UYE: BAPS Swaminarayan Complex and Shayona Cafeteria

So it’s the middle of HRW and this UYE aligned perfectly like an eclipse. As an aspiring foodie I was eager to try some new cultural food. I had to get there no matter what it cost despite the construction going on. Nonetheless I made it there. I visited the gift shop which had a lot of stuff ranging from books to snacks and even beauty supply. I had the authentic vegetarian food. I am a meat lover but the spices in the meal didn’t require any meat. I had a fun time sampling some sweets. The museum was very educational about the Indian culture. They have a neem tree display. I must say I’m a fun of neem oil. I’ve used it several times for my hair and skin together with other Indian herbs. The best part was the mandir. The building is beautiful. Unexplainable. It’s made from imported limestone and marble. They are curved to perfection. This has to be the best first UYE. Shout outs to Depp and our tour guide who answered all our questions. I am looking forward to the onam festival.

If you know me, then you know that I am not a spiritual or religious person, but however I was really moved by this UYE! The temple is absolutely beautiful and I believe the guide said that as of now, it’s the only one in North America. I loved the architecture of this temple, it’s pretty impressive to witness. It’s best to wear slip on shoes as you’re not allowed to enter the actual temple with shoes on, but there’s a shoe rack right outside though. The guide explained and answered everything great! I think one of the biggest impressions that I received from this UYE was the interaction of the worship process that was going on while we were there! I mean we got to experience it as it was taking place and that was pretty dope! It actually moved me and not much really gets to me. I loved how many of the people there were just so nice and respectful. I left with my mind at ease and so relaxed. We also had a chance to try many of the cuisine and most of them were delightful! Recently they added glass to the temple and a/​c because of the oppressive heat and humidity, so I picked the perfect time to show up. This was a great UYE and thanks to Depp for putting it together as I really appreciated it! It was also great to see and chat with my fellow Unilocalers. I will be taking my out of town guest here for sure! What a great gem we have in this city!

I was the host to this event, i would align my review from that perspective. It was my first UYE, this was an idea that popped up and again whenever me and Erin talked. Now before she is leaving for denmark with family it was time to put it into action .The idea was simple, to get a guided tour of the megastructure, to know about its architecture, to witness a darshan, to checkout the exhibition in temple grounds and to have shayona food. we planned 3 hours and aided by the expertise alignment from our guide completed all these in the exact time frame .
Although there were 34 RSVPs, 12 confirmed, we finally had 9 of us turning up on time for the event, Erin, rasmus and the children, lou, maria, DjB, Tj M his partner and Shawn my man .
Iam not aware of anyone coming in late and turning back, much to our luck there was a last minute shuffle in guide and we got a new person called mahesh, a veteran BAPS follower in his 70s who happily agreed to accommodate us .We started off with the exhibition at 2 15 pm, although it was a self guided tour, in a few minutes mahesh joined us and took us through a detailed journey of origin of philosophy, mathematics, vedas and upanishads from India. he talked about how the swaminarayan chiefs are gurus aka teachers and how deities are treated like living beings here. We talked about the concept of one, the efforts that were made to build this magnificent structure here and how 33 000 different pieces were assembled in a short span of 3 years by predominantly volunteers. He even showed us a video of the grandeur of akshardham temple in new delhi, much to our joy and about the new temple complex coming up in new jersey .
Following which it was time to check out some shayona food in the cafeteria
One thing about Unilocal meetups i love is the idea of sharing
We each got something from the cafeteria that we thought we need to share with others and we all got to sample everything. We got 2 shayona thalis complete with silky soft rotis, malai kofta (mind blowing), aloo gobi, boondi raita, milk petha, achar, sambhar, and rice cakes. the links of each are as below
We also got some tangy spicy savory snacks of gujarati tradition and also some cashew and saffron based milk sweet dishes
one is a sweet and sour cake called khaman made from chickpea flour
nest was a form of kachori, a fired snack, batter coated spicy mix. the spicy mix is made from lentils
we had some sweet dishes based out of kaju katli, milk cashews and saffron
This place has one of teh largest collection of fresh indian pure vegetarian snacks you can find. the people in charge were very accomodating and helped us know more about each dish and made sure that we were comfortable
By 3 30 pm we were out of the cafeteria and mahesh led us to the main mandir complex. we left our footwear at the shoe rack on top of the first flight of stairs, there were carpets on the hot marble floor to walk upto the main doors, mahesh led us in and talked to us about the statues, elephant figures, how each one of them were different (there should be thousands around the temple walls), once inside he explained the significance of each deity and form illustrated in the domes and walls. how each one served a special purpose like wealth, education, power etc. At 4pm followers started coming in for darshan and we joined them as the shrine was opened ‚
Mahesh explained how the deities were actual humans with supreme presence who lived among us, and they were still treated as living beings. the statues will be bathed and dressed up in morning, then they will see followers, they have lunch time, nap time and also supper time. there were small cradles on which deities sit and followers were showing their devotion by stroking the cradles gently. We were also taken around my mahesh to witness the abhishek or ritual bathing where devotees was bathing the statues with water from tiny bronze vessels. we joined in and i would say many of us were happy we did .
All in all it was well fitting the schedule and very informative and interesting. I wish to schedule another one so that more Unilocalers can get to know about this beautiful tranquil grandeur in the city

Aside from Lou’s UYE, this was the most unique unofficial Unilocal event hosted by Depp. I greatly enjoyed the experience that I received yesterday. I learned valuable information about the history, culture, and the religion of Hinduism. Things I never knew about.
A perfect spot to have this UYE was at the BAPS Hindu Temple and of course this place had been on my bookmarks for some time. Such a remarkable paradise for any artist, spiritual leader, a person seeking peace from within or a good blessing.
A stone of limestone carved on point to please any eye. Our guide was informative on everything; he even showed us a neat video on another temple in India.
I’d say my favorite part of this UYE was the exhibition room, inside the temple, and sampling the food. The different facts about India and Hinduism. Though, the men and women had to be separated; the patrons were very helpful in showing us what the rituals were. Everyone was so accepting as we viewed everything.
The food was quite different as most things had a spice kicked into it from the sweets, snacks, to the main dish.
It was such a simple drive from the SE side, I just drove straight down the Beltway and turned left on US 90 and turn on Ave A and just find Brand Ln.
Thanks to Depp!

Bravo, Depp! This UYE was his first one. Good job coordinating with temple volunteer to show us around.
This is the most educational UYE with lots of knowledge passed down from an elderly volunteer. We walked from the Exhibit to cafeteria to Mandir. Oh yeah, it was a lot of walking. I need to learn how to walk on marble without getting arthritis pain. I couldn’t sample the spicy vegetarian food due to doctor’s order (had oral surgery the day before). But I plan to come back to indulge.
The timing of event was perfect. Since the Mandir (temple) opens at 3 pm, we finished all other venues first. I enjoyed the talking tour in the exhibit hall the most. The devotees at the Mandir knew we were «tourists» and they were very friendly.
I am coming back when I am fit for this strenuous activity.
BTW, it was very nice to see Erin’s family before they depart to Denmark; Shawn, TJ & his wife, DJ B (yes, she is real), Maria W.