Top 10 Most Famous & Incredible Beautiful Temples in Canada

Top 10 most famous temples in Canada

Canada is one of the best countries to unleash your wild side. From chic cosmopolitan centres to mountain resorts and maritime cities, Canada features a wide variety of holiday destinations. Canada will simply leave you mesmerised with its stunning landscapes, raw nature and heart-warming culture. Canada is one of the most secular countries in the world, with a huge population of Indian Hindus and Sikhs. The Immigration of Indians began over 110 years ago and from then one the population of Indians in Canada has been growing steadily. This amazing country is also home to some magnificent temples.

Above all, these temples aren’t just visited by few people of any particular religion, but by everyone. Continue reading to know more about the most famous temples in Canada.

The List of top 10 most famous temples in Canada

10. International Buddhist Society

9. BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Temple Canada

8. ISKCON Temple In Ottawa

7. Fo Guang Shan Temple

6. Guruvayurappan Temple Of Brampton

5. Hindu Sabha Temple

4. Sringeri Temple

3. ISKCON Temple In Brampton

2. Devi Mandir

1. Shri Vitthal Hindu Mandir

What are the most famous temples in Canada?

10. International Buddhist Society

Photo: Inspirock

The International Buddhist Temple (also 觀音寺 in Chinese; Guān Yīn Sì in pinyin; Guan Yin Temple) is located in Richmond, British Columbia, Canada. It is a Chinese Buddhist temple run by the International Buddhist Society.

While the Society officially practices Mahayana Buddhism, the temple is open to Theravada Buddhist affiliates and visitors, as well as visitors of all religious and unique cultural backgrounds.

In 1979, two Buddhists from Hong Kong donated land and funds to the cause of building an authentic Chinese Buddhist temple in North America. The International Buddhist Society was established in 1981 for this cause by the Venerable Guan Cheng and five other individuals. The International Buddhist Temple officially opened to the public after two years, when its Main Hall was completed.

Thousands of people, including Richmond's mayor and Member of Parliament, attended the inauguration ceremony in 1986.

The International Buddhist Society is a non-profit organization and a registered Canadian charity. It sponsors charitable programs both in Canada and abroad. Some of the Society's efforts include:

• Donations to the Food Bank
• Rescuing and releasing sealife and other creatures
• Support for the poor and disadvantaged in rural China
• Aid for students and the elderly

The Society also hosts free events for the community, such as Senior's Day celebrations with free vegetarian lunches for seniors at the temple.

9. BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Temple Canada

Photo: Getty Images

The BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Mandir in Etobicoke, Toronto, Ontario, Canada is a traditional Hindu place of worship that was built by the BAPS Swaminarayan Sanstha. The BAPS Swaminarayan Sanstha, which is headed by Mahant Swami Maharaj, is a global spiritual organization within the Swaminarayan branch of Hinduism. The mandir was built in 18 months and consists of 24,000 pieces of hand-carved Italian carrara marble, Turkish limestone and Indian pink stone. The mandir is the largest of its kind in Canada and was constructed according to guidelines outlined in ancient Hindu scriptures. The grounds spread over 18 acres and in addition to the mandir, include a haveli and the Heritage Museum. The mandir is open daily to visitors and for worship. In July 2017, the temple celebrated its 10-year anniversary.

The temple is a type of 'Shikarbaddha' mandir, built according to principles laid out in the Shilpa Shastras, Hindu texts prescribing standards of sacred architecture. Within the mandir, murtis (sacred images of the deities) have been installed in different shrines. The central shrine holds the murti of Swaminarayan, with Gunatitanand Swami to his left, together worshipped as Akshar-Purushottam Maharaj. Similarly, different shrines hold murtis of major ancient Hindu deities such as Radha and Krishna, Sita and Rama, Shiva and Parvati, Vishnu and Lakshmi, Ganesha, Hunuman as well as the lineage of BAPS gurus who are Swaminarayan's spiritual successors.

Once the divine has been invoked in a murti, it becomes an embodiment of the Divine. Accordingly, Swaminarayan swamis (Hindu monks) offer devotional worship to the deities throughout the day. Before dawn, they awaken the deities by singing morning hymns (prabhatiya). The deities are then bathed and offered food and garments depending on the time of the day and season. Food that has been offered to the deities is considered sanctified. These holy offerings are distributed to the devotees as prasadam. Throughout the day, aarti, a ritual where devotees sing the glory of Swaminarayan while a lighted wick is circulated before the murtis, is performed five times a day and named mangala aarti, shanagar aarti, rajabhoga aarti, sandhya aarti and shayana aarti, respectively. During midday, lunch is offered. In the evening, dinner is offered. Finally, the swamis put the murtis to rest by adorning them with night garments.

8. ISKCON Temple In Ottawa

Photo: ISKCON centres

The ISKCON Temple located in Ottawa is believed to be one of the most visited Hindu pilgrimages in the city. Since 1971, there was an ISKCON center in this place which later on funded for the construction of this amazing temple. This temple was built with one objective in mind which was to promote the well-being of the society and promote the Krishna consciousness among people.

ISKCON Ottawa Hare Krishna Temple is the home of Their Lordships Sri Sri Gaura Nitai. The temple is situated in the heart of Canada’s capital city, Ottawa. It is just one block away from the University of Ottawa.

The weekly Sunday feasts start at 5:00pm. The temple has a Bhaktivedanta library which is open daily in the evening (except Saturdays), from 5:00pm to 8:00pm. Visitors are welcome to stay and read at the temple. Any book/tape that is not specifically just for reference may be signed out and returned within 3 weeks.

