The Lotus Temple, located in New Delhi, India, is a Baháʼí House of Worship that was dedicated in December 1986. Notable for its lotus like shape, it has become a prominent attraction in the city. Like all Bahá’í Houses of Worship, the Lotus Temple …
The Lotus Temple, located in New Delhi, India, is a Baháʼí House of Worship that was dedicated in December 1986. Notable for its lotus like shape, it has become a prominent attraction in the city. Like all Bahá’í Houses of Worship, the Lotus Temple is open to all, regardless of religion or any other qualification. The building is composed of 27 free-standing marble-clad "petals" arranged in clusters of three to form nine sides, with nine doors opening onto a central hall with a height of slightly over 34 meters and a capacity of 1,300 people.
The architect of the Lotus Temple was an Iranian, Fariborz Sahba. He was approached in 1976 to design the Lotus Temple and later oversaw its construction. The temple was constructed over the course of 18 months and at a cost of $10.56 million. The major part of the funds needed to buy this land was donated by Ardishír Rustampúr of Hyderabad, Sindh (Pakistan), whose will stipulated that his entire life savings would go towards the building of the temple.
Rúhíyyih Khánum laid the foundation stone for the Lotus Temple on 19 October 1977 and dedicated the temple on 24 December 1986. The temple was opened to the public on 1 January 1987 and more than 10,000 people visited that day.
The Baháʼí Faith teaches that a Baháʼí House of Worship should be a space for people of all religions to gather, reflect, and worship. Anyone may enter the Lotus Temple irrespective of religious background, gender, or other distinctions, as is the case with all Baháʼí Houses of Worship.
The temple's shape has symbolic and inter-religious significance because the lotus is often associated with purity, sacredness, spirituality, and knowledge. It has a spiritual significance in India.
The surface of the House of Worship is made of white marble from Penteli mountain in Greece, the same marble used in the construction of many ancient monuments (including the Parthenon).
By late 2001, The Lotus Temple had attracted more than 70 million visitors. Th..
