THE MASHRIQU’L-ADHKÁR
Visible Embodiment of the Universality of the Cause of Bahá’u’lláh.
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 praise 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.
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.
- HORACE HOLLEY.
ARCHITECTURE EXPRESSING THE RENEWAL OF RELIGION
LET us describe the Temple not by our own definition but rather in the words of prominent journalists and notables who have expressed themselves eloquently concerning it in our leading newspapers and magazines, therefore we will briefly review some of the Press notices which appeared at the time the model of this sacred edifice was exhibited in the Kevorkian Gallery, New York City, in the year 1921. The New York Tribune and Sun reproduced it in their rotogravure sections. The New York American gave it the major portion of its art page, with a long comment beginning with the words, “Many persons who have seen the model for this building say that it will be the most beautiful structure in the world. Some go so far as to say it will be the most beautiful structure ever erected.”
Sherwin Cody, writing a charming article in the magazine section of the New York Times said, "Americans will have to pause and study it long enough to find that an artist has wrought into this building the conception of a Religious League of Nations.”
The New York World gave the Temple a full page article. The Evening Post twice granted it most generous notice and appreciation. The magazines were equally impressed. The Prompter published a full page article with illustration. Architecture, one of the most sumptuous magazines of art and architecture in the country, devoted a page to comment and illustration of the model, reproducing among other appreciations the criticism of H. Van Buren Magonigle, President of the Architectural League, who said of the model, “It is the first new idea in architecture since the thirteenth century. I want to see it erected.” This opinion has been widely quoted among architects.
The Architectural Record, one of the most esteemed of the architectural journals, gave great space to the Temple saying, “It is singularly beautiful; it is bristling with a charming symbolism in which is found the suggestion of all the religions of mankind, and to the psychologist it is startling because the creator frankly declares ‘it is Bahá’u’lláh’s Temple, I am only the channel through which it came.’ ”
The Underwood Press [Service] sent out designs of the model and comments which appeared in practically every paper in the country, even the weekly papers of tiny villages printed reviews. The Literary Digest reproduced it with most favorable comment. Art and Architecture gave it an extended mention with beautiful reproduction, saying, among other things, “So beautiful is this model and so different from anything man has ever before designed, either as an abode or as a place of worship, that it has caused much discussion among architects and sculptors and in the newspapers.”
The Outlook gave a reproduction of the completed Temple and sections of the beautiful dome with description.
The San Francisco Chronicle, the newspapers of St. Louis, Kansas City, Chicago, Boston, Philadelphia—all have published long articles commenting on the beauty of the architecture of the Bahá’í Temple in glowing terms.
In the Christian Register appeared an article under the caption, “A Wonderful House of Worship. Description of the New Bahá’í Temple said to be the Greatest Architectural Achievement of Modern Times.” The writer comments first upon the religious purpose of the Temple, enumerating the Universal Principles which are the firm foundation of the Bahá’í Movement. Most appreciatively he dwells upon the exquisite, original architectural details of the Temple, and the historical attention given the Bahá’í Movement in all encyclopedias, together with the great central figures, the Báb, Bahá’u’lláh and ‘Abdu’l-Bahá.
“Wonderful as the architectural design of the Temple is,” says this same writer, those most concerned in its erection, see in the universal service it will render to mankind its supreme importance. The Bahá’í Message is primarily a Message of Unity. It recognizes the divine elements which underlie all great world religions.”
In the Japan Times and Mail,
Tokyo, [Page 190]
February 16th, 1921,
appeared the following: “Bahá’í Temple is
Art Revelation. Modeled by Louis Bourgeois.
Combines the Essence of all Schools.
Marvel of Century Verdict of Experts.
It is a Temple of Peace
whose Portals will Welcome Members of
all Creeds.
