Largest Hindu temple outside Asia opens in New Jersey, built by 12,500 volunteers

The impressive construction prompted a labor lawsuit that’s now on hold, with some saying it raises questions about the line between religious service and labor exploitation.

The largest Hindu temple in the U.S. opens its doors Sunday in New Jersey. Built in the small township of Robbinsville, the 183-acre BAPS Swaminarayan Akshardham, named for its founding Hindu spiritual organization, rivals major Hindu temples on the subcontinent.

“I wake up every morning and scratch my eyes thinking, ‘Am I still in central New Jersey?’” said Yogi Trivedi, a temple volunteer and a scholar of religion at Columbia University. “It’s like being transported to another world, specifically to India.”

The temple will be officially inaugurated on Oct. 8, and on the 18th, it will be accessible to the general public. For Indian Americans and Hindu Americans, this represents a massive milestone, Trivedi said.