Toronto, Canada: is now the proud home of a new Hindu Temple, from an architectural standpoint it is not the Taj Mahal, but it certainly is a work of art. Built using Turkish Limestone and Italian marble The Swaminarayan Mandir temple was constructed both in Canada and India, the building blocks were even bar coded to facilitate their placement in the structure. I guess this is old carving skills meets new technology.
I love great architecture and this certainly has it, but the price tag of $40 million makes my eyes boggle. The vast majority of the price tag was footed by the Hindu population, so I really can not blame the government for sponsoring some ‘Pork’ endeavor. But ‘Pork’ this is! The Hindu’s do not eat pork, but they certainly are supporting it.
My bag is working with the homeless, and working poor, people with no place to live, no food, and rapidly declining self esteem, and health. Life on the streets is hard, survive 5 years, you age 20. I look at that $40 million and just wonder how much ‘low cost’ housing it could become? I look at the fact that much of the work was done in India and shipped to Canada, ok, Canadian’s may not be great stone workers, but we sure know how to build structures that can withstand the environment.
The Swaminarayan Mandir temple may be a wonderful piece of work; it may even be a classic. But give me $40 million and I could do something useful. Something that is renewable and sustainable, something that could actually help people.Â
Simon Barrett
http://zzsimonb.blogspot.com Â
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(5 votes, average: 4.2 out of 5)
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45 users commented in " New $40 Million Hindu Temple Opens, While Millions Starve! "
Follow-up comment rss or Leave a TrackbackYou presume that building a temple will not help people. You presume that a place of worship will not help people to come to some higher sense of order and peace, which in itself will help others. Much more than 40 million has been spent on various forms of “help” for the hungry and homeless. It is not the money that is wrong, it is the way the money is spent on various endeavors.
YOU SHOULD THINKIN THE 300 MILLIONS THAT THE CANADIANS SPENT IN JUST AN AILE OF THE ROM (THE CRISTAL AGE) THAT ONLY HAS ABOUT 5 % OF CRISTAL AND YET WE SAY THE CRISTAL AGE.. CRAP… AND 300 M FOR THAT SHOULDN’T BE ALLOW TO BE SPEND… THINK …!!
FORGOT TO SAY THAT CANADIANS, BUILD HOUSES NOT WITH STONES BUT WITH PAPER, WOOD AND A KIND OF CORRUGATED CALLED DRYWALL… THATS HOW YOU DO NOT BUILD HOUSES…
Windsor you are right, much money has been spent on pointless projects over the years. We are older and wiser now, lets try and put our dollars into projects that help to sustain us, not just satisfy us.
Simon, Two things for you, 1: if you look at the right of your keyboard you will see a button ‘Caps Lock’ if you press it once it will take the annoying all caps off. In the civilized online world we do not type in CAP’S. It is hard to read, and is generally viewed as being rude.
I have tried several runs at your first comment, and I have to admit that I have no idea what you are talking about. I am guessing that English is not your first language. What exactly is an AILE OF THE ROM? Maybe if you could explain, I could reply.
Simon
One could make a similar comment that the millions spent on the Ballet School, Opera House and extension to the Royal Ontario Museum are a travesty while 600,000 people in Toronto have to go to food banks, where there is a 20% poverty rate, where hundreds sleep on the streets every night, where tens of thousands try to live on social welfare payments that are less than the cost of their rent.
Ask them to give you the millions wasted on those buildings so you can spend them better helping the First Natiions people in this country who have 60% unemployment, primitive housing, ultra high suicide and HIV rates, and see what they will tell you.
Simon should note that the money to build the Swaminarayan mandir was raised by Hindus here in Toronto, and that the mandir is for Hindus here in Canada, not for those in India. Some stonecarvers in India volunteered their time to create these marvellous stone works, and a small amount of the money raised in Toronto was used to support the families of the stonecarver volunteers. Toronto Hindus did not take anything away from India, or divert any money that should have gone to poor people in India
Throughout history, we have had poor, and we have had architectural marvels come up,
if not in the hundreds of million, human kind has spent hundreds of billions of dollar to maintain
our cultural heritage, eventually all that time and effort spent (not to mention the money) could have
been spent better, but that is something we all have to live with, I can very easy choose to not by
a new computer, and donate the $700 instead, so can you. Keep in mind that the $40.0 mil raised for
this temple came from donations only, and the temple was built by volunteers, this sort of service at
the end of the day helps the community, keeps it spirits up, makes us more giving, a big part of the
regular visit to the church, temple, or mosque is to donate, if this temple cost $40.0mil to make
and it can last 1,000 years based on the architectures, imagine how much money will be generated
through this temple that will eventually go towards communal development programs.
