HRH Crown Prince & PM of Bahrain Receives BAPS Delegation, Bahrain

His Royal Highness Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa, the Crown Prince and Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Bahrain, welcomed Brahmaviharidas Swami and a delegation of the BAPS Swaminarayan Sanstha.

At the meeting, HRH the Crown Prince and Prime Minister discussed the construction of a BAPS Swaminarayan Hindu Temple in Bahrain on land gifted by the leadership of Bahrain, as announced by him on 1 February 2022 and as welcomed by the Hon. Prime Minister of India, Shri Narendra Modi.

Also present at the meeting were Indian Ambassador Piyush Srivastava, BAPS Bahrain President Dr. Praful Vaidya, and community leaders Mr. Ramesh Patidar and Mr. Mahesh Devji. Senior Cabinet members, including Deputy Prime Minister HH Sheikh Mohammed bin Mubarak Al Khalifa, Minister of Finance and National Economy HE Sheikh Salman bin Khalifa Al Khalifa and Director General of PM Office and Cabinet Secretary HE Hamad bin Faisal Al Malik were also in attendance.

During the meeting, Swami Brahmaviharidas delivered a message from Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi to HRH the Crown Prince and Prime Minister welcoming this historic moment. He also conveyed the blessings and good wishes of His 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, Brahmaviharidas Swami 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.’

“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 honor 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.”