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Coordinates: 28.553325°N 77.258600°E

Lotus Temple
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Lotus Temple, located in New Delhi, India, is a Bahá'í

House of Worship completed in 1986. Notable for its Lotus Temple
flowerlike shape, it serves as the Mother Temple of the Indian Bahá'í House of Worship
subcontinent and has become a prominent attraction in the
city. The Lotus Temple has won numerous architectural
awards and been featured in hundreds of newspaper and
magazine articles.[1]

Contents Lotus Temple, illuminated after dark

1 Worship General information

2 Structure Type House of Worship
3 Tourism
Architectural Expressionist
4 Distinctions
4.1 Awards style
4.2 Publications Location New Delhi, India
4.2.1 Articles
Completed 13 November 1986
4.2.2 Books
4.2.3 Stamps Opening 24 December 1986
4.2.4 Music Height 34.27m
4.3 Most visitors
4.4 Notable visitors Technical details
5 See also Structural Concrete frame and precast
6 Notes system concrete ribbed roof
7 External links
Diameter 70m
Design and construction
Architect Fariborz Sahba
Worship
Structural Flint & Neill
Like all other Bahá'í Houses of Worship, the Lotus Temple is engineer
open to all regardless of religion, or any other distinction, as Other information
emphasized in Bahá'í texts. The Bahá'í laws emphasize that
the spirit of the House of Worship be that it is a gathering Seating capacity 1,300
place where people of all religions may worship God without
denominational restrictions.[2] The Bahá'í laws also stipulate that only the holy scriptures of the Bahá'í Faith and
other religions can be read or chanted inside in any language; while readings and prayers can be set to music by
choirs, no musical instruments can be played inside. Furthermore no sermons can be delivered, and there can be
no ritualistic ceremonies practiced.[2]

Structure
All Bahá'í Houses of Worship, including the Lotus Temple, share

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certain architectural elements, some of which are specified by

Bahá'í scripture. `Abdu'l-Bahá, 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.[3] While all current
Bahá'í Houses of Worship have a dome, this is not regarded as an
essential part of their architecture.[4] Bahá'í 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).[2] Visitors approaching the Lotus Temple
Bahá'í House of Worship
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.[5] The nine doors of
Model of the temple at the information the Lotus Temple open onto
centre a central hall slightly more
than 40 meters tall[6] that is
Interior view
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 Bahá'í Houses of Worship are
built.[7] Along with its nine surrounding ponds and the gardens, the
Lotus Temple 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, named Fariborz Sahba. He was approached in 1976 to
design it and later oversaw its construction. The structural design
was undertaken by the UK firm Flint and Neill. The major part of
the funds needed to buy this land was donated by Ardishír
Rustampúr of Hyderabad, who gave his entire life savings for this
purpose in 1953.[8] A portion of construction budget was saved and Interior view of the symbol of the Greatest
used to build a greenhouse to study indigenous plants and flowers Name, set at the top of the temple
that would be appropriate for use on the site.[9]

Tourism
Since its inauguration to public worship in December 1986, the
Bahá'í 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.[10] 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

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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.[11] In
Sikkim a permanent replica is of the Hindu Legship Mandir,
dedicated to Shiva.[12]

Distinctions Lotus Temple at sunset

The Temple has received wide range

of attention in professional
architectural, fine art, religious,
governmental, and other venues.

Awards
1987, the architect of the Bahá'í
House of Worship, Mr. Fariborz
Sahba, was presented the award for View of the Bahá'í House of Worship at
excellence in religious art and
night
One of the nine ponds architecture by the UK-based
surrounding the Lotus
Institution of Structural Engineers
for producing a building "so emulating the beauty of a flower and so striking in
Temple
its visual impact".[13]
1987, the Interfaith Forum on Religion, Art and Architecture, Affiliate of the
American Institute of Architects, Washington, D.C., gave their First Honour award for "Excellence in
Religious Art and Architecture" 1987 to Mr. F. Sahba for the design of the Bahá'í House of Worship near
New Delhi.[1]
1988, the Illuminating Engineering Society of North America conferred the Paul Waterbury Outdoor
Lighting Design Award - Special Citation for Exterior Lighting[1]
1989, the Temple received an award from the Maharashtra-India Chapter of the American Concrete
Institute for "excellence in a concrete structure".[1]
1994 edition of Encyclopaedia Britannica, in its 'Architecture' section gives recognition to the Temple as
an outstanding achievement of the time.[1]
2000, Architectural Society of China as one of 100 canonical works of the 20th century in the recently
published "World Architecture 1900-2000: A Critical Mosaic, Volume Eight, South Asia".[14]
2000, GlobArt Academy, based in Vienna, Austria, presented its "GlobArt Academy 2000" award to the
architect of the Lotus Temple, Fariborz Sahba, for "the magnitude of the service of [this] Taj Mahal of the
20th century in promoting the unity and harmony of people of all nations, religions and social strata, to an
extent unsurpassed by any other architectural monument worldwide."[14]