FYI – There has been no federal funding for this institution
“a big part of the
regular visit to the church, temple, or mosque is to donate, if this temple cost $40.0mil to make
and it can last 1,000 years based on the architectures, imagine how much money will be generated
through this temple that will eventually go towards communal development programs”
Ab. I agree with you absolutely. Those who pay for religious buildings also are generous in paying towards social needs. Often it seems those who complain hardly donate worthwhile charities.
Annon, I did not say that government funds were used. Although I’ll bet there were lots of ‘tax credits’ involved. My point is that $40 million buys a lot of things, and building a mini Taj, does not look like a really useful method of spending the cash.
Amir – what is the carbon footprint of this building? How much nasty by products were created? Even if the Indian carvers worked for free, lots of pollutents were used to transport the limestone to Canada. The idea of spending $40 Million on a ‘showcase’ shocks me. There is so much good use that that amount of money could be used for.
Yes it may last a 1000 years, but who cares if there is no one left to look at it?
In my opinion they should have used $39.9 million to help people, and the last .1 million to throw the biggest Keg party Toronto has ever seen!
Now that would have been a winner. But no, instead we have this ‘wonderful’ structure. I have no gripe with it, and if people like it, fine. My point was that this is $40 million spent in vanity! ‘My Church is bigger than your church’, that is the most stupid reason I have ever heard for building a place of worship.
Most church going people go to small and simple structures, many give large sums of money, and that money goes to help people that need help, rather than building huge gaudy monoliths in a time when many people are starving.
According to this idiot’s logic, no one should do anything because there are starving people. Maybe the Catholics should stop building churches, the Muslims should stop doing HAJ, and America should not build roads because the poor are starving.
Maybe the writer should not write this blog. His time would be better spent feeding the poor.
Your facts are incorrect. The Canadian Government did not give a single penny to the $40 M project. The money was raised by the Hindu community (by its people) and by followers and devotees of BAPS (worldwide). So please do not scrutinize others for the lack of accurate factual information in your article.
What an incredibly dumb thing to assert.
The BAPS foundation, which built this temple, has one of the most extensive charities in the world who are very active in India and Africa – the latter which I have been involved in (secular schools for village children.) Apart from temples, which serve as cultural nodes for the communities they serve, they spend literally all of their money on charities and educational trusts, with less overhead and more accountability than any mainstream Church in Canada.
Perhaps you’d better train your arrogant tirade at THEM before this group, eh?
But why stop there? Perhaps you should have everyone stop building stadiums, theatres, churches, skyscrapers and any other buildings and spend the money feeding our poor!
Most Hindus eat pork, its not restricted. Muslim and Jews dont eat pork. I stopped reading at that point
I do not have any use for anything religious… so this temple, to me, is a total waste of good money.
if people think this temple is a waste of money, why don’t you raise some money and go do some good in this world yourself? I can’t understand why people criticize others when they accomplish such a milestone in modern world. So eat your own dog food, stop talking and take some action! Raise money for whatever cause you think is most important to YOU and do it!
Simon, this is the first and last time i read your blog. Why don’t you get some of that oil money in Alberta and build some low cost housing? I’m not Hindu, but this is a magnificent structure; i drive by it everyday to and from work. It is open to anyone, of any faith, and from what i understand, did not cost the Canadian tax payer a plug nickel. You’re entitled to your opinion, and my opinion is that you’re an idiot. You’ve taken something that should make you proud to be Canadian, and you put a negative spin to it. Great work Simon. If ignorance is bliss, you must be 1 happy jackass!
“Simon, this is the first and last time i read your blog. Why don’t you get some of that oil money in Alberta and build some low cost housing? I’m not Hindu, but this is a magnificent structure; i drive by it everyday to and from work. It is open to anyone, of any faith, and from what i understand, did not cost the Canadian tax payer a plug nickel. You’re entitled to your opinion, and my opinion is that you’re an idiot. You’ve taken something that should make you proud to be Canadian, and you put a negative spin to it. Great work Simon. If ignorance is bliss, you must be 1 happy jackass!”