“A new creation of transcendent beauty has dawned upon the horizon of the architectural world. The model of the great Bahá’í Temple, now on exhibition at the Kevorkian Gallery, 57th St., New York, is
‘Abdu’l-Bahá on Temple Grounds at spot where He laid the stone now resting inside of outer Temple Wall. May 1, 1912.
being visited by increasing throngs and it has been an object of professional, artistic and general interest since its installment there in April of this year. Like many—indeed most—of the great art productions, this has come from one who has endured struggle against discouraging deprivation and deferred hopes, but the universality of the praise bestowed upon the model finally evolved must bring the fullest degree of recompense for years of battling against depressing odds.
“Louis Jean Bourgeois, the architect and sculptor, is the designer of this marvelously beautiful model of a Temple, to be erected as a demonstration of the teachings and precepts of the Bahá’í Movement at Wilmette, Ill., on the shores of Lake Michigan, to occupy a central location in a beautiful tract of nine acres, already purchased, skirted by the Lincoln Highway.
“It is a Temple of Peace, whose broad portals of welcome and encouragement to devotees of any religion, and all religions, shall be always open. From a total of many different designs on exhibit at a recent Convention of Bahá’ís in New York, the Bourgeois model was the one accorded unanimous acceptance. Beside its spiritual appeal the famed beauties of the Taj Mahal grow strangely pale.
“It has been interesting to note the effect
of this Twentieth Century creation upon
those who have devoted a careful study to
its indescribable loveliness. Professor Luigi
Quaglino, ex-professor of Architecture of
Turin, Italy, has been a recent visitor in
New York. He visited the exhibit for a
brief survey, but he remained fully three
hours, and for two hours without speaking.
His study resulted in the declaration, ‘This
is a new creation which will revolutionize
architecture in the world and it is the most
beautiful I have ever seen. Without doubt
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it will have a lasting page
in history. It is a revelation from another world.’ ”
George Grey Barnard, the most widely known sculptor in America, declared by London critics the “greatest sculptor America has ever produced, and a famous archeologist,” pronounced it “the most beautiful design he had ever seen.”
Mozo Samuel, one of the foremost writers on religious drama, the author of the play, “Esther,” said: “Prior to this time no architecture has made any deep impression upon me, but this Temple model has thrilled me and I desire to visit it again and again, and to be alone with this marvelous creation.”
Musicians, artists, poets and editors have fallen victim to the lure of its spiritual beauty, and masses of the lay public have been enthralled by its magnetism.
Of his model, the architect has written: “The Teachings of Bahá’u’lláh unify the religions of the world into one universal religion, and as we know that all great historic religions developed a new architecture, so the Bahá’í Temple is the plastic symbol of the teachings of Bahá’u’lláh.
“As the essence of the pure original teachings of the historic religions was the same (though they have grown apart because of additions which have resulted in dogmas and rituals—the real cause of separation) in the Bahá’í Temple is used a composite architecture, expressing the essence in the line of each of the great architectural styles, harmonizing them into one whole. Their decorative motifs the architect omits, for to him they represent theological differences and dogmas. Instead, he has used for his decorative motif a mathematical combination of lines which permit him to harmonize all the great architectural styles into a harmonious whole. In the Bahá’í Temple is the essence of the Egyptian architecture, the Greek, the Roman, the Arabic, the Gothic, the Renaissance. Mathematical figures crown the Temple dome, representing the orbital curve of the planets around the sun.”
Mr. Bourgeois then refers the reader to the article on the “Symbolism of the Bahá’í Temple,” by Mary Hanford Ford, which appeared in print some years ago when the model was on exhibit at the Art Institute in Chicago, from which we quote in part: “The great Bahá’í Temple, the construction of which has really begun in Chicago, will interest every one in the beauty of its symbolic story as soon as its walls rise into the air. The symbolism may be read, of course, with perfect clearness in the perfection of the Temple’s model, which is the completed Temple in miniature. We have been accustomed to declare in New York, ‘The Temple model is a personality, it talks,’ or, as some prefer to say, ‘it sings,’ but no one would apply to it the term ‘frozen music’ because its musical impression is so warm and vibrant that it is impossible to think of anything frozen in its presence.
