THE MASHRIQU’L-ADHKÁR
(The “Dawning-Place of the Worship of God”)
Visible Embodiment of the Universality of the Cause of Bahá’u’lláh.
A Compilation of Two Addresses by ‘ABDU’L-BAHA, an Address by MAJOR HENRY J. BURT, a letter by C. MASON REMEY, preceded by a Foreword by HORACE HOLLEY.
FOREWORD
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 worship of God.”
To appreciate the significance of this Bahá’í institution, we must lay aside all customary ideas of the churches and cathedrals of the past. The Mashriqu’l-Adhkár fulfills the original intention of religion in each dispensation, before that intention had become altered and veiled by human invention and belief.
In its completed form, the Mashriqu’l-Adhkár consists of a Temple standing in the center of five accessory buildings, the entire group surrounded by landscaped gardens designed in the pattern of nine which gives the Temple its dominant note.
The Mashriqu’l-Adhkár to be erected on the shore of Lake Michigan in the heart of North America, with its foundation already laid at Wilmette, Illinois, a suburb of Chicago, was designed by Mr. Louis Bourgeois. In the original conception, and throughout the myriad details of the mighty structure, a new inspiration is revealed which suggests an architectural order harmonizing and blending the styles developed separately In the East and in the West. Its symmetry {{page|114|file=BW_Volume2.pdf|page=131}and organic form derives from the number nine, the number of fulfillment associated with the term “Bahá.” Thus the Temple has nine doors, nine sides on the first story, and nine facets on the towering dome.
The surfaces both without and within are to carry an intricate scheme of decorative carving in which Mr. Bourgeois has translated into mural art the profound significance of ancient religious symbolism and the cosmic pattern created by the orbits of astronomical bodies sweeping through space. The full story of this architectural glory, pregnant with scientific truth yet at the same time as joyously spontaneous in its total effect as a fruitful tree in the sun, must be told at a later time. The purpose of the present brief sketch is confined to an explanation of the Mashriqu’l-Adhkár as an institution bringing religion nearer than ever before into the structural life of society.
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 meeting-place for all who are seeking to worship God, and achieves this purpose by interposing no man-made veils between the worshiper and the Supreme. Thus, the Mashriqu’l-Adhkár is freely open to people of all Faiths on equal terms, expressing in this the universality of Bahá’u’lláh who affirmed the oneness of all the Prophets. Moreover, since the Bahá’í Faith has no professional clergy, the worshiper entering the Temple hears no sermon and takes part in no ritual the psychic effect of which is to establish a separate group consciousness. Not even music-only the reading of the text of the Holy Books will condition the experience of free worship and meditation in this edifice dedicated to the unity of mankind.
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.
The establishment of a Mashriqu’l-Adhkár in the community will effect a permanent revolution in its psychology and collective action. Where religion has sanctioned division and difference, the Bahá’í institution sanctions unity, fellowship, co-operation. Like a healing element, it will remove the physical and mental reasons for religious, racial and class prejudice, and uphold a divine standard of reality embracing every member of the community. What has been true and effective in the life of the churches-the educational effect of noble sermons and the esthetic inspiration of beautiful service-will be restored to the creative arts, sciences and crafts, raising all human action and experience to a higher plane by concentrating the force of religion upon the single function of awakening the soul by the power of the Word of God.
A special significance will always be connected with the first Bahá’í Temple to be erected in America, through the fact that its building fund has received contributions from members of this Faith in all parts of the world. Its spiritual sources, like the roots of a majestic tree, penetrate far outside the local community of Wilmette, outside North America, deriving sustenance from the entire fellowship of the followers of Bahá’u’lláh,—Muslim, Jew, Zoroastrian, Hindu and Buddhist, as well as Christian. An inestimable force of self-sacrificing faith has entered into the Mashriqu’l-Adhkár, flowing into America from Europe, Asia and Africa as if imploring for that day when the America people, as ‘Abdu’l-Bahá so clearly foretold, shall firmly establish the true World Peace.
(From The Promulgation of Universal Peace)
AMONG the institutes of the Holy Books is that of the foundation of places of worship. That is to say, an edifice or temple is to be built in order that humanity might find a place of meeting and this is to be conducive to unity and fellowship among them. The real temple is the very Word of God; for to it all humanity must turn and it is the center of unity for all mankind. It is the collective center, the cause of accord and communion of hearts, the sign of the solidarity of the human race, the source of life eternal. Temples are the symbols of the divine uniting force, so that when the people gather there in the House of God they may recall the fact that the law has been revealed for them and that the law is to unite them. They will realize that just as this Temple was founded for the unification of mankind, the law preceding and creating it came forth in the manifest Word.
