The 6 Original Temples
In all religions, there is always a focal point to ensure that the faith continues and grows in the future. In Hinduism, temples perform a vital role in acting as a focal point in the sampraday. Lord Swaminarayan recognised that temples would be vital to ensure that the sampraday grew far and wide.
To prevent His devotees from straying away from religion and to keep everyone devoted to Him, Lord Swaminarayan thought of two things. Firstly, to build temples and install idols of Lord Shree Krishna and Himself as Lord Shree HariKrishna Maharaj. Secondly, to write scriptures to reveal the greatness of the Swaminarayan Sampraday.
A man however great or intelligent cannot meditate calmly in the home. The reason is simple, there are many material objects and thoughts in the home that will distract one’s devotion. There is a traditional saying that performing one mala at the temple will give the same fruits as doing one hundred malas at home. This illustrates how important temples are in our sampraday.
Lord Himself installed the murtis at the temples that He constructed. After His departure to Akshardham, as Lord had stated that Acharyas should install murtis of God with Vedic mantras and ceremonies.
People achieve great inspiration and pleasure whilst worshipping God with great saints and other devotees in the temple. For these reasons, temples are a necessity in the life of a satsangi. Lord Swaminarayan had six temples constructed in His divine presence.