Lotus Temple:A Master Piece

Lotus Temple

All Bahai Houses of Worship, including the Lotus Temple in Delhi , share certain architectural elements, some of which are specified by Bahai scripture. Abdu'l-Baha , 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.

 While all current Bahai Houses of Worship have a dome, Lotus Temple in Delhi is not regarded as an essential part of their architecture. Bahai 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).

Model of the Lotus temple in Delhi  the information centre 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. The nine doors of the Lotus Temple in Delhi open onto a central hall slightly more than 40 meters tall that is capable of holding up to 2,500 people.

The surface of the House of reverence is made of white marble from Penteli mountain in Greece, the very same from which many ancient monuments and other Bahai Houses of Worship are built. Along with its nine surrounding ponds and the gardens, the Lotus Temple in Delhi property comprises 26 acres (105,000 m²; 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, namedFariborz Sahba.

He was approached in 1976 to design it and later oversaw its construction. The structural design of Lotus Tample was undertaken by the UK firm Flint and Neill. The major part of the funds needed to buy this land was donated by Ardishír Rustampur of Hyderabad, Sindh, who gave his entire life savings for this purpose in 1953.

Since its inauguration to public worship in December 1986,In Lotus Temple, Bahai House of Worship Lotus Temple in Delhi has, as of late 2002, attracted more than 50 million visitors, making it one of the most visited buildings in the world. 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 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. In Sikkim a permanent replica is of the Hindu Legship Mandir, dedicated to Shiva.

All Bahai Houses of Worship, including the Lotus Temple in Delhi , share certain architectural elements, some of which are specified by Bahai scripture. Abdu'l-Baha 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. While all current Bahai Houses of Worship have a dome, this is not regarded as an essential part of their architecture.

Bahai 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).

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.

The nine doors of the Lotus Temple open onto a central hall slightly more than 40 meters tall, 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 Bahai Houses of Worship are built. Along with its nine surrounding ponds and the gardens, the LotusTemple in Delhi property comprises 26 acres (105,000 m²; 10.5 ha).

Since its inauguration to public worship in December 1986, In Lotus Temple , Bahai 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. 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 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 temple has been made as a pandal, a temporary structure set up to venerate the goddess Durga.