His Holiness Jesus Christ addressing Peter said, “Thou art Peter and upon this rock I wil1 build my church.” This utterance of His Holiness was indicative of the faith of Peter, signifying: This faith of thine, O Peter! is the very cause and message of unity to the nations; it shall be the bond of union between the hearts of men, and the foundation of the oneness of the world of humanity. In brief, the original purpose of temples and houses of worship is simply that of unity; places of meeting where various people, different races and souls in every capacity may come together in order that love and agreement should be manifest between them. That is why His Holiness Bahá’u’lláh has commanded that a place of worship be built for all the religionists of the world; that all religions, races and sects may come together within its universal shelter; that the proclamation of the oneness of mankind shall go forth from its open courts of holiness; the announcement that humanity is the servant of God and that all are submerged in the ocean of His mercy. It is the Mashriqu’l-Adhkár. The world of existence may be likened to this Temple and place of worship; for just as the external world is a place where the people of all races and colors, varying faiths, denominations and conditions come together—just as they are submerged in the same sea of divine favors, so likewise all may meet under the dome of the Mashriqu’l-Adhkár and adore the one God in the same spirit of truth; for the ages of darkness have passed away and the century of light has come. Ignorant prejudices are being dispelled and the light of unity is shining. The differences existing between nations and peoples wil1 soon be annulled and the fundamentals of the divine religions which are no other than the oneness and solidarity of the human race are being established.
For thousands of years the human race has been at war. It is enough. Now let mankind for a time at least, consort in amity and peace. Enmity and hatred have ruled. Let the world for a period, exercise love. For thousands of years the nations have denied each other, considering each other as infidel and inferior. It is sufficient. We must now realize that we are the servants of one God, that we turn to one beneficent Father, live under one divine law, seek one reality, and have one desire. Thus may we live in the utmost friendship and love, and in return the favors and bounties of God shall surround us, the world of humanity will be reformed, mankind enjoy new life. eternal light will illumine and heavenly moralities become manifest.
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Then divine policy shall govern the world; for the divine policy is the oneness of humanity. God is just and kind to all. He considers all as His servants. He excludes none and His judgments are correct and true. No matter how complete human policy and foresight may appear, it is imperfect. If we do not seek the counsel of God or if we refuse to follow His dictates it is presumptive evidence that we are knowing and wise whereas God is ignorant; that we are sagacious and God is not. God forbid ! We seek shelter in His mercy for this suggestion! No matter how far the human intelligence may advance, it is still but a drop while Divine Omniscience is the ocean. Shall we say that a drop is imbued or endowed with qualities of which the ocean is devoid? Shall we believe that the policy and plan of this atom of a human soul are superior to the wisdom of the Omniscient? There is no greater ignorance than this. Briefly: some are mere children ; with the utmost love we must educate them to make them wise. Others are sick and ailing; we must tenderly treat them until they recover. Some have unworthy morals; we must train them toward the standard of true morality. Other than this we are all the servants of one God and under the providence and protection of one Father.
These are the institutions of God and the foundations of His Temple the Mashriqu’l-Adhkár. The outer edifice is a symbol of the inner. May the people be admonished thereby!
I pray in your behalf that your hearts may be enlightened with the light of the love of God; that your minds may develop daily; that your spirits may become aglow with the fire and illumination of His Glad-tidings, until these divine foundations may become established throughout the human world. The first of these institutions and foundations is the oneness of humanity and love among mankind. The second is the “Most Great Peace.” Praise be to God! this American democ- racy manifests capacity, showing forth readiness to become the standard-bearer of the “Most Great Peace.” May its hosts be the hosts of the oneness of humanity. May they serve the threshold of God and spread the message of the good-pleasure of God.
O thou kind Lord! This gathering is turning to Thee. These hearts are radiant with Thy love. These minds and spirits are exhilarated by the message of Thy Glad-tidings. O God! Let this American democracy become glorious in spiritual degrees even as it has aspired to material degrees, and render this just government victorious. Confirm this revered nation to upraise the standard of the oneness of humanity, to promulgate the “Most Great Peace,” to become thereby most glorious and praiseworthy among all the nations of the world. O God! This American nation is worthy of Thy favors and is deserving of Thy mercy. Make it precious and near to Thee through Thy bounty and bestowal.
