New Jersey: Mahant Swami Maharaj inaugurated the BAPS Swaminarayan Akshardham, the largest Hindu temple ever constructed in the modern age, in New Jersey, United States. It is the largest Akshardham Temple in the whole world, covering an area of 183 acres.
The temple will be open to the general public from October 18. Yogi Trivedi, a temple volunteer and a Columbia University scholar, said, “The temple will become a must-see not only for Indian Americans, it will attract Hindus from all over the world including India.”
Numerous thousands of devotees flocked to Robbinsville, New Jersey's beautiful new Akshardham Mahamandir temple, which stands 191 feet tall. The roughly 2 million cubic feet of stone required the manual labour of artisans and volunteers for a combined total of nearly 4.7 million hours.
The Bochasanwasi Akshar Purushottam Swaminarayan Sanstha's chief seer, Mahant Swami Maharaj, presided over the inauguration ceremony, which began in Robbinsville, New Jersey, about six o'clock IST.
Religious leaders representing Christianity, Islam, Judaism, Buddhism, Jainism, Sikhism, and Hinduism participated in an interfaith Harmony Day celebration at the temple prior to the official opening in order to reduce barriers and strengthen human ties.
In his message on the occasion, Brahmvihari Swami said, “Bhagwan Swaminarayan emphasised that our love should not be confined to our own followers but should extend to people of all faiths and to the natural world. When our love expands to encompass the entire universe, the universe becomes a part of our heart. Akshardham symbolises the largest heart one can possess, a heart that warmly welcomes everyone, regardless of their race, color, caste, or nationality.”