Day 2. Bahá’í House of Worship (Lotus Temple) in Delhi

We followed Natalie's suggestions as to where to visit on our second day in Delhi. First stop was to visit the Bahá’í House of Worship - the Lotus Temple. Temperature was 45+ degrees Celcius and the pathway to the Temple was burning hot to obligatory bare feet. Fortunately, hessian matting made the approach bearable.

Like all other Bahá'í Houses of Worship, the Lotus Temple is open to all, regardless of religion or any other distinction. Bahá'í laws also stipulate that only the holy scriptures of the Bahá'í Faith and other religions can be read or chanted inside, in any language. While readings and prayers can be set to music by choirs, no musical instruments can be played inside. Furthermore no sermons can be delivered, and there can be no ritualistic ceremonies practiced. Bahá'í scripture also states that no pictures, statues or images be displayed within the House of Worship and no pulpits or altars be incorporated as an architectural feature (readers may stand behind simple portable lecture stands).

The Bahá'í sect originated in Persia and is based on a view of humanity as one single race.

Inspired by the lotus flower, the design for the House of Worship in New Delhi is composed of 27 free-standing marble clad "petals" arranged in clusters of three to form nine sides. The nine doors of the Lotus Temple open onto a central hall slightly more than 40 meters tall that is capable of holding up to 2,500 people. On average, 8,000 to 10,000 people visit the Bahá’í House of Worship each day. The surface of the House of Worship is made of white marble from Penteli mountain in Greece, the very same from which many ancient monuments and other Bahá'í Houses of Worship are built. Along with its nine surrounding ponds and the gardens, the Lotus Temple property comprises 26 acres (105,000 m²; 10.5 ha).

The site is in the village of Bahapur, in the National Capital Territory of Delhi. The architect was an Iranian, who now lives in Canada, named Fariborz Sahba. He was approached in 1976 to design it and later oversaw its construction. The structural design was undertaken by the UK firm Flint and Neill. The major part of the funds needed to buy this land was donated by Ardishír Rustampúr of Hyderabad, who gave his entire life savings for this purpose in 1953.

Since its inauguration to public worship in December 1986, the Bahá'í House of Worship in Delhi has, as of late 2012, attracted more than 70 million visitors, making it one of the most visited buildings in the world. Its numbers of visitors during those years surpassed those of the Eiffel Tower and the Taj Mahal. On Hindu celebrative days and holy days, it has drawn as many as 150,000 people.