Known as the Lotus Temple and completed in 1986 the Bahá'í House of Worship in New Delhi, India must surely be one of the most beautiful buildings in the world. Inspired by the Lotus Flower the structure has become one of the most visited buildings in the world according to Yahoo Answers [where several sources are cited] and most other sources I could track down. In the end wherever it lies on the list of most visited buildings with over 4 million visitors a year it has certainly made ...
THE LOTUS TEMPLE
Lotus Temple, New Delhi, Delhi 110025, India
28°33'11.90"N 77°15'30.85"E
... its mark and deservedly so; the building is both stunning and inspired and must be quite something to see and experience in person.
The Lotus Temple was designed by architect Fariborz Sahba. The architect's website includes the following quote from Roger White, Forever In Bloom:
Architecturally the Lotus Temple follows principles outlined for the construction of Houses Of Worship first laid out by the son of the religion's founder. All are round with nine sides and contain no altars; images and statues are not displayed. The building's design is centered around 27 marble clad, concrete "petals" situated in three groups to form the nine sides. The Temple sits on a 26 acre site and is surrounded by nine ponds and landscaped gardens.
The Bahá'í Faith is a relatively young religion that was founded by Bahá'u'lláh [1817-1892] in 19th-century Persia. The central tenet of the religion is that humanity is one single race and that the time has come for its unification into a global society. Whether you subscribe to this religion or follow another faith or perhaps follow no faith at all you cannot argue the simplicity and value of the Bahá'í message; if every human was to adopt that belief most likely the world would be a more peaceful and better place in a hurry. Sadly as is so often the case with humanity this simple and peaceful message was met with ignorance and dismissal by the "authorities" and Bahá'u'lláh spent his final years in prison. The magnificent Lotus Temple seems very appropriate as a symbol and a center for his movement and its belief in the unity of humanity.
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