US Diary (06-Nov-2023)
As the weather forecast warned for a cold evening, we were a bit hesitant to go out. Eventually, we decided to visit and worship in the BAPS Swamy Narayan temple, which has gained fame and name as "Akshardham" all around the world by now.
It took more than an hour to reach the temple located in Robbinsville, New Jersey. When we were nearing the temple, we were astounded to see that all roads leading to the holy shrine were crowded with snail pacing different makes of cars. We finally managed to reach the vast, free, parking lot of the temple. Many a security staff were there directing, guiding and helping all along the road and parking areas. On the way, before entering the car park, Sree made sure that wheelchair facility is available at the temple. All the parking lots close to the temple were filled by the time we reached. There was quite a bit of distance to walk from the parking lot to the temple and inside the temple premises. Sree and Ajay decided to get a wheelchair from the temple while Preetha steered the wheel, trying to find a suitable parking spot. In a glance, the parking area seemed to be full, with probably more than 500 vehicles. Preetha had to go several rounds before she managed to find and park the car in a suitable lot which was not far away from the temple. Sree then took me in the wheelchair, and we all proceeded to the temple.
At first, we entered a beautiful garden surrounded by small mandaps with arched pillars and beautiful carvings. Stones with writings from Nepali sutras stood in between the beautiful bushes of flowers. All those inscriptions were intended for the good of mankind. I could see people from all walks of life, with diverse culture, nationality and ethnicity among the visitors. There in the center stood the towering statue of Swamy Narayan Maharaj (43 meters high) in the form of a young man undertaking deep penance standing on one leg, wearing only a short dhothi in the style of a 'parithyagi' (brahmachari) with his hair tied as a small knot and placed on top of his head.
Certain details that I could gather from different sources about Bhagvan Swamy Narayan and the Sampradaya (a monastic order within a specific guru lineage/religious system) based on spirituality that he started with his followers is shared below.
BAPS stands for Bochasanwasi Akshar Purushottam Swami Narayan Sanstha, a spiritual organization rooted in Indian religion of Hinduism. Swaminarayan sampradaya started in the eighteenth century, based on the teachings of Swami Narayan who was born on the 3rd of April in the year 1781. His life span on earth was from 1781 to 1830. However, the BAPS organization was established only in the year 1907. It was founded by Shastriji Maharaj who was a devotee of Swami Narayan. Bhagwan Swami Narayan referred the Supreme God as Poorna Purushotham Narayana and devotees believed and worshipped Swamy Narayan as the same God. They worship him as God and his choicest devotee Gunatithananda Swamy as Akshar. His Holiness Mahanth Swamy Maharaj is the sixth and present spiritual leader of BAPS. He took charge in 2016.
Swamy Narayan was born on a Ramanavami day at Chhapaiya, Dharmadesh, near Ayodhya which is in the state of Uttar Pradesh in India. His father's name was Hariprasad Pande (Dharma Dev) and his mother's name was Premavathy Pande (Bhakthi Matha, Murthi Devi) The parents gave him the name "Ghanshyam Pande". He had two brothers. Their names were Rama Prathap Pande and Icharam Pande. Ghanshyam mastered the scriptures including the Vedas, Upanishads, puranas, Ramayana and Mahabharatha by the age of seven. His parents moved to the nearby place of Ayodhya from Dharmadesh after a few years from where his parents passed away. He left home in 1792 at the age of eleven, after his parents' death and started walking seeking answers for his own questions. The questions that he asked himself were - what is Jeeva, Iswara, Maya, Brahman and Parabrahman (five eternal realities)? It is said that he stood on one leg in penance continuously without any food or water for ten or more days at the Himalayas. He was known as Neelkanth Varni instead of Ghanshyam throughout his journey all over India and some parts of Nepal seeking an Ashram or hermitage. He practiced Vedanta, Sankhya, Yoga and Panchayathra during this journey. Neelkanth Varni also mastered Ashtanga yoga in nine months under the guidance of Gopal yogi. It is said that he met king Rana Bahadur Shah of Nepal who was suffering from stomach illness and cured his ailments. The Raja was so happy and rejuvenated that he released all the ascetics he had imprisoned. Neelkanth Varni visited the Puri Jagannath, Bhadrinath, Rameswaram, Nasik, Dwaraka and Pandher Puri temples and concluded his journey at Loj, a village in Junagadh district in Gujarath, India where he met Mukthanand Swamy an ardent