Steve B if i were gay, you would be the one hahahah your comment was hilarious
Bravo! for the Hindus of Canada building this beautiful monument to the Supreme Reality.
Yoga-Vedanta holds the keys to sanity and world peace. I pray that the Sanatana Dharma may continue
to flourish and spread throughout our troubled and violent world.
Namaste
Duart Maclean
Montreal
TO- SIMON BARRETT
ur comment about the hindu temple was rude, i was surprised why someone should post something so rude ! then when i went to your home page i got the answer- the picture of a REDNECK ALBERTAN WHITE RACIST,what else can one expect from a blogger like you!
thanks ashish for pointing out that the temple was paid 100% by hindu community, not a dime of Canadian tax payer money was involved.
some stupid belief by a racist group of the caucasian majority will continue, once in Toronto, i came across a sales rep for a medical company called Abbott by name Mrs Diane De Groot who was commenting that elderly parents visitng the immigrants are a huge drain on the health care system, how stupid for her to not know that visitors have to pay for all medical expenses and depend on thier private visitor insurance. Diane for Toronto and Simon for Alberta.
Simon, people own mba teams, buy islands in the carribeans, and waste millions of dollors producing movies….why dont you go ask them what they have done for the community?
and “But give me $40 million and I could do something useful” tell them to give you some money!! thanks!
If only Shahjahan, the king who built the Taj Mahal, thought that there were so many poor people and instead of building the Taj, he could have fed the poor people, today there would not have been any Taj Mahal or for that matter any monument in the world.
I would suport the building of such a temple or church or mosque or anything where poeple can come and find some peace instead of spending billions of dollars on arms and guns and bombs and training people to do terrorist activities and indulgding in killing of 100′s of people everyday around the world.
And most importantly for the people who are crying that it is a waste of money and should have used is a manner to support the poor and needy, may i ask them what are they doing to do help such poor and needy. Did they ever in their lifetime donate a penny to the cause.
It is very easy to cry and blame on people but instead of doing that i would suggest to appreaciate their hard work in building a monument that would stand for the next thousand years.
Stupid article.
People spend money all the time and this is their right.
They can spend as much as they have on anything they like.
If it were government money it would be a different story
Interesting that Barrett has no problem using the internet infrastructure which cost Billions to develop and yet has the audacity to suggest that the 40 Million for this temple could have been better spent on public housing.
This is the same logic as the tree huggers who are happy to buy food delivered by oil driven trucks and fly on oil fueled planes to their winter holiday destinations and yet suggest that rather than driving a car everyone should ride around on a bike just like them.
well, look at india..people are poor and have no jobs , they are depending on foreign aid to help them..and then they spend money so follishly here, peace of mind comes from within, not from a $40 mil temple.it sjust a show-off ..as all indians like to flaunt.BLEH
Lets get serious here.
Every country in the world including places like India have Billions of dollars spent on places of worship.
In my years of world travel I have come to conclude the more of a third world dung hole a country is the more religious structures they have. Religion is control. The poorer the country the more potential people the religions have to suck into their insanity. It then becomes a game to see how will build the nicest structure because that is what encourages the people to join.
On the other hand if poor people feel good going to church then they can spend their money on what ever they want.
Finally no one here would presume to tell Bill Gates what he can spend his personal fortune on so why does anyone think they can dictate to members of a church?
Anyway I think the structure is incredible and a great addition to Toronto.
this organization has received numerous awards for humanitarian services. Where do you this those money comes from? If you have temples, then people will give donations. Visit baps charities site…and you will see what this organization has done for the world. Go to Google and type ‘baps charities.’
Simon,
Great architecture, like all other great art, elevates the soul and lifts the spirits.
Plus, visitors to the temple do make donations that will be used for various charitable causes.
The group behind this temple is well-known for their successfull charitable organizations.
Perhaps, you would like forego going to your hockey and baseball and NBA games for a year, and instead donate the money thus saved to the homeless. It would be a nice start.
Ok, from what I’ve read here, you’ve put up an argument, but that’s all it is. They’ve already built it! I agree with those who argue against you… why keep this up? Have you no better purpose to the greater good of man as you’d like everyone else to have? Please reconsider.
“Hindus do not eat pork”
You are obviously uneducated and unaware of the differences between major religions. Seek help.
