Lotus temple, Delhi

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The Lotus Temple is the Bahai temple in Delhi, India. It is called the Lotus temple because of its lotus-like shape. It is one of the most popular tourist attractions of Delhi. It has a beautiful garden outside where tourists can relax. It was inaugurated in 1986. It is the main Bahai temple of the Indian subcontinent. It is one of the most heavily visited sites in the whole world with 4 million visitors every year. It welcomes visitors irrespective of which religion they belong to. A real beauty indeed. It is one of the most photographed buildings in the world.

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This temple is called the Bahai Temple and is most commonly known as the Lotus Temple. The unique lotus shaped structure houses the beautiful temple of the Bahai people; a religious sect from
Persia. Construction begin in April 1980 and it was finally opened in Dec. 1986. The petals are made of white concrete and are clad in white Greek marble panels on the outside. Entry is free and shoes have to be removed before entry to the temple and left at the shoe counters. No photos are allowed inside the temple. The temple is closed on Mondays and is open from 01 April - 30 Sep. from 9am-7pm and from 01 Oct. - 31 March from 9.30am-5.30pm. Prayer service times are at 10am, 12pm, 3pm and 5pm. There is also a visitors centre outside the temple which is free to enter, but you must obtain a pass from one of the staff outside the temple.

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"There is one God; mankind is one; the foundations of religion are one."

The Lotus Temple, recent architectural marvel of the Bahai faith, located in south Delhi on the way to Agra. Shaped like a half opened Lotus flower, this temple is made of marble, cement, dolomite and sand. It is open to all faiths. The lotus flower signifies purity and peace. The religion is meant for people from all races, religious backgrounds and culture from around the globe. It represents the Bahai faith, - an independent world religion.

It is really nice to pay a visit there. A wonderful building.

I don't believe in gods. But if you have to subscribe to any monotheistic religion, I would recommend the Bahai Faith (I think Miles Davis was a follower) or the Sikh religion. They put toleration and understanding as values before the notion of god.

If you are in Delhi and you like to meditate, you should go and spend a few moments at the Lotus Temple. It's a beautiful building and build in the 1980s. Volunteers direct you and I think the building is all based on donations and service. Obviously, there is a calm peacefulness about the building--that is it's purpose. The power of the building is that 10s of thousands visit this place in a day. They have recorded that 150,000 visited in one day, the most ever. Entrance is free. You can get a guided tour for a donation. If you want to learn about one of the most modern religions, you should take the guided tour. I have a few Bahai friends and they are all cool!

Lotus Temple is open from 9:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. during summer and from 9:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. during winter.

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The Baha'i House of Worship, popularly known as the Lotus Temple, is one of the most visited edifices in India. The Lotus Temple in New Delhi is the sole Bahai House of Worship in the whole continent of Asia apart from the six others in Panama, Kampala, Illinois, Frankfurt, Sydney and West Samoa. These seven Bahai Houses of Worship are all world-famous for their architectural beauty and nine-sided design representing the manifestation of God. The Bahai Faith was established in India in the mid 19th century and today India is the largest national contingent of Bahai's in the world with more than 2 million members.

The temple was built in 1986 and reminds me of the Sydney Opera House. You can visit inside where it was nice and cool. I sat down, like other people, on marble and wood benches arranged in a semi-circle towards the rear of the temple where there were 2 brass flower pots with large cut flowers nicely arranged in them. Nice and peaceful inside.

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The Bahai Temple - Completed in 1986, the Bahai temple is set amidst pools and gardens, and adherents of any faith are free to visit the temple and pray or meditate silently according to their own religion. The structure is in lotus shape so it often called the lotus temple. The view of the temple is very spectacular just before dusk when the temple is flood lit.
Close on Monday

In my opinion, the photo here is all you need to see of the Lotus Temple. It was made just a few years ago, and is made of concrete. As you get closer, there are a few interesting angles of the structure, but the interior is sterile and dull. I think this temple is beautiful from a distance, but looses its luster as you get closer.

The Lotus Temple is one of the newer buildings in Delhi that has a certain modern grace to it. (sorta like the Opera house in Sydney, maybe...)

And it also seems to be quite popular with the locals. (the place was swamped when we arrived...)

It is billed as a sort of non-denominational temple where anyone can come and worship...

The grounds are certainly attractive, but I kinda got that "Moonies at the airport, Do you want to buy a flower ???" feeling here... (no real reason for this, just a hunch....)