THE STRUCTURE OF THE BAHÁ’Í TEMPLE
From an Address by MAJOR HENRY J. BURT, the Engineer of the Temple, given before the Wilmette Chapter of the American Association of Engineers, November 2,1922.
THE Temple in Wilmette will be a beautiful building. It will be rich in decoration consistently carried out. Its color will be nearly white, which is appropriate for structure of this monumental character. The Temple is being built from plans made by Mr. Louis Bourgeois, an architect of many years’ experience and great artistic ability. The design was selected in a competition among a number of [Page 117]
architects, held in New York City in 1919. All of the competitors were of the Bahá’í Faith, and thus had the inspiration and enthusiasm of their religious belief to aid them in their efforts. In presenting his design Mr. Bourgeois submitted a model of the building which he had molded and carved largely with his own hands—a most painstaking and tedious work. This model was sent to Chicago and exhibited at the Art Institute in May, 1921. As soon as a suitable place is available at the Temple it will be reassembled there. This model was so carefully made that it was closely followed in making full size detail drawings.
The location of the building is in the southeast section of Wilmette. On the east and northeast is Sheridan Road, with an unobstructed outlook upon Lake Michigan. Northeasterly the view is across the Wilmette Harbor and the Lake Front Park of Wilmette. To the west and north-west the property is bounded by the Drainage Channel and across the channel is the park area which was recently contributed to the Wilmette Park Board. By these surroundings the Temple is protected against the encroachment of other buildings on all sides save the south and as this will probably be residence property permanently, there will not be any serious interference. In all other directions no buildings are likely to be erected within a distance of one thousand feet. For the most part the ground is about twenty-five feet above the lake level. There will be a terraced approach to form the base of the Temple. From this terrace steps will lead up to the main floor, nine feet higher.
The portion of the structure which is now inclosed is the basement. The top of the present construction is the first floor level. The top of the terrace will be at the top of the outside wall and the sloping surface from this wall inward is the base for the steps that will encircle the superstructure.
The superstructure, for convenience of description, can be divided into three sections. The first section extends from the main floor to the first gallery, the second section from the first gallery to the second gallery and the third section from the second gallery to the top of the dome.
At each of the balcony levels there are large windows, partially screened by tracery, which would give ample light in daytime and which will stand out in great brilliance when the structure is lighted at night.
The extreme height of the structure from the first floor to the pinnacle of the dome is 161 feet.
The height of the first gallery above the main floor is 36 feet and the distance from the first gallery to the second gallery is 45 feet.
The distance from the second gallery to the base of the dome is 19 feet.
The height of the dome proper, leaving out of account the projecting ribs, is 49 feet.
The minarets guarding the first story of the structure rise to a height of 45 feet above the first floor.
The extreme diameter of the basement is 202 feet.
The diameter at the top of the steps is 152 feet.
The central portion of the building is a single space extending from the main floor up to the inner shell of the dome. Around this are nine rooms extending to the outer wall of the first section. One of these rooms or spaces is assigned to stairway. The others are for use as enclosed rooms. In the basement the central portion is a single room with a domed ceiling having a height of approximately 25 feet from the floor to the crown. Outside of this central area, the space can be divided according to the uses to be made of it and this has not been quite fully developed. In general, however, the space under the steps will be used for the installation of the mechanical apparatus such as the electrical switch board room, and heating [Page 118]
coils and fans for the heating and ventilation system, for plumbing and temporarily for heating plant. The remainder of the space under the steps will be suitable for storage. It is the intention of the architect to preserve in this space all of the models which are required for molding the exterior of the building. The remainder of the basement space will be subdivided for such uses as may be required.
There are a number of interesting structural features in connection with this building. The designer, in attacking a structure of this kind, usually begins at the top and works downward. The crowning feature of the building is, of course, the dome. The masonry of this dome is to be perforated for the purpose of admitting light from the outside during the daytime and for the purpose of throwing out light at night. The masonry is, therefore, only a screen or tracery and not a roof. The area of the perforations is about thirty per cent of the area of the surface. While this masonry could be made self-supporting, it was not considered expedient to do so, so it is supported by a steel framework. This framework consists of a series of ribs, spaced about nine feet apart at the base and coming together at the top with a suitable bracing between the ribs.
