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BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Mandir Toronto
BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Mandir is a Hindu temple in Toronto, Ontario, that was built by the BAPS Swaminarayan Sanstha. The BAPS Swaminarayan Sanstha, which is headed by Mahant Swami Maharaj, is a global spiritual organization within the Swaminarayan branch of Hinduism. The mandir was built in 18 months and consists of 24,000 pieces of hand-carved Italian carrara marble, Turkish limestone and Indian pink stone. The mandir is the largest of its kind in Canada and was constructed according to guidelines outlined in ancient Hindu scriptures. The grounds spread over and in addition to the mandir, include a haveli and the Heritage Museum. The mandir is open daily to visitors and for worship. On June 26, 2023, the temple celebrated its 16-year anniversary. Mandir and daily rituals The temple 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 imag ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Toronto
Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the List of North American cities by population, fourth-most populous city in North America. The city is the anchor of the Golden Horseshoe, an urban agglomeration of 9,765,188 people (as of 2021) surrounding the western end of Lake Ontario, while the Greater Toronto Area proper had a 2021 population of 6,712,341. As of 2024, the census metropolitan area had an estimated population of 7,106,379. Toronto is an international centre of business, finance, arts, sports, and culture, and is recognized as one of the most multiculturalism, multicultural and cosmopolitanism, cosmopolitan cities in the world. Indigenous peoples in Canada, Indigenous peoples have travelled through and inhabited the Toronto area, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gunatitanand Swami
Gunatitanand Swami (28 September 1784 – 11 October 1867), born Mulji Jani, was a paramhansa of the Hindu Swaminarayan Sampradaya who was ordained by Swaminarayan and is accepted as the first spiritual successor of Swaminarayan by the Bochasanwasi Akshar Purushottam Swaminarayan Sanstha (BAPS). Born into a religious family in the small farming community of Bhadra in Gujarat, India, he first received religious education under his father's guru, Ramanand Swami, before encountering Swaminarayan and becoming a swami under him at the age of 25. For the BAPS, he embodies an essential element of the doctrine of Akshar and Purushottam. They believe, based on interpretation, from the Vachanamrut that "Akshar is an eternally-existing spiritual reality having two forms, the impersonal and the personal". Furthermore, BAPS claims that Gunatitanand Swami was believed to be the first personal manifestation of Akshar in the Guru Parampara: an unbroken line of "perfect devotees" who provi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Shikharbaddha Mandir
A shikharbaddha mandir is a traditional Hindu or Jain place of worship, typically featuring architecture characterized by superstructures with towers pinnacles and domes and often built of carved marble, sandstone, or other stone. While such mandirs are common in many branches of Hinduism, the use of the term ''shikharbaddha mandir'' to describe such mandirs is most common in the Swaminarayan branch of Hinduism as well as Jainism. The opposite of the shikharbaddha temple is one without a shikhara tower, i.e. with a flat roof. Definition A ''mandir'' is a Hindu, Jain or Buddhist temple. The term ''shikharbaddha'' is composed of the Sanskrit word ''shikhara,'' meaning mountain peak, and ''baddha'', meaning bound Thus, a ''shikharbaddha mandir'' refers to a type of Hindu or Jain temple with a pinnacle atop its sacred shrine that makes it appear bounded by a mountain peak. Aims and significance Shikharbaddha mandirs house the sacred images of the deity in the central shrines, thu ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
BAPS Charities
BAPS Charities (formerly BAPS Care International) is a religious charitable organization that originates from the Bochasanwasi Akshar Purushottam Swaminarayan Sanstha (BAPS). History The Bochasanwasi Akshar Purushottam Swaminarayan Sanstha (BAPS) was founded by Shastri Yagnapurushdas in 1907. The organization continued to expand its activities internationally through health fairs, environmental activities, youth development campaigns, and worldwide "walkathon" fundraising campaigns to benefit local, national and international charities. In 2007, "BAPS Care International" changed its name to "BAPS Charities." Founding vision The founding of vision of the charity is rooted in the philosophy of social service advanced by Swaminarayan in the early 19th century. Swaminarayan undertook several programs of social reform based on non-violence, temperance, and social justice. He helped stop the practice of animal sacrifices in yagnas and promoted animal welfare. He also campaigned aga ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Doors Open Toronto
Doors Open Toronto is an annual event where approximately 150 buildings of architectural, historic, cultural, and social significance to the city of Toronto open their doors to the public for this free citywide event. Toronto was the first city in North America to launch a Doors Open Day program. Staff at many participating buildings organize guided tours, exhibits, displays, and activities to enrich the visitor experience. History Doors Open Toronto was developed as a millennium project in 2000, by the City of Toronto (developed from a European model) and has since attracted over 1.7 million residents and tourists. Doors Open Toronto gives people of all ages and backgrounds the opportunity to learn about Toronto's history, get involved and celebrate Toronto's built heritage. The municipal event won several awards in the late 2000s, including the City Soul Award from the Canadian Urban Institute at the Urban Leadership Awards in 2009, as well as the City Manager's Award fo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Toronto Star
The ''Toronto Star'' is a Canadian English-language broadsheet daily newspaper. It is owned by Toronto Star Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary of Torstar Corporation and part of Torstar's Daily News Brands (Torstar), Daily News Brands division. The newspaper was established in 1892 as the ''Evening Star'' and was later renamed the ''Toronto Daily Star'' in 1900, under Joseph E. Atkinson. Atkinson was a major influence in shaping the editorial stance of the paper, with the paper reflecting his principles until his death in 1948. His son-in-law, Harry C. Hindmarsh, shared those principles as the paper's longtime managing editor while also helping to build circulation with sensational stories, bold headlines and dramatic photos. The paper was renamed the ''Toronto Star'' in 1971 and introduced a Sunday edition in 1977. History The ''Star'' was created in 1892 by striking ''Toronto News'' printers and writers, led by future mayor of Toronto and social reformer Horatio Clarence Hocke ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
