Bahá’í World/Volume 17/The Institution of the Mashriqu’l-Adhkár
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THE WORLD ORDER OF BAHA’U’LLAH
V
365
THE INSTITUTION OF THE MAERIQU’L-AEKAR
1. FOREWORD ‘"
Blessed is he who directeth his steps towards the Mashriqu’l-Agihkér at the hour ofdawn, communing with Him, attuned to His remembrance, imploring His forgiveness. And having entered therein, let him sit in silence to hearken unto the verses of God, the Sovereign, the Almighty, the All~Praised. Say, the Mashriqu’l-Agljgkdr is in truth any House raised in towns or villages, for mention ofMe. Thus hath it been named before His
Throne; would that ye know it.
MANY discerning minds have testified to the profoundly significant change which has taken place during recent years in the character of popular religious thinking. Religion has developed an entirely new emphasis, more especially for the layman, quite independent of the older sectarian divisions.
Instead of considering that religion is a matter of turning toward an abstract creed, the average religionist today is concerned with the practical applications of religion to the problems of human life. Religion, in brief, after having apparently lost its influence in terms of theology, has been restored more powerfully than ever as a spirit of brotherhood, an impulse toward unity, and an ideal making for a more enlightened civilization throughout the world.
Against this background, the institution of the Mashriqu’l-Adhkár stands revealed as the supreme expression of all those modern religious tendencies animated by social ideals which do not repudiate the reality of spiritual experience but seek to transform it into a dynamic striving for unity. The Mashriqu’l-Adhkár, when clearly understood, gives the world its most potent agency for applying mystical vision or idealistic aspiration to the service of humanity. It makes visible and concrete those deeper meanings and wider possibilities of religion which could not be realized until the dawn of this universal age.
The term ‘Mashriqu’l-Adhkár’ means literally, ‘Dawning-place of the praise of God.’
To appreciate the significance of this Bahá’í institution, we must lay aside all customary
Bahá’u’lláh, Kittib-i-Aqdas
ideas of the churches and cathedrals of the past. The Mashriqu’l-Adjkér fulfils the original intention of religion in each dispensation, before that intention had become altered and veiled by human invention and belief.
The Mashriqu’l-Adhkár is a channel releasing spiritual powers for social regeneration because it fills a different function than that assumed by the sectarian church. Its essential purpose is to provide a community meetingplace for all who are seeking to worship God, and achieves this purpose by interposing no man—made veils between the worshipper and the Supreme. Thus, the Mashriqu’l-Acflkar is freely open to people of a1] Faiths on equal terms, who now realize the universality of Bahá’u’lláh in revealing the oneness of all the Prophets. Moreover, since the Bahá’í Faith has no professional clergy, the worshipper entering the Temple hears no sermon and takes part in no ritual the emotional effect of which is to establish a separate group consciousness.
Integral with the Temple are its accessory buildings, without which the Mashriqu’l-Adhkár would not be a complete social institution. These buildings are to be devoted to such activities as a school for science, a hospice, a hospital, an asylum for orphans. Here the circle of spiritual experience at last joins, as prayer and worship are allied directly to creative service, eliminating the static subjective elements from religion and laying a foundation for a new and higher type of human association.