Publications

Articles

As of 2003, it had been featured in television programmes in India,

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Russia, and China. The Baha'i World Centre Library has archived
more than 500 publications which have carried information on the
Temple in the form of articles, interviews with the Architect and
write-ups extolling the structure.[1]

In France, the magazine "Actualite des Religions" published a

four-page article on the Lotus Temple in the fall of 2000 in a
special edition called "Les religions et leurs chef-d'œuvres"
(Religions and Their Masterpieces).[15][1]
Guinness World Records 2001
Architecture (magazine) September 1987
Lighting Design+Application Vol 19, No. 6, Illuminating Gardens at the Bahá'í House of Worship
Engineering Society of North America "Taj Mahal of the
Twentieth Century"
Wallpaper* October 2002
Progressive Architecture, February[1] and again December
1987
World Architecture: A Critical Mosaic 1900-2000, Vol 8, by
Kenneth Frampton, Springer-Verlog Wien publishers, New
York - "A power icon of great beauty ... an import symbol of
the city."
Faith & Form - Journal of the IFRAA affiliate of the
American Institute of Architects, Vol XXI "an extraordinary Surrounding area
feat of design, construction and appropriateness of
expressions"
Structural Engineer, UK (annual) December 1987
Encyclopaedia Iranica 1989

Books

Forever in Bloom: The Lotus of Bahapur, Photographs by

Raghu Rai, text by Roger White, Time Books International,
1992
The Dawning Place of the Remembrance of God, Thomas
Press, 2002 Information centre at the Bahá'í House of
Worship
Stamps

6.50 postage Stamp featuring Baha'i House of Worship, New

Delhi, India[16]

Music

Temple Dedication service (1986).[17]

Jewel in the Lotus (album) produced in 1987 by the
keyboardist Jack Lenz for Don't Blink Music, Inc., in Ontario,
Canada with songs or voices by Seals & Crofts, Layli Ericks, Some of the displays at the entrance of the
and others.[18] information centre

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Most visitors

"The most visited building in the world, according to a CNN report" [19]
"The most visited building in India, surpassing even the Taj Mahal with some 4.5 million visitors a
year."[20]
"The most visited religious building in the world" Guinness World Records, 2001

Notable visitors

Pandit Ravi Shankar sitar maestro

Ambassadors of Tanzania, Hungary, Panama
Officers of Government (Ministers, Premiers) from Bermuda, Hungary, India, Ivory Coast, Nepal,
USSR/Russia, Romania, Singapore, Tajikstan, Yemen, Yugoslavia, Zambia
Members of the Supreme Court of India
Prince Niranjan Shah, of Nepal
Dr. Uton Muchtar Rafei, Regional Director, World Health Organization
The President of Iceland, Ólafur Ragnar Grímsson was the first Head of State on an official state visit[21]
First Lady of the Slovak Republic, Silvia Gasparovicova
Sathya Sai Baba in April 2010[22]
1998 article with short list of notable visitors[23]
2003 list of notable visitors [1]
2004 addition [24]

See also
Bahá'í Faith in India
Sydney Opera House - a modern structure with a similar design