“All who are familiar with the building of the Temple model through Louis Bourgeois, its architect, are aware that it is purely a work of inspiration. Louis Bourgeois is an architect of wide experience, culture and learning. He has been for years first an eager student of spiritual truths and then a follower of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá. So he is naturally familiar with the religious symbology of mankind. But he did not create the remarkable symbolism of the Temple model. He recognized it with joy, after it appeared through his gifted fingers in the intricate and beautiful tracery of the Temple model’s ornamentation, or structural combinations. But he did not say, ‘Here I will put a triangle, there a circle, yonder a nine-pointed star.’ In each case there would have been merely an awkward juxtaposition of significant forms without beauty, for beauty—which the Temple model expresses in such entrancing degree—is the gift of God and comes only from God.
“The structure of the Temple is such that at night all of its surface will be a blaze of light. Its decorations are cut completely through1 the structural material, which is to be lined with transparent glass, so that at night each column and buttress ornament, as well as the stars and crosses and the ‘milky way’ of the dome, will shine forth like an embroidery upon the darkness.
“The nine ribs joined above the surface —————————— 1 Only the dome will be so pierced; the decoration of the outside walls will not be cut through the material.—EDITOR.
Progress View, March 2, 1931.
“The Mashriqu’l-Adhkár, the crowning institution in every Bahá’í community * * * An edifice that will in
time become God’s universal House of Worship.”
As the Temple will look when the present construction contract is completed.
Progress View, April 1, 1931, showing glass enclosed dome.
An airplane view of the Temple and beautiful site at Wilmette on the shore of Lake Michigan.
The Temple as it will look when completed.
[Page 193]
of the dome are ‘like hands
clasped in prayer,’ Bourgeois says, and in
the space between their union and the rounded
top of the dome proper will shine a great
electric light, sending forth nine rays
into the darkness of the night, and forming
a glorious illumined climax to the beautiful
nonagon structure. So the Temple will be
veritably a temple of light in this day
of resurrection, of brotherhood, and new
civilization.”
Let us consider the following words written or spoken by ‘Abdu’l-Bahá to different Bahá’ís at different times regarding the Temple's deep inner significances, and what it represents to the world of humanity. At the time of its inception He wrote, “Now the day has arrived in which the edifice of God, the divine sanctuary, the spiritual temple, shall be erected in America.
“Its building is the most important of all things. This is the spiritual foundation; for that reason it is the most important of all foundations; from this spiritual foundation will come forth all manner of advancement and progress in the world of humanity, therefore how great is its import.”
To another Bahá’í ‘Abdu’l-Bahá wrote, “The Temple is the most great foundation of the world of humanity, and it has many branches. Although the Temple is the place of worship, with it is connected a hospital, pharmacy, pilgrim’s house, school for orphans and university for the study of higher sciences. Every Temple is connected with these five things. The Temple is not only a place of worship; nay, it is perfect in every way.”
In view of these facts, the following words of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá have a profound meaning. He said, “In the Bahá’í Cause, arts, sciences and all crafts are considered as worship”; and "service is prayer.” We see from these glorious ideals for which the Temple stands that to enter it and worship and pray is not enough. Faith without deeds is dead. What one receives in moments of exaltation and heavenly inspiration within its sacred walls must be translated into actual service to the world of humanity, hence the material means of this service must surround this House of Worship, this “Holy of Holies” wherein the soul of man may be "recharged” with divine power from on high and go forth and prove his contact with the “Heavenly Beloved One” in deeds of love and helpfulness to His humanity, for our love of God is only in proportion as we love His creatures.
Further ‘Abdu’l-Bahá wrote:
“Today the establishment of the Mashriqu’l-Adhkár is of paramount importance. . . . It is an expression of the elevation of the Word of God. Particularly the arrangement of the Mashriqu’l-Adhkár is such that it will exert the greatest effect upon the civilized world for it has many accessories. Among them are the following: a school for orphans, a college for higher scientific education—(or higher knowledge)—a hospital, a home for cripples, a hospice.