HORACE HOLLEY
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THE Bahá’í WORLD
2. THE SPIRITUAL SIGNIFICANCE OF THE MAgRIQU’L-ADEKAR
A LETTER FROM SHOGHI EFFENDI
IT should be borne in mind that the central edifice of the Mashriqu’l-Adhkár, round which in the fullness of time shall cluster such institutions of social service as shall afford relief to the suffering, sustenance to the poor, shelter to the wayfarer, solace to the bereaved, and education to the ignorant, should be regarded apart from these dependencies, as a house solely designed and entirely dedicated to the worship of God in accordance with the few yet definitely prescribed principles established by Bahá’u’lláh in the Kitáb-i-Aqdas. It should not be inferred, however, from this general statement that the interior of the central edifice itself will be converted into a conglomeration of religious services conducted along lines associated with the traditional procedure obtaining in churches, mosques, synagogues, and other temples of worship. Its various avenues of approach, all converging towards the central hall beneath its dome, will not serve as admittance to those sectarian adherents of rigid formulae and man-made creeds, each bent, according to his way, to observe his rites, recite his prayers, perform his ablutions, and display the particular symbols of his faith within separately defined sections of Bahá’u’lláh’s Universal House of Worship. Far from the Mashriqu’l-Adhkár offering such a spectacle of incoherent and confused sectarian Observances and rites, a condition wholly incompatible with the provisions of the Aqdas and irreconcilable with the spirit it inculcates, the central House of Bahá’í worship, enshrined within the Mashriqu’l-Afltkér, will gather within its chastened walls, in a serenely spiritual atmosphere, only those who, discarding forever the trappings of elaborate and ostenatious ceremony, are willing worshippers of the one true God, as manifested in this age in the Person of Baha’u’llah. To them will the Mashriqu’l-Adhkár symbolize the fundamental verity underlying the Bahá’í Faith, that religious truth is not absolute but relative, that Divine Revelation is not final but progressive. Theirs will be the conviction that an all-loving
and ever-watchful Father Who, in the past, and at various stages in the evolution of mankind, has sent forth His Prophets as the Bearers of His Message and the Manifestations of His Light to mankind, cannot at this critical period of their civilization withhold from His children the guidance which they sorely need amid the darkness which has beset them, and which neither the light of science nor that of human intellect and wisdom can succeed in dissipating. And thus having recognized in Baha’u’llah the source whence this celestial light proceeds, they will irresistibly feel attracted to seek the shelter of His house, and congregate therein, unhampered by ceremonials and unfettered by creed, to render homage to the one true God, the Essence and Orb of eternal Truth, and to exalt and magnify the name of His Messengers and Prophets Who, from time immemorial even unto our day, have, under divers circumstances and in varying measure, mirrored forth to a dark and wayward world the light of heavenly guidance.
But however inspiring the conception of
'Bahá’í worship, as witnessed in the central
edifice of this exalted Temple, it cannot be regarded as the sole, nor even the essential, factor in the part which the Mashriqu’l-Ailkar, as designed by Baha’u’llah, is destined to play in the organic life of the Bahá’í community. Divorced from the social, humanitarian, educational and scientific pursuits centring around the dependencies of the Mashriqu’l-Adhkár, Bahá’í worship, however exalted in its conception, however passionate in fervor, can never hope to achieve beyond the meagre and often transitory results produced by the contemplations of the ascetic or the communion of the passive worshipper. It cannot afford lasting satisfaction and benefit to the worshipper himself, much less to humanity in general, unless and until translated and transfused into that dynamic and disinterested service to the cause of humanity which it is the supreme privilege of the dependencies of the Mashriqu’l-Adhkár to facilitate and promote.
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THE WORLD ORDER OF BAHA’U'LLAH
Nor will the exertions, no matter how disinterested and strenuous, of those who within the precincts Of the Mashriqu’l-Adhkár will be engaged in administering the affairs of the future Bahá’í commonwealth, fructify and prosper unless they are brought into close and daily communion with those spiritual agencies centring in and radiating from the central shrine of the Mashriqu’l-Adhkár. Nothing short of direct and constant interaction between the spiritual forces emanating from this House of Worship centring in the heart of the Mashriqu’l-Adltkér, and the energies consciously displayed by those who administer its affairs in their service to humanity can possibly provide the necessary agency capable of removing the ills that have so long and so grievously afflicted humanity. For it is
367
assuredly upon the consciousness of the efficacy of the Revelation of Bahá’u’lláh, reinforced on one hand by spiritual communion with His Spirit, and on the other by the intelligent application and the faithful execution of the principles and laws He revealed, that the salvation of a world in travail must ultimately depend. And of all the institutions that stand associated with His Holy Name, surely none save the institution of the Mashriqu’l-Adjkér can most adequately provide the essentials of Bahá’í worship and service, both so vital to the regeneration of the world. Therein lies the secret of the loftiness, Of the potency, of the unique position of the Mashriqu’l-Adhkár as one of the outstanding institutions conceived by Bahá’u’lláh.
