Lotus Temple

The Lotus Temple is so far the youngest of the world's seven houses of worship of the Baha'i religion in the district Bahapur the Indian capital New Delhi. It was designed by the Iranian architect Fariborz Sahba, Canadian, who in 1976 was charged with the execution. The name derives from the shape of the building to resemble a lotus flower. The building was opened on 24 December 1986 since then won numerous architectural awards and was featured in countless magazines and newspapers. The religious building is one of the most famous of the Baha'i faith and was visited by over 50 million people, equivalent to about three million visitors per year. The building serves as the Mother Temple of the Indian subcontinent and is an outstanding example of modern architecture in India.

Devotions

Like all religious buildings of the Bahai Lotus Temple is open to the followers of all religions, as Baha'is believe that all believers can worship God in their sacred buildings. Thus, all Scriptures are recited in their own language and accompanied by choirs. However, no musical instruments or religious ceremonies are desired. The Baha'i writings do not allow the placement of images or statues and use of altars or pulpits within the building.

Architecture

The Houses of Worship are characterized by common features that are inter alia, in the writings of the Baha'i. Thus forms a nine-page circular shape floor plan, which is meant to symbolize the openness towards other religions. Although all Houses of Worship have a dome, this is not an essential component of the architecture.

Inspired by a lotus flower of the floor plan is surrounded by 27 freestanding petals made ​​of marble, which are placed in groups of three to nine pages. The central structure is 40 meters high and can accommodate up to 2,500 people space. The interior and the exterior facade decorated with white marble from Mount Penteli in Greece, which was also used for many ancient monuments and other religious buildings of the Baha'is. Together with the nine surrounding ponds and gardens comprises 26 acre site, which corresponds to 105,000 m² or 10.5 ha.

Most of the necessary for the purchase of the country the money was donated in 1953 by Ardishir Rustampur from Hyderabad, the blazes his life savings. A portion of the construction costs was saved and used for the construction of a greenhouse to find native plants and flowers that are suitable for gardens.