The story of how this Japanese temple came to stand amidst the bustling crowd at Worli makes an interesting anecdote. It started with a divine prediction.
Back in 1931, when the Japanese monk, Nichidatsu Fuji visited India, he made a pit stop to Mumbai to fulfill a divination that was predicted centuries ago by Maha Bodhisattva Nichiren. Therefore, to fulfill that predicament a small Buddhist temple was built bang in the middle of Worli Naka.
On his tour to India during 1931-38, for regenerating Buddhism, Fujii Guruji met Mahatma Gandhi and actively participated in the freedom movement of India. As a token of his service towards Indians, Jugal Kishore Birla, a philanthropist, built this temple funded by Raja Baldeo Das Birla and officially opened on December 27, 1956.
The Nipponzan Myohoji Buddhist Temple had a makeover in 1956. But it still retains the absolute calm and divinity since the earlier times.
As soon as you enter its premises, you slip into a magical space, where the noise and din of the traffic outside does not seem to reach your ears. The calming and peaceful atmosphere is immediately overwhelming after stepping into the temple area from the main road. The absolute silence is only broken by fluttering wings of birds that visit the trees in its garden.
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The silence is highlighted by the charming and simplistic structure of the temple, typical of Japanese style. The doors are painted with big bold Japanese lettering. As you enter these doors, you are immediately greeted by a quiet and large prayer hall.
The walls adorn paintings on Buddha’s life. A six and a half feet marble statue of Buddha stands in one of the smaller room. The resident monks are happy to show visitors around the temple, or even discuss Buddhist ideas with them.
Image Credit: jamlalbajajfoundation
You can hear the chants accompanied with drum beating, “Na mu myo ho ren ge kyo,” every morning from 6 am to 7am and in the evening from 6 pm to 7.30 pm.
So, if you have a day to spare in Mumbai, head to the this forgotten Japanese temple, and zen out from the troubles of daily life.
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