarayan and has become a religious tourist destination for Hindus around the world.[3]

On October 8, 2023, Mahant Swami Maharaj, the spiritual head of BAPS, performed the consecration ceremony and formally inaugurated the mandir.[4][5] Several months after the Akshardham mandir opening, a registration process was implemented to facilitate an improved visitor experience. On weekends, national holidays, and select Indian holidays, free advanced registration is required.[6]

This is one of three Akshardham mandirs constructed by the BAPS Swaminarayan Sanstha; the other two are in New Delhi and Gandhinagar.[7][8] Robbinsville is located within Mercer County in central New Jersey, and is situated near Trenton, the state capital of New Jersey.

Deities

The mandir has 13 shrines dedicated to various Hindu deities.[9][1] The central shrine is dedicated to Swaminarayan and Gunatitanand Swami. The other 12 shrines include the sacred images of Hindu deities like Radha-Krishna, Venkateshwara-Padmavati, Sita-Rama, Lakshman, Hanuman, Shiva-Parvati, Ganesha, and Kartikeya, as well as Swaminarayan's spiritual successors.[3][10]

Akshardham campus

The Akshardham campus is in Robbinsville, NJ and includes the Akshardham mandir, a smaller traditional temple, Nilkanth Plaza, a welcome center, a vegetarian cafe - Shayona Cafe, the BAPS Swaminarayan Research Institute, a museum, and an event center.[2]

Nilkanth Plaza

The entrance to the Akshardham complex begins with the Nilkanth Plaza which has a 49 ft (15 m) tall sacred image, or murti, of Nilkanth Varni, the name of Swaminarayan during his teenage years as a yogi on a seven year pilgrimage around India.[2][11] The height commemorates Swaminarayan's 49 years on Earth.[2] The plaza also includes a map of Nilkanth Varni's pilgrimage route throughout India and 14 plaques that convey messages and values that he shared during his journey.[12]

Brahma Kund

The campus has a traditional Indian stepwell, called the Brahma Kund, which contains sanctified water from over 300 sources[13] including 108 holy rivers in India and rivers that flow across the United States.[11]

Akshardham mandir

The Akshardham mandir was designed in accordance with ancient Hindu scriptures and features elements from Hindu heritage.[9][1] The mandir is 191 ft (58 m) in height, 255 ft (78 m) in length, and 345 ft (105 m) in width. The central shikhar (spire) is 213 ft (65 m) above ground.[1]. It is the largest Hindu mandir in the United States and the second largest Hindu mandir in the world.[1][14] It was constructed from different stones including marble from Greece, Turkey, and Italy; pink sandstone from Rajasthan; granite from India; and limestone from Bulgaria and Turkey.[9][14] During its construction, BAPS also incorporated sustainable practices by utilizing a fly ash concrete mix, planting over two million trees worldwide over several decades, and building a six acre solar farm that supplies electricity to the Akshardham campus.[15][14]

The foundational base, or the jagati, is made of a 13-tiered structure of limestone and is also referred to as the Wisdom Plinth because it conveys messages of wisdom from ancient Indian scriptures, scholars, and other world luminaries.[15][16][14] Above the foundational base plinth is the main outer wall of the mandir, called the mandovar.[15] The mandovar includes carvings of poets, philosophers, and sages.[15] The Akshardham has nine shikhars and nine samarans (pyramidal domes) atop of the mandir.[2][15]

The Akshardham mandir has the largest constructed elliptical dome of a traditional stone mandir.[1] Major domes within the mandir include the Parabrahma Mandapam, dedicated to Swaminarayan; Aksharbrahma Mandapam, to honor Swaminarayan's first spiritual successor Gunatitanand Swami; Mukta Mandapam, to honor followers of the faith that excelled on the spiritual path; and Aishwarya Mandapam, to honor various divinities in Hinduism.[15][9][1][17] Carvings of all 108 Bharatanatyam poses, an ancient Hindu dance form, are depicted throughout the mandir for the first time in one structure.[2]

Two rectangular ponds in front of the mandir include four statues representing the four Vedas.[18] The mandir is surrounded by a 2,485 ft (757 m) long colonnade, or parikrama, made from red sandstone.[18]

Shikarbaddha mandir

Further information: BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Mandir Robbinsville

The BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Mandir Robbinsville is located on the Akshardham campus. The mandir was built in the Nagaradi style using 68,000 cubic feet (1,900 m3) of Italian Carrara marble. The structure is 87 feet (27 m) wide, 133 feet (41 m) long, and 42 feet (13 m) high.[19] The mandir was officially opened to the public on August 10, 2014, after the murtis were consecrated in the presence of Pramukh Swami Maharaj.[20]

Welcome Center

The Welcome Center is designed according to Indian Haveli-style architecture to welcome guests in a traditional manner.[21] It is made from hand-carved Burmese Teak wood. There are 2,700 lanterns inside the welcome center to commemorate Diwali, the Hindu festival of light.[18] It also includes Indian design motifs on the walls.[21] The welcome center connects to a vegetarian cafe, Shayona Cafe.[2]

BAPS Swaminarayan Research Institute

On June 18, 2022, the BAPS Swaminarayan Research Institute was inaugurated by Mahamahopadhyaya Pujya Bhadreshdas Swami, author of the Sanskrit commentarial and philosophical texts, the Swaminarayan Bhashyam and the Swaminarayan Siddhanta Sudda, in the presence of representatives from over 50 Hindu mandirs and organizations. Bhadreshdas Swami delivered the inaugural speech which encouraged the community to explore Hindu philosophy and the arts, and spoke to Mahant Swami Maharaj's messages of global harmony, public service, and educational excellence.[22][23]

History

The Akshardham campus was inspired by BAPS' fifth spiritual leader, Pramukh Swami Maharaj, in 1971.[2] His vision was to create a place of worship in North America for followers that could also enable visitors of different backgrounds to experience Hindu spirituality, architecture, and peace.[16] BAPS inaugurated its first mandir in the United States in New York in 1974, with the murti pratishtha performed by Pramukh Swami Maharaj.[24] The land in Robbinsville, New Jersey was purchased in 2008 and the Akshardham mandir construction began in 2015.[15] The first marble pillar installation ceremony took place on September 4, 2017, in the presence of Mahant Swami Maharaj, the sixth spiritual leader of BAPS.[25]

About 75% of the Akshardham campus is designed, constructed, managed, and maintained by swamis and volunteers.[15] Between 2011 and 2023, over 12,500 people volunteered to build the mandir.[26][27][28] Volunteers carved and installed about 2,000,000 cubic feet (57,000 m3) of stone.[17] The volunteers came from various backgrounds which included students, business executives, physicians, and architects.[16] Volunteers who did not have prior stone mandir construction experience received training on mandir architecture and construction by experts.[15]

In May 2021, a lawsuit was filed against BAPS by several volunteer artisans from India[2] who were involved in the construction alleging that the temple administrators violated labor laws.[29] In relation to this, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Department of Labor, and Department of Homeland Security visited the site on "court-authorized law enforcement activity."[29][30] The lawsuit alleges that over 200 Indian men, mostly of the Dalit caste, were brought from India to the US and were subject to wage theft, forced labor, and human trafficking.[31][29]

BAPS Spokespersons rejected the allegations listed in the lawsuit as false stating that the artisans had come to the US as religious volunteers to offer seva, or religious service, as part of their devotion.[32] They further stated that federal, state, and local government agencies had been regularly inspecting and approving the various mandir projects where artisans in this program have volunteered over the last 20 years.[32]

As of July 2023, 12 of the plaintiffs have withdrawn from the lawsuit,[33] stating that they were coerced into making false charges against BAPS by a US based lawyer named Swati Sawant with threats of imprisonment, promises of US citizenship and large sums of money for them and their families.[34][32][35][36] The dozen withdrawn plaintiffs stated that they have been offering service at BAPS temples in the US and India for many years and had "never experienced any pressure, any casteism or discrimination".[36] The lawsuit is on-hold, pending an investigation.[2] Some news outlets characterized the trial as raising questions about the ability of US labor laws to account for certain forms of religious volunteerism.[33][2]

In April 2023, two homes housing BAPS volunteers were ordered to be vacated by Robbinsville Township, deeming them unsafe.[37] The buildings had been illegally converted to house dozens of volunteers.[38] In a letter to the mayor's office, mandir coordinator Chandresh Patel and women's volunteer outreach coordinator Dr. Nisha Shah stated that the occupants of the homes were American volunteers who had traveled across the country to participate in the construction of the mandir as 'seva'. According to BAPS, most stayed in BAPS-organized accommodations but some made other arrangements. The communal dormitory settings in question were not owned by BAPS. When it came to light that the two buildings did not meet the necessary standards, BAPS helped the affected volunteers relocate to alternative housing.[39]

