Public Engagement and Personal Desires: BAPS Swaminarayan Temples and their Contribution to the Discourses on Religion

• DOI: 10.1007/s11407-010-9081-4
• Publication Date: 2010-02-18T07:55:19Z
• Authors: Hanna Kim
• Keywords: 11. Sustainability; 0601 history and archaeology; 06 humanities and the arts

On an especially warm weekend in late May 2008, thousands of people stood under the mid-day sun, with no shade tree in sight, and waited for their chance to enter the elaborately carved Swaminarayan Temple before them. The sun appeared to dance on the temple’s fully carved exterior, placing in bright relief the threedimensional designs on the temple base, the domes, archways, and spires. The visitors, who could be overheard speaking languages as varied as Arabic, Mandarin, Russian, and Vietnamese, showed no signs of hurry and, with visible expressions of curiosity, took photographs of the temple as they moved closer to the designated entrance. This scene, with the visual centerpiece of the carved temple and its appreciative audience, was perhaps not so unexpected given the occasion, namely, the city of Toronto, Canada’s annual “Doors Open Toronto” event, where the local habitues are invited to visit its “multicultural places of worship” and “national historic sites.” 1 As I stood outside the temple’s haveli doors, where the entering and exiting visitors were being expertly guided by volunteers, it was clear that this Swaminarayan Temple, not yet one-year old, had impressed its guests. Speaking to people as they exited the temple, many holding their pink prasad boxes with an image of the Toronto Temple on the lid, I was both intrigued by the sincerity of their comments and their choice of words. Many said that they would return to the temple for a more contemplative experience, or in the words of one man, “to have a better appreciation of this spiritual atmosphere.” A woman who had traveled by public transport to the temple said, “You can see this is a highly spiritual place, and it makes me want to know more about Hinduism.” An elderly man, who was waiting for his wife to collect her shoes, shared, “This new temple really brings pride to all of us in Toronto. It teaches us how peaceful Hinduism is and gives us a real taste of living Hindu religion and spirituality, right here, in Canada.” And, an Asian woman, in response to my question about why she had come to the temple, simply stated, “I saw it getting built as I drove to work everyday and I came to see what it is.…We