“When the Mashriqu’l-Adhkár with its accessories, is established in the world, aside from its religious or spiritual influence, it will have a tremendous effect upon civilization. Aside from the religionists who will feel its influence, materialists will not be exempt therefrom. Moreover it contains divine wisdoms, spiritual effects upon the intellects and thoughts. Subsequent to its erection these will become evident.”
Regarding the contributions which have come in from all over the world, which have paid in full for the land and for the erection of the Foundation so far, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá said: “These contributions are most important. Notwithstanding the miserable condition of Persia, money has poured in and is still coming for this purpose, although many families are extremely poor, so that they have scarcely enough to keep themselves, nevertheless, they give towards it. For many years the West has contributed to the East, and now through the mercies and bounties of God a miracle has been performed and, for the first time in the history of the world, the East is contributing to the West.”
[Page 194]
Drawing by the late Louis
Bourgeois, architect of the
Mashriqu’l-Adhkár, suggesting his
idea of the interior decoration of the Temple.
GOD-INTOXICATED ARCHITECTURE
MANKIND in the making has marked his progress by the temples he has built. Most of these have long since disappeared; the records of these are blank. When fragments of others are found they give us perhaps our only evidence as to the existence of nations, wholly lost except for these fragments. Such ruins prove that these forgotten nations possessed intelligence and a high degree of skill during millenniums long before the historic era. They afford clues, fascinating but elusive, of systems of primitive thought and practice. The material temples have survived the deities to which they were erected.
Primarily a temple is not a church, not a place of public worship, quite the contrary. It is a consecrated piece of ground, not to be profaned by the careless crowd; it has been defined as the dwelling house of the Deity to which it is consecrated and whose presence is marked by a statue or other symbol. Here are kept the sacred treasures, the gifts and tribute of the worshipers.
A church building on the contrary is often regarded as a social center, a place of meeting for all who may be interested. It is not narrowly limited to the use of the priesthood but is more comparable to a school or place of instruction, an evolution in part comparable to the Jewish synagogue, a place for religious instruction and worship.
The Mashriqu’l-Adhkár with its surrounding buildings may be said to combine the conceptions both of a temple, and of a church with class rooms and facilities for study and meditation. In one sense it has no direct ancestors; it stands in a class by itself. Yet it has its predecessors or prototypes, infinite in number and variety. Some of these doubtless have had an influence on the design; a few in a negative way, warnings what not to do; others have been helpful in suggesting size and form. It is well worth our time to study the “ancestors” or predecessors of the temple, so that we may appreciate the magnitude and far-reaching effect of the work in hand, namely, the building of the Bahá’í Temple, now in course of construction at Wilmette, Ill. It is, of course, impossible in a brief article to do much more than suggest a few lines of thought.
The most complete or readily available source of information on the growth of the ideals of a temple are in the Hebrew sacred books, at least those combined and printed together as the Old Testament. There have been recorded the traditions reaching back into pre-historic times; giving the development of a Semitic people from the days of human sacrifice, when each tribal deity had a local habitation, on up to the times when there was erected for their god a permanent home or temple in Jerusalem, a rectangular room or structure into which the high priest alone could enter once a year. This was surrounded by courts and cloisters where the various classes of people might meet for public worship.
The essential feature of each temple, erected in succession at Jerusalem on the older ruin, was this “Holy of Holies” devoted to the Divine Presence. So far as is known, it was a plain box—like room of 20 cubits on each edge; that is, about 30 feet high, wide and long. The buildings which surrounded and concealed this, in whole or part, were doubtless ornamented in Oriental fashion; possibly a mixture of Cretan, Egyptian and Babylonian styles. Nothing characteristically Hebraic has been found. There are no traces of the ornamentation nor of the colors used; many of which were doubtless vivid.
