First Hindu Temple to be Built in China by BAPS

[celina]

First Hindu Temple to be Built in China | ISKCON News

First Hindu Temple to be Built in China

By Ved P. Chaudhary, Ph.D (Hindu Collective Initiative) for Hindu Collective Initiative of North America - Home on 5 Oct 2007

It is one of the grandest Hindu temples in the capital and has been built with a lot of thought and precision. An architectural marvel, the Akshardham temple is the cynosure of all eyes.
Soon a replica of it will be constructed, thousands of miles away in China. The first Hindu temple in communist China.
The Chinese government has invited the Swaminarayan Trust that runs the Akshardham temples in Noida and in Gandhinagar, to build a similar temple.
A huge piece of land has been earmarked in Fohsan state, which will not only house the temple but also an Indian cultural centre.
"Initial thoughts are to have a cultural centre also along with the temple, a traditional Indian music learning centre and also various Indian language teaching centres including Hindi, on this temple premises," said Jagat Shah, Joint Secretary-General, Indo-China Trade Council.
The Swaminarayan Trust has welcomed the decision, saying there's much more to it than the religious angle.
"This decision taken by Chinese government, letting the Hindus build a temple in China is to be appreciated highly. Its not only question of spirituality but also in many other ways both the countries will benefit. There will also be cultural exchange between people living in these two countries and that outcome will help in spiritual and physical growth of citizens of India and China," said Jasraj Maharaj, religious guru in the Swaminarayan Sect.
A core team of the trust is busy preparing the final design plan. Members of the team and the Indo-China Trade Council are expected to visit the proposed temple site soon.
A team of officials from one of China's prestigious construction companies that will execute the project is now in India to study the architecture of Swaminarayan temple.
"China is also very good at construction and especially our company actually focuses on various types of construction designs. I think this being a joint venture with Indian partner, design from India and construction from China, this temple will be the masterpiece," said Xiaojun Lee, Secretary of Board, Panzhihua Guanghua Group, PR China.
The first Hindu temple in the land of dragons will not just be a temple but the hub of cultural exchange between India and China.

 

[Don Penguinoini]

I heard. The Chinese government are looking forward to it. It will draw mroe indians to the nation, the want that.

 

[celina]

I heard. The Chinese government are looking forward to it. It will draw mroe indians to the nation, the want that.

i'm glad BAPS is building the first hindu temple there, mahesh is probably crying right now!

 

[Pariah]

i'm glad BAPS is building the first hindu temple there, mahesh is probably crying right now!

Aren't you and Mahesh part of Swaminarayan?

 

[celina]

Aren't you and Mahesh part of Swaminarayan?

yes, a different sect of Swaminarayan. He's from the Shree Swaminarayan Sampradaya I'm from BAPS. :yes:

 

[Pariah]

yes, a different sect of Swaminarayan. He's from the Shree Swaminarayan Sampradaya I'm from BAPS. :yes:

My Gods. It just goes to show how splintered our religion really is.

 

[celina]

My Gods. It just goes to show how splintered our religion really is.

Lol, calm down their are like 6 different Swaminarayan sects. It happens with all religions, there just different interpretations. Nothing wrong with that. People are allowed have different interpretation and paths in Hinduism.:bow:

 

[Don Penguinoini]

IM still identified as a hindu, not swaminarayan.

 

[anders]

An architectural marvel, the Akshardham temple is the cynosure of all eyes. [...] The Chinese government has invited the Swaminarayan Trust that runs the Akshardham temples in Noida and in Gandhinagar, to build a similar temple.

I have visited several holy places of Hinduism, Buddhism and Sikhism in India. The most commercial and generally uninteresting site was the very recently constructed Delhi Akshardham thing. From the entrance security that allowed no dangerous things like folding umbrellas or credit card size calculators to the too distant exit, it was a pain.