This metal skeleton then forms the base for the masonry screen above it. The roof will be made of glass inside of and entirely free from the masonry dome. This will be a difficult piece of work to construct on account of its shape. It will have to be a wire glass set in metal frames. Some of the frames need to be hinged so that they can be opened for ventilation and for cleaning, more particularly for the latter purpose. Lower down comes the inner dome or ceiling. This has an independent steel framework made of arched ribs with the bracing between, similar to the framework of the outer dome. This will support the inner envelope of glass. This inner glass may be in the form of mosaics or ornament. The weight of the dome is supported at nine points. At each of these points is a group of four columns extending from the base of the dome down to the foundations.
Following the structure downward, these columns gradually accumulate the weight of the dome and the floors until in the lowest section they carry a very considerable burden amounting to about one and one-half million pounds at each of the nine points.
In order to have a big central space in the basement, 72 feet in diameter, the ceiling and floor above had to be supported without the use of interior columns. To provide this support it was decided to use a reinforced concrete dome. As the dome is perfectly regular in its outline and uniformly loaded, it was not particularly difficult to design nor was it extremely difficult to construct although the construction offered some difficulties. The shell of the dome is 12 inches thick. It is reinforced with two layers of steel rods, one near the top and one near the bottom. Each of these layers is made up of rods in radial position and others in circumferential position. For its final support, this dome rests on the concrete encasements of the steel columns.
In general the framework of the structure is of reinforced concrete except the supports of the dome, which are structural steel. The structural steel consists principally of the nine groups of four columns each which extend from the basement level to the springing line of the dome and the structural steel dome framing. There are some odd members of structural steel in the first story and, of course, there is structural steel bracing between the columns. The framing of the first story outside of the dome section is of reinforced concrete as is all of the first floor framing and all of the columns other than the main columns just described.
The foundation problem is a somewhat intricate one. There are heavy loads at the nine points which support the main dome. At the other points the loads are comparatively light, carrying as they do [Page 119]
only one floor and a roof together with walls. As a matter of sentiment as well as a matter of safety, it was desired to have the dome supported from bedrock. On this basis the foundations for the dome consist of nine piers extending to rock at a depth of 120 feet below the ground level.
The contract for the basement section, including the pile foundations, was let in August, 1921, to be completed about January 1st, 1922. The basement section has just been completed and, as winter is again at hand, no effort will be made to go ahead with the superstructure until spring.
ADDRESS DELIVERED BY ‘ABDU’L-BAHÁ, AT THE DEDICATION OF THE MASHRIQU’L-ADHKÁR GROUNDS, MAY, 1912.
(From The Promulgation of Universal Peace)
THE power which has gathered you here today notwithstanding the cold and windy weather is indeed mighty and wonderful. It is the power of God, the divine favor of Bahá’u’lláh which has drawn you together. We praise God that through His constraining love human souls are assembled and associated in this way.
Thousands of Mashriqu’l-Adhkár, dawning-points of praise and mentionings of God for all religionists, will be built in the Orient and Occident, but this being the first one erected in the Occident has great importance. In the future there will be many here and elsewhere; in Asia, Europe, even in Africa, New Zealand and Australia; but this edifice in Chicago is of especial significance. It has the same importance as the Mashriqu’l-Adhkár in ‘Ishqábád, Caucasus, Russia, the first one built there. In Persia there are many; some are houses which have been utilized for the purpose, others are homes entirely devoted to the Divine Cause, and in some places temporary structures have been erected.
In all the cities of Persia there are Mashriqu’l-Adhkárs, but the great “dawning-point” was founded in ‘Ishqábád. It possesses superlative importance because it was the first Mashriqu’l-Adhkár built. All the Bahá’í friends agreed and contributed their utmost assistance and effort. His holiness, the Afnán, devoted his wealth, gave all he had to it. From such a mighty and combined effort a beautiful edifice arose. Notwithstanding their contributions to that building, they have assisted the fund here in Chicago as well. The Mashriqu’l-Adhkár in ‘Ishqábád is almost completed. It is centrally located; nine avenues leading into it, nine gardens, nine fountains; all the arrangement and construction is according to the principle and proportion of the number nine. It is like a beautiful bouquet. Imagine a very lofty, imposing edifice surrounded completely by gardens of variegated flowers, with nine avenues leading through them, nine fountains and pools of water. Such is its matchless, beautiful design. Now they are building a hospital, a school for orphans, a home for cripples, a hospice and a large dispensary. God willing when it is fully completed it will be a paradise.
I hope the Mashriqu’l-Adhkár in Chicago will be like this. Endeavor to have the grounds circular in shape. If possible adjust and exchange the plots in order to make the dimensions and boundaries circular. The Mashriqu’l-Adhkár could not be triangular in shape. It must be in the form of a circle.