The Greeks had much of the same idea, a room or darkened enclosure devoted to the presence of a particular god whose statue was enshrined there. This was surrounded by columns all relatively severe, with little ornamentation; a striking contrast to the elaborate details of their far Eastern contemporaries. It must not be supposed, however, that these temples were colorless. Those that remained have been bleached white by the weather, but particles of color found in interstices show that they were not originally of the snowy white pentalic marble. Possibly the best idea of one of these tem
Ornamental design to cover one of the windows of the Mashriqu’l-Adhkár.
[Page 197]
ples devoted to the
presence of a specific god
can be had from the Lincoln Memorial in
Washington, D. C., where the great statue
practically fills the building. The doorways
of the Lincoln Memorial are unobstructed,
whereas the doors of the Grecian and Roman
temples were thrown open only on
great occasions when the multitude was
allowed to gaze upon the statue from a distance.
The Romans followed the Greeks in simplicity of outline, erecting rectangular buildings, carefully proportioned and conforming to certain architectural conventions which became more and more rigid as the arts declined.
In contrast to these Grecian and Roman structures, which the world has regarded as the highest achievement of art, were the Egyptian temples. In these the more striking feature was the entrance or approach with gigantic pylons guarding the door-ways, all massive, everything designed for permanence and with resultant heavy, serious and gloomy effects.
Opposed to the straight lines, low roofs and box-like forms of the classic age are the curves and elaborate tracery of the temples and tombs of Persia, India, and China, —with arches, slender posts, openings of all sizes and shapes, riots of forms and color, peaked roofs, spires, pagodas, minarets and domes, fantastic to western eyes, grotesque rather than serious. All in a sense were intended to serve the same purpose, namely, to guard and protect the sacred relics, images or symbols which denoted the presence of a deity or which turned the worshipers from worldly to spiritual thoughts.
One of the most impressive forms of architecture evolved by the human race, the Byzantine, was a creation of the Greco-Roman world, particularly, its Eastern branch, the Eastern Roman Empire located at Byzantium (now Constantinople) from whence the name Byzantine is derived. The special character of this Byzantine architecture, of which St. Sofia is the most notable example, is the placing of a round dome upon a square base the four walls of which are each supported externally by half-domes. In the most perfect elaboration of this architectural system, as in the Turkish mosques of Constantinople, the central dome lifts its majestic head skyward above the friendly grouping half-domes clustering at its base and enclosed in the four slender tapering minarets; while the interior presents a special beauty of vast space unbroken by supporting columns, a majestic simplicity which commends itself especially to Muḥammadans as expressive of the Unity of God.
During the progress of the renaissance of art in Europe came the evolution of the Gothic forms notable for the pointed arch and for symmetrical pinnacles. There was in medieval Europe a period when men’s energies seemed to be devoted to the multiplication of these churches and cathedrals repeating over and over again, with slight variation, the more attractive of these structures, embodying a union of the Greek system of columnar construction with the Roman vaulting and arches. In fact, to the European mind a church or temple must be based upon some of these types.
A reaction from these well established forms took place in New England where there developed the characteristic colonial church, barnlike in form and with a plain pointed steeple; possessing a certain charm from simplicity as contrasted with the more ornate European structures.
There is a tendency to try to improve on these forms. In attempting to develop something suitable and yet characteristic, there has come about a wide range of effort shown by some of the more recent structures in the United States, particularly those adopted by the founders or followers of the newer religions or sects. As an illustration of such an attempt may be noted the temple at Salt Lake City, obviously inspired by European ideals and yet not following classical lines. This is a temple in the restricted sense in that its use is confined to the priesthood; while the people as a whole must congregate for worship in a tabernacle nearby.
Bearing in mind these recent attempts
and the older well-known types, it is of
peculiar interest to view the sketches of the
Mashriqu’l-Adhkár whose
concepts differ so widely that it has been
said by one of the architects of the country
to be “the first new idea in architecture
since the 13th [Page 198]
century.”
Whether so or not, it is unique.
