• New Providence Nj
• Raritan Boro Nj

New Jersey Hindu Temple is popular among the Indians in New Jersey. It is a good opportunity for the Indians in NJ to keep in touch with their Hindu religion and can also introduce their kids to the Sanatan Dharma. Contact Address: Sri Guruvayurappan Temple 31, Wooleytown Road, Morganville, NJ 07751 New Jersey, USA.

The SwaminarayanAkshardham (Devnagari: स्वामिनारायण अक्षरधाम) in Robbinsville, New Jersey, is a Hindu temple complex. The mandir, one component of the complex, was inaugurated and opened to the public on 10 August 2014.^[1][2][3][4] Plans for the complex include the Swaminarayan Akshardham Mahamandir and a visitor’s center, which will house an exhibition on Indian history and culture.^[5]

• 1BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Mandir Robbinsville, New Jersey
• 2Akshardham Mahamandir

BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Mandir Robbinsville, New Jersey[edit]

The BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Mandir in Robbinsville in Central New Jersey is a Hindu place of worship built by the BAPS Swaminarayan Sanstha and consecrated by Pramukh Swami Maharaj. The BAPS Swaminarayan Sanstha, which is headed by Mahant Swami Maharaj, is a denomination of the Swaminarayan branch of Hinduism. The mandir is built of hand-carved Italian carrara marble, Turkish limestone and Indian pink stone. The mandir was constructed according to guidelines outlined in ancient Vedas, or Hindu scriptures. In addition to the mandir, the complex includes a congregation hall. The mandir is open daily to visitors and for worship.

Mandir and daily rituals[edit]

The mandir is a type of 'Shikarbaddha' mandir, built according to principles laid out in the Shilpa Shastras, Hindu texts prescribing standards of sacred architecture.^[6] Within the mandir, murtis (sacred images of the deities) have been ritually installed. The central shrine holds the murti of Swaminarayan, with Gunatitanand Swami to his left, together worshipped as Akshar-Purushottam Maharaj. Similarly, different shrines hold murtis of other Hindu deities such as Radha Krishna, Shiva Parvati, Sita Ram, Hanuman, Ganapati and the lineage of BAPS gurus who are Swaminarayan’s spiritual successors.^[7]

According to Hindu beliefs, once the divine has been invoked in a murti, it becomes an embodiment of the Divine.^[8] Accordingly, Swaminarayan sadhus (monks) offer devotional worship to the deities throughout the day. Before dawn, they awaken the deities by singing morning hymns (prabhatiya). The deities are then bathed and offered food and garments depending on the time of the day and season.^[9] Food that has been offered to the deities is considered sanctified. These holy offerings are distributed to the devotees as prasadam.^[9] Arti, a ritual where devotees sing the glory of God while a lighted wick is circulated before the murtis, is performed five times a day and named mangala aarti, shanagar aarti, rajabhoga aarti, sandhya aarti and shayana aarti, respectively. Food is offered to the deities throughout the day. Finally, sadhus adorn the murtis with night garments and ask the deities to retire for the night.^[9]

Construction[edit]

The BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Mandir in Robbinsville, New Jersey was first proposed and envisioned by Pramukh Swami Maharaj in 1997 as a part of Swaminarayan Akshardham in North America.^[10] The mandir’s construction commenced in 2010, and Pramukh Swami Maharaj consecrated the mandir on August 10, 2014. The mandir was built in the Nagaradi style using 68,000 cubic feet of Italian Carrara marble. The marble obtained from quarries in Europe was shipped to Rajasthan, India where hundreds of artisans carved the stones. After the finished pieces of stone were assembled at workshops in India, engineers sequentially numbered the pieces, which were then packed and sent to Robbinsville. Upon their arrival, the pieces were organized using the numbering system to facilitate the mandir’s construction.^[10]

A decorative mandap, or enclosure, was built around the mandir to shield the it from harsh weather and facilitate its year-round use. The structure is 87 feet wide, 133 feet long and 42 feet high.^[11] The entrance to the mandap, called the Mayur Dwar, contains carvings depicting peacocks, elephants, and celebrated Hindu devotees of past eras.

The mandir was constructed primarily through the efforts of volunteers. Volunteers assisted in construction, daily site cleaning, and preparing food on a daily basis for the Indian artisans who worked on-site. The craftsmen and volunteers provided an estimated 4.7 million human hours to complete the mandir.^[10] Volunteers engaged in various tasks during the construction process. This consisted of design and engineering, carving coordination and stone shipping, site preparation, lighting and electrical wiring, polishing, cleaning the assembled marble, tent-building, meal preparation and offering medical services.^[11]

Opening[edit]

After three years of construction, the mandir was officially opened to the public on August 10, 2014.^[12] The opening was preceded by three days of Vedic rituals from August 8 to 10.^[12] Prior to the consecration of the murtis, a Vishwashanti Mahayagna and a Women’s Cultural Program took place. Participants of the Mahayagna prayed for world peace. The Women’s Cultural Program promoted interfaith harmony. On August 10, in the presence of Pramukh Swami Maharaj and senior monks of BAPS, the sacred murtis were consecrated. The purpose of consecrating the murtis is to infuse divinity within them.^[13] Over 20,000 visitors participated in the various events.^[11]

A number of dignitaries were present during the opening ceremony, including New Jersey Senator Cory Booker, Maryland Rep. Steny Hoyer, Pennsylvania Rep. Mike Fitzpatrick, New Jersey Rep. Frank Pallone, New Jersey Attorney General John Jay Hoffman, and Indian Consul General Dnyaneshwar Mulay.^[12]