Inauguration

To celebrate the completion of the Akshardham, BAPS hosted a three-month-long celebration called the "Festival of Inspirations" leading up to its inauguration.[40] During the celebrations, BAPS launched various community programs, including a 10-week-long blood drive and the Days of Giving campaign. The 10-week blood drive had over 4,470 donors and was recognized as one of the longest-running blood drives in the state.[3][41] The Days of Giving initiative donated over 12,000 school supplies, hygiene essentials, and food items to the local community.[10] A "My Country, My Duty" program celebrated police and law enforcement throughout the country.[42] The inaugural celebration also included a three-month-long Vedic Mahayagna to invoke peace around the world through ancient rituals.[3] Notable visitors during the inauguration of Akshardham highlighted the mandir’s significant impact. Robbinsville Mayor David Fried said in his address, "We are honored that you thought to choose our community and had the vision to turn this piece of land into something that is truly unbelievable and one of the wonders of the world." Hindu spiritual leader Sri Sri Ravishankar said, "This monument will proudly represent Indian traditions. Every carving adorning it showcases intricate beauty, crafted from merely stones but also the devotion embedded within." Highlighting community contributions Senator Heidi Campbell said, "It’s instantaneously apparent that people are comfortable with one another, that people are being generous to one another, and that everyone is here to serve each other, including me."[43]

Akshardham Mahotsav

The inaugural ceremony, called the Akshardham Mahotsav, was split over nine days (September 20 - October 8, 2023). Each day celebrated aspects of the mandir or the values it represents. Daily themes included celebrating Indian culture, non-violence, women's contributions to society, interfaith harmony, and community day. On October 5, 2023, Robbinsville Mayor, David Fried, joined the community unity day program and said, "Every time I reached out to BAPS, they never failed to answer the call, and for that, I'm incredibly grateful." During the program, Fried and Mayor John Higdom from Matthews, North Carolina, both offered the "Key to the City" to Mahant Swami Maharaj.[3]

On October 8, 2023, Mahant Swami Maharaj performed the consecration ceremony[44] and formally inaugurated the mandir.[45][46] The inauguration was joined by Delaware Governor John Carney and Congressman Steny Hoyer.[46] Carney said, "I was struck by what Swami said that the temple is a bridge, a bridge from the past to the future; a bridge from one community to the next. It is an incredible place of devotion."[47] Additionally, UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi extended wishes for the inauguration of the mandir.[7] Sunak stated, "We were amazed and awed by the beauty of this temple and its universal message of peace, harmony, and becoming a better human being. This is not only a place of worship, but a landmark that also portrays India's values, culture, and contributions to the world.[7][26]

