Manama(Bahrain): His Royal Highness the Crown Prince and Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Bahrain, Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa today met Swami Brahmaviharidas and a delegation of the BAPS Swaminarayan Sanstha, a global spiritual Hindu movement.
At the meeting, HRH the Crown Prince and Prime Minister discussed the construction of a BAPS Swaminarayan Hindu Temple in Bahrain on a land gifted by the leadership of Bahrain as announced by him on February 1, 2022 and as welcomed by the Hon’ble Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
The meeting, at which Indian Ambassador Piyush Srivastava was present, was led by the international coordinator and head of BAPS Middle East, Swami Brahmaviharidas and included Swami Aksharatitdas, BAPS Bahrain President Dr Praful Vaidya and community leaders Ramesh Patidar and Mahesh Devji.
During the meeting, Swami Brahmaviharidas delivered to HRH the Crown Prince and Prime Minister a message from Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, welcoming this historic moment. He also conveyed the blessings and good wishes of the spiritual leader of the global BAPS movement His Divine Holiness Mahant Swami Maharaj.
The fruition of a long-cherished dream, the Swaminarayan Temple in Bahrain will represent the timeless values of Hinduism and the vision of His Majesty King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa for an inclusive world that will nurture peace and interfaith harmony.
The Bahrain temple will also welcome people of all faiths who may wish to know and understand Indian traditions and have the space for various cultural and spiritual activities.
Speaking on the occasion of receiving the grant of land formally from HRH the Crown Prince and Prime Minister of Bahrain, Swami Brahmaviharidas said, “We are profoundly grateful to the Crown Prince and Prime Minister of Bahrain and to the Prime Minister of India for this historic gift of land which represents the enriching of warm relations and an exchange of ideas between Bahrain and India which spans millennia.
For BAPS, it is the culmination of a precious moment in 1997 when the late Emir Sheikh Isa bin Salman Al Khalifa received His Holiness Pramukh Swami Maharaj at the Royal Palace in Bahrain. In their conversation, Sheikh Isa lovingly and instantaneously told Pramukh Swami Maharaj, ‘Make Bahrain your home.’
He added, “It was a sentiment that was echoed by HRH the Crown Prince & Prime Minister in 2017 when he visited our Diwali gathering. Upon seeing the picture of His Holiness Pramukh Swami Maharaj and late Emir Shaikh Isa bin Salman Al Khalifa, he told me, ‘Our love extends to three generations. We will honour the words and sentiments of our grandfather.’ The building of this BAPS Swaminarayan Temple marks a seminal and historic moment for Hinduism, for relations between India and Bahrain, and for international harmony as a whole.”
In conclusion, Swami Brahmaviharidas thanked the leadership for their generosity, Shri Narendra Modi for his integrity and assured that the temple and the surrounding cultural and spiritual complex shall strengthen universal understanding and interfaith harmony, and will also nurture the children of today and coming generations towards a brighter future.
Out of friendship and respect, HRH The Crown Prince insisted on walking Swami Brahmviharidas and the delegation all the way to the car outside the palace doors.
