Page 78 - MASALA Magazine Vol.15 Issue 6 | August - September 2024

A SPIRITUAL SANCTUARY

Surendra Patel, who facilitated the establishment of
the Baps Shri Swaminarayan Mandir, Bangkok, on their vision of fostering faith,
service, and harmony within the community.
B Y AIDEN JE WELLE GONZ ALE S

aving grown up in a house of faith, the importance of The Founder and CEO of New Suren Company Ltd., Surendra
religion and spirituality in giving people an anchor through tells me that he’d spent the last 40 years with his company, which
tough times, and connecting them to their roots, was is the preferred supplier for customers looking for a wide variety
instilled in from a young age. For me, churches were sanctuaries not of rubies, blue sapphires, and fancy-coloured sapphires; and also
just because you felt the presence of the divine there, but because provides custom jewellery designs with their full stock of stones.
of the community around you, bound together with the same creed However, on top of the family legacy at which his children have now
and values – and I knew this was the same for many of my friends, joined him, he also had a dream of bringing a mandir to Bangkok
whether they went to the mandirs, the wats, the gurudwaras, the that was part of the BAPS Swaminarayan Sanstha community. The
mosques, or any other place of worship. So when I entered the BAPS Global Network, I learn, is currently comprised of more
newly-inaugurated Baps Shri Swaminarayan Mandir in Bangkok, than 1,300 mandirs and 5,025 “centres of peace and reformation,”
I immediately thought of the hundreds if not thousands of people including beautiful and majestic complexes in Delhi, Gujarat,
it would prove to be a haven for, both spiritually and communally. London, Sydney, New York, and more.

“The Baps Shri Swaminarayan Mandir, Bangkok promotes all “In 2005, when I had taken Thai craftsmen to help build the BAPS
Hindu deities and Lord Buddha, and we worship and respect all Shri Swaminarayan Mandir in Akshardham in Delhi for over six
our deities,” Surendra Patel, the spearhead who helped facilitate months, I realised that so many people from different parts of the
the building and opening of the temple in Bangkok tells me as world had come together as a community to help create such a
he welcomes me to the mandir and asks me if I’d like to carry out beautiful temple,” Surendra recalls. “Since then, millions have
Abhishek on Nilkant Varni and Lord Buddha, an opportunity that visited temples from around the world, creating a community. We
the temple provides to visitors every day. As he introduces me to wished to do the same with the BAPS mandir in Bangkok.”
the large number of deities housed in the temple, from Lord Ram,
to Sita, Hanuman, Radha-Krishna, Swami Narayan, Shiv Parvati, He spoke to Masala further about finally achieving his dream of
and Lord Buddha, I note that no stone has been left unturned in establishing the Baps Shri Swaminarayan Mandir, Bangkok, and
creating this place of worship for the community – literally, with how he hopes to foster faith, service, and harmony within the
handcrafted materials shipped from India and carvings and gold community and in the world as a whole.

leaf adding a sense of grandeur to the space.

78 | MASALA MAGAZINE AUG-SEP 2024