Into the next world

The temple project has been spearheaded by the Jain Cultural Centre of Antwerp (JCCA). "The Jain temple will outlive us as a symbol of peace, unity and non-violence," says Jogani. "It will forever join Belgium and India."

A simple idea
In 1984, Antwerp province's governor Andries Kinsbergen, accompanied by an Indian delegation from the city's diamond trade, went on a visit to India. While there, he made the sacred Jain pilgrimage to the Dilwara temples on Mount Abu in Rajasthan.

Awestruck by the beauty and grandeur of the temples, he asked the diamantaires why they didn't build a Jain temple in Antwerp. "Your community needs one," he said.

Eight years later, the idea blossomed in the presence of the sacred havan, or fire, at the house-warming ceremony of an Indian friend in Antwerp's suburb of Wilrijk. "We thought this would be the perfect way to unite our community and give something back to Belgium, a country we call home," says Kaushik Bhansali, another of the temple's founders.

Bhansali, Jogani and four others took the idea to the community. Overnight, 60 people supported their cause. The JCCA was born and for the first time, the Indian community observed its first Jain religious ceremony, Paryushana, in Antwerp. The festival marks eight days of religious observation, during which some strict Jains fast, consuming only water.

The making of a temple
That same year, 1992, the JCCA bought a plot of land from a naval company on Laarsstraat in the Wilrijk neighbourhood. "Right from the beginning, we always had a lot of support from the previous governors Kinsbergen and Camille Paulus," says Shreyance Shah, another of the temple's coordinators. "They helped us to navigate all the government departments and made sure we received the permits we needed."

Construction finally began on the temple about 10 years ago. Combining traditional Eastern ideology, religious theology and architecture wasn't easy when dealing with a Western mindset - not to mention the adverse weather conditions. Brussels architect Yves Donck was called in. He and Shah made multiple trips to India. "We went to Mount Abu to see the architecture and construction of the temples to get an idea of what a real Jain temple should be like," he explains.

While the cold Belgian climate is not favourable for marble, it was important to use it to retain the authenticity of a temple. Builders ordered the hand-carved and cut stone from Makrana, a town in central India world-famous for the quality of its marble.

Over the last decade, 3,500 tons of Makrana marble has been shipped from Mumbai's Navasheva port to Antwerp. At the Flemish end of the operation, the blocks were assembled like a giant Lego system by some 300 Indian technicians who came to Antwerp on a six-month rotating basis.

"Such detailing takes a long time," sighs Shah. "Sometimes the blocks would arrive, but there would be cracks in the marble, so it would have to be sent back. Then came the winter months, and construction would stop again."

The temple and adjoining meditation centre is estimated to have cost around €25 million, but the JCCA was helped with funding from Jain communities across the globe.

Bhansali and his fellow JCCA members agree that the biggest task was just uniting people to keep the project going and striking the right compromises. "Every decision required unity from the committee," says Bhansali. "In the process, not only have we united the community, we have also united East and West."

Jain temples are made according to the ancient scriptures known as shilpa shastras that lay out the salient features, correct measurements and astrological directions. "We had to stick to the dimensions but also make the necessary adjustments as the temple was constructed outside India," explains Jogani.

The use of iron, for instance, is forbidden in the making of Jain temples, so they had to adapt by using copper instead. While the grills and windows of a Jain Temple normally remain open, there is a glass covering and floor heating to adapt to the local climate.

The meditation centre, a 2,000 square-metre addition to the temple, was built in its entirely by the Belgian contractors Interbuild and also had to be constructed as per the given shastras.

Idols in transport
The next step was to bring the murtis, or statues of the deities, to Antwerp but, before that, a special ceremony takes place called the Anjan Shalaka, during which the holy collyrium is applied to the eyes of the statues.

"In this ceremony, the priest effectively gives life, or prana, to the image in a sacred ceremony that is privy to no one," explains Shah. "Until then, the carvings are just statues." Antwerp's temple is dedicated to the 23rd Jain tirthankara(spiritualguide), Lord Parshwanath, and has special portals to place the deities of worship.

Three years ago, 300 Jains from Antwerp's Indian community went on a 10-day pilgrimage to Vijapur in Ahmedabad, where the murtis were carved. They celebrated events relating to Lord Parshvanath, including the incarnation of the lord in the holy womb, his birth, his marriage, his renunciation of worldly pleasures, his attaining enlightenment and, finally, complete deliverance of the body, or Nirvana.

On the 10th day, the "Anjan shalaka" was performed by the head priest of the Jain command in a private ceremony at the hour of midnight. When it was done, he announced to the crowd waiting outside that the Lord was born. "It was only after that that we could bring the deities here," Shah concludes.

As the temple officially opened last week, the sense of elation and pure relief was almost tangible. Not only is it the largest Jain temple outside of India, it has also been deemed the best in terms of craftsmanship outside of India, and the inauguration on 27 August was attended by some 2,500 Jains from Belgium and beyond. Eventually, the temple will be open to the public with specified visiting times.

The important day marked the placing of the idols in their rightful places and the hoisting of the holy Jain flag on the temple's tower. "The temple will finally be open for worship," says Shah, with a sigh of relief. "It took a long time, but it was worth it."

The basics of Janism

• Non violence
• Respect for all living things
• Vegetarianism
• Benevolence
• Charity