Image: Taj-like Hindu temple comes up in Atlanta

The Swaminarayan sect has unveiled one of the world's largest Hindu temples -- resembling the Taj Mahal and built in keeping with the guidelines of the ancient texts in Atlanta.

The $19 million white Hindu temple was inaugurated on Sunday in Atlanta's Lilburn suburb by the spiritual leader of BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Sanstha, Pramukh Swami Maharaj.

"The temple is open to all people, not just followers of the Swaminarayan faith. All those who come here will experience peace and happiness," Swami Maharaj said after the inauguration ceremony.

Made of Turkish limestone, Italian marble and Indian pink sandstone, the temple rises 72 feet into the sky and looks a bit like the Taj Mahal, with its soft white spires and 13 domes.

It's one of three in the United States, which has been built using guidelines from scriptures that date back 5,000 years.

In fact, the temple is an engineering marvel. No steel or metals have been used in the construction, and each piece, hand-carved and imported from India, was numbered, divided into sections and eventually set in place.

The structure fits together like a giant jigsaw puzzle and the craftsmen took nearly 17 months to put the pieces together. The effort to build the temple also involved hundreds of volunteers, among them Manish Patel, who gave up his job as an engineer to work as the site manager, administrator and secretary.

"When they come inside, we want them to feel the atmosphere. When they come out, they'll have some kind of message in their life," he said.