BAPS Akshardham: A Symbol of Hindu Architectural Magnificence

Spiritual Inspiration

Dedicated to Bhagwan Swaminarayan, a revered 19th-century Hindu spiritual leader, the temple embodies principles of peace, devotion, and harmony.

Brief History

The first ever BAPS mandir was in Flushing, New York inogeratted by Pramukh Swami Maharaj on August 4th in 1974. It was Yogiji Maharaj's wish that the religion only in India at the time would spread worldwide.

Pramukh Swami Maharaj was Bhagwan Swaminarayan's fifth spiritual successor. He led by example; his humility, faith in Bhagwan Swaminarayan, and compassion inspired millions of devotees and over 1000 sadhus to maintain moral and spiritual lifestyles. His was the simple life of a celibate, ignoring fame and recognition.

Yogiji Maharaj, the fourth spiritual successor of Bhagwan Swaminarayan, was known for his patient and playful nature. He carried the philosophy of Akshar Purushottam out of India to Africa and London. He was a visionary, inspirer, and initiator of the organization’s weekly children and youth activities.

Abu Dhabi

In conclusion the BAPS organization has done some great things currently and still will continue doing great things that I havent talked about such as BAPS Charities which helps out with the droughts and earthquake in India. To sum up everything that has been said so far is that BAPS has done great things for everyone from having a charity organization raising money for Lexington 1 School District, Cancer awareness and other things. BAPS has spread their religion worldwide from India to America to their rivals in a Muslim country which is Abu Dhabi who only allowed us to build a mandir there because they wanted to know more about us in which we had a mandir started getting planned in 2015 and finished in 2024.

BAPS Akshardham: A Marvel of Hindu Architecture

Exploring the Largest Hindu Temple in the US

The Long Journey

Size and Structure

After a long awaited 13 years of building came this beatiful temple but where did it come from exactly? In 2014 Pramukh Swami Maharaj came to North America and did a Puja which also means an act of worship to the land and what's to come next. Sadly he'd passed away and Mahant Swami Maharaj took over building the mandir. On October 8th, 2024 it was finally finished.

Grand Dimensions

Unveil the impressive scale of BAPS Akshardham, the second largest Hindu temple in the world.Between 2011 and 2023, over 12,500 people volunteered to build the mandir. Volunteers carved and installed about 2,000,000 cubic feet (57,000 m3) of stone, equating to about 4.7 million hours of work. The volunteers came from various backgrounds which included students, business executives, physicians, and architects. All of these carvings are made from India taking so much time to make. A story from a volenteers.

The entire lot is 183 acres. The mandir is 191 ft (58 m) in height, 255 ft (78 m) in length, and 345 ft (105 m) in width. The central shikhar is 213 ft (65 m) above ground. At Nilkanth Plaza a 49-foot tall bronze image of Shri Nilkanth Varni stands, the teenage form of Bhagwan Swaminarayan, in a yogic tree pose to commemorate the 49 years he lived on earth. Nilkanth Plaza is also home to a traditional Indian stepwell.