Swaminarayan Akshardham: Celestial Splendor Unifying India’s Diversity

Its beauty and majesty inspires an awed silence, the serenity and good vibrations that emanate in its interiors make the few hours that you spend there truly an experience unlike any other you may have had at an edifice of this stature. I have always felt that when commercialism rears its ugly head, divine structures become devoid of celestial vibrations. Mercifully Akshardham so far seems to belie that observation.

On a beautiful morning in September when I stood outside this majestic edifice in Delhi, I thought to myself that Akshardham must be the most beautiful divine dream anyone could have dreamed.

The dream emanated from the lips of Brahmaswarup Yogiji Maharaj in 1968, “A mandir be built on the banks of the Yamuna.” More than three decades later On Nov 6 2005, that dream was made a reality by his successor and current head of the BAPS HDH Pramukh Swami Maharaj.

Today the majestic Akshardham temple stands on a 100 acre property symbolizing how the diversity of Indian culture, its architecture, its knowledge, and the bhakti bhava-this deep desire to give and to serve, within its portal can become a unifying force.

Wherever we went, we were warmly received by volunteers. At any given time there are at least 2000 volunteers waiting in line to serve at Akshardham, but the backbone are the 650 volunteers that have been there from before.

Most visitors enter through the back of the temple where the parking lot absorbs thousands of cars as numbers go up to 50,000 visitors and more over weekends. You enter the main area through Mayur Dwar or the Peacock Gate which has 869 sculpted peacocks, and as you walk in your eyes are dazzled by the beautiful gardens with flowers sprinkled in “rangoli” –form, across the emerald green grass.

You see the Bharat Upvan that combines nature, culture, beautiful gardens with bronze statues of the great role models of India, from outstanding children, to freedom fighters, great women, national heroes and great warriors. It is also an environmental treasure with over 900,000 trees and shrubs.

The first steps take you to a special spot where you can have a picture taken for posterity. You face the camera with the temple rising majestically behind you, its pink and white structure kissed by sunshine. There are people everywhere and yet serenity permeates the air.

There are three main exhibits in Akshardham. The first one depicts the life of Bhagwan Swaminarayan with scenes from his life and how his teachings and values can easily be applied to enhance our lives. He was only seven and known then as Ghanshyam when he mastered all the Vedas. He left home at 12 and was then known as Neelkanth, as he traveled all over the country to all the holy spots, mastering the Ashtang yoga as a teenager. He weathered the vagaries of nature, and other hazards to emerge unscathed.

His miracles began at seven when he brought dead fish to life and talked convincingly against killing an innocent being. When a tantrik tried to obstruct his teaching, Swaminarayan won him over. A very cruel dacoit who killed people and whose arrow, could serve as protection for anyone who he wanted to help, once heard that Swaminarayan owned a beautiful and powerful mare and decided to get it.

The dacoit went in the middle of the night to steal the mare. The first night he peeked in and saw Swaminarayan sleeping. The dacoit sneaked over to where the mare was, only to see Swaminarayan bathing her. This went on for three consecutive days.

The dacoit was confused, and then said to himself that he needed proof that Swaminarayan was a divine being. He set three conditions in his mind. If Swaminarayan’s prayer book was swathed in red instead of white as was the norm, if Swaminarayan called out to him, and if he would take out the garland from his own neck and put it on the dacoit’s neck, he will believe in Swaminarayan’s divinity.

The dacoit went to a gathering, his face hidden by a shawl and sat down at the back behind everyone. Suddenly Swaminarayan called out to him and asked-“Why are you sitting so far away? Come forward. The people around were scared out of their wits seeing the notorious dacoit but Swaminarayan told them not to be afraid and let the dacoit come forward as he had been having sleepless nights since the past few days and had not slept. Swaminarayan then proceeded to remove his garland and put it around the dacoit’s neck. He then took out the prayer book, and it was wrapped in red cloth. The dacoit was converted and became a Swaminarayan devotee. When Swaminarayan gave up his body at the age of 49, the dacoit wanted to kill himself but was dissuaded. He used to eat the ash from Swaminarayan’s funeral pyre with his food and died when the ash finished.