25 October 1929.
The Mother Temple of the West, Wilmette, Illinois, U.S.A. The corner-stone was laid by
‘Abdu’l-Bahá on I May 1912. On 23 May 1978 the structure was designated by the United
States government ‘one of the nation’s cultural resources worthy 0 f preservation’ and listed in the National Register oinstoric Places.
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3. THE LAYING OF THE FOUNDATION STONE OF THE MOTHER TEMPLE OF THE INDIAN SUB—CONTINENT
17 October 1977
DURING the Ten Year Crusade, 22 acres of land in New Delhi were acquired for the Mashriqu’l-Adhkár, but this property was requisitioned by the Government for a green belt area. After several years of constant negotiation by the National Assembly, and upon viewing the beautiful design for the Temple, the Government agreed to release the entire 22 acres, as reported on 1 February 1978.
On the occasion of the All-Asia Bahá’í’ Women’s Conference in New Delhi, and at a special ceremony on 17 October 1977 at the Temple site, the Hand of the Cause Amatu’l-Bahá Rfihl’yyih K_hz’1num laid the foundation stone for this important edifice.
The Universal House of Justice has approved a design prepared by Fariburz Sahbé, Who has been retained as architect for this Temple. Working drawings are being prepared by Mr. Sahbé and the structural engineers in England.
On 27 February 1979 a cable was received stating that the necessary permit for the construction of the House of Worship had been issued by the authorities and that excavation of the area had begun.
Photograph Ofthe architect’s model Ofthe design for the Mother Temple of the Indian subcontinent, to be erected near New Delhi, India. The architect is Fart’burz Sahbd. Initiation Ofthe construction of the House of Worship was one Ofthe goals Ofthe Five Year Plan.
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OVERJOYED REMOVAL OBSTACLES USE TEMPLE SITE WELCOME PRESENCE AMATULBAHA RUHIYYIH KHANUM IN YOUR MIDST OCCASION WOMENS CONFERENCE ENABLING YOU HOLD BEFITTING CEREMONY MARKING INITIATION PROJECT CONSTRUCTION MOTHER TEMPLE INDIAN SUBVCONTINENT STOP CALLING ON AMATULBAHA REPRESENT HOUSE JUSTICE MOMENTOUS OCCASION LAY FOUNDATION STONE HISTORIC EDIFICE STOP FERVENTLY PRAYING NOBLE INSTITUTION SOON TO BE REARED YOUR SOIL WILL ATTRACT ADDED DIVINE BLESSINGS UPON COMMUNITY WHOSE TEACHING SUCCESS STANDS UNEQUALLED ENTIRE BAHAI WORLD.
i” V ‘ , ’ \ . Amatu’l-Bahá’ Rúḥíyyih Khánum and some 0 f the other Bahát’s who attended the
ceremony at which she laid the foundation stone.
Excerpt from the Address of the Hand of the Cause Amatu’l-Bahá Rúḥíyyih Khánum
‘When I was invited by the Universal House of Justice to go and see this design, I was apprehensive. Because being an architect’s daughter I know what a difficult problem it is to design a nine-sided building, but when I saw this beautiful model I was deeply impressed and I think that it will be a wonderful thing and very much loved in India. There is one thing that Mr. Sahbé did not mention. The lotus has not only an association with Buddhism and Hinduism, but par excellence, it is the symbol of the Manifestation of God. The lotus is probably the most perfect flower in the whole world. It is symmetrical; it is exquisitely beautiful. And
Universal House of Justice Cablegram dated 10 October 1977
how does it grow? It grows in a swamp, and it raises its head out of the slime absolutely clean and perfect. Now this is what the Manifestation of God is in the world. He comes out of the slime. He comes from the worst place in the planet. He appears amongst the worst people in the planet, so that nobody can say that we made Him. They say only God can bring forth such a Being from such an environment. This is perhaps the greatest symbolism of the lotus and I think that it is so beautiful that we who are the followers of Bahá’u’lláh should have this design in this part of the world where it is so deeply associated with two of the world’s greatest religions—Buddhism and Hinduism.’