It is erected on a circular foundation which
reaches down to bedrock, the building itself
being nine-sided. It has no front nor
back, as all sides are identical. There is
hardly a straight line visible, everything is
curved. In place of solidity an attempt is
made an impression of airiness. The architect,
Louis Bourgeois, “has conceived a Temple of
Light in which structure, as usually understood,
is to be concealed, visible support eliminated
as far as possible, and the whole fabric to
take on the airy substance of a dream; it
is a lacy envelope enshrining an idea, the
idea of Light, a shelter of cobweb
interposed between earth and sky, struck
through and through with light—light which
shall partly consume the forms and make of
it a thing of faery.”1
It is to be noted that each type of religious architecture that humanity has created has been an expression of a definite religious belief. The Egyptian, Hebrew, Greek and Roman temples respectively, were of this kind. Christendom experimented with adaptations of the Roman basilica, until the glorious Gothic architecture flowered out in the middle ages as a perfect expression of the inspiration and upsoaring qualities of the Christian faith.
Meanwhile the Muḥammadan world was evolving from the Byzantine church the mosque which, as already stated, is a perfect expression of the simplicity of dogma of the strictly unitarian faith of Islám.
It was to be expected that the new power and inspiration of the Bahá’í Faith should express itself in new forms of art and architecture. Such a form would naturally evolve from pre-existing forms just as, for instance, the Muḥammadan mosque evolved from the Byzantine, and the Gothic from the basilica; yet would be in a way a de novo creation. A study of the Mashriqu’l-Adhkár, designed by Louis Bourgeois, will make it evident that his glorious creation does exactly this. It embodies, as definitely conceived by him, the characteristics of past religious architecture brought together in a new whole of which there is no similar ex
—————————— 1 Statement of Mr. H. Van Buren Magonigle, architect of New York City.
ample. In other words, this inspired architect has created a new form of architecture perfectly adapted to the expression of the Bahá’í Faith with its universality and its world-wide comprehensive scope.
The test of a beautiful form is to see it without ornamentation. This test is well met by the Temple as it stands at present; 2 even without the external decoration which the architect, Louis Bourgeois, has designed for it. Standing as it does near the Lake Shore, without the competition from tall buildings, it dominates the landscape. The sun's rays reflected from the glass and aluminum roof catch the eye when miles away. Approaching, the details gradually become prominent, but seen from any angle or distance the building is singularly well balanced and attractive. Much more is to be done; to enable the visitor to gain some impression of what the building will ultimately look like there has been erected in a most conspicuous place near the road-side, a drawing of the structure as it will ultimately appear when the surface, including the dome, has been covered by the tracery designed by the architect.
To the engineer or person of imagination, the structure as it now stands is perhaps more interesting than it will be when fully completed. It is now possible to see the large and graceful curves and to appreciate the care and skill required to preserve proper proportions and bring about a true balance of lines. There is no other building like it nor have constructors been called upon to meet similar problems.3
In the first place, as well known, the building is nine sided with nine similar entrances. Thus from whatever direction the structure is seen, the view, excepting for the foreground, is practically identical. The front, seen from any angle, is not a flat surface but the arches are curved either toward or away from the observer, as well as in the vertical plane. The play of sunlight and shade on the building, changing from hour to hour brings out new beauties in ——————————
21931.
3The writer, the late Frederick H. Newell, was president of The Research Service. Inc., engineers who supervised the construction of the Bahá’í House of Worship.
[Page 199]
the design, so that one,
for the time being, does not notice the bare,
rough surfaces of the concrete.
The accompanying picture taken soon after the dome was erected in May, 1931 gives an excellent idea of the general shape and proportions as seen from the ground. Another view from the air gives the setting in connection with the surrounding highways, waterways and buildings. The site is peculiarly well adapted for the building. On the east, across Sheridan Boulevard, is the broad expanse of Lake Michigan. To the north and west of the building the North Side Canal takes clear water from the lake and carries it down through the city of Chicago, helping to purify or dilute the wastes from that great city. In the same way, the influences flowing from the Temple may well be pictured as helping to elevate the spiritual conceptions of the great mass of people.