David Miller (Canadian Politician)
David Raymond Miller (born December 26, 1958) is a Canadian lawyer and former politician who served as the 63rd mayor of Toronto from 2003 to 2010. Following his career in politics, Miller briefly returned to law before serving as president and CEO of the World Wildlife Fund Canada (WWF-Canada) from 2013 to 2017, after which he began working as the director of international diplomacy at C40 Cities Climate Leadership Group. Background Miller was born in San Francisco, California. His American father, Joe Miller, died of cancer in 1960, and his English mother Joan returned with her son to Thriplow, south of Cambridge. Miller spent his earliest years in England before moving to Canada with his mother in 1967. He attended Lakefield College School on a scholarship. Miller completed a four-year undergraduate degree at Harvard University, graduating ''summa cum laude'' in Economics in 1981. He earned a Bachelor of Laws degree from the University of Toronto Faculty of Law in 1984 and ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dalton McGuinty
Dalton James Patrick McGuinty Jr. (born July 19, 1955) is a Canadian former politician who served as the 24th premier of Ontario from 2003 to 2013. He was the first Liberal leader to win two majority governments since Mitchell Hepburn nearly 70 years earlier. In 2011, he became the first Liberal premier to secure a third consecutive term since Oliver Mowat after his party was re-elected in that year's provincial election. McGuinty was born in Ottawa. He studied science at university, but ended up taking a law degree and practiced law in Ottawa. His father served as a Liberal member of Provincial Parliament (MPP) from 1987 until his death in 1990. A provincial election was called for later that year and McGuinty successfully ran in his father's seat, though the incumbent Liberal government was defeated. After party leader Lyn McLeod resigned due to her leading the Liberals to a second defeat in the 1995 election, McGuinty was elected leader in the 1996 leadership elec ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Stephen Harper
Stephen Joseph Harper (born April 30, 1959) is a Canadian politician who served as the 22nd prime minister of Canada from 2006 to 2015. He is to date the only prime minister to have come from the modern-day Conservative Party of Canada, serving as the party's first leader from 2004 to 2015. Since 2018, he has also been the chairman of the International Democracy Union. Harper studied economics, earning a bachelor's degree in 1985 and a master's degree in 1991 at the University of Calgary. He was one of the founders of the Reform Party of Canada and was first elected in 1993 in Calgary West. He did not seek re-election in the 1997 federal election, instead joining and later leading the National Citizens Coalition, a conservative lobbyist group. In 2002, he succeeded Stockwell Day as leader of the Canadian Alliance, the successor to the Reform Party, and returned to parliament as leader of the Official Opposition. In 2003, Harper negotiated the merger of the Canadian Al ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hanuman
Hanuman (; , ), also known as Maruti, Bajrangabali, and Anjaneya, is a deity in Hinduism, revered as a divine ''vanara'', and a devoted companion of the deity Rama. Central to the ''Ramayana'', Hanuman is celebrated for his unwavering devotion to Rama and is considered a '' chiranjivi''. He is traditionally believed to be the spiritual offspring of the wind deity Vayu, who is said to have played a significant role in his birth. In Shaiva tradition, he is regarded to be an incarnation of Shiva, while in most of the Vaishnava traditions he is the son and incarnation of Vayu. His tales are recounted not only in the ''Ramayana'' but also in the '' Mahabharata'' and various ''Puranas''. Devotional practices centered around Hanuman were not prominent in these texts or in early archaeological evidence. His theological significance and the cultivation of a devoted following emerged roughly a millennium after the ''Ramayana'' was composed, during the second millennium CE.Paula Richman ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ganesha
Ganesha or Ganesh (, , ), also known as Ganapati, Vinayaka and Pillaiyar, is one of the best-known and most worshipped Deva (Hinduism), deities in the Hindu deities, Hindu pantheon and is the Supreme God in the Ganapatya sect. His depictions are found throughout India. Hindu denominations worship him regardless of affiliations. Devotion to Ganesha is widely diffused and extends Ganesha in world religions, to Jains and Buddhists and beyond India. Although Ganesha has many attributes, he is readily identified by his Asiatic Elephant, elephant head and four arms. He is widely revered, more specifically, as the remover of obstacles and bringer of good luck; the patron of The arts, arts and Science, sciences; and the Deva (Hinduism), deva of intellect and wisdom. As the god of beginnings, he is honoured at the start of rites and ceremonies. Ganesha is also invoked during writing sessions as a patron of letters and learning., Vigna means obstacles Nasha means destroy. These ideas ar ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lakshmi
Lakshmi (; , , sometimes spelled Laxmi, ), also known as Shri (, , ), is one of the principal goddesses in Hinduism, revered as the goddess of wealth, fortune, prosperity, beauty, fertility, sovereignty, and abundance. She along with Parvati and Sarasvati, form the trinity of goddesses called the Tridevi. Lakshmi has been a central figure in Hindu tradition since pre-Buddhist times (1500 to 500 BCE) and remains one of the most widely worshipped goddesses in the Hindu pantheon. Although she does not appear in the earliest Vedic literature, the personification of the term '' shri''—auspiciousness, glory, and high rank, often associated with kingship—eventually led to the development of Sri-Lakshmi as a goddess in later Vedic texts, particularly the ''Shri Suktam''. Her importance grew significantly during the late epic period (around 400 CE), when she became particularly associated with the preserver god Vishnu as his consort. In this role, Lakshmi is seen as the ide ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
