BAPS Hindu Mandir Abu Dhabi
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BAPS Bochasanwasi Akshar Purushottam Swaminarayan Sanstha (BAPS; ) is a Hindu denomination within the Swaminarayan Sampradaya. It was formed in 1905 by Yagnapurushdas (Shastriji Maharaj) following his conviction that Swaminarayan remained present o ...
Shri Swaminarayan Mandir of
Abu Dhabi Abu Dhabi (, ; ar, أَبُو ظَبْيٍ ' ) is the capital and second-most populous city (after Dubai) of the United Arab Emirates. It is also the capital of the Emirate of Abu Dhabi and the centre of the Abu Dhabi Metropolitan Area. ...
in
UAE The United Arab Emirates (UAE; ar, اَلْإِمَارَات الْعَرَبِيَة الْمُتَحِدَة ), or simply the Emirates ( ar, الِْإمَارَات ), is a country in Western Asia (The Middle East). It is located at th ...
is a traditional
Hindu Hindus (; ) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism.Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pages 35–37 Historically, the term has also been used as a geographical, cultural, and later religious identifier for ...
place of worship that is being built by the
BAPS Swaminarayan Sanstha Bochasanwasi Akshar Purushottam Swaminarayan Sanstha (BAPS; ) is a Hindu denomination within the Swaminarayan Sampradaya. It was formed in 1905 by Yagnapurushdas (Shastriji Maharaj) following his conviction that Swaminarayan remained present ...
. The site is located at Abu Mureikhah, which is near Al Rahba off the Dubai–Abu Dhabi Sheikh Zayed Highway. The
mandir A Hindu temple, or ''mandir'' or ''koil'' in Indian languages, is a house, seat and body of divinity for Hindus. It is a structure designed to bring human beings and gods together through worship, sacrifice, and devotion.; Quote: "The Hind ...
, upon completion, will be the first traditional Hindu stone mandir in the
Middle East The Middle East ( ar, الشرق الأوسط, ISO 233: ) is a geopolitical region commonly encompassing Arabian Peninsula, Arabia (including the Arabian Peninsula and Bahrain), Anatolia, Asia Minor (Asian part of Turkey except Hatay Pro ...
. The
BAPS Swaminarayan Sanstha Bochasanwasi Akshar Purushottam Swaminarayan Sanstha (BAPS; ) is a Hindu denomination within the Swaminarayan Sampradaya. It was formed in 1905 by Yagnapurushdas (Shastriji Maharaj) following his conviction that Swaminarayan remained present ...
, which is headed by
Mahant Swami Maharaj Mahant Swami Maharaj (born Vinu Patel, 13 September 1933; ordained Keshavjivandas Swami) is the present guru and president of the Bochasanwasi Akshar Purushottam Swaminarayan Sanstha (BAPS), a major branch of the Swaminarayan Sampradaya, a H ...
, is a denomination of the Swaminarayan branch of Hinduism. The mandir, inspired by
Pramukh Swami Maharaj Pramukh Swami Maharaj (born Shantilal Patel; ordained Narayanswarupdas Swami; 7 December 1921 – 13 August 2016) was the guru and Pramukh, or president, of the Bochasanwasi Akshar Purushottam Swaminarayan Sanstha (BAPS), a major branch of t ...
and blessed by Mahant Swami Maharaj, will be situated on 55,000 square meters of land. The mandir will be hand-carved by artisans in India and assembled in the UAE. The mandir will incorporate all aspects and features of a traditional Hindu mandir as part of a fully functional, social, cultural and spiritual complex. The complex will include a visitor center, prayer halls, exhibitions, learning areas, sports area for children, thematic gardens, water features, a food court, a books and gift shop.


