The 'Guinness World Records 2000: Millennium Edition' has hailed His Holiness Pramukh Swami Maharaj as a Masterbuilder.
On page 36, under the Architects & Masterbuilders category of the Knowledge section, a photograph of the London Mandir and Swamishri, together with brief details of the Mandir have been included. The book reveals, "Biggest Hindu Temple Outside India: The Shri Swaminarayan Temple in Neasden, London, UK, is the largest Hindu temple outside India. It was built by His Holiness Pramukh Swami Maharaj, a 79-year-old Indian sadhu (holy man), and is made of 2,828 tonnes of Bulgarian limestone and 2,000 tonnes of Italian marble, which was first shipped to India to be carved by a team of 1,526 sculptors."
As it is a collector’s item, a staggering 2.7 million copies of the new Millennium Edition have been printed, making it the largest initial print run of a colour illustrated non-fiction book. The English edition will go to 70 different countries, with another 22 editions in foreign languages.
This is the second time the Mandir has been recognized by The Guinness Book of World Records. On page 185 of its 1997 edition, in the Architecture category of the Commerce section, a photograph and details of the Mandir were included under the title "Largest stone Hindu temple outside India."
[Record from Guinness® World Records 2000 © Guinness World Records Ltd. Guinness ® World Records is a Trade Mark of Guinness World Records Ltd.]