The dome is perhaps the most conspicuous feature. This has been built of about 100,000 pieces of aluminum and glass. When complete, according to the vision of the architect, this glass dome will not be seen either from outside or inside the Temple. It is to serve the useful purpose of keeping out wind and weather. Outside of it will be the highly ornamental covering designed by the architect through which is to shine the light from the interior, making real the conception of a Temple of Light.
On the inside of the dome it is intended also to place ornamental patterns through which the daylight may shine into the great central auditorium. The ornamentation will extend downward covering the bare spaces. The great vertical windows will ultimately be partly concealed by tracery of stone or metal, both inside and out, bringing about the general view given in the picture as conceived by the artist.
These perforated panels which will appear upon the outside as well as the inside of the structure are shown in the accompanying illustrations, one of these being for the exterior of a doorway, the other to partly conceal the window. These are made from full size drawings or casts prepared by Mr. Bourgeois.
Turning from the vision of what will be, it is interesting to note some of the details as to how the present structure has been completed. The accompanying views show the way in which the steel columns were erected and then covered by the protecting concrete poured in wooden forms ultimately stripped away. The preparation of the forms for the arches with their complex curves afforded excellent opportunity for theoretical and practical mathematics as well as skilled carpentry.
The contract for erecting this superstructure was entered into with George A. Fuller Company on August 27, 1930. This organization worked in collaboration with twenty-four sub-contractors under liberal and mutually satisfactory arrangements. It is gratifying to note that in all the various operations where men of different trades and training must of necessity work together and at times get in each other’s way, there was the utmost harmony with no visible labor disputes nor strikes. In fact, a spirit of devotion to the work and enthusiasm in its outcome was shown throughout the entire operations. There were no delays due to misunderstanding but each and every man connected with the work seemed to regard it as an opportunity to take part in a worthwhile undertaking.
When first it became apparent that funds would be available to continue construction on the foundations, laid in 1922, the assumption was that, with the funds available, the first story only could be completed with the exterior ornamentation. This would have necessitated the building of a temporary roof, an expensive affair which later must be removed. Careful consideration of all of these factors led to the conclusion that it might be possible, while building the lower story, to continue the work to the point where the entire building would be outlined and enclosed. This was found practicable; by executing the work as a whole large savings have been made and economies secured which otherwise would have been impracticable. Thus by clear engineering vision, it has been possible to realize the hopes of a structure completed to a degree where it can be put to use and one which is an inspiration and a challenge
An aerial view of the Mashriqu’l-Adhkár at Wilmette, Illinois, U.S.A.
[Page 201]
to all believers to continue
to the degree of perfection.
The building of the Temple has aroused interest of the people the world over, for this is truly the first universal temple which is open to all the peoples of the world, regardless of race, sect or belief. In the years to come people from everywhere will gather under the central dome to worship the one God in the spirit of loving unity, in accordance with the Revelation of Bahá’u’lláh.
THE BAHÁ’Í TEMPLE
THE structure of the first Bahá’í Temple in America, has, for some years, been raised at Wilmette, one of the populous suburbs of Chicago. The edifice will be of interest to the lover of art as it rises above the surface of the ground, for many reasons, first and most important of all, because it offers to the world a completely new form of religious architecture. The architect, Louis Bourgeois, realized this so vividly that he knew he could not present the conception of the structure through architectural drawings, as is customary, so he went to the trouble and expense of making a plaster model, such as can be exhibited in a room of ample proportions, and this model is in every respect a miniature replica of the projected temple.
The structure is to be built of an ivory-white cement, a recent discovery, said to be more lasting than stone or marble, in which its different columns and sections will be cast. The entire surface of the dome and body of the temple are covered with an exquisite decorative tracery, which pierces the cement, rendering it a transparent lacework demanding a lining of glass to protect it from the weather.1 This beautiful lining, however, will not be opaque to the light, and during the day the walls will be penetrated in every niche by sunshine, while at night the whole surface can be illumined and every beauty glorified by electricity. It will be a fairylike center of radiance to all its neighborhood.
