Prayer Time

Today it was an honour to sit in on prayers (or Arti) at

Shri Swaninarayan Mandir.

It is the first of five traditional Indian Mandir built in North America. 

It is the smallest of the five.  The biggest is in Atlanta.

Mandir is a Hindu place of worship.

The local "devotees" were only too happy to explain about God and the

Spiritual Leader Pramukh Swami Maharaj.

 Angie and Yvette

A lovely gentleman let us sit at the front of the "women's Section"

 Me and Yvette

Apparently two things tempt men.

Wealth and women.

The reflection pool

It was a lovely experience.  The devotees all sing the prayers and it was all very calming

and serene.

 The front entrance 

Afterwards a very nice lady told us all about the Gods but in all honesty

their names were so long I had trouble keeping up with what she was telling us.

But we thanked her anyway for being kind.

 The building that houses the exhibition and restrooms!!

We went through to the back of the Mandir to take part in Abhishek.

An ancient ritual of bathing the murti (sacred image) of God to honour him 

and to attain his blessing for inner peace.

 Side view

The Mandir has only been in Houston for the last 11 years and is made up of 33,000

sections.  The internal sections are made from Italian marble

and the outside is Turkish limestone.  

All the pieces were hand carved by skilled craftsmen after the stones were shipped to India.

A man on the roof just so you get an idea of size.  That middle dome weighs a ton.

Once complete they were packed and shipped to Houston where it was 

assembled by volunteers.  It took 11 months to complete and was blessed

by Pramukh Swami Maharaj in July 2004.

 Carvings on an outside wall.

It truly is the most beautiful place I have seen and is a stunning piece of workmanship.

Carved pillar.

Unfortunately photography is not permitted inside which is a shame as the craftsmanship inside is out of this world.  Each of the 27 small vaulted ceiling is a different design.

On first seeing it it reminded me of a very large ivory sculpture.

Which thankfully it isn't.

If you ever get to Houston you should go and see it.

It's amazing and so are it's devotees.