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7. Fo Guang Shan Temple

Photo: Wikiwand

Fo Guang Shan Temple is a Buddhist temple of the Mahayana monastic order in Mississauga, Ontario. Its is the only Canadian branch of Fo Guang Shan from Taiwan. The temple features a prayer hall and tea house on the ground floor, a library and museum on the second floor, and a meeting hall and rooms on the lower floor. The building is opened to the public year-round, although prayer areas are closed during prayer service on Mondays.

A secondary temple was opened in Thornhill in 1999, and was relocated to another site in Markham in 2002. The facilities were built to offer members in the eastern portions of the Greater Toronto Area who may not be able to travel to the Mississauga site.

6. Guruvayurappan Temple Of Brampton

Photo: Canada247

This is yet another Hindu temple in Brampton and is considered as one of the most beautiful largest Hindu temples in Canada. The temple is being reconstructed presently and the temple authority will be done with the work soon.

5. Hindu Sabha Temple

Photo: Yellow Pages

Hindu Sabha is a non-profit religious organization. Hindus enjoy a privilege of preserving the most ancient culture, civilization and the religion of the mankind. To maintain this unique tradition, five founding members through their vision, dedication and hard work established and registered in 1975 the Society in the name of Hindu Sabha.

The purpose of the Society is to promote the study, practice and development of Sanatan (Eternal) Dharma which is the sum total of Hindu culture, philosophy and religion. Hindu Sabha serves not only our need, but will also serve the needs of future generations by preserving our great spiritual and cultural heritage. From the very idea of constructing the temple, to it's present state, you will find visual tour in this section. Construction of the temple started on May 22nd, 1994 and it took more than one year to finish the first phase. To see the construction phase pictures, please click here

The temple was inaugurated in June 1995. The lower level, main floor external shell and most of the roof is complete. Shikharas were completed in 1999/2000 and complete structure is ready now. The temple has approximately 32,000 sq. feet of constructed space including the lower level. Main floor is approximately 17,000 sq. feet including 4,000 sq. feet Altar.

Community Hall and kitchen on the lower level is approximately 15,000 sq. feet. The main prayer hall accommodates over 1000 people.

Total height of the main Shikhara is approximately 120 feet.

4. Sringeri Temple

Photo: Wikipedia

The Sringeri Sharadamba Temple of Toronto is a Hindu temple located in Etobicoke, Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The temple is dedicated to Goddess Sharadamba. It is more popularly known as SVBF Canada or Sringeri Vidya Bharati Foundation Canada. The temple is modelled after the original 8th-century Sringeri Sharadamba Temple located at Sringeri in Chikkamagaluru District in Karnataka, India.

Built at a cost of $11 million, the temple was consecrated with waters from more than 250 rivers from around the world on Sunday, June 20, 2010. Over 10,000 devotees joined in the consecration in which priests scaled the temple's gopuram and poured sacred water over its carved facade. The Maha Kumbhabhishekam ceremony was recorded for live and delayed broadcast by several TV channels, including ATN, Tamil One, Omni Television, Vision TV, TV Asia, STAR News, Jaya TV and others, as well as numerous radio and print media, giving the event global coverage. On the occasion the Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper said, "The complex stands as a testament to Canada's and India's proud traditions of pluralism. This place of worship is an important landmark and a fitting tribute to the Hindu community's place in Canada's cultural landscape."

The temple has a rajagopuram following the style of South Indian temple architecture. It occupies about 30000 sq ft. of land, with marble and granite imported from India. The 3 main features of the temple are a 30 ft. Gopuram, an 18 ft. Mandapam and a ceremonial passageway depicting the main events in the life of Adi Sankaracharya. The temple has an occupancy of about 500 persons. The granite and marble flooring of the temple is provided with heating for the winter.

The Sringeri Community Centre was inaugurated on 13 December 2008 and the newly renovated temple was inaugurated on June 20, 2010.

3. ISKCON Temple In Brampton

The ISKCON temple in Canada was established in the year 1966 with a simple motto, which was to spread the significant teaching of Vedic Literature all over Canada. This temple offers a variety of learning facilities for those who are devoted to Vedic literature. Along with that, this temple also offers yoga lessons and assistance regarding meditation.

2. Devi Mandir

Photo: devilmandir.com

The Devi Mandir in Ontario was built just 3 decades ago but has gained extreme popularity among the local Hindus. People of other religions also visit this temple very often. This temple hosts free classes on kirtans and Tabla. Above all, all the Hindu festivals are celebrated here with great zeal and excitement.

The Devi Mandir or Temple was established in the year 1988 by a small group of Hindus. It took a lot of hard work to build this temple and taking it to the position where it is today. The Devi Mandir is one of the most significant Hindu temples in Canada and visited by Hindus from all corners of the country.

1. Shri Vitthal Hindu Mandir

Photo: Foursquare

Shri Vitthal Mandir is a traditional Hindu temple dedicated to Lord Shri Pandharpur Vitthal. This temple is an important cultural and heritage centre for Hindus living in Canada. Hindus from every part of Northern America flock here to offer their devotion. More than that, this is one of the temples in Canada that showcases the culture and heritage of Hindus living in Canada.

This temple is located in Toronto, Canada and acts as a religious cultural center as well. Indians all over Canada come to visit this temple on a regular basis. This temple is also a registered non-profit charitable organization. If you’re a Hindu then you will realize that this temple was built keeping in the mind the Hindu culture and tradition. This temple is one of the most popular religious spots in the city and is considered to be one of the most sacred Hind pilgrimages in the country as well.

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