The Bahá’ís from many lands who had gathered in New Delhi for the Women’s Conference arrived by buses, taxis and private cars at the bright pavilion on the site of the future Temple of India. A thousand Bahá’ís representing most Asian countries as well as Europe, America, Australasia and Africa gathered in the tent and heard prayers chanted in many languages, beginning with Sanskrit.
A cool breeze began as Amatu’l-Bahá spoke of how Zoroaster, Krishna, Moses, Christ and the Báb and Bahá’u’lláh and the celestial concourse would be taking a keen interest in the proceedings. This was the time to forget personality and be sanctified to spiritually commune with God on this site of the Temple. The believers then formed a crowded circle, some standing on rocks and vantage points while Amatu’l-Bahá laid the corner-stone. The architect, Mr. F. Sahba of Iran, was beside her as she firmly pressed down the commemorative stone in a specially prepared concrete bed.
It took more than two hours for the excited believers to disperse in buses from the slopes of that gently rising land, bordered by parks. The lotus-shaped Temple to be raised here must surely evoke a deep spiritual response from all in the countries of the East, as it is a symbol of religion, a flower of purity and beauty arising out of the mud.
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Amatu’l-Bahci’ Rtihz’yyih Khánum laying the foundation stone of the Mother Temple of the
Indian sub—continent 0n 1 7 October 1 977. Assisting her is Mr. Fan’burz Sahba’, the architect,
whose unique design grew out of his profound love and intense study of the architecture, culture and peoples oflndia.
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4. THE LAYING OF THE FOUNDATION STONE OF THE FIRST MAERIQU’L-ADflK/XR OF THE PACIFIC ISLANDS
27 January 1979
IN November 1975, the National Spiritual Assembly of Samoa purchased a site for the Temple, a 12-acre lot at an elevation of 1,800 feet, overlooking the city of Apia and not far from Vailima, the official residence of His Highness Malietoa Tanumafili 11. His Highness visited the land and was delighted with its location. Most of the city of Apia can be seen from the site, and when the Temple has been erected it should be clearly visible from a wide area below.
Mr. Husayn Aménat was appointed as architect for the Temple at Riḍván 1978. His design was submitted to the Universal House of Justice in September of that year and to His Highness Malietoa Tanumafili II shortly thereafter. Following its approval, plans were made for the laying of the foundation stone. This ceremony took place on the Temple site on 27 J anuary 1979 with His Highness laying the stone. Amatu’l-Bahá Rúḥíyyih Khánum, the representative of the Universal House of Justice, participated by placing in a niche in the stone a small casket of dust from the Most Holy Shrine. Over 500 Bahá’ís attended the ceremony and the Conference which was held concurrently. Sixteen national communities from all parts of the Pacific area were represented.
Additional land has been acquired adjacent to the Temple site to the east to provide an approach to the Temple from the main road.
Photograph of the architect’s rendering of the design for the new Bahá’í House of Worship for
Samoa, which will be erected on a site near Apia, Western Samoa. Initiation ofconstruction
of the building was a goal Ofthe Five Year Plan. Architect Husayn Amtinat, who also designed the building for the Seat of the Universal House of Justice, created the Samoan Temple.
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A. Text of Address Delivered by His Highness Malietoa Tanumafili II
' IT is a joy for me today to be participating in the laying of the foundation stone of the Bahá’í House of Worship in Samoa—an edifice which is the first of its kind to be erected in the Pacific.
