At Dayal Bagh, the devotees’ services bear fruit in an edifice as spectacular as the Taj Mahal.
Built in white and color marble, it is continuously being decorated for more than 100 years now
with extra-ordinary feats in stone and gems. Soamibagh Temple is a very old temple. Its
construction is continuing since last 116 years. Owing to this, it is also called as the ever
construction temple. The construction of the temple began in 1904 AD. The construction of the
temple is going on since its inception due to a belief that as long as the construction continues,
the faith and sect will thrive. But many disagree with this belief. Satish Chauhan, the security
head of the Soamibagh Temple said “There were delays because of the kind of work needed
here. When a worker engraving the marble by hand made a mistake, the entire block, no
matter how much of it was finished, had to be discarded. That was a major reason for the
delay. Now we use machines for engraving so the work is faster”. But, some of the stories still
say that there are 20 more years for the completion of this temple’s construction. This is one of
the famous historic sites of the Agra city. The temple complex is a huge building of 110 feet
height. White and coloured marbles have been used for the construction of the temple. The
white marble is bought from Makrana, Rajasthan. The temple complex has numerous pillars
along with fine pietra dura inlay work on the inner walls. The temple has now become
legendary not only because of its ever continuing construction but also for its status of over 115
years. Not only a lot of workers but several generations of workers have contributed in its
construction over the years. Owing to this, the temple has enough variations in the
architectural styles.
The Dayalbagh community was founded on the first day of Vasant (season of spring). Sir Anand
Swarup who was the 5 th revered ruler of the Radhasoami faith founded this colony. This is an
ashram for the people who follow this faith. By planting mulberry trees, the faithful proceed on
spiritual path of self-realization. During initial days, the residents were the ones who built this
colony by contributing money and voluntary labour. It was supposed to be a social service. The
temple complex, not just a temple but self sustained society, is home for the disciples of the
satgurus. They live an active, disciplined and co-operative community life. Within the temple
complex, the devotees are taught about various spiritual ideas and led onto the path of a
spiritual life. The community of the temple has various affiliated educational institutes like
Dayalbagh Educational Institute, affiliated to Dayalbagh University.