The BAPS Swaminarayan Sanstha symbol and the Abu Dhabi Hindu temple that Prime Minister Modi will unveil

While in the United Arab Emirates on an official visit from February 13 to 15, Prime Minister Narendra Modi is scheduled to dedicate the country’s first Hindu temple. Modi has made seven trips to the United Arab Emirates since 2015; this is his third visit in the last eight months, demonstrating the cordial and solid ties that both nations have.

Situated along the Abu Dhabi-Dubai expressway in the Abu Mureikhah neighborhood, the BAPS temple occupies 27 acres of property that has been kindly donated by the UAE government.

“It embodies the spirit of cultural harmony and collaboration and stands as a testament to the enduring friendship between India and the UAE,” a statement from the Bochasanwasi Shri Akshar Purushottam Swaminarayan Sanstha (BAPS) said.

PM Modi will dedicate the temple on February 14 and it will be accessible to the public starting on March 1. A visitor’s center, prayer halls, exhibits, educational spaces, kid-and youth-only sports area, themed gardens, water features, food court, bookstore, gift shop, and other amenities are all part of the complex.

The temple’s seven towers stand in for the UAE’s seven emirates.

The Times of India said that the temple is carved out of stone and has not been reinforced with iron or steel.

Over the last three years, 700 containers have carried more than 20,000 tons of stone and marble to Abu Dhabi. According to a mandir representative, who was cited by The Times of India, fly ash has been utilized to fill in the foundation, replacing 55% of the cement in the concrete mix and lowering the temple’s carbon footprint.

The temple was constructed with consideration for the traditional Hindu “shilpashastras.” The temple’s interior is constructed of white marble, while its outside is composed of pink Rajasthani sandstone. More than 2,000 craftspeople from Gujarat and Rajasthan carved peacocks, horses, elephants, camels, and moons onto the white marble pillars.

Inside the temple, guests will be able to observe two streams of water that symbolize the Indian rivers Yamuna and Ganga.

A representative for the temple said, as cited by The Times of India, that insightful lessons would also be offered from the Arabic area, China, Aztec, and Mesopotamia as a gesture of respect for various faiths.

HISTORY
On April 5, 1997, devotees brought His Holiness Pramukh Swami Maharaj, the then-president of the Hindu sect known as Bochasanwasi Akshar Purushottam Swaminarayan Sanstha (BAPS), to a desert region near Sharjah, United Arab Emirates.

There, the Maharaj prayed for everyone’s welfare, world peace, and nations to give up prejudice and hostility. In addition, he prayed for the construction of a mandir in Abu Dhabi.

BAPS sadhus and priests spoke with local authorities and government representatives for twenty years in order to secure land for the construction of the temple.

The Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces, Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, donated 13.5 acres of land for the Mandir’s construction in 2015. In January 2019, the UAE government allotted an additional 13.5 acres of land as part of their Year of Tolerance.

BAPS Swaminarayan Sanstha was welcomed by Prime Minister Modi and Crown Prince of Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan in the United Arab Emirates in 2018.

BAPS uses its 1,200 temples, more than 3,850 centers, and 55,000 volunteers to serve millions of devotees worldwide.