40 million dollars for a large building is just not a lot of money. There are, after all, 300 thousand plus Hindus in Canada.
I remember the joy when a temple opened 200 miles away and she could go and pray there. It also allowed her children to attend camps and classes to deepen their heritage and religious instructions.
The temple will probably be a place for Indian immigrants to meet and socialize, while renewing their moral foundation for their daily lives and the lives of their children. It also will serve to educate non Hindus to the beliefs of that religion.
I’ve worked with the poor for fifty years and am not big on huge churches myself, but one of the ways to prevent homelessness is to recognize God is in control and that our daily lives are not meaningless. That is why many drug and alcohol programs have a religious aspect, and not just Christianity (Native American programs often stress ceremonies to reconcile and forgive so they can reenter the community).
Dear Simon,
Billy Graham and other christian missionaries are spending 5 times that money converting hindus and building brand new churches for the born again christians, some of the land they have got are free of cost from the govt in the name of charity. If you don’t believe me come down to India.
What hindus have done in canada as per your blog is finance the temple themselves and the money they will generate will go back to the community (a normal practice for most temple)
To those who have a weak mind – this is not a racially oriented thought process which I have penned down. You are urged to use your higher intelligence to think of the not-so-obvious.
I know of a Christian missionary which has a hospital in a tribal area in India (this mission happens to be funded by a few churches in England and US).
However, instead of running the hospital for the benefit of the hundreds of tribals who live in that area, the mission chooses to keep it closed for the past so many years citing various dumb reasons (the hospital incidentally was built from the funds raised by showcasing these tribals and their poor living conditions). The mission now insists that they “believe in spiritual healing more than physical healing and that the sick should kneel in front of Him and accept Him and then and only then shall they be cured”.
(Exact words as I heard from his mouth – they still haunt me). The hospital is now used as a warehouse to stock loads and loads of Bibles.
The “owners of this mission” now have a resort which can accommodate close to 300 PAX right next to the church – and – this is open only to Christians. What do you say to that?
I did all my schooling in a Christian Institution and never once did they ever attempt anything so stupid.
It is all driven by people who are involved. If charity is the ultimate goal, then maybe God should be there to help you see it through.
Just for your information Mr. Simon – Hinduism, for us, is a way of life. Our gods never force anyone to follow preset rules and regulations. They merely preach the difference between right and wrong and urge you to do what is right.
“Karmanye vadhika raste maa faleshu kadachana…”
which means
“Do what you have to and do not expect anything in return…”
In building our temples we aim to unite the people of our religion and infuse in them what they may have overseen due the maddening rush of our modern life. We aim to bring them closer and focus their charity towards a larger audience.
So, I guess our temples in your land are far more safer than your churches on our land.
i pray all day for the great Aten to help me win euro millons, two weeks roll over will be enough for me to bulid the most expensive and largest temple in history , all for the great ” Aten”. the worship of one God “( Great Aten) will surface once again, no longer in secret.
For those ignorant India never takes foreign aid Chritians and Arabs spend money to convert people in to their relegion.Lot of Bangadeshi muslims and Hindus already took Islam for money.Wonderful temple is Toronto Land mark now so please jealousy is not going to work.
I am not Hindu.I love Canada I am true Torontonian.Love to see land mark in toronto.I really donot like to see country like U.S SPENDING TRILLION TO DESTROY MANKIND IN MIDDLE EAST.Islamic Terrorist and common muslims are paying and supporting terrorist is shame on them
The writer of this story has no understanding of Hinduism clearly; to correct him Jew and Muslims don’t eat pork Hindus don’t eat beef.
This comment shows that the Writer spouts opinion not fact.
Also how much money has been given to Corrupt Corporation that do business in India but clam to be made in Canada screwing both the very low paid employees in India and the lost work in Canada.
If these corporate thieves were force to follow fair Business practices then Poverty in India and Canada would drop.
Simon,
all i want to ask you is that did these hindus beg money from your pocket? or did they steal the money from your house? They didnt! So why are you so worried about them? mind your own business, bro! why dont you worry about the millions of dollars spent on weapons and drugs or all other areas where money is uselessly spent?
have u an idea how many lakhs of million of dollars are spent by so called’missineries’ in india to just convert hindus and muslims?go and say them to not to do this.have u guts to do this?
the baps hindu organisation serves even african muslims and christians without converting them….so mr.money saver,stop writing….WE ARE GOING TO ESTABLISH A BRAND NEW -WORLD’S BIGGEST AND THE MAJESTIC TEMPLE-AKSHARDHAM.ON YOUR OWN LAND.i.e. AMERICA…
what a waste of Money for a useless thing.
