I've always liked places of worship – they can tell you a lot about a community from the sparse Puritan spaces to the ornate Eastern Orthodox churches. I'm not even going to mention the non-Christian holy houses – wait, yes I am. Let me tell you about BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Mandir.
A Mandir is a Hindu place of worship. This particular Mandir in Atlanta is the largest mandir of its kind outside of India. It is made of 34,450 pieces of hand-carved Italian marble, Turkish Limestone and Indian pink sandstone. These pieces were all carved in India, shipped to Atlanta and pieced back together like a jigsaw puzzle. We were fortunate enough to be allowed to enter the mandir, walk up to the very top and watch Arti.
Arti is the symbolic waving of a lighted wick in a clockwise motion in front of the murti of Bhagwan while singing a prayer. It symbolizes the removal of darkness by true spiritual enlightenment.
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| The front view |
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| The side view |
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| Look at the amount of carvings just in this one section |
You are not allowed to take pictures inside the mandir. If you think the outside is incredible, it pales compared to the inside. The room where the Arti was performed was almost like a fairy room – exceptionally beautiful carved Carrara marble adorned with lights. I think every inch was carved, well, maybe not the floor, but everything else. Around the sides of the room were niches where they had various representations of gods. I think Hindus believe in one god, but this god can have many different manifestations. We sat on the floor as we watched the Arti which only lasted about eight minutes. Note: There are no chairs in the Mandir.
I admire people who have a passion in life. Barbara Hartsfield is one of those people who have followed their passion and found a unique way to share this passion with others. Ms. Hartsfield collects miniature chairs. In fact, back in 2008, she found herself in the Guinness Book of World Records. You can only visit the Collectibles and Antique Chair Gallery on Friday and Saturday as Ms. Hartsfield is still working as a psychiatric nurse. But...if you do show up, she is there to greet you with a smile and a personal tour among all of her treasures.
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| I was especially fond of all of the shelf sitters that were on display |
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| Ms. Hartsfield has written the first book of a series that will teach children their ABCs through chairs. Pictures Ms. Hartsfield and Friend Lou |
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