“The earth is but one country, and mankind its citizens.” ~Bahá’u’lláh
Narrative
The Lotus Temple is devoted to the Bahá’í Faith which was founded by Bahá’u’lláh. The Bahá’í Faith stresses on oneness of religion and humanity. It caters to people from all walks of life. The Lotus temple in Delhi was inaugurated for public visits in December 1986. The architect of the
ug rahā hai dar-o-dīvār se sabza ‘ġhālib’
ham bayābāñ meñ haiñ aur ghar meñ bahār aa.ī hai – Mirza ghalib
Dar Zaat, dooeyee na deed hoshiar Mao tu havad, baraaeye guftaar; Aadaad meaaney yak eeyaan beein Az yak benigar keh gashat bisseeyaar.
shauq se us ne banāyā maqbara ik shāndār
aur chhoḌā us ne ik aivān-e-ālī yādgār
Architecture
Built and developed by Fariborz Sabha over the course of ten years, the lotus temple is one of the most visited sites in the world. The appearance of the temple is that of a half opened lotus flower, having three tiers of petals: entrance leaves, outer leaves and inner leaves. These are made of thin concrete shells. The entrance leaves forms the 9 entrances to the structure and outer leaves that point inwards together form the outer hall. Everything in the temple complex appears 9 times. The lotus temple complex consists of the following: house of worship; the ancillary block containing the reception, library and administrative building and the last being the restroom block. The assembly area lies within lotus shaped superstructure while the basement is used for electrical and plumbing maintenance. Along with balustrades, bridges and stairs that intersperse the structure, there are nine pools that carry both an aesthetic and functional aspect: they not only represent the floating leaves of the lotus but also help to ventilate the structure.
References
a. http://www.bahaihouseofworship.in/