This occasion represents a significant hour for the people of Samoa and most certainly an important hour for the Baha’r’s in the world and in the Pacific. For the people of Samoa, because it signifies another milestone in their dedication to the cause of God and their worship of their Creator. It signifies a positive and ‘ forward step in the cause of universal brotherhood and the recognition of one single God, the common Father of all humanity. It is an important hour for the Bahá’ís because of the fact that the Teachings of this young Faith were brought to our shores only some twenty-five years ago. The Teachings of Baha’u’llah repres, ‘ ent the noble idea of the unity of God, the unity of His Holy
. . I N , Messengers—the great Redeemers of mankind, such as Krishna, Hts nghness Make Moses, Christ, Muhammad and Bahá’u’lláh—and the unity of all
Tanumafilz II the peoples of the earth.
Humanity today is in desperate need of a unifying spirit; a spirit that will engender in the hearts and minds of every member of the human family the belief that we all ‘belong to the same household’.
The laying of the foundation stone of this House of Worship in the Pacific is the visible sign of such unity in our midst and, hopefully, this building will rise and become the emblem of a greater spirit of unity in our islands and in the whole of the Pacific. For almost fifteen decades Samoa has shown love for God and has founded a nation that is aware of its Lord. Over this long period many men of God have laboured and toiled in our islands in an effort to bring us closer to that true spirit which requires us to be better human beings. Our Government is founded on God. We promote freedom of worship and know little of the prejudices that afflict many other countries of the world.
On this occasion, as Head of State of Western Samoa and on behalf of the people of Western Samoa, I wish the Bahá’ís every success in this undertaking—the building of this House of Worship which will open its doors to people of all races and religious backgrounds. When completed this edifice will undoubtedly strengthen and develop further that mysterious power in the spirit of man that once it is attracted to the true worship of its Creator will bring about happiness, brotherhood and unity.
k5” gm: :
toa
Soifua!
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THE WORLD ORDER OFBAHA'U‘LLAH 373
B. Excerpts from the Address of the Hand of the Cause Amatu’l—Baha
Rfihl’yyih Khánum
YOUR Highness, honoured guests and fellow Bahá’í’s and many esteemed visitors who are present today. It is a very great day for me. A day of happiness and of joy to be here . . . We already have . . . some ‘Mother Temples’ in the Bahá’í world. The first one, strangely enough, was built at the beginning of this century in Russia, and it was very dear to the hearts of the Bahá’ís. It was built at the time of . . . ‘Abdu’l-Bahá Who succeeded His Father, and He had the joy of seeing this Temple completed. Unfortunately it was destroyed by a very severe earthquake . . . The second Bahá’í Temple . . . cornerstone was laid by ‘Abdu’l-Bahá Himself . . . in 1912 (in Wilmette, Illinois).
The first was the Mother Temple of Asia, the second was the Mother Temple of North America, and since we have built in Frankfurt, Germany, the Mother Temple of Europe; in Sydney, Australia, the Mother Temple of the Antipodes; in Uganda, in the city of Kampala, the Mother Temple of Africa . . . and we now have in Panama . . . the Mother Temple of South and Central
. .1 gfiitrv' The Hand of the Cause Amatu’l-Bahá Rdhz’yyih fluinum
America . . . In 1977 the stone was laid in New Delhi for the Mother Temple of the Indian sub-continent and today we are gathered on this very joyous and auspicious and historic occasion to have His Highness lay the cornerstone of the Bahá’í Temple of the Pacific Ocean. It also will be a great Mother Temple, and its sole message is one of love and of understanding and of lack of prejudice and of working for peace and harmony and brotherhood. . . it will be open to people of all denominations; it will be open to people of no denomination. The devout follower of whatever religion he may belong to, and the atheist will be welcome to come into our Temple, to be peaceful, to be quiet, to meditate, to pray, and if he cares to, to attend our regular services.
