Contrary
to popular belief, the Lotus temple is not a temple but a prayer hall of
Bahai Faith. Located near the famous ISKCON and Kalka Ji temple, this
structure is famous throughout the world for its manifestation in
design. This is supposed to be the only worship place of the Bahai faith
in Asia. The maintainer of this place stresses on keeping quiet. So if
you are a chatter-box and can't shut your mouth, Lotus Temple, the most
visited place in India after Taj Mahal, is out of bound for you. The structure is situated in the sprawling lush-green 26 acres campus. The building was commissioned in the year 1980 to an Iranian architect named Fariburz Sabha and was completed in the year 1986. It was opened for the general public in the same year. The temple is set among numerous pools and a sprawling garden. This has been deliberately done in order to create a feel that this Big Lotus is floating in a pond. The Lotus, as seen from outside or from airplane, has three sets of petals. These petals are made of special concrete mould in white cement and decorated with white marble. These stones were brought from all over the world including the famous Mount Olympus in Greece and Macedonia.
The Bahai faith is an off shoot of Islam and thus is heavily inspired from the basic tenets of Islam such as monotheism. You will not find any Idol in the temple. It is just a hall to pray and salvage. There is an Information Center at the Bahai House of Worship that provides information on different facets of the Bahai Faith in the form of photographs, books, miniature and short films.