The Pluralism Project at Harvard University

Reena Mehta

Department of Architecture
University of California Berkeley
Religion and Domestic Space

Hindu temples symbolically and spatially embody the communal religious identity of the Hindu diaspora. However, such physical creations take a number of years and are constrained by many factors - economics, community size, local governing rules and so on. In the meantime, this research hypothesis that the "home" or the domestic space plays a vital role in the continuation of their diasporic identity before and after the establishment of such institutions. The goal here is to explore the relationship between religion and the domestic space within the homes of the BAPS temple devotees, adherents of the Swaminarayan faith from two perspectives. First, the spatial nature of the religious spaces created within the home and second, the material culture utilized in their making. The main questions addressed are "What is the nature of the religious practices taking place within the home space?" "What meanings do the religious material utilized for their religious practice hold for the devotees?" "How is this material made available to them?" The data will be gathered based on visual data and interviews conducted with seven to eight families within their domestic realm. The interviewees will consist of second generation, temple store coordinators, zone leaders, and the temple founders, thus spanning multiple generations and the various roles adopted by the temple devotees. This examination will reveal the significance of the domestic space intertwined with the commercialized material culture aids in the continuation of their traditional Hindu identity across transnational borders.

The Hindu diaspora carries many facets of their religious and cultural identity while crossing transnational borders. In such a process, the subsequent retention and recreation of their public identities within a new environment takes root within 'institutions' representing Hindu temples. These built forms symbolically and spatially embody the communal identity and act as a place of gathering. However, such physical creations take a number of years and are constrained by many factors - economics, community size, local governing rules and so on. In the meantime, this paper hypothesis that the 'home' or the domestic space plays a vital role in the continuation of their identity before and after the establishment of such institutions. The research goal is to examine the BAPS community, the adherents of the Swaminarayan faith from two perspectives. First, by primarily focusing on the relationship between religion and the domestic space, the significance of home as representing the 'center' or a 'node,' within the emerging temporal boundaries embodying the various spatial practices will be understood. Preliminary fieldwork has shown that depending on the size of the home either an entire room or parts of a room are devoted for performing daily/weekly worship. The religious space is generally, a small-scale temple within the domestic public spaces. In some cases, entire rooms are allotted for such uses. Second, a brief examination, of the relationship between their commercial activity - temporary or well - established within the temple space and the domestic realm reveals the importance of material culture - small-scale temples, paper images of Lord Swaminarayan, role of religious audio tapes, books. These items are made accessible through the temple store, which is periodically replenished by their Los Angeles temple headquarters, reflecting on an organizational hierarchy and connectivity with the rest of the BAPS temples located in United States and India.

The data will be gathered based on visual data and interviews conducted with interviewees consisting of second generation, temple store coordinators, zone leaders, and the temple founders, thus spanning multiple generations and the various roles adopted by the temple devotees. This examination will reveal the significance of the domestic space intertwined with the commercialized material culture, which aids in the continuation of their traditional Hindu identity across transnational borders.