Indian People are wasting money for nothing. That money can bring a big change for their own Hindu people living in poverty in India. Man its a nightmare to live in such poor condition, I have seen children eating food from the dumpster. I have seen your people sleeping in garbage to keep themselves warm. Open up your eyes Indian people, help your own country, don’t waste money for useless things. You are making no one proud by building a 40million$ temple. LOL
So My Husband took me our son, my mother in law and nephew to the temple. I’m not hindu but my husband’s side is and let me tell you I felt a sense of shame to be there. It was not a place to worship it was a pure shame. You walk in and there are portraits of gods for sale and a gift shop with books, shrines, key chains ect. Donation boxes everywhere(must be for the up keep of the so called temple)There was also a museum (of couse a price for adults and children for entry) I wonder the cost to book a wedding there? lol I have been to many temples in my life and one thing I saw in common with all those temples v.s. the one in question was the hindu community coming together. tamil indian no matter. They were there for worship as well as something to eat. These temples I have visited meant something. Some of them were nothing fancy about 600 square feet or so with old carpet but it was the people who made that 600 square feet something holy. To see a community of people rich or poor coming together eating together is a beutiful thing. All religions have one thing in common and that is worship, sharing love rich or poor. This was not a day of worship for me not in the least
oh my god!
this money could have been used for something better.. i agree.
one of my uncles always says – “god is not a begger. why do you offer money to him??”
you will find millions of dollars, with all religious “gurus”/ babas as we call them in India, but still so many beggers on the streets, children left to die on the roads, eating from garbage cans…
It is no secret why most of you are hating on Simon. You must be of the same mindset of the typical greedy Hindus who become doctors just so that they can buy Mercedes-Benz cars and 5000+ square foot mansions to show off to each other, while millions are STARVING. Guess what…I am actually a Hindu myself, and I am disgusted at the lack of concern that most of our followers have for the disadvantaged and needy. While I agree that plenty of money is wasted on much worse things than this temple and this may be a drop in the bucket as far as numbers go, THAT DOES NOT MEAN IT WAS RIGHT TO BUILD THIS TEMPLE.
Hi Simon
I recently approached the mandir in South Africa for a donation towards an animal shelter. My request was ignored and i was told by one devotee “you earn enough, why don’t you donate your salary”. This is two weeks after they rebuilt and relaunched a new temple in Johannesburg.
If my efforts alone were enough to save an entire animal shelter i surely would do so. Unfortunately a lot more funding is needed.
My point is simple, a mandir may be necessary, running a restaurant may also be necessary, charging people thousands of rands to pray in their homes may also be necessary, but surely a tiny tiny bit of that money can go into helping a hungry abused animal?
I have no objection to any religious practice, or to the way in which they choose to run the organisation. In fact i don’t car if they build another fify temples. But giving back to a community (even if its ten hungry dogs) is so important. It shows an entirely different level of compassion.
Thank you for your blog…..i do hope it gets a few people to rethink their values.
as far as i think… for beggars…. the more you give them the more they demand.. (most of them).. yes i agree, donation to them is really needed.. but spending in temple architecture? i would really say a no to that.
What are temples for.. they are there not to donate to the god or anything.. they are purely made for human peace.. well i dont know what the intentions behind this temple were, but generally speaking, to make a proper hindu temple, it require alot of perfection to get the right results.
The hindu temple architecture is a great deal, the materials, the geometry, the designing of the space, every single detail has a explanation. The origin for these Hindu temples are to create such energies that help generate a balance in the human body and mind. These usually were incorporated in ancient temples and some still continued.
Since people hardly go to the old ones, to attract more people to visit such spaces, i believe more new temples must be created. Maybe once you enter one, on an open mind bases, you’d know the feeling.
I think we must respect how each individual wishes to spent their own money. We must think how we spend ours, before we judge others.
Just think of the BiIlions wasted on peadophile priests and the like.
I suggest fellow Christians should keep their mouths firmly shut and mind their own business.
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