Mercer County community celebrates grand dedication of largest Hindu temple in the U.S.
ROBBINSVILLE, N.J. (CBS) -- It's a moment many have been waiting nearly 12 years for. The completion of the second largest Hindu temple in the world opened on Sunday. Many celebrating the monumental day during a Grand Dedication ceremony.
"This is a universal place," Robbinsville resident Dharmik Sheth said. "This is meant for everyone."
In the midst of 185 acres, the space of worship is adorned with intricately handmade statues and carvings of stone from all over the world.
"This is called a mandir and to devotees, it's a place of worship. To many other individuals, it's a place of a learning center. To other individuals, it's an architectural piece. To many other volunteers, it's a piece of their home," Sheth said.
The attention to detail was also seen inside as we captured the images during one of the few times cameras will be allowed in the temple.
Each piece of stone was assembled by more than 12,000 volunteers, like, Shruti Bhatt.
"The Akshardham was the vision from Mahant Swami Maharaj who's our late spiritual leader of BAPS, and he lived by the credo that in the joy of others lies our own," Bhatt said.
According to volunteers, the reason Robbinsville was chosen as the location for the campus was because of how central it is to places like Philadelphia, Washington D.C. and New York City, allowing people to visit more easily.
"Strategically it's placed in way where pilgrims from all over the world can get here easily, but also it serves the 35% of the Hindu American population in America," volunteer Yogi Trivedi said.
Bridging the gap for generations to come between Hindu Americans and other communities by showing that there are little differences between us all.
"You walk around the mandir, and you see the universal values of Dr. Martin Luther King, President Abraham Lincoln, Confucius, Socrates," Trivedi said. "They may look different, but their neighbors aren't all that different."