Religious Pilgrimage

Thursday April 7^th

Today's plan was to take the subway to the Swaminarayan Akshardham Temple. However, things don't always go as planned. First off, the subway doesn't go there directly, and I'd have to change trains a couple of times, so I decided to go by tuk tuk. Negotiated a price and away we went. The rides typically cost about two dollars and are at least a half hour long as distances are long and traffic can be very slow. When we got there, he dropped me off and in I went, only to find I was at the wrong temple! This was Iskcon Temple home of the Hare Krishna! I went in anyway and had a look around. The temple was nice with three beautiful statues of their deities, an art gallery and a movie theatre to show films about their religion.

When I went back outside I had a hard time getting a tuk tuk to take me to the right temple. I wasn't sure why, but I thought maybe it was because it was too far away, or they didn't know where it was. I had a basic map the hotel gave me and I kept showing it to potential drivers. Then I realized one guy couldn't read a map... and then it dawned on me that perhaps they couldn't even read the English words on it! So, becoming frustrated I hired a tuk tuk to take me to Connaught Place, which I could pronounce and they knew by name. This is another place the hotel recommended. It is two concentric circular roads surrounding a park. This used to be the 'Britishers' area of Delhi. Today, although the buildings look European, they are nothing to write home about and all that is there is a bunch of upscale stores on the inner circle and not so upscale on the outer circle. I walked around both and found nothing of interest. Why did they send me here?

Decided to try again and hired another tuk tuk who I made sure knew where Swaminarayan Akshardham Temple was and we set off. Delhi traffic is nuts. The drivers have to have nerves of steel, the patience of Job, and excellent measurement skills in order to squeeze their vehicles between two others. If traffic is moving they use a three lane road as three lanes, but as soon as it slows, there can be four, five or six lanes as they jockey for position and try to cut each other off. It's nothing to have your tuk tuk turn left from three lanes over, or a motorcycle to cut you off, or a bus run you onto the sidewalk. All the vehicles are scratched and dented. Horns are used constantly and as soon as the light changes they all blast then. However, they do seem to respect each other and give way and make room either to be nice or for self preservation, I'm not sure which. So, the half hour rides are never boring!

I digress. Anyway, finally got there, and from a distance I could see this was a massive temple. First off, no camera or any electronics inside, they had to be checked into a cloakroom. Then you have to go through security where they pat you down, scan you for metal and check whatever you are bringing in including your wallet. In my wallet was a memory card and a camera battery – not allowed! I had to go out and put them in the cloakroom with my camera. That's when I found out that they photograph whatever you leave there. High security.

Finally I got in. Admission here is free. Swaminarayan Akshardham “showcases the essence of India’s ancient architecture, traditions and timeless spiritual messages. The grand, ancient-styled complex was built in only five years by Pramukh Swami Maharaj of the Bochasanwasi Shri Akshar Purushottam Swaminarayan Sanstha and the colossal devotional efforts of 11,000 artisans and volunteers. The complex was inaugurated on 6 November, 2005.” The temple was built by the 5^th Yogi of the faith that was started by Bhagwan Swaminarayan. He was an 11 year old yogi who walked all around India for seven years and apparently was recognized as the 'lord'. I'm not sure but maybe this is a splinter group of Hindus? The temple is beautiful, made from red sandstone on the outside and white marble on the inside and is built on manicured lawns. The whole place is very ornate and has beautiful carvings everywhere. The outside base of it is surrounded by carvings of elephants.

In addition to the temple they have four 'activities'. I wavered on whether to check them out because there was a cost and I suspected they were religious propaganda, but remember I suffer from FOMO (fear of missing out). The first one is a 10 minute boat ride through a dark tunnel that simulates floating down a river. On either side of the river are scenes from the young Bhagwan's life. There is a narrator who tells you which direction to look (they do it in Hindi for Indians and English for foreigners – I was the only one in the English boat!). The second one was a 40 minute movie on a large screen and great sound that was a dramatic portrayal of his life (I was given English translation headphones). The third one was a series of about eight rooms. In each room was a specific scene from his life and was acted out by robots!! There were only a couple of robots per scene and they didn't move much, but lips moved, heads moved, arms moved and at one point Bhagwan stood up! After each scene we were told to move to the next room to see the next one. It was actually very well done. The fourth was a sound and light show around a huge fountain. I didn't hang around for that.

This was the weirdest temple I've ever been to. It was a bit Disney-like in its set up, and with three activities that basically repeated the same life story three times, I got the message. The final message they tried to get across was the three most important ideas: don't eat meat (everything has a right to live), protect and nurture the family, and promote peace.

I can take no credit for the five pictures. They are from a website.

Another tuk tuk back to the hotel for a shower, and another great in house dinner before relaxing after another interesting and very religious day.