Ringing in the New Year in New Delhi

Whenever I'm living in a foreign country for any time longer than a few weeks, I realize that I usually try to immerse myself so much into the culture and every day life that I sometimes forget I'm a tourist. This isn't always a bad thing, but halfway through my time there, I realize why I have chosen to live in that country....to explore! It's great to attempt to live like a local and go on about my every day life but it's also important not to wrap up in too much of the every day so that I don't see the sights that I came there to see. 

During my time in New Delhi so far I've been so wrapped up in work during the week and school work during the weekend, that I haven't had the time or energy to visit some of the temples and other attractions. This first weekend of the new year though, I vowed to myself that I would see some of the sights in New Delhi. 

I decided to see three temples that weren't far away from each other, and one of them being the Lotus Temple, one of only seven Baha'i Houses of Worship in the World!

From the Metro station I was able to see a bit of the Lotus Temple and it was gorgeous! The Lotus Temple is made up of white marble and has 27 petals, with 9 main points of the lotus flower. Jutting from each point is a pool. Then inside and kind of underneath the lotus structure is the actual house of worship and sanctuary. The sanctuary is actually quite simple with barely any altar or decorations. It reminded me almost of an outside amphitheater. Inside the sanctuary, we were asked to take no pictures and remain completely silent so that others could meditate and reflect. For me, it was difficult to be at peace when a new group of people came into the sanctuary practically every 10-15 minutes, but it was still worthwhile.

Despite the fog and cloudiness of the day, I was glad I still went. There are so many things that I want to see in New Delhi before I go back to the US and I only have so much time to do it all. With it being the first weekend of the new year, I really wanted to visit somewhere where I could just meditate and channel my inner spiritual being. The Lotus Temple seemed like the perfect place to be. 

The central theme of the Baha'i faith is that humanity is one single race. The founder of the Baha'i faith, Baha'u'llah, said that the day has come for humanity to unify into one global society. 

After visiting the Lotus Temple, I became really interested in this faith and decided to check it out more on their website. 

They list the Baha'i Beliefs as:

• All humanity is one family
• Women and men are equal
• All prejudice--racial, religious, national or economic--is destructive and must be overcome.
• We must investigate truth for ourselves, without preconceptions.
• World peace is the crying need of our time. 
• All major religions come from God.
• There is one God.
• The family and its unity are very important.
• Our economic problems are linked to spiritual problems.
• Science and religion are in harmony.

Once I left the Lotus Temple, I decided to head to a Hindu temple dedicated to goddess Kali, which I found was right across the street from the Lotus Temple. 

A vendor selling fresh flowers and other gifts that people can give to the deity

So I wandered through the street and turned into alleyways and found myself at the back of a very long line of people waiting to enter the temple. I really wasn't in the mood to wait at least 45 minutes to even get to the temple.So instead I decided to grab a quick bite to eat on the side of the road and venture off to the ISKCON Temple.

The ISKCON Temple stands for the International Society for Krishna Consciousness and is considered a spiritual institution. Besides housing a temple, the center also has an education center, a yoga vedic center and an entertainment center, among others. 

A Hindu god in a pool outside of the temple

Once I got to the ISKCON Temple, I found out that the temple itself was closed for another hours. So instead I decided to go to a fog and lights show about the Bhagavad Gita, the holy book for Hinduism. The fog and lights show was strange to say the least. It reminded me of a cross between a Halloween haunted house and natural history museum. I wouldn't recommend seeing the lights show, but I'm sure the temple would be worthwhile. If I have another free weekend before I leave, I might head back to see the actual temple. 

Some deities in the education center

Living in New Delhi has really made me reflect on my life and goals. After this weekend's excursions, I've decided to make one of my new year's resolutions a meditative one. I want to be able to find inner calm and a place of reflection no matter where I am--whether it's the crowded streets of New Delhi or a quiet church sanctuary.