 

[Don Penguinoini]

I dont think youd know, but, muslim terrorists attacked the other akshardham coplex in gandhinagar, gujarat. Standard security, a bomb could be ANYWHERE. It's not commercial, BAPS is not commercial. It has helped many in the wrold with the relief efforts, but then again, you would avoid this. Sure there are the bad eggs in the faith, but then, ALL fiaths have that. UNINTERESTING? My god. The complex is beatiful. It is the most rearding part of delhi. It has more trees then Connaught Square. It is interesting. Didnt go on teh boat ride, or watch the IMAX film, or even get a tour did you? Im 100% sure you had assumptions of akshardham before you went to it.

 

[anders]

UNINTERESTING? My god. The complex is beatiful. It is the most rearding part of delhi.

I've lost count of the number of holy places I've visited in India. This one was the only case that I found artificial and uninteresting. For a Delhi counterexample, despite its souvenir shop, the Birla Mandir gave me a more genuine feeling.

Im 100% sure you had assumptions of akshardham before you went to it.

Yes. I thought it would be very interesting from the few pictures I had seen and its scale etc., and reserved a whole day for it. So I was very disappointed.

 

[celina]

I'd like my thread to stay on topic. If you have anything else to discuss move somewhere else. :yes:

 

[Pariah]

Security may be a pain, but I think it should be mentioned that Muslim terrorists have begun to attack all of the sacred places in India (both Hindu and Muslim alike) - it is a necessity.

I'm sure anders sees it, but still wishes it could be different.

For the OP:
How many Swaminarayan worshipers are there in China?
Are the devotees of Chinese ethnicity or Indians living in China?

Lol, calm down their are like 6 different Swaminarayan sects. It happens with all religions, there just different interpretations. Nothing wrong with that. People are allowed have different interpretation and paths in Hinduism.

Which may be true, but you don't realize the amount of communalism amongst Hindus that doesn't evoke violence. Hinduism is by no means a unified religion in thought or in deed - philosophically, it stands on solid ground, but realistically, it's a house built on sand.

 

[TashaN]

Hi there, i just have one question, if you don't mind.

Security may be a pain, but I think it should be mentioned that Muslim terrorists have begun to attack all of the sacred places in India (both Hindu and Muslim alike) - it is a necessity.

Do you think only the Muslims are responsible for this violence or it's from both parties--the muslim and hindu extreme alike--attacking holy places either it was temples or mosques?


Thanks in advance.

 

[lilithu]

My Gods. It just goes to show how splintered our religion really is.

It was never "one religion" in the first place, so why start now?

 

[TashaN]

It was never "one religion" in the first place, so why start now?

One of the great lecturers in my life was a hindu, and he said the same excact thing, and he added that, only people is calling it a religion, while it's clearly not.

 

[Pariah]

Do you think only the Muslims are responsible for this violence or it's from both parties--the muslim and hindu extreme alike--attacking holy places either it was temples or mosques?

To say that Hindus do not have a small hand in terrorism would be to deny history, but it would equally stupid to say that Muslims have not committed the majority of the atrocities.

 

[Pariah]

It was never "one religion" in the first place, so why start now?

Because it would result in cultural unity which India is in dire need of. The lack of unity led to Islamic domination for 400 years and British domination, after Shivaji the Great returned Hindu supremacy to the subcontinent.

Both Celina and Mahesh believe a man is God, but disagree on the particulars of devotion of philosophical nuances. Have you seen the disagreements they've had? They are quite heated, despite belonging to same religion.

Unless there is a feeling of unity, that despite philosophical differences, we are Hindu, then India cannot progress culturally. The current economic scene is a farce in comparison to the gross amounts of communalism among people between the states, religions, castes, languages, etc.

India has not learned its lesson and its openness will be its downfall again.

 

[TashaN]

To say that Hindus do not have a small hand in terrorism would be to deny history, but it would equally stupid to say that Muslims have not committed the majority of the atrocities.

Well, that's moot.

 

[Pariah]

Well, that's moot.

What's that?