 "Swaminarayan Akshardham: All details on largest Hindu temple outside India")
BAPS Swaminarayan Akshardham, the biggest Hindu temple outside India, opened on Sunday, October 8, in New Jersey. The temple is located in the Robbinsville city of New Jersey, and is expected to be the biggest modern-era Hindu temple outside India. The temple will be thrown open to the public from 18th October.
The temple is one of the many built by the religious and civic association named 'Bochasanwasi Shri Akshar Purushottam Swaminarayan Sanstha' (BAPS) within the Swaminarayan sect. The sect will celebrate its 50th year in North America one year from now, and manages over 1,200 temples and 3,850 centres globally.
What is Delhi’s Akshardham temple? What is its significance?
Akshardham Temple in the heart of India, New Delhi which is a wonder of architecture that unfurls the rich tradition of millennia and is a tribute to Lord Swaminarayan (1781- 1830).
The development of the great structure required approx 5 years and was introduced on 6 November, 2005. Today the imposing design is standing on the banks of the Yamuna River and draws in a huge number of tourists and pilgrims across the world.
Essentially, the term 'Akshardham' has been derived from two words 'Akshar' which implies eternal and 'Dham' means abode, which together means 'abode of the divine or the eternal'. After entering the temple, one can see the mesmerising image of 11 feet high plated Bhagwan Swaminarayan. Visitors can feel every element of Akshardham echo with spirituality, claims the organisation, that makes each soul feel divine.
The US's Akshardham is 3rd after in Delhi & Gujarat
The US temple will be the third Akshardham — the other two being in Delhi and Gujarat, where BAPS is headquartered in India. The former is the biggest Hindu complex in the world.
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According to a PTI report, the 183-acre BAPS Swaminarayan Akshardham, named for its founding Hindu spiritual organisation, rivals significant Hindu temples on the subcontinent. The temple was made by 12,500 workers who came from everywhere in the world and started its construction in 2011.
Making of the Akshardham temple in New Jersey
According to the Associated Press (AP), this monumental accomplishment needed around 4.7 million hours of work from talented craftsmans and committed volunteers to hand-carve around 2 million cubic feet of stone.
Four different kinds of marble from Italy and limestone from Bulgaria were sent on a journey covering more than 8,000 miles to arrive at New Jersey.
These materials were then joined carefully, looking like an epic jigsaw puzzle, bringing about what is presently acclaimed as the biggest Hindu temple developed outside India in the modern era. The temple is established on a sprawling 126-acre of land property in Robbinsville.
Craftsmanship in the Akshardham temple in New Jersey
To build the temple, 1.9 million cubic feet of stone was utilized and it was brought from more than 29 unique sites all over the planet including "granite from India, sandstone from Rajasthan, teakwood from Myanmar, marble from Greece, Turkey and Italy and limestone from Bulgaria and Turkey".
There are 10,000 sculptures in the temple and components from Indian architecture and culture have been utilized to develop the sanctuary.
Controversy during construction of the New Jersey’s Akshardham
Built by 12,500 workers globally, the construction of the Akshardham temple began in 2011. However, it came in the news only after 10 years when a group of immigrant workers sued the global association, Bochasanwasi Shri Akshar Purushottam Swaminarayan Sanstha, or BAPS. The lawsuit alleged "shocking" conditions, including forced labour, extra work hours, inhospitable work environments and caste discrimination.
The initial complaint mentions, “For these long and difficult hours of work, the workers were paid an astonishing $450 per month, and even less when Defendants took illegal deductions. Their hourly pay rate came to approximately $1.20 per hour." Although, a BAPS spokesperson stated, there's a distinction among employment and religious volunteer service, called as seva.
Large numbers of the manual workers associated with the temple’s development came to New Jersey from India on religious visas that were Dalits, meaning they fell into historically marginalized groups in South Asia's caste system. The lawsuit alleges temple leadership supports caste hierarchy at work.
However, the lawsuit has now been put on hold, with 12 of the original 21 plaintiffs shifting to dismiss their cases, and BAPS Akshardham representatives guarantee that the temple will be a spot for individuals of all castes and creeds to assemble in community.
PM Modi alongside Actor Akshay Kumar message on the grand inauguration of the Akshardham temple in New Jersey
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi congratulated BAPS Swaminarayan Akshardham in a letter by saying that, "It is an occasion of profound spiritual significance for the vast legion of devotees worldwide."
Apart from this, Bollywood actor Akshay Kumar also tweeted, “Congratulations on the grand opening of Akshardham in New Jersey! It’s a moment of pride to see it become the largest Hindu temple in America and second largest in the world. I’ve had the pleasure of meeting and seeing the vision of Guru Mahant Swami Maharaj into making this happen. Absolutely brilliant!”