The Bahai Temple (Lotus Temple) Delhi

East of Nehru place, this temple is built in the shape of a lotus flower and is the last of seven Major Bahai's temples built around the world. Completed in 1986 it is set among the lush green landscaped gardens.  You approach this temple from a dirty street that masks the beauty of what awaits you inside.  Even from a distance, as you approach, the Lotus shape of the temple is in stark contrast to the flat landscape it sits in.

The structure is made up of pure white marble The architect Furiburz Sabha chose the lotus as the symbol common to Hinduism, Buddhism,Jainism and Islam. Adherents of any faith are free to visit the temple and pray or meditate.  Around the blooming petals there are nine pools of water, which light up, in natural light. It looks spectacular at dusk when it is flood lit.

As the structure is constructed of marble and the internal space is vast with high ceiling it means, internally, it is very peaceful, quiet and cool.  The guides, who give you a short talk before you enter the temple, ask you not to speak and not to take pictures.  This means that even though I was surrounded by people on my visit I found the place very peaceful and relaxing.  I couldn't resist sitting in quiet prayer for a while before passing out of the doors to the noisy exterior of the gardens once again.

To gain access to the building you have to remove all footwear and then queue patently to enter.  You are then given a briefing before allowing entry to the cavernous interior.  There is no apparent prescribed way the building should be used as there is no pulpit or alter area, that I could see, the chairs seemed to be arranged pointing towards a central area.  I wasn't there for a formal session so I can only report that I don't know how the services would be carried out.  The building has been very much designed with the hot summers of Delhi in mind.  The windows allow mainly reflected light into the interior of the structure which has more than enough light to function well.

The only negative points are that the guards seem a little bit over zealous for a religious venue they were blowing whistles and shouting that we should stick to certain paths, exits and doorways.  If you ignore that minor distraction the Temple provides the traveler opportunities galore for fabulous photos and even time, in the cool, to restore a weary soul.

Depending on your time I would recommend a visit to the on site visitors centre where you get an insight into the construction of the building and some of the background.  The visitors centre is air-conditioned and cool so you can take as long as you need here.  There are some mementos you can buy there but they were mainly just books and and stuff to do with the Bahai faith.  The gifts are sold by the pool areas and are not visible in photographs (thankfully).  I would also recommend coming at around sunset to see the pools lit up in the evening sky.