Delights of India

I'm not referring to the small authentic restaurant in Minneapolis, but rather the sites in the real India. On our second day in Delhi, Justin and I visited the Swaminarayan Akshardham. This is the largest Hindu temple in the world. It's to the Hindu as the Vatican is to the Catholics. Security was tight. Vehicles were searched, including under the hood. We weren't supposed to have any leather on us, no handbags or backpacks, no cameras, and only transparent bottles so that nixed the new water bottle with a filter for international travel. We had to check my small spiral bound notebook so no notes on this tour, which was a little freeing. I could admire the marble carvings on this huge complex that was completed in 2005 after five years of 24/7 construction by 11,000 sadhus, volunteers and artisans. It took 300 million man-hours to carve the 300,000 stones. If only the pyramids were completed in such a short time.

Swaminarayan Akshardham on the River Yamuna is the eternal abode of Bhagwan Swaminarayan, leader of the Hindus from 1781 to 1830 CE. Akshardham Monument is the focal point of this cultural complex. The pink sandstone accented with white marble building is 141’ tall, wider than a football field (316’) and 356’ long. It has 234 intricately carved pillars (two-thirds of the 336 pillars in Istanbul’s Basilica Cistern), 9 domes, 20 pinnacles and 20,000+ unique sculpted figures.

We climbed several flights of stairs in our bare feet on cold marble before stepping into the building. Our eyes were drawn to the 11’ high golden murti of Bhagwan Swaminarayan before entering, but we couldn’t help turning our heads to see the three- story high pillars and the detailed carvings above in the white marble domed ceilings. And to think this was all done in five years. This wasn’t what I expected in a Hindu temple. This was elegant, mature, one might even say understated, not the boldly colored whimsical, fantasy figures I’d seen in Hindu temples in other countries.

The Hindu color palate was used to depict the life of Bhagwan Swaminarayan in a dozen 12’ high paintings from his austerities as a child-yogi to his social and spiritual services in Gujarat and his preaching of the Vedic wisdom. Color also adorned Hindu deities: Shri Ram-Sita, Shri Radha-Krishna, Shri Lakshmi-Narayan and Shri Shiv-Parvati and their ladies.

The monument is surrounded by the Narayan Sarovar, sacred water from 151 rivers and lakes in India, and from 500 waters worldwide. Initially visiting worshippers could anoint themselves in this water, but to preserve the cleanliness, this is now prohibited. Chemicals are used to keep it clean. It seems to me this takes away from its sacredness.

On our way out we meandered through the Yogihriday Kamal, an 8-petalled lotus shaped arena with quotes from notables around the world expressing their belief in their faith. It was simply elegant, and a good transition for us as we made our way to visit the Lotus Temple of the Bahai. This depiction of a lotus flower was upright and closed, rather than splayed open like a water lily as we’d seen at the Hindu temple. This Bahai Temple of Worship was austere in its simplicity, seeming cold in comparison. It didn’t convey the warmth I’d felt in other Bahai temples—in Chicago or Panama City.

After another filling lunch at a government sanctioned restaurant, we went to the National Museum, amazed at the age and detail of the carvings. Coming back to the hotel, I laid down and slept for several hours, awoke, asked Justin if he wanted to go out to dinner, and promptly fell back to sleep only to awaken at 1pm. It’s a great time to update this blog rather than fight trying to go back to sleep, which is what I will attempt to do now.