disciple of his guru Ramanand swamy. The pilgrimage took more than seven years before it was concluded. Neelkanth Varni received sannyasa initiation from Ramanand Swami and was then known as Sahajanand swamy. He summarised the essence of Vedas and all the Shastra in simple words in his books. He opened charity homes for the poor, organised food, water and aid for the people during the time of drought, tried to eradicate sati and infanticide from the society, encouraged promotion of female education, stopped the sacrifice of animals in yagnas, allowed members of all castes and religions to the Swaminarayan sampradaya etc. He appointed office bearers from all castes and religions and ate food with them which was against the prevailing rule of communities at that time (18th century). He taught his bhaktas (devotees) that all are equal in the eyes of the Almighty and are eligible to attain Moksha (emancipation or liberation). As he had good relationships with all, including the British Authorities, they allotted him land in Ahmadabad and there he opened a Mandir (temple or dwelling place, the Sanskrit word's literal meaning is "where the inner self dwells"). He was a great disciple of Krishna Bhagwan and trusted that incarnation of Vishnu is the one and only truth; that is "the Almighty". In the legend, it is said that the great saint "Durvasav" cursed Narayana of Nara-Narayana pair and that resulted in the incarnation of Narayana as Krishna on this earth. Followers of Swamy Narayan took him as the same incarnation and believed that he is the one and only God. The followers are bound to obey five vows. They shouldn't use alcohol or addictive drugs and should keep away from adultery, meat, impurity of mind and body.
In the BAPS temple, we saw devotees worshipping and singing Bhajans in front of the very big idol of Bhagavan Swamy Narayan. Though the idols of Radha Krishna, Shiv Parvathy, Ram Seetha, Ganapati and carvings of great sages, singers, dancers, musicians playing different musical instruments etc. were seen all around the walls, the prominent big idol of Swamy Narayan was special with its golden huge figure in the sitting position, blessing bhakthas with a calm face majestically. Equally notable are the other idols and carving which are so beautiful and attractive. All the pillars and the entire walls and ceiling inside the temple marveled with the remarkable architectural skills. The Indian architects also can be proud of their architectural splendor having constructed the glorious Akshardham temple in the US, New Jersey, true to its name "Akshar" which means 'never perishable' and "dham" which means 'the holy abode of God'.
Akshardham houses the largest elliptical dome of traditional stone architecture ever constructed and it is said to last a thousand years. The Brahma Kund (traditional Indian stepwell) contains water from over 300 bodies of water from around the world, including the holy rivers of India and all 50 states of the US.
The construction of Akshardham temple in the US commenced in the year 2011. The total extend of Akshardham land is about 185 acres. It is located 60 miles south of Town square, New York and 180 miles north of Washington DC. In 2014, a component Akshardham mandir was opened to public and it took 12 years to complete the construction of the whole complex. The main temple (Sanctum Sanctorum/Garbha Griha) was inaugurated on 8th October 2023. This is the second largest Hindu temple in the world. It is 255 feet long, 345 feet wide and 191 feet high. (Note: The largest Hindu temple in the world is the Angkor Wat, originally constructed in the 12th century in Krong Siem Reap, Cambodia dedicated to Lord Vishnu by King Suryavarman II.) This second largest temple located in the US was designed by a group of BAPS swamy's and architects of India. 35000 individually carved pieces of Carrara marble, Indian pink sand stones,122 hand carved pillars, two intricately carved domes and 6600 hand crafted motifs and images are used in the construction of this temple. Stones were sourced from various regions of Europe (4 varieties of marble from Italy and limestone from Bulgaria) and shipped to India where the skillful intricate craftsmanship (hand carving by artisans) under the instructions of many architects were carried out. These works were done mostly in Rajasthan, India. The carefully marked and numbered pieces for easy assembling were shipped to US. Under the leadership of artisans from India, the assembling work was done with at most care. About 12000 volunteers from various parts of US and India contributed their sincere efforts in the construction of this great temple. This temple is not only a temple to worship, but a wonderful creation of great architecture to marvel for generations to come. Carvings on pillars, walls and on every inch of ceilings are wonderful.