The scenes from Swaminarayan’s life were depicted through fifteen 3-D dioramas in lovely surroundings. The statues seem to come to life, thanks to the wizardry of robotics, fiber optics, light and sound effects, dialogues and music, recreating a timelessness that transcended the centuries left behind. Each scene carried a story and a universal message of good. The entire presentation was conceptualized by a team of top technical volunteers who went to Disneyworld and asked experts there to help. They were told the entire exhibit would cost millions of dollars and take 2 years to build. The volunteers returned and created it themselves in 6 months.

The second building houses the amazing IMAX Theater with a gigantic screen. It showcases a spectacular film Neelkanth Darshan, the first ever wide format film to be made in India and produced by an Indian organization. The film brings to life the story of young Neelkanth, later known to the world as Swaminarayan, and his spiritual journey.

The film depicts some poignant and inspiring moments from the young Swaminarayan’s life from 1792 to 1799, when the young 11 year old walked, 8000 miles for 7 years across India. One such incident happens in the village of Sripur that is home to the famous shrine, Kamleshwar Muth. The senior priest sees young Neelkanth under a tree and asks him to come inside the muth as there is fear from a man eating lion. “Can your doors stop death?” asks Neelkanth and the Priest is silenced. Night arrives and everyone shuts their door tightly.

A roar from the lion erupts, but when the Priest looks out he sees a strange sight. The fierce feline is lying at the feet of the young boy. From there Neelkanth walks across India in the toughest weather, observing severe austerities in a rare yogic posture, and five years pass.

Neelkanth finally meets the great saint and teacher Ramanand Swami in a village in Gujarat and later becomes one of the greatest spiritual masters India has ever seen. His spiritual exaltation, his brilliant mind, his magnetic persona, engulfed each person he embraced.

The shooting for this film was done all across India-from the icy peaks to Mansarovar, through jungles of Sunderbans, rainforests of Assam, and searing deserts. The experience is described thus. “Over two shooting schedules in March – May 2003 and Jan-Feb 2004, the Mystic India production team traveled to more than 100 different film locations in India, at times shooting in hostile conditions at a height of 13,000 feet, re-creating the adventures of Neelkanth in the astonishing detail of large format. Capturing dazzling images and scenes on a scale never seen before in large format, this film transports the audience to some of India’s most sacred and treasured destinations.

The epic proportions of the film climax in the Rath Yatra (The Festival of Chariots). Colossal, 5-storey high chariots on mammoth wheels roll past 8,000 people in period dress of the 18th century from all corners of India. The experience is immense and intense.

And what makes the film unique and educative are the questions it answers about India, her culture and way of life. Even the silent, meditative moods transmit the simple messages of love, service and harmony; unraveling India’s greatest gift to the world, its unity in diversity. Mystic India is an epic journey into the land and soul of India.”

All the actors were from BAPS. The two young boys, one an 11 year old and the other a teenager who enacted the role of Swaminarayan were extraordinary. The young 11 year old had to walk semi naked with just a skimpy loincloth in very cold temperature in the snow. In fact the film crew fell sick in spite of being properly clothed, but nothing happened to the child. Again the scene with the lion had him facing this huge animal brought especially from Los Angeles.

India’s ex President Abdul Kalam especially wanted to meet the boy after seeing the film and asked him if he had been afraid of the lion. The young boy responded that he was petrified even of a small dog, but something divine happened to him and he considers it a blessing of their current spiritual head Pramukh swami that he felt no fear.

The young man who played the older Swaminarayan is also a classically trained dancer. Every bit of shooting was in authentic places except for the Rath Yatra at Jagannath Puri where too many electric poles had sprouted and it was not possible to capture the India of 200 years ago. So a set was created in a village to picturize 45,000 people reveling in the celebrations, the largest ever cast seen in a film.

The outstanding music of this film was given by Ronu Majumdar and really enhances its beauty.

The final exhibit we went to before we entered the majestic temple was a 12 minute boat ride. It is a replica of the Disneyworld Ride, Pirates of the Caribbean, except that you are transported in to a beautiful world of India’s heritage and contribution to the world through several scenes from Indian history, science, arts, philosophy, astrology, astronomy ayurveda. You also get a glimpse of a village in Vedic times, India’s first university Takshila, Sushruta the father of plastic surgery at work, and so much more. An imposing statue made with five metals of Swaminarayan stands outside. The boats are not powered, but glide across the water as you look on mesmerized by thousand of years of Indian history come alive before your eyes.

We took a break to have lunch. It was one of the best vegetarian meals I have had the pleasure of eating. It was again cooked by volunteers and served with a lot of warmth and courtesy at a very reasonable price.

