Delhi Sightseeing Day 2

Baha’i Lotus Temple

Our first stop on our second day of Delhi Sightseeing was the Baha’I House of Worship.   I know only a little bit about the Baha’I faith through our friend Salva, but this was a great opportunity to learn more.  The Bahai faith is a new, independent world religion whose purpose is to unite all the races and peoples of the world in one universal cause and in one common faith.  The members of the faith follow Bahaullah, who they believe is the promised one.  The faith is based on the notion of peace and understanding and moving towards a future when peace and harmony will be established on earth and mandkind will live in prosperity… great ideals in my opinion!

This Lotus temple was built in 1986 and covers 26.6 acres of land in Delhi.  It is comprised of 27 petals, 9 pools and can accommodate 1300 people.  When we arrived at the temple, we were asked to take our shoes off and then were given a brief introduction into the Baha’i faith. 

One of the aspects that I gravitated towards in this, was the humanitarian and social outreach values of the faith.  The Baha’i principles are as follows:

1.       The Oneness of Mankind

2.       Independent Investigation of Truth

3.       The Common Foundation of all Religions

4.       The Essential Harmony of Science and Religion

5.       Equality of Men and Women

6.       Elimination of Prejudice of all Kinds

7.       Universal Compulsory Education

8.       Universal Peace

Humayun Tomb

Following the Lotus Temple, we went to the Humayun Tomb.  Emperor Humayun lived from 1508-1556 and ordered the construction of Dinpanah (the refuge of the faithful), which is now referred to as Delhi.  The areas surrounding the tomb in the complex were absolutely stunning and very serene.  The gardens and landscapes were so symmetrical, it reminded me of photos I’ve seen of the Taj Mahal. 

We wandered around for quite some time and escaped the craziness of Delhi traffic and chaos.  It was the perfect mix of architecture and beautiful landscapes.

Urgrasen Ki Baoli

Our tourguide told us that he would take us to see a ‘special surprise’ that isn’t often seen by other tourists.  We soon arrived to Urgrasen Ki Baoli.  This is a stairwell built as an underground structure for the storage of water mainly constructed to handle the fluctuations in seasons and water availability.  The exact date of the construction wasn’t known but our tour guide kept informing us that it was very, very old. 

Roj and I hiked down to the bottom, but the closer we reached, the more it smelled of mold and mildew so we called it quits a few steps before the bottom of the structure.  Nevertheless, it was awe inspiring to see the hand cut stone and beautiful arch work, created so many years ago. 

For lunch, we went to a local restaurant for some Thalis and were greeted by an employee at the door who gave us all tilakas on our forehead to signify a special occasion.  It’s a fragrant paste made out of sandalwood, usually done as a welcome or expression of honour as people arrive.

Swaminarayan Akshardham

Following lunch, and our last stop of the day, we went to Swaminarayan Akshardham, which is a beautiful Hindu temple and complex, set in 100 acres in Delhi.  It was opened in 2005 and more than 300,000,000 volunteer hours went into making the complex. 

We were not allowed to take any photos inside the complex, but I’ll post some from online to highlight the level of intricacies, opulence and magnitude of the complex… such a beautiful place (even if it’s only 13 years old).