Notes
1. ^ a b c d e f g h i Bahá'í Houses of Worship, India
(http://www.uga.edu/bahai/india.html) The Lotus of
Bahapur
2. ^ a b c Rafati, V.; Sahba, F. (1989). "Bahai temples".
Encyclopædia Iranica.
3. ^ `Abdu'l-Bahá (1982) [1912]. The Promulgation of
Universal Peace (http://reference.bahai.org/en/t/ab
/PUP/pup-30.html#pg71) (Hardcover ed.). Wilmette,
Illinois, USA: Bahá'í Publishing Trust. p. 71.
ISBN 0-87743-172-8.
4. ^ Shoghi Effendi to an individual believer, Lights of
Divine Guidance (volume 1), pg 311
(http://reference.bahai.org/en/t/se
/LDG1/ldg1-156.html#pg229)
5. ^ Architecture of the Bahá'í House of Worship
(http://www.bahaihouseofworship.in/architecture)
6. ^ "Bahá'í Houses of Worship" (http://info.bahai.org
/article-1-6-0-7.html). Bahá'í International
Community. 2006. Retrieved 2008-03-09.
7. ^ "Penteli marbles for Bahai temples"
(http://www.dionyssomarble.gr/Projects.aspx).
Dionyssos Marbles. 2010.
8. ^ Faizi, Gloria (1993). Stories about Bahá'í Funds.
New Delhi, India: Bahá'í Publishing Trust.
ISBN 81-85091-76-5.
9. ^ "["Gardens of Worship"
(http://www.recreatingeden.com/index.php?pid=8&
season=03&episode=30%7C)]". ["Recreating Eden"
(http://www.recreatingeden.com/%7C)]. Season 03.
Episode 30. 2006.
10. ^ Baha'i Community of Canada
(http://www.ca.bahai.org/main.cfm?sid=79)
11. ^ Chakraborty, Debarati. "Newsline 28 September
2006: Here's Delhi's Lotus Temple for you at Singhi
Park!" (http://bahaisonline.net
/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&
id=637&Itemid=8). Retrieved 2007-05-29.

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12. ^ Satellite image (http://wikimapia.org 19. ^ http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0107/14

/#lat=27.277637&lon=88.2761014&z=18&l=0&
m=b&v=8) in Wikimapia.
13. ^ An Architectural Marvel (http://www.bahai.in
/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&
id=80&Itemid=56) Published in The Tribune,
Chandigarh, by Anil Sarwal.
14. ^ a b Baha'i Temple in India continues to receive
awards and recognitions (http://news.bahai.org
/story/89) New Delhi, 5 December 2000 (BWNS)
15. ^ Architect's Website
(http://www.sahbaarchitect.com
/)(enter->publications)
16. ^ Baha'i Stamps (http://bahai-library.com/stamps
/BahaiStamps.htm)
17. ^ Baha'i Prayers and Songs (http://www.archive.org
/details/BahaiPrayersAndSongs)
18. ^ Jewel in the Lotus (http://www.sealsandcrofts.com
/lyricsj.html)
/i_hs.00.html
20. ^ Commemorations in Chicago highlight the immense
impact of House of Worship
(http://www.onecountry.org
/e151/e15104as_Temple_50th_story.htm)
OneCountry, Volume 15, Issue 1 / April–June 2003
21. ^ President of Iceland visits Baha'i Temple in New
Delhi (http://bahai-library.com/newspapers
/2000/111400-2.html)
22. ^ Sri Sathya Sai Baba's trip to Delhi and Shimla
2010 (http://www.saibabaofindia.com/day-4-12-april-
2010-sri_sathya_sai_babas_trip_to_new_delhi.htm)
23. ^ An Architectural Marvel (http://www.bahai.in
/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&
id=80&Itemid=56) by Prof. Anil Sarwal, First
published in The Tribune, Chandigarh
24. ^ Distinguished visitors praise Baha'i Temple
(http://www.uga.edu/bahai/2005/050112.html)

External links
Official Website (http://www.bahaihouseofworship.in/)
Lotus Temple - thedivineindia.com (http://www.thedivineindia.com/lotus-temple/5777/)
Delhi Gallery : Lotus Temple (http://www.delhiwonders.com/Delhi-gallery-lotus-temple)

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Categories: Bahá'í institutions Buildings and structures in Delhi Religious buildings completed in 1986
Religion in Delhi Bahá'í Faith in India Temples in India Places of worship in Delhi

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