Baha'i Lotus

Delhi India, January 8 2007

This Story is from my recent journey in India

As a Westerner, my visions of India includes the three main religions but I never thought I would find such an incredible representation from the Baha'i Faith. The Baha'is not only wanted to create a sanctuary for their followers. They also wanted to create a structure to honor India. The result is this magnificent Church in the shape of a lotus flower. The building is an open-air structure with many entrances all leading the the huge arrangement of white benches facing a central, slightly raised stage. We are asked not to take photos of the inner sanctuary. Aw and I sit on one of the lines of pews for a few minutes to get the feeling of this Temple. I have explored lots of Temples but there have only been a few that really gave me that special tingle. This is one of them. The lotus shape you see on the outside is the same inside, creating a series of high archways that remind me of a pyramid shape. I sit here on the stone bench and it's as if the my head is being drawn gently up by some invisible Electra-magnet. I have done a lot of meditation in my life and I am able to get into a receptive state of consciousness very quickly. This is the case now. I hear the sound that is like a powerful 'white noise' or a violin that is being played but where the sound is heard as a long sustained echo. The Bahia's have created in this chamber, an instrument that has a magical feeling to it. I could stay here all day. We sit for several minutes in the midst of hundreds of other people, quietly listening. Finally, we get up and walk around the perimeter of the structure and I am in a state of perfect calm, just enjoying this moment. We walk out to the sky-blue reflecting pool and watch as a group of students pull together for a photo in front of the Temple. Here is more information about the Temple I found after writing about my experience here.