01Stone carved in India, raised in Canada
The mandir follows the Shilpa Shastras: no structural steel, every stone dressed by hand. The pieces were carved by craftsmen in India, numbered and shipped across the world, then fitted together on site by volunteers and artisans in about eighteen months. The central shrine holds Bhagwan Swaminarayan with Gunatitanand Swami, worshipped together as Akshar-Purushottam Maharaj, and the side shrines hold Radha-Krishna, Sita-Rama with Lakshmana and Hanuman, Shiva-Parvati with Ganesh, and Vishnu-Lakshmi, with the line of BAPS gurus.
02The Haveli and the museum
The 18-acre grounds also hold a haveli, a community hall in the style of a Gujarati mansion with carved wooden facades, and a heritage museum that tells the history of Hinduism and of Hindus in Canada. The mandir was inaugurated by Pramukh Swami Maharaj in 2007, and it marks its anniversary each summer. On Diwali and the Annakut, the Gujarati new year’s offering of food, thousands come through in a day.
The life of this place
- 2007Pramukh Swami Maharaj inaugurates the mandir.
61 Claireville Drive, Etobicoke, near Highway 427 and Finch Avenue. Open daily; modest dress required.
