Soami Bagh Samadhi

Soami Bagh Samadhi is the mausoleum of Shiv Dayal Singh, known to followers as Soamiji Maharaj, on the quieter edge of Agra amid lawns and gulmohar trees. Born in Agra in 1818, he founded the Radhasoami faith in 1861 and began the Radha Soami Satsang movement, which aimed to draw together Hinduism, Christianity, Sikhism and Buddhism. Work on the shrine started in 1908 and still continues, carried forward by families of stone carvers over several generations.

The building rises about 110 feet and is faced mainly in white Makrana marble, with green, pink and black stone used for contrast. Its design borrows from temples, mosques, gurdwaras and viharas: arches and columns differ in shape, carved vines and fruit spill over them, and pietra dura inlay and inscribed teachings cover the walls. A colonnaded verandah wraps all four sides. The guru's grave lies in a basement 20 feet below the main hall, under a marble dome. Next door is the Bhajan Ghar, where he meditated; a daily satsang and Bhandara festivals are held there.