Lotus Temple
Introduction
The Bahá'í House of Worship in Delhi, India, popularly known as Lotus Temple, for its flower shape. The building was completed in 1986 and serves as a mother temple in the Indian subcontinent. It has won numerous architectural awards and has been the subject of hundreds of newspaper and magazine articles.[2].
On April 15, 2014, the "Bahá'í House of Worship in New Delhi" was inscribed on the Tentative List of India—a step prior to being declared a World Heritage Site—, in the category of cultural property (ref. no. 5921).[1].
Worship
Baha'i laws also stipulate that only the sacred scriptures of the Baha'i faith and those of any other religion can be read or sung there, and in any language. However, playing any instrument is not permitted while inside, nor can sermons or any other ceremony or ritualistic practice be performed.[3].
Structure
All Bahá'í houses of worship, including the Lotus Temple, share certain architectural elements, some of them prescribed by Bahá'í scriptures. `Abdu'l-Bahá, son of the Founder of the Bahá'í faith, Bahá'u'lláh, stipulated that an essential characteristic would be that it have a nine-sided circular shape.[4].
Inspired by the lotus flower, its design is made up of 27 marble-clad petals arranged in groups of three to form nine sides.[5] While all Bahá'í houses of worship currently in existence possess a dome, this is not considered an essential part of their architecture.[6] Bahá'í scriptures also state that there should be no images, photos or statues within the House of Worship, and that no pulpit or altar be used. (although readers can stand behind a portable pulpit).[3].
The nine doors of the Lotus Temple open into a central hall with capacity for 2,500 people. The central hall is just over 40 meters high,[7] and its surface is made of white marble. The white marble comes from the Pentelic Mountain in Greece, the same marble used to build many ancient monuments and many other Baha'i temples.[8] The House of Worship, along with the nine ponds and gardens around it, takes up 26 acres (105,000 m²; 10.5 Ha).
The place is in the village of Bahapur, in the National Capital of the Territory of Delhi. The architect was the Iranian Fariborz Sahba. In 1976 he was asked to design it. He later supervised construction. In the process, he also built a greenhouse to study which plants would be most appropriate for the site.[9] Most of the funds needed to purchase the land were donated by Ardishír Rustampúr of Hyderabad "Hyderabad (India)"), who offered his life savings for this purpose in 1953.[10].