Now it was time to step into the holy portals of a temple that has become the Mecca for devotees of Swaminarayan, universal brother- hood, and lovers of beautiful architecture. Outside the temple is surrounded by gajendrapeeth, a plinth of elephants. Sixty sculptors, six million pounds of stone and four years of hard work went into the creation of 148 individual elephants, 125 humans and 42 other animals forming the plinth. Each elephant was carved from a single stone according to the guide. There are over eighty scenes showing elephants both in their natural habitat, and in the human as well as the celestial world. On three sides is Narayan Sarovar, which contains holy water from 151 lakes and rivers blessed by Lord Swaminarayan during his lifetime. The water is powered in through the mouths of 108 golden cow heads built into the area. The number symbolizes the 108 auspicious names of God. Above the gajendrapeeth is the 600 feet long mandovar, an intricately carved wall depicting deities, revered sages, saints and 48 different forms of lord Ganesha.

The spectacular temple is made of Rajasthani sandstone from the outside and imported Italian marble from the inside, without any kind of metal being used. The carvings on the pillars and all over the temple are dazzling. The intricacy of design is just awe inspiring. Over a 1000 statues, 120 pillars and 40 arches depict the artistry of artisans from all over India. There are classical dance poses, bhakti depiction, paintings with vegetable dyes depicting holy scenes and donated to the temple. These paintings are expected to last more than 1000 years. Inside the temple people pay homage to the 11-foot-high gold-plated idol of Lord Swaminarayan, his successors, Gunatitand Swami, Bhagatji Maharaj, Shastriji Maharaj, Yogiji Maharaj and Pramukh Swami Maharaj. Idols of other Gods too have been installed showing the close relationship between the divine and the devotee.

A visit to the Yagnapurush Kund is a must. The kund is described as “a fascinating combination of a Vedic yagna kund and a musical fountain. It is the world’s largest yagna kund measuring 300’ X 300’ with 2,870 steps and 108 small shrines. In its center lies an 8-petaled lotus shaped yagna kund designed according to the Jayaakhya Samhita of the Panchratra scripture. Its perfect geometric forms testify to ancient India’s advanced knowledge in mathematics and geometry.’

At night the kund becomes a colorful musical water fountain that echoes the Vedic sentiments of India and lights up the dark skies in a lovely dance. It depicts the changing cycles of life from creation, sustenance and destruction and the indestructible energy of the divine that continues to exist through the cycles, as the 27 foot bronze statue of Neelkanth, seems to watch the events unfold. The four corners are aligned to welcome the deities representing the four elements of air, fire, water and earth.

At the grand inaugural ceremonies, it was evident that Akshardham has become an inspiration from the humble to the highest, when President Abdul Kalam concluded his speech with: “Pramukh Swamiji Maharaj has inspired thousands of people across the country and abroad and brought together the best of the minds for creating a beautiful cultural complex. It has become a place of education, experience and enlightenment. It creatively blends the traditional stone art and architecture, Indian culture and civilization, ancient values and wisdom and the best of modern media and technology. Multiple layers of this complex expresses the strength of the mind, willpower of the human being, indomitable spirit, flowering kindness, fusion of scientific and medical talent, myriad colors of varied cultures and ultimately the power of knowledge. In essence, it is a dynamic complex with lively images.

… Akshardham has happened at the dawn of 21st century with the commitment and dedication of one million volunteers. What has happened today at Akshardham inspires me and gives me the confidence that we can do it? The realization of developed India is certainly possible before 2020 with the millions of ignited minds like you.”

The Akshardham temple in Delhi has made it to the Guinness Book of World Records for being the world’s largest Hindu temple complex. “His Holiness Pramukh Swami Maharaj, internationally revered spiritual leader and head of BAPS Swaminarayan Sansthan, has created and consecrated in accordance with the Hindu rituals, a world record of 713 mandirs (temples) in five continents between April 1971 and November 2007,” the Certificate said.

“Amongst these, the majestic, ornately hand-carved BAPS Swaminarayan Akshardham in New Delhi, India, stands apart as the largest Hindu temple in the world,” it added.

This is the first time that the Guinness Book has recognized a Hindu temple in its list of large religious structures.

Kavitachhibber.com thanks Ritesh Desai and BAPS Charities for their assistance in creating this piece.