See also

References

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  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k "The largest Hindu temple on American soil will soon open its doors". Washington Post. 2023-09-29. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved 2023-11-03.
  3. ^ a b c d e "Special Supplement | BAPS Swaminarayan Akshardham". The South Asian Times. Vol. 16, no. 24. October 2023. pp. 28–48.
  4. ^ "Akshardham Temple, billed to be second-largest in world, inaugurated in US". Tribune India.
  5. ^ General, Ryan (2023-10-09). "Largest modern Hindu temple outside India opens in US". NextShark. Retrieved 2024-02-08.
  6. ^ "Akshardham US introduces registration system for personalized visitor experience".
  7. ^ a b c "PM Modi, Rishi Sunak extend wishes for Akshardham temple inauguration in USA". India Today. Retrieved 2024-02-08.
  8. ^ Nimje, Sonika Nitin. "Swaminarayan Akshardham: All details on largest Hindu temple outside India". Business Standard.
  9. ^ a b c d "BAPS Swaminarayan Akshardham, A Massive Temple In New Jersey To Be Inaugurated In October". IndiaTimes. 2023-09-25. Retrieved 2023-11-07.
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  20. ^ Blumberg, Antonia (2014-08-23). "A Look At The New, Massive Hindu Temple Gracing New Jersey". HuffPost. Archived from the original on 2016-06-19. Retrieved 2016-08-02.
  21. ^ a b "A marvel of spirituality & devotion in USA – Know all about BAPS Swaminarayan Akshardham temple". News9live. 2023-12-05. Retrieved 2024-04-23.
  22. ^ Staff Writer (2022-06-22). "BAPS Swaminarayan Research Institute Inaugurated in Robbinsville, New Jersey". American Kahani. Retrieved 2024-01-30.
  23. ^ "BAPS Swaminarayan Research Institute inaugurated in US - EasternEye". 2022-06-21. Retrieved 2024-01-30.
  24. ^ Swaminarayan Bliss: January–February 2024. January–February 2024. pp. Page 8.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: date and year (link)
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  26. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference :7 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  27. ^ "New Jersey Akshardham, world's largest modern Hindu temple outside India, set to open on October 8: 10 things to know". The Times of India. 2023-09-25. ISSN 0971-8257. Retrieved 2023-11-07.
  28. ^ "Largest Hindu temple outside India opens in New Jersey: 10 point update". Hindustan Times. 2023-10-08. Retrieved 2023-11-07.
  29. ^ a b c Correal, Annie (2021-05-11). "Hindu Sect Is Accused of Using Forced Labor to Build N.J. Temple". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on 2021-05-12. Retrieved 2021-05-12.
  30. ^ Simko-Bednarski, Evan (11 May 2021). "Lawsuit claims New Jersey Hindu temple was built on forced labor". CNN. Archived from the original on 13 May 2021. Retrieved 15 May 2021.
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  32. ^ a b c "A Dozen Artisans Withdraw From Case against BAPS". Archived from the original on 2023-07-20. Retrieved 2023-07-20.
  33. ^ a b Bailey, Sarah Pulliam (2023-10-21). "A $96 Million Hindu Temple Opens Amid Accusations of Forced Labor". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2024-01-30.
  34. ^ "DOZENS OF ARTISANS DECIDE TO WITHDRAW FROM CASE AGAINST HINDU MANDIR IN AMERICA". 14 July 2023. Archived from the original on 20 July 2023. Retrieved 20 July 2023. Some of them gathered the courage to leave the FBI's custody and return home, even though Swati Sawant insisted for them to stay and repeated her offer of American citizenship and money for them.Advocate Sawant also called their families in India to make them force the artisans to stay in the US. But by this time the artisans had realised the truth and contacted lawyer Aaditya SB Soni for his help
  35. ^ "No Violation of Artisans Rights at Robbinsville Akshardham Temple in New Jersey, Charges False: Laborer's Body". Archived from the original on 2023-07-18. Retrieved 2023-07-20.
  36. ^ a b "Charges against Robbinsville Akshardham temple false". Archived from the original on 2023-07-18. Retrieved 2023-07-20.
  37. ^ "BAPS Investigation". www.robbinsville-twp.org. Retrieved 2024-03-26.
  38. ^ NJ.com, Ted Sherman | NJ Advance Media for (2023-04-04). "Doors, other exits blocked at house where 33 volunteers for Hindu temple lived, officials say". nj. Retrieved 2024-03-26.
  39. ^ "BAPS Issues Statement To Robbinsville Township Regarding Recent Volunteer Housing Situation". MidJersey.News. 2023-04-14. Retrieved 2024-03-26.
  40. ^ "BAPS Festival of Inspirations to Culminate in the Grand Inauguration of the BAPS Swaminarayan Akshardham | Indo American News". Retrieved 2023-11-07.
  41. ^ "Akshardham In New Jersey: Largest Hindu Temple Inaugurated In US By Mahant Swami Maharaj". English Jagran. 2023-10-09. Retrieved 2024-02-08.
  42. ^ Alexander, Dan (2023-10-06). "SEE INSIDE: Hindu temple, the world's largest, opens in NJ after toil by thousands". New Jersey 101.5. Retrieved 2024-02-08.
  43. ^ Swaminarayan Bliss: January–February 2024. January–February 2024. p. 174.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: date and year (link)
  44. ^ PTI. "Largest Hindu temple in the US inaugurated in New Jersey". Deccan Herald. Retrieved 2023-11-07.
  45. ^ "The largest Hindu temple in US - BAPS Swaminarayan Akshardham at Robbinsville, all set to be inaugurated". The Indian EYE. 2023-09-25. Retrieved 2023-11-07.
  46. ^ a b Excelsior, Daily (2023-10-12). "Akshardham Temple, billed to be second-largest in world, inaugurated in US | DailyExcelsior". Retrieved 2023-11-07.
  47. ^ "US Akshardham temple opens for devotees". The Times of India. 2023-10-10. ISSN 0971-8257. Retrieved 2024-02-08.
source: Https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swaminarayan_Akshardham_(North_America)

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