Mr. Kliesh’s World Religions class was recently welcomed to the second largest Hindu temple in the world, BAPS Swaminarayan in Robbinsville, New Jersey. The class is currently studying Hinduism, and the nature of the class includes many field trips to help illustrate the various religions of the world and their practice. The staggeringly spectacular mandir is a place for general Hindu worship but is specifically dedicated to the incarnation of God as Swaminarayan and his line of gurus. The class was shown around by a tour guide who led them through a beautiful visitor’s center with intricate teakwood carvings, paintings, and Diwali-inspired imitation candles. They then observed the towering white mandir, a place of Hindu worship. Every inch of the temple was intricately carved, made in India and then shipped over to Robbinsville. There was no photography permitted inside the mandir, but the all-white stone was carved to show images from fables, the Vedas, and various important figures in Hinduism. Columns held up a ceiling also intricately carved with various symbols, including the zodiac, instrument-wielding worshippers, peacocks, elephants, and various deities. Observing a place of Hindu worship helped foster the class’ understanding of Hinduism as a whole, and the various symbols and rituals they noticed were patiently explained to them by their tour guide, a devotee of the mandir herself. The class then enjoyed a selection of vegetarian Indian food at the cafeteria, a tasty end to an educational and dazzling field trip.