Akshardham Mahamandir[edit]

Construction[edit]

The installation ceremony of the first marble pillar of the Akshardham Mahamandir took place on 4 September 2017. The two-day celebration was marked with tours of the complex and cultural programs culminating with the Vedic ceremony in the presence of Mahant Swami Maharaj.^[14]

Gallery[edit]

• Mandir exterior

• Mandir exterior

• Mandir interior

• Mandir carving

• Mandir carved grill

• Mandir carving

• Mandir carving

• Mandir carving

• Mandir exterior

• Mandir carving - Swaminarayan

• Mandir carving

• Mandir carving

• Mandir carving

• Mandir interior dome

• Mandir interior dome

• Mandir interior dome

• Mandir interior

• Bhagwan Swaminarayan and Gunatitanand Swami

See also[edit]

References[edit]

1. ^Frances Kai-Hwa Wang. 'World's Largest Hindu Temple Being Built in New Jersey'. NBC News. Retrieved December 3, 2016.
2. ^'New Jersey Welcomes BAPS Hindu Temple - One Of The Only Traditional Stone Mandirs In North America'. HuffingtonPost. Retrieved 23 August 2014.
3. ^'Stunning Hindu temple in New Jersey is one of the largest in America'. Daily News. Retrieved August 26, 2014.
4. ^'Thousands celebrate dedication of traditional Hindu temple in Robbinsville'. NJ. Retrieved August 16, 2014.
5. ^'BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Mandir - Robbinsville - Mandir Information'. BAPS Swaminarayan Sanstha. Retrieved 2016-08-17.
6. ^Das, Mukundcharan (2005). Hindu Rites and Rituals. Aksharpith. p. 7. ISBN81-7526-356-3.
7. ^Kim, Hanna (2001). 'Being Swaminarayan: The Ontology and Significance of Belief in the Construction of a Gujarati Diaspora'. Columbia University Press. 347-349.
8. ^Nagendra, Kumar Singh. Encyclopaedia of Hinduism. ISBN8174881689.
9. ^ ^abcBrady Williams, Raymond (2001). An Introduction to Swaminarayan Hinduism. Cambridge Press. ISBN978-0521654227.
10. ^ ^abcProject, Sadguru Pujya Ishwarcharan Swami Head of Akshardham. 'Making of historic BAPS Robbinsville Mandir - Person of year'. www.thesouthasiantimes.info. Retrieved 2016-08-02.
11. ^ ^abcAcademy, Himalayan. 'Temples: Fully Enclosed Ornate Marble Temple Opens in New Jersey - Magazine Web Edition > January/February/March 2015 - Publications - Hinduism Today Magazine'. www.hinduismtoday.com. Retrieved 2016-08-02.
12. ^ ^abcEditor, Antonia Blumberg Associate Religion; Post, The Huffington (2014-08-23). 'A Look At The New, Massive Hindu Temple Gracing New Jersey'. The Huffington Post. Retrieved 2016-08-02.
13. ^'Mandir Mahotsav 2014, BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Mandir'. BAPS Swaminarayan Sanstha. Retrieved 2016-08-02.
14. ^Writer, Staff (2017-09-12). 'BAPS Temple holds installation of 1st pillar, Mandapam, and Visarjan in New Jersey - News India Times'. News India Times. Retrieved 2017-11-07.

Coordinates: 40°15′11″N74°34′39″W / 40.25313°N 74.57740°W

External links[edit]

• BAPS Swaminarayan Sanstha – The organization responsible for the creation of Akshardham

After months of painstaking work, hand-painting the temple and preparing for overseas guests, the Hindu-American Temple in Morganville is ready to celebrate its expansion.

From June 28 to July 4, the Krishna Temple is holding religious events from 8:30 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. The temple has flown in dignitaries and high-priests from all over the world to bless the temple and welcome the expansion to the community.

'The Temple plans to perform this authentic celebration with the participation of learned religious scholars from India, and other parts of the world,' according to a news release.

The temple is located on Wooleytown Road, off of Texas Road. The events are expected to bring in thousands of people from around the world and state, as Morganville welcomes the largest Hindu-American Temple in New Jersey.

Expansions to the temple include:

New Providence Nj

• Priest quarters consisting of twelve, fully-furnished apartments
• A 130-feet walkway, with fountains and lighting, is to be completed before the Kumbhabhishekam.
• The upper level of the temple houses all the sanctums within an area of 17,500 sq. ft.
• The lower level has a multi-purpose hall, facilities, gift-shop, class rooms etc. Broad , magnificent granite steps lead to the temple in the upper level.
• The temple is built on a 40 acre property with parking for over 300 cars, with access from Texas Road and Wooleytown Road in Morganville.

The largest celebration is scheduled for Sunday, when a live elephant will be ridden by a high-priest from India.

'Showering of flowers from a helicopter during the Kumbhabhishekam, worship of cow and elephant, traditional Nadaswaram recital by musicians from India, a ceremonious car-festival and procession with the Lord seated on top of the elephant in the evening of July 1, will add to the excitement!' the release said.

Parking on Saturday and Sunday will not be on the Temple grounds, but at . Guests will be shuttled to the event. No parking is permitted on side streets near the Temple. Please allow additional 30 Mins. for the shuttle commute.

Raritan Boro Nj

For more information visit the temple's website.