THE MASHRIQU’L-ADKHÁR OF ‘ISHQÁBÁD[edit]
Excerpts from letter written by CHARLES MASON REMEY, addressed to the House of Spirituality of Bahá’ís of Chicago, dated Washington, D . C., October 12, 1908.
BROTHERS in the service of Abhá:
As you have arisen for the construction of the first Mashriqu’l-Adhkár in America, and, as I have recently visited ‘Ishqábád and seen there the great Mashriqu’l-Adhkár of the East, of which we in the West have heard so much, I take it upon myself to write to you a description of this Edifice, hoping to share with you the great blessing of meeting with the friends in those parts and of beholding this Temple which is a testimony of their sacrifice and unity.
As you know, ‘Ishqábád is in Russia, Turkistan, just north of the Elburz Mountains, which separate the desert plain of western Turkistan, on the north, from Persia on the south. The city itself lies on the plain a short distance from the mountains, which here are very rugged and rocky. The town is quite modern in aspect, being laid off with gardens and broad streets, which meet at right angles. Rows of trees along the sidewalks remind one of a Western city, while the buildings and the waterways, which flank the streets and are fed with water coming from the nearby mountains, are strikingly Oriental.
I could hardly believe that this city had sprung up almost entirely during the past half-century. It was but a huddle of mud huts, when Bahá’u’lláh first directed some of His followers to settle there. Now this is replaced by a large and prosperous city of buildings of brick and stone.
The Mashriqu’l-Adhkár stands in the center of the city, surrounded by a large garden, which is bounded by four streets. It rises high above the surrounding buildings and trees, its dome being visible for miles as the traveler approaches the city over the plain. The building in plan is a regular polygon of nine sides. One large doorway and portico, flanked by turrets, facing the direction of the Holy City (‘Akká), forms the principal motive of the façade, while the dome dominates the whole composition.
The walls of the Temple are of brick covered with a firm and hard stucco, which in that climate resists quite well the action of the elements, while the floors are concrete supported by iron or steel beams.
In plan the building is composed of three sections: the central rotunda, the aisle or ambulatory which surrounds it, and the loggia which surrounds the entire building.
The interior of the rotunda is five stories in height. The first or main floor story consists of nine arches, supported by piers, which separate the ambulatory from the rotunda proper. The second story consists of a similar treatment of arches and piers and balustrades, which separate the triforium gallery—which is directly above the ambulatory—from the well of the rotunda. The third story is decorated with nine flank arcades, between which is a shield upon which is inscribed in Persian characters, “Yá-Bahá’u’l-Abhá.” The fourth story contains nine large windows, while the wall of the fifth story, which is not as high as the others, is pierced by eighteen bull’s-eye windows.
Above, there is the dome which is hemispherical in shape. The rotunda from the floor to the top of the dome is elaborately decorated with fret work and other designs, all in relief . . . .
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The main portico of the Temple is two stories in the clear, while the loggias, which surround the building, are on two floors, the lower being on the main floor level, while the upper one is on the level of the triforium gallery. This upper loggia is reached by two staircases, one to the right and one to the left of the main entrance, and the gallery is entered from the loggia.
On the main floor the principal entrance is through the large doorway, but there are also several inner doors, which connect the ambulatory with the loggia. An abundance of light is admitted through the windows in the upper part of the rotunda, as well as through the windows of the upper gallery and ambulatory, which open upon the loggias.
The Persian style of architecture has been used in treating the details and decorations of the buildings . . ..
From what I saw and heard in ‘Ishqábád, I found that those believers who superintended the building of the Temple were competent business men and that, although they had undertaken a large enterprise, every possible economy was made, yet at the same time no expense seemed to be spared when necessary for the beauty and solidity of the building.
Nine avenues of approach lead to the Temple. The main avenue of the nine, leading to the entrance portico, will be entered from the street by a monumental gateway. Last July they were completing the plans for this principal gateway to the grounds.
At the four corners of the garden are four buildings. One is a school. One is a house, where traveling Bahá’ís are entertained. One is to be used as a hospital, and the other is for workmen, storage, etc. Much of the property in the immediate vicinity of this enclosure belongs to Bahá’ís, so the Mashriqu’l-Adhkár is the center of the community materially, as well as spiritually.
That which impressed me more than all else, as I stood before this Mashriqu’l-Adhkár, was the fact that the Bahá’ís of the East had all worked with one accord and had given freely toward its erection . . . .
Faithfully, your brother in the service of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá,
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