We all know that our country is a land of spirituality and a home for many temples. With our people going to places and spreading this spirit, our culture can be seen cherished in many western countries. Another example for people of India displaying our cultural grandeur is the Lord Swaminarayan Temple, situated at Robbinsville of New Jersey, USA. This monumental project has been taken up in 2009 by Bochasanwasi Akshar Purushottam Sansthan (BAPS). It finished its construction and has been open to public from January 2017.
This temple has been built at an expense of Rs.100 crore and is spread across 162 acres. Before this temple, the Sri Rangaswami temple in Srirangam, Tamilnadu which covers 155.92 acres was the biggest Hindu temple. BAPS dreamt of building this Aksharadham temple at Robbinsville and set up building this temple. Over 2,000 artisans have labored over various parts of the temple. Parts of this temple were made at Rajasthan and Italy and are exported after they are done. Artisans reportedly have taken the elements of both south and north Indian temples, while making the statues in and around the temple. A team of 5,000 master craftsmen worked on the construction, assembling and design in the US.
The stone layering ceremony for this temple was held in 2013 and the construction was completed in late 2016. The complex, which has four floors, has an exhibit dedicated to Indian history and culture, and a youth activity center. The temple has ornate pillars and panels depicting scenes from Ramayana and Mahabharatha and other ancient scriptures. The halls of the complex have full-size idols of important leaders of the sect. The Great Prayer Hall can accommodate almost 1,000 people. The size of the idol is also double the size of it in Aksharadham temple. This temple's peaceful surroundings and serene nature will surely take us into the deeper layers of spirituality.
