Tuesday, October 24, 2023

BAPS: largest Hindu Buddhist temple in the US

MSN.com, 10/24/23; Swami, Dhr. Seven (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly

Last weekend, the largest Hindu temple in the United States opened its doors on over 183 acres of former soy farmland in rural Robbinsville, New Jersey.

The East Coast state is home to one of the world’s largest populations of Hindus outside of India, and this Bochasanwasi Shri Akshar Purushottam Swaminarayan Sanstha (BAPS) place of worship, community gathering, and culture is expected to be a pilgrimage site for Swaminarayan sect followers and other spiritual communities from around the world.

BAPS monks at Bochasanwasi Akshar Purushottam Swaminarayan Sanstha, Gujarat, India (wiki)
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Cosmic yogic OM (aum)
Standing 191 feet at its highest point and decorated with 10,000 statues, the highly intricate, carved stone Swaminarayan Akshardham is a religious beacon amid fields of green.

However, the temple has also been mired in controversy over allegedly poor labor practices during its nearly 15-year construction, resulting in an ongoing lawsuit and federal investigation, as well as the deaths of two “volunteer” builders. More
  • West Coast has a massive Hindu temple in Chino
  • Old beautiful temple exists in Malibu, California

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