From the garden, we proceeded to the spacious front yard of the temple which was crowded with people. In front of the main temple is the large water body (Brahma Kund/stepwell) representing the Triveni i.e. the famous rivers of Ganga, Yamuna, Saraswathy. Idols of Shiva with Ganga on his head and other idols can be seen on corners of the ponds. The facade of the temple entrance itself was worth enjoying for minutes together. We took photos in front of the temple which had its tall tower with glittering dome and flag and then joined the long queue to enter the big welcome hall where we joined another queue to enter the theater. The walls of the welcome hall were decorated with beautiful rows of diya's (small oil lamp made out of clay, native to the Indian subcontinent) with electric lit wicks and designed square tiles. There were two mini theaters, and many were waiting to see the eight-minute show. The show was a short summary of Swamy Narayan's journey to find the ultimate truth. It was really informative. After the show, we came out and entered the main hall. Elevator facilities were provided for the use of those who were in wheelchairs and for their helpers only. Others can climb the staircase. In the main hall, where the idols stood amidst the splendid architecture, we spent about 40 minutes. One can spend more time as there is enough and more to immerse and admire. Photo and videography are not allowed. Inside the temple, all are expected to observe silence and discipline and I was happy that the visitors were strictly following this rule. Following darshan, one exits through the cafeteria and a shop selling books and other curios related to Akshardham. Altogether a visit requires a minimum of two to three hours to see the whole attraction.
Ramnavami day is celebrated as Swamy Narayan Jayanthi by BAPS. The New Jersey Akshardham temple is open every day of the week except on Tuesdays.
At this time, I am reminded of the great son of India, Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam who is no more with us. He had said, "For great men, religion is a way of making friends; small people make religion a fighting tool". Dr. Kalam's glory and excellence as an aerospace scientist and statesman still prevails in the minds of Indians.
Dr. Kalam was born in Rameswaram. His father was an Imam. As a child, he used to stay by the side of his father many evenings while his father had discussions on issues concerning the island Rameswar, with his friends, the priest of the Ramnath swamy temple and a church priest. Kalam lived the life of a true muslim. He had respect and great knowledge of other religions too. He learnt Sanskrit, read the Bhagavath Geetha, played Veena, listened to Carnatic devotional songs every day and wrote poetry in Tamil. We know that he led a simple life and was a great scholar. This past 11th President of India has written many books. He considered the late H.H. Pramukh Swamy of BAPS as his guru after visiting him a few times. Kalam was moved by H.H. Pramukh Swamiji's aptitude towards all including the terrorists after the terrorist attack on the BAPS Akshardham, Gandhinagar complex, Gujarat in September 2002. Following the attack, H.H. Swamiji prayed for everyone without any discrimination, saying all human beings are sacred. Kalam wrote that he was moved by Pramukh Swamiji's equanimity and compassion which was one of the motivations that prompted him to write his book on his spiritual experiences with Pramukh Swamy, titled "Transcendence". He always worked to bring about unity of minds among the different traditions of India. Pranam to Kalam sahib.
Altogether, our journey to Akshardham temple was joyful especially with Ajay joining and making it more memorable. We reached home satisfied before five thirty in the evening.
Comments
Post a Comment