Indian migrants in UAE have got an exciting reason to celebrate, since the foundation stone for the first hindu traditional temple has been laid down in the country. The shrine is to be built in Abu Dhabi and the ceremony of foundation laying (shilanyas) will be held on April 20, 2019 with all hindu rituals.
The ceremony will be conducted at the site in Abu Mureikha, near Al Rahba, by BAPS Swaminarayan Sanstha, the religious and social organisation building the shrines across the world. The organization manages about 1,200 temples in India, the US, UK, Canada, Australia and Africa.
The construction work will start on the 10.9-hectare site and it will take one year to be completed. The ceremony will be led by Mahant Swami Maharaj, the spiritual leader of the group and representatives from all over UAE will attend the function.
“The shilanyas ceremony is a sacred Hindu ritual where the first foundation stones are to be sanctified and laid in the ground as the base of the temple,” explained Swami Brahmavihari, a senior Hindu priest, the international relations specialist of Baps Swaminarayan Sanstha.
Regarding the monument’s construction work, the architects have planned out everything. The materials for its design have been chosen and intricate hand carvings will be the highlighted feature of the shrine.
To begin with, Macedonian marbles have already been sent to the sculpting sites in western India to be crafted. Pink sandstone for the pillars and outer structure are to be taken from the state of Rajasthan. The design of the temple will follow the ancient Sanskrit scriptures and its elaborate engravings will be inspired by nature. As per the construction plan, on completion the temple will showcase seven spires, to represent each emirate of the UAE.
The construction work will begin soon after the foundation is laid. Once the carvings on the stones are done, those will be transported to the UAE to be assembled on the site.
A Singapore-based architectural firm named – RSP Architects Planners and Engineers, were appointed last year as lead consultants and designers.
At first, in the year 2017, the UAE government granted 13.7acre of land for the project and then again added 13.5 acres to it for parking purposes.
Therefore, Swami Brahmavihari said, “The love and kindness shown by Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed, the Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi, along with the UAE government, are simply beyond words. On many occasions they have encouraged us and gone out of their way to help us on this project.”
The temple premises will embrace a visitors’ centre, exhibition and prayer halls, sports and play areas for children, gardens, a food court, books and gift shop. Besides these, fostering humanitarian values the temple will play a key role in promoting interfaith harmony in the UAE and will also include a cultural complex to welcome people of all faiths and nationalities.
