delhi tour to visit

Lotus Temple ( Bahai Temple )

The Bahá'í House of Worship in Delhi, India, popularly known as the Lotus Temple due to its flowerlike shape, is a Bahá'í House of Worship and also a prominent attraction in Delhi. It was completed in 1986 and serves as the Mother Temple of the Indian subcontinent. It has won numerous architectural awards and been featured in hundreds of newspaper and magazine articles.

As with all other Bahá'í Houses of Worship, the Lotus Temple is open to all regardless of religion, or any other distinction, as emphasized in Bahá'í texts.

The Bahá'í laws emphasize that the spirit of the House of Worship be that it is a gathering place where people of all religions may worship God without denominational restrictions. The 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.

Since its inauguration to public worship in December 1986, the Bahá'í House of Worship in Delhi has, as of late 2002, attracted more than 50 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 holy days, it has drawn as many as 150,000 people; it welcomes four million visitors each year (about 13,000 every day or 9 every minute).

This House of Worship is generally referred to as the "Lotus Temple". In India, during the Hindu festival Durga Puja, several times a replica of the Lotus Temple has been made as a pandal, a temporary structure set up to venerate the goddess Durga. In Sikkim a permanent replica is of the Hindu Legship Mandir, dedicated to Shiva

Raj Ghat

Raj Ghat : Delhi must be one of the very few cities in the world that have failed to develop their riverfront. No romantic walks by the Yamuna for anyone nor the city lights winking back from its mysterious depths. The closest you can get to the river are the various memorials between Red Fort and Ring Road. The most prominent among these is Raj Ghat dedicated to the father of the Nation, Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi. The historic name refers to the ghat (stepped embankment) at the edge of the river.

 Raj Ghat - A National Memorial

Mahatma Gandhi was cremated on the banks of the Yamuna on 31 January 1948, a day after he was assassinated. He was walking to his customary prayer meeting at Birla House (Gandhi Smriti on Tees January Marg) when he was shot dead by a Hindu fanatic, Nathuram Godse.
Raj Ghat was later turned into a national memorial, the design for which was conceived by Vanu G Bhuta. A stone footpath flanked by well-tended lawns leads to a walled enclosure, open to the sky, with a simple stone platform in black marble to mark the site. The Mahatma’s last words have been engraved on it – Hey Ram. Prayer meetings are held every Friday at 1700hrs.

Birla Mandir

Lakshmi Narayan Mandir is situated to the west of Connaught Place in Delhi. Constructed by Raja Baldev Das in the year 1938, it is dedicated to Lord Vishnu and Goddess Lakshmi. Also known by the name of Birla Mandir of New Delhi, this temple has quite an interesting history attached to it. Built over a period of 6 years, the temple was inaugurated by Mahatma Gandhi. But, he kept a condition that he will inaugurate the Delhi Laxmi Narain Temple only if the people from all castes, especially untouchables, would be able to gain entry inside it. The temple constitutes of one of the major draws of the city and is visited by numerous devotees and international tourists every year.

Lakshmi Narayan Mandir is built magnificently, although with a modern touch. Adorning the interiors of the temples are beautiful carvings depicting the scenes from mythology. Numerous Hindu symbols and quotes from the Gita and the Upanishads ornament the temple walls. The highest Shikara (tower) in the temple soars to an altitude of 165 ft, while the ancillary one is about 116 ft. Facing east and standing on an elevated platform, Birla Mandir of Delhi also enshrines the holy Vedas. The main shrine is dedicated to Lord Narayan and Goddess Lakshmi, while the smaller ones are of Lord Shiva, Lord Ganesha and Lord Hanuman and Goddess Durga.

To the north of the New Delhi Laxmi Narain Temple is the Geeta Bhawan, devoted to Lord Krishna. There is also a Buddha temple in this temple complex, adorned with murals describing his life and work. All the statues in the temple are made up of marble and were brought from Jaipur. Miniature rock temples, which dot the temple, hold a special attraction for the children. The splendor of the temple is enhanced by an artificial landscape in the back, with mountains and cascading waterfalls. The festival of Janmashtami, the birth anniversary of Lord Krishna, lends an enhanced significance to the temple.

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