The Mandir
Adjoining the Mandir is BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Haveli, a cultural complex. It has been designed according to traditional Indian Haveli architecture - an architectural style fashioned from wood, involving intricate carving. The building was designed to evoke feelings of being in Gujarat, India, where such architecture is commonplace. It took over 150 craftsmen from all over India 3 years to carve 17,000 square feet of wood. Behind the traditional wooden facade, the cultural centre houses a vast pillarless prayer hall with space for 4000 people, gymnasium, marriage hall, medical centre, dining facilities, bookstall, conference facilities, and offices.

The Haveli

June 1970: The first BAPS Swaminarayan Mandir opened in a former church in Islington, North London.
1982: Having outgrown the temple, the congregation sold the Islington temple and moved to a small ex-warehouse in Neasden.
1990: The congregation was again in search of a building that could cope with the growing congregation, and plans for the present temple were made then.
1995: They moved to their present temple, built on the site of a disused truck warehouse opposite the old temple. The old temple building was kept and converted into Sāyā (साया), an Indian grocery shop and vegetarian restaurant. History of the BAPS Swaminarayan Mandir
Adjacent to Saya is the Akshar IT Centre, an adult learning centre which is open to the general public and provides IT courses.

Akshar IT Centre
On the opposite side of the Mandir is The Swaminarayan School, Europe's first independent Hindu school. Opened in 1991 by Pramukh Swami Maharaj, it follows the National Curriculum whilst promoting aspects of Hindu culture such as dance, music, and language.

The Swaminarayan School
In the morning before sunrise, the murtis that are adorned in their nightwear are woken up by the sadhus and the shrine doors are opened for the Mangla arti, which is the first of five 'artis' prayers during that day. Arti is a ritual wherein a specific prayer is recited to a poetic format with music while the sadhus wave a lighted lamp in front of the murti to give devotees better darshan [view] of God's image. The sadhus recite a few shlokas [paragraphs], serve the deities, offer them food and bathe them, and close the shrine doors.
The shrines are opened again for the second arti (Shangar Arti). The shrines are then left open from 9am to around 11am when the shrines are closed and offered thaal [food for lunch].
At 11.45am the shrines are opened for the Rajbhog midday arti and the reciting of the thaal [offering hymn] and an offering of paan [triangular folded leaves containing a mixture of seeds] is made to God. The shrines are closed after this so the murtis can have an afternoon rest.
The shrines re-open at around 4pm until 6pm for darshan and are then closed again for an hour so they can be offered their final meal by the sadhus [saints].
The sandhya [sunset] arti is performed. After this, a selection of prayers are recited by the devotees including dhun (a repetitive chant where the names of God and their praise are sung), and the name of God is repeated for a few minutes. The shrines are then closed and the deities are prepared for the night and adorned in their evening attire by the sadhus.
The shrines are opened a final time for the shayan arti, with the lights dimmed and lower music, the devotees recite a few hymns, gently sending the deities to sleep through devotional hymns, and the shrines are then closed for the night.

Other BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Mandirs