Text of inscription to be placed at an appropriate place inside the Temple after it has been
constructed:
‘The Foundation Stone of this first Bahá’í House of Worship in the Pacific Islands was laid by His Highness Malietoa Tanumafili II, and the representative of the Universal House of Justice, Amatu’l-Bahá Rfihl’yyih Khánum, set therein a casket containing Dust from the Sacred Shrine of Baha’u’llah. 27 January 1979.’
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. His Highness Malietoa Tanumafilillplacing The Hand of the Cause Amatu’l-Bahá the foundation stone of the Mother Temple Rdhz’yyih flzdnum, the representative of the
of the Pacific Islands. Universal House oflustice, inserting into a
niche in the foundation stone a box containing Dust from the Shrine of Bahá’u'lla’h.
The silver box, about six centimetres in diameter, containing Dust from the Shrine of Bahá’u’lláh.
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5. THE DESIGNATION OF THE MOTHER TEMPLE OF THE WEST AS A NATIONAL HISTORIC PLACE BY THE UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT
DELIGHTED ACTION BY FEDERAL AUTHORITIES TO INCLUDE MOTHER TEMPLE OF THE WEST IN NATIONAL REGISTER OF HISTORIC PLACES STOP FRUITION YOUR EFFORTS ON 134TH ANNIVERSARY OF DECLARATION HIS MISSION BY BLESSED BAB OBTAIN THIS SIGNIFICANT RECOGNITION DESERVES WARM COMMENDATIONS AND IS AN OUTSTANDING
ACHIEVEMENT
ON 23 May, 1978, exactly 134 years after the historic Declaration of the Báb, the Bahá’í House of Worship in Wilmette, Illinois, was designated ‘one of the Nation’s cultural resources worthy of preservation’ and listed in the National Register of Historic Places.
The National Spiritual Assembly, in its letter to the American Bahá’í community for the Feast of Kalimat, emphasized the importance and the significance of such recognition:
‘It means that the Federal authorities recognize the architectural importance of the building and are committed to preserving it as a United States historic site.
‘Thus our efforts to protect the physical existence of this sublime edifice have now been fortified a thousandfold.’
The National Assembly was notified officially of the listing by Keith A. Scalle, National Register coordinator for the Division of Historic Sites, Illinois Department of Conservation. The notification came shortly after the House of Worship welcomed the four millionth visitor since its public dedication in May 1953.
‘In this new recognition coming from the Federal authorities,’ said the National Spiritual Assembly, ‘we experience a fresh measure of the dynamic quality which is implied in the beloved Master’s description of the Temple as “silent teacher”; and we sense more fully the spell it casts as the “ordained source”, in Shoghi Effendi’s words, “from which rays [of]
UNIVERSAL HOUSE OF JUSTICE 22 June 1978
spiritual guidance will radiate."’
Because the House of Worship is not old enough for consideration as a ‘historic place’, it was nominated on the basis of its architectural uniqueness.
The nine-sided structure, which symbolizes the unity of religions and the oneness of mankind, was designed by French-Canadian architect Louis Bourgeois. The cornerstone was laid by the Master, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, on 1 May 1912.
The House of Worship was nominated for the National Register by the National Assembly in 1974 on advice from the Wilmette Historical Society.
The nominating process included the submission of photos and written information about the House of Worship to the Illinois Department of Conservation, which, upon approval, forwarded the materials to the Illinois Historic Sites Advisory Board.
The materials were then sent to Washington, DC, for consideration by the US. Department of Interior’s National Parks Service, which is responsible for compiling the National Register of Historic Places.
‘Dearly-loved Friends,’ the National Assembly said in its Feast letter, ‘may our individual and collective efforts to win the pressing goals of the Five Year Plan be spurred on by this outstanding achievement.’
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Two views of‘Abdu’l-Bahá taken on I May I 912 during the dedication Ofthesite and laying of the corner-stone of the Bahá’í House of Worship, Wilmette, Illinois, USA.
