The Lotus Temple – representation of the of mankind- Humanity

Bahai Temple or the Lotus Temple is an elegant representation of the biggest religion of mankind- Humanity. It is one of the notable tourist attractions in Delhi, India. The Lotus Temple is the house of worship that follows the Bahai religion which advocates all people can visit this Temple irrespective of their religious diversity.

The Lotus Temple in Delhi is one of the seven centres that devote Bahai religion across the world. The rest of the centres are at Sydney, Panama City, Apia, Kampala, Frankfurt and Wilmette.? This temple is shaped like the petals of a lotus to symbolise love and immortality. The presence of nine ponds around the temple represent the leaves of the lotus flower and also influence the temperature.

This architectural spectacle was designed by the Iranian Architect Fariborz Sahba. He decided to build the temple in the shape of a half-open lotus to bring in peace, simplicity and elegance. The building draws its inspiration from the Expressionist architectural style. The construction began in 1979 and completed in 1986. The whole area of this architectural marvel is around 26 acres.

There are totally nine doors in the Lotus Temple, which are shaped like arches and opens up to a central hall that could accommodate around 2500 people. These nine arches are composed of several conical, plain and cylindrical surfaces, making the whole building into a breath-taking spectacle.

This great flower shaped temple does not have the characteristic central dome whereas all the other Bahai Houses of Worship have the architectural dome. Due to the complicated design of the temple, more than 10, 000 distinct sizes of marbles were used to construct the entire composition of Lotus Temple. Every effort has been made to make the temple energy efficient.

This Temple is one of the masterpieces of 20th-century and has received the following achievements.

• The most visited building in India with some 4.5 million visitors a year.
• The most visited religious building in the world- Guinness World Records, 2001.
• The most visited building in the world- 2001 CNN report.
• 6.50 postage Stamp featuring Bahai House of Worship, New Delhi, India.