Construction

In August 2015, the UAE government announced the decision to provide land for building a Hindu mandir in Abu Dhabi, during Indian Prime Minister
Narendra Modi Narendra Damodardas Modi (; born 17 September 1950) is an Indian politician serving as the 14th and current Prime Minister of India since 2014. Modi was the Chief Minister of Gujarat from 2001 to 2014 and is the Member of Parliament from ...
's first official visit to the country.
Sheikh Sheikh (pronounced or ; ar, شيخ ' , mostly pronounced , plural ' )—also transliterated sheekh, sheyikh, shaykh, shayk, shekh, shaik and Shaikh, shak—is an honorific title in the Arabic language. It commonly designates a chief of a ...
Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan ( ar, مُحَمّد بِن زَايد آل نَهيَان, Moḥamed bin Zāyed Āl Nahyān; born 11 March 1961), colloquially known by his initials as MBZ, is the third president of the United Arab Emirates ...
, the Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Force gifted the land for the mandir. On 10 February 2018, BAPS representatives met Sheikh Mohamed and the Indian Prime Minister in the Presidential Palace. A memorandum of understanding was signed by India and the UAE in the presence of the entire royal family and over 250 local leaders. The Shila Pujan (foundation stone laying ceremony) for the mandir took place on 11 February 2018. The Shila Pujan marked the first vedic step in the mandir's construction. Prime Minister Narendra Modi witnessed the ceremony via live stream from the
Dubai Opera House Dubai Opera is a 2,000-seat, multi-format, performing arts centre, which is located within The Opera District in Downtown Dubai. It was developed by Emaar Properties to host a variety of performances and events including theatre, opera, ballet, c ...
. For the construction, tonnes of pink sandstone will be shipped from northern
Rajasthan Rajasthan (; lit. 'Land of Kings') is a state in northern India. It covers or 10.4 per cent of India's total geographical area. It is the largest Indian state by area and the seventh largest by population. It is on India's northwestern si ...
to Abu Dhabi. The durable stones from the
northern India North India is a loosely defined region consisting of the northern part of India. The dominant geographical features of North India are the Indo-Gangetic Plain and the Himalayas, which demarcate the region from the Tibetan Plateau and Central ...
n state were selected for their ability to withstand scorching summer temperatures of up to , such as those sometimes experienced in the UAE. Marble from Europe may also be used to build the mandir. The temple foundation will be constructed without using steel or iron materials and will be built through the traditional Hindu temple architecture. Instead of steel, fly ash will be used as a reinforcement in concrete In terms of size, it will be smaller than the
Akshardham (Delhi) Swaminarayan Akshardham is a Hindu temple, and spiritual-cultural campus in Delhi, India. The temple is close to the border with Noida. Also referred to as Akshardham Temple or Akshardham Delhi, the complex displays millennia of traditional an ...
but similar to the
Akshardham (New Jersey) Swaminarayan Akshardham in Robbinsville, New Jersey, is a Hindu mandir (temple) complex. The BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Mandir, one component of the campus, was inaugurated and opened to the public on August 10, 2014 as the world’s largest Hindu te ...
, with marble carvings against a sandstone building backdrop.


Foundation Stone Laying Ceremony

The UAE Government as part of its year of tolerance program, allocated 14 more acres of land to BAPS Hindu Mandir in January 2019. On 20 April 2019, the foundation stone-laying ceremony of the first traditional Hindu mandir in Abu Dhabi was performed in the presence of thousands of Indian community people and officials from India and the UAE. The ceremony was being administered as per
Vedic upright=1.2, The Vedas are ancient Sanskrit texts of Hinduism. Above: A page from the '' Atharvaveda''. The Vedas (, , ) are a large body of religious texts originating in ancient India. Composed in Vedic Sanskrit, the texts constitute the ...
rituals in the presence of Mahant Swami Maharaj, the spiritual leader of Bochasanwasi Akshar Purushottam Sanstha (BAPS) Swaminarayan Sanstha.


Festivals celebrated

On 15 August 2019,
India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
's independence day, the mandir committee had celebrated the festival of
Raksha Bandhan Raksha Bandhan Quote: m Hindi ''rakśābandhan'' held on the full moon of the month of Savan, when sisters tie a talisman (rakhi q.v.) on the arm of their brothers and receive small gifts of money from them. is a popular and traditionally Hin ...
by inviting 1,200 blue collar workers from across many workers’ accommodations in the UAE. The mandir celebrated
Janmastami Krishna Janmashtami , also known simply as Krishnashtami, Janmashtami, or Gokulashtami, is an annual Hindu festival that celebrates the birth of Krishna, the eighth avatar of Vishnu. According to the Hindu lunisolar calendar, it is observed ...
on 24 August 2019, by feature a performance of devotional songs and narration of stories from Sri
Krishna Krishna (; sa, कृष्ण ) is a major deity in Hinduism. He is worshipped as the eighth avatar of Vishnu and also as the Supreme god in his own right. He is the god of protection, compassion, tenderness, and love; and is one ...
's life. Close to 4,000 devotees attended the festivities along with the Consul General of India in
Dubai Dubai (, ; ar, دبي, translit=Dubayy, , ) is the most populous city in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and the capital of the Emirate of Dubai, the most populated of the 7 emirates of the United Arab Emirates.The Government and Politics of ...
.


See also

* Abu Dhabi Region *
Hinduism in Arab states Hinduism can be found in the Arab world from the mid of 19th century, millions of members of the Indian diaspora, of different religions, reside and work in Arab states of the Persian Gulf. Many of them are Hindu. Many came due to the migration o ...
* Hindu mandir, Dubai *
Shrinathji Temple, Bahrain Shrinathji Temple is a heritage Hindu temple in Manama established in the year 1817. The temple is dedicated to Lord Shrinathji, a form of Krishna, manifested as a seven-year-old child. The temple is located in the Bahrain's capital city of Manama. ...
* Shiva mandir, Muscat


References


External links

* {{BAPS Hindu temples in the United Arab Emirates Shiva temples Religion in Abu Dhabi Buildings and structures in Abu Dhabi Swaminarayan temples 21st-century Hindu temples