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The BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Mandir in
Atlanta, Georgia Atlanta ( ) is the capital city, capital and List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state), most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat, seat of Fulton County, Georgia, Fulton County, the mos ...
is a traditional Hindu mandir, or place of worship, inaugurated on 26 August 2007 by the
BAPS Bochasanwasi Akshar Purushottam Swaminarayan Sanstha (BAPS; ) is a Hindu denomination within the Swaminarayan Sampradaya. It was formed in 1905 by Yagnapurushdas (Shastriji Maharaj) following his conviction that Swaminarayan remained present ...
Swaminarayan Sanstha, a denomination of the Swaminarayan branch of Hinduism headed by
Mahant Swami Maharaj Mahant Swami Maharaj (born Vinu Patel, 13 September 1933; ordained Keshavjivandas Swami) is the present guru and president of the Bochasanwasi Akshar Purushottam Swaminarayan Sanstha (BAPS), a major branch of the Swaminarayan Sampradaya, a H ...
. The mandir located in the Lilburn suburb of
Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,7 ...
, was constructed in accordance with ancient
Hindu Hindus (; ) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism. Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pages 35–37 Historically, the term has also been used as a geographical, cultural, and later religious identifier for ...
architectural scriptures, and is the largest mandir of its kind outside of
India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area, the List of countries and dependencies by population, second-most populous ...
. The mandir is made of 34,450 pieces of hand-carved Italian marble, Turkish Limestone and Indian pink sandstone, situated on landscaped grounds spread over 30 acres. The mandir complex also includes a large assembly hall, family activity center, classrooms, and an exhibition on the key tenets of Hinduism.


Mandir and daily rituals

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. Within the mandir, murtis (sacred images of the deities) have been ritually installed. The central shrine holds the murti of Swaminarayan, with
Gunatitanand Swami Gunatitanand Swami (28 September 1784 – 11 October 1867), born Mulji Jani, was a prominent paramhansa of the Swaminarayan Sampradaya who was ordained by Swaminarayan and is accepted as the first spiritual successor of Swaminarayan by the ...
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.


Congregation history

The BAPS congregation in the greater Atlanta area first started meeting in the 1980s at various devotees’ houses. In 1988, the congregation purchased a skating rink in Clarkston, Georgia and renovated it into a mandir. The twenty-nine-acre plot of the current mandir was purchased in February 2000 in Lilburn, Georgia. Pramukh Swami Maharaj performed religious rites to sanctify the land. He visited the site again in 2004 and performed the foundation stone-laying ceremony, and inaugurated the mandir upon completion of construction in 2007. Its tenth anniversary was celebrated on July 1, 2017.


Construction and opening


Commencement of construction and first stone-laying ceremony

In February 2000, with the blessings of Pramukh Swami Maharaj, a 29-acre plot of land was purchased in the Atlanta suburb of Lilburn. The Shilanyas Vidhi, a Vedic ceremony that dates approximately 8,000 years, was performed on June 13, 2004, where stones were placed in the foundation of the future temple. Led by Pramukh Swami Maharaj and senior BAPS swamis, several thousand people participated in the ceremony. The spiritual significance of the Shilanyas Vidhi is to purify the land and bless those working on the temple's construction. The shilanyas'', or'' first stone laying, ceremony was commemorated by four days of celebrations and special events, including spiritual programs conducted for senior citizens, children, and youth. Each day, a ''yajman'' pujan was performed and discourses on the Taitreya
Upanishad The Upanishads (; sa, उपनिषद् ) are late Vedic Sanskrit texts that supplied the basis of later Hindu philosophy.Wendy Doniger (1990), ''Textual Sources for the Study of Hinduism'', 1st Edition, University of Chicago Press, , ...
were held.


Mandir construction

Construction began in September 2005, and the concrete for the foundation was poured in January 2006. In March 2006, a specialty crane was assembled to install the 106,000 cubic feet of Italian carrara marble. Over 34,000 hand carved pieces of stone were shipped from India to be finished and assembled at the site. The construction of the mandir was completed in just under two years, with the inauguration done by
Pramukh Swami Maharaj Pramukh Swami Maharaj (born Shantilal Patel; ordained Narayanswarupdas Swami; 7 December 1921 – 13 August 2016) was the guru and Pramukh, or president, of the Bochasanwasi Akshar Purushottam Swaminarayan Sanstha (BAPS), a major branch of t ...
in August 2007.


Mandir inauguration

In the days preceding the mandir inauguration, large scale festivals were held for devotees and the broader community to participate in the opening of the complex. On 24 August 2007, the congregation held a Vishvashanti Mahayagna for world peace and family unity in the presence of over ten thousand people. A festival to mark the centenary anniversary of BAPS’ establishment as a formal organization was also celebrated on 25 August 2007. On 26 August 2007, Pramukh Swami Maharaj inaugurated the mandir through a traditional Vedic ritual called the murti pratishtha, wherein divinity is infused into the idols inside the mandir. On this occasion, Pramukh Swami Maharaj noted that “this mandir is open to all. Whoever sincerely offers his prayers will attain happiness and peace.” Dignitaries present at this event included Congressman Henry Johnson Jr., Lilburn's mayor, Jack Bolton, and Commissioner of Gwinnett County, Charles Bannister. This was the second opening of a traditional Hindu mandir by Pramukh Swami Maharaj in North America in the same year. The other mandir was the BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Mandir Toronto, which was inaugurated on 22 July 2007.


Events

The ten-year anniversary of the mandir was celebrated on 1 July 2017 in the presence of Mahant Swami Maharaj and Lilburn Mayor Johnny Crist.


Activities and schedule

Similar to other BAPS Swaminarayan mandirs, the Atlanta mandir offers daily darshan worship and Aarti, and is open to visitors of all faiths and backgrounds. In addition, the facility holds weekly satsang sabhas on Sundays serving all age groups. The weekly sabha includes the singing of devotional hymns and spiritual discourses on Hindu scriptures and their teachings.


Charitable initiatives

During the COVID-19 global pandemic, BAPS Charities has provided relief and assistance worldwide. On March 29, 2020, all six BAPS shikharbaddha mandirs in North America broadcast a special mahapuja performed by the swamis to pray on behalf of all those affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. Over 12,000 families in North America participated. On March 28, 2021, BAPS Charities hosted a vaccination drive in conjunction with Kennesaw Clinic and ValueCare Pharmacy at the mandir. A second drive was hosted on April 4, 2021 in conjunction with West End Pharmacy. US Surgeon General Vivek Murthy praised BAPS Charities for hosting vaccination clinics at mandirs which increased accessibility for the elderly.


Gallery

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References


External links

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Coordinating Architect
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