“See, I lay a stone in Zion, a tested stone, a precious cornerstone, a sure foundation; the one who believes will never be shaken” (Isaiah 28:16).
What compels people to see God in stone and to construct majestic stone abodes for the Divine? If marble stones may converse, they might sing from the depths of the human psyche some of the best aspirations of the human soul. Since time immemorial, civilisations have constructed monuments to have fun their basic divine impulse — the Egyptian pyramids, Jewish temples, French cathedrals, and Islamic mosques — all reaching for the heavens, making an attempt to the touch the arms of the Gods or Goddesses.
On October 18, 2023, within the swampy farmland of Robbinsville, New Jersey (close to Princeton), a BAPS Swaminarayan Akshardham, a Hindu place of worship opened with comparable grandeur and longstanding dedication to a tradition of seva or selfless service.
As Yogi Trivedi informed me, he has been considering the 189-foot-tall mahashikhar or central steeple of the Akshardham Mahamandir. As a scholar of faith and a journalist who has taught at Columbia University, he has devoted his life to fascinated with the mission of the Swaminarayan motion and their Hindu temples.
Yogi Trivedi has written, “Each stone has a song to share – stories of selfless service, harmony, and devotion. I heard the stones calling out to Bhagwan Swaminarayan and the other Hindu deities to whom this mandir is dedicated. I heard the stones calling out to the diverse group of volunteers and sadhus from around the world who helped complete it while putting their education, careers, and family matters on hold.”
The Vedic parable of the boy who goes to his guru to hunt enlightenment describes how the guru provides the boy 400 cows to herd and instructs him to return when there are 1000 cows. You will discover enlightenment; the guru tells him. The ethical is that he should serve selflessly, not realizing what’s in it for him. He will study one thing concerning the which means of life and self-transcendence. Such is the story of the Akshardham temple. People serve with out an expectation of reward. They give to the bigger group to make it develop.
“Ask not what your country can do for you – Ask what you can do for your country,” mentioned John F. Kennedy, the primary Catholic president of the United States (President Biden proudly continues that lineage as a religious Catholic). The BAPS temple implores all Americans to do the identical. Along the partitions of the temple are carved photos of Abraham Lincoln and Martin Luther King Jr., the timeless martyrs of one of the oldest constitutional democracies.
Seva permeates many of the interrelated Hindu faiths, corresponding to Sikhism, Jainism, and Buddhism. It means to serve with out expectation for rewards, to serve God or humanity. Seva is the best type of motion or karma, seen as half of one’s righteous obligation or dharma to attain moksha or liberation. In the Bhagavad Gita, Krishna urges Arjuna to carry out his obligation or dharma with none want for returns. In the fashionable context, karma yoga has turn out to be considerably synonymous with volunteerism. This seva is the delicate basis of Hindu temples and, particularly, the Swaminarayan motion.
The historic roots of the Swaminarayan motion stretch again to the late 1700s and early 1800s when the British with their East India Company had been actively duelling with Hindu feudal chieftains and Mughal monarchs for the management of India.
Swaminarayan (April 3, 1781-June 1, 1830), also called Sahajanand Swami, turned a yogi and an ascetic, believed to be a manifestation of the Divine round whom the Swaminarayan motion flourished. In 1800, Swaminarayan’s guru initiated him and gave him management of the non secular group, which has been a steady monastic order for greater than two centuries. Partly in response to the British claims that Hinduism was world-negating, the Swaminarayan motion burdened the significance of service or seva as deep engagement with the social world, alongside the observe of yogic asceticism.
The destabilising influences of European colonialism, the disruption of syncretism between Hinduism and Islam, and the rise of new non secular sects corresponding to Shaktism, Jainism, and Tantric cults, could have given the impetus to the monastic asceticism which saved Hindu practices from degrading additional. The reform actions that emerged in India on the finish of the medieval or early trendy interval strategically negotiated with the British and the Mughals with various levels of success.
In reality, the primary Swaminarayan temple in Ahmedabad was constructed on a land grant from the British Imperial authorities, and Swaminarayan himself embraced all different faiths and social communities, together with Christians, Muslims, Parsis, and even these usually unnoticed by the remaining of society, the Dalits. Swaminarayan constructed six temples throughout his lifetime and led reforms for the poor, ladies and totally different caste teams.
Today, the Swaminarayan motion is a transnational community of 1000’s of Hindu temples, actively concerned in social service within the native communities. Savita and Soma Patel had bought a beachfront property in Hawaii for his or her retirement, however once they heard of the development of the brand new Hindu temple in New Jersey, dwelling to at least one of the biggest South Asian communities, they determined to alter their plans and moved to Central Jersey to assist construct the temple.
Satish Jangid, a talented sculptor of wooden and stone crafts, had not often travelled exterior of his dwelling district of Rajasthan. But when he obtained the chance to contribute to what was as soon as thought of a dying artwork, he took up the problem. You can discover him instructing volunteers and guests concerning the work he did on the marble pillars and carved statues. He is one of the artisan volunteers or Vishwakarma sculptors, named after the Hindu deity of structure.
During the Covid-19 interval, the Hindu temple — nonetheless underneath building — was energetic in administering 40,000 free vaccines, donating 170,000 PPE gadgets, and contributing nearly 1,000,000 {dollars} to native healthcare and group organisations. The results of seva are usually not simply to the group, but additionally to the people who serve. Many of the younger women and men who helped construct the temple converse of their development and improvement inside and with out confidence increase, talent set improvement, and religious centeredness.
The temple took over a decade to construct. Despite some of the continuing labour disputes, the biggest Hindu place of worship exterior of India is an architectural landmark; with contributions from 12,500 volunteers. It is a tribute to the values of seva or selfless service within the religious, cultural, and social realms.
Dinesh Sharma is a Director and Chief Research Officer at Steam Works Studio, an edtech enterprise in Princeton, NJ, and a school member at Fordham University and NYU in New York City. Views expressed within the above piece are private and solely that of the writer. They don’t essentially replicate News18’s views.
