Saturday, February 20, 2010

Temples, Ashram and Mausoleum


Grandma took me to a temple.
ISKCON is the abbreviation for International Society for Krishna Consciousness. This temple depicts Lord Krishna with his beloved lover Radha, who is regarded as the epitome of true love. Also called as the Hare Krishna Temple, ISKCON temple situates in a vast area with lovely trees, which gives a serene and tranquil environ to the devotees.

Can you see the bull and cows in at the temple?




I was told that this is a Jain praying place for the people and not a temple but women have to cover their head when they enter, so we didn't go
Jains eat vegetarian food and are not suppose to eat food after sunset. The reason for not eating after sunset is because it carries the risk of accidentally ingesting insects that come out after dark. They also do not eat any root foods, like carrots, onions, potatoes, etc. for the same risk of accidentally ingesting insects.



Gandhi Ashram

For many years Ahmedabad was the center of Mahatma Gandhi’s non-violent struggle for India’s independence. The most important ashram was established at Ahmedabad by him in the year 1925. This ashram is now converted in to the national monument by the government of India and is called Sabarmati Ashram. Many visitors visit this ashram, located on the famous Ashram Road, at the bank of River Sabarmati in Ahmedabad around 4 miles away from the main city of Ahmedabad. The location of this ashram is so peaceful that sitting here quietly at the ashram, gives you lot of internal peace and solace. The ashram is called Hraday kunj now since the year 1988. All the tourists visiting Ahmedabad make sure to see this most vital monument of Indian freedom.



Taj Mahal
One of the most famous buildings in the world is the Taj Mahal and is located in Agra, India.

The Taj Mahal is the greatest monument to love and the only tomb that the woman is in the center and the emperor to the side.

It was built by the Mughal emperor Shah Jahān (reigned 1628–58) to immortalize his wife Mumtāz Maḥal (“Chosen One of the Palace”). The name Taj Mahal is a derivation of her name. She died in childbirth in 1631, after having been the emperor’s inseparable companion since their marriage in 1612. The plans for the complex have been attributed to various architects of the period, though the chief architect was probably Ustad Aḥmad Lahawrī, an Indian of Persian descent. The five principal elements of the complex—main gateway, garden, mosque, jawab (literally “answer”; a building mirroring the mosque), and mausoleum (including its four minarets)—were conceived and designed as a unified entity according to the tenets of Mughal building practice, which allowed no subsequent addition or alteration. Building commenced about 1632. More than 20,000 workers were employed from India, Persia, the Ottoman Empire, and Europe to complete the mausoleum itself by about 1638–39; the adjunct buildings were finished by 1643, and decoration work continued until at least 1647. In total, construction of the 42-acre (17-hectare) complex spanned 22 years.

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