The delightful decoration covering the exterior is full of religious symbolism, of which the architect was quite unconscious when he created it. He thought only of beauty while it slipped through his fingers. So, as one stands anywhere and analyzes the
1See footnote, page 191.—EDITOR.
interwoven tracery, one distinguishes, curiously mingled, all the religious symbols of the world. Here are crosses, circles, triangles, pyramids, and stars, and every variety of each. One untangles the Greek and Roman cross, the swastika, the five-, six—, seven-, eight-, and lastly the magnificent nine-pointed star, which today is the symbol of the essence; the serpent, the sun, the fire—everything which man has once used to suggest the Deity or infinity—is here clearly outlined. Over each door and window is a nine-pointed star carrying in its center the Arabic lettering most decoratively treated of the words, "Ya Bahá’u’l-Abhá" (O Thou Glory of Glories).
There is an ornament in the dome which appears also in the upper part of the columns and is unlike any other part of the decoration. It is a cycled succession of elongated circles, and Mr. Bourgeois says that in drawing the dome especially he would begin to think of the orbits of the planets and their whirling spaces, and then his fingers would create these wonderful lines as his thoughts roamed among the stars. Thus a new symbol has been added to those of the past, which might be called that of the unity of the heavens. Claude Bragdon says true architectural ornament is fourth dimensional, meaning that it is not invented by the architect but filters into his sensitive mind through the Cosmos. Veritable beauty can only arise in this fashion, since if it were constructed in the mentality of the creator to illustrate symbolism and mathematical relationships its results would be cold, calculating and without charm.
In its comprehensive beauty the Temple offers a brilliant denial of the tradition of the past, according to which an architect in designing a building must select his style, Classic, Gothic, or whatever it may be, and
“A Lacy Envelope Enshrining an Idea."
Drawing of the Mashriqu’l-Adhkár Showing the Outer Shell of Ornamentation when Applied to the Present Superstructure.
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adhere to it throughout his
plan, as any mingling of types was considered
barbarous and inadmissible. Before the Bahá’í
Temple model was exhibited the skyscrapers
had appeared, the Gothic beauty of the Woolworth
Building was in existence, and an independent
business architecture was dawning in
the world for the first time in history. But
the great architectural centers, like McKim
& White, or Cram, Goodhue & Co., like
Richardson, and Burnham, of Chicago,
adhered to period and type, and believed firmly
that no deviations from architectural style
should be tolerated.
Thus all the important religious and public buildings of the country, like Trinity Church of Boston, St. Thomas and St. Bartholomew of New York, the public libraries, the Grand Central Station of New York, repeated faithfully the schools of architecture selected, and designers were convinced that beauty would disappear if any new ideas were permitted representation.
One can imagine the amazement of such architects when they studied the Bourgeois Temple, either in the home of the architect at West Englewood, N. J., or later as it was exhibited at the Kevorkian Gallery in New York, or at the Bahá’í Convention at the Engineer’s Building in New York, in 1920, and realized that here was created a structure in which all the conventions and traditions of the past were broken, and a new form of supreme beauty emerged.
The lower story of the Bahá’í Temple shows the most marked deviation from the past. Each facade of the nine sections is an inverted half circle. The doorway is in the center and the sides are guarded by odd and graceful columns, like nothing in previous architecture. The architect always said that these towers at the ends of the half circle were like arms extended in welcome to entice the passer-by to the interior. There is no doubt that this lower story has none of the austerity and solemnity which characterizes the religious architecture of former days. It has supreme grandeur and beauty but no severity.
One is reminded in something of its aspect and ornamentation of the Spanish Gothic or Moorish style, although analysis reveals no adherence to any type. One receives a suggestion of ancient Egypt in the columns, but no Egyptian temple has similar ones. The unique decoration around the doors has no ancestry anywhere.
The second story is entirely different and very gay. Its style is rather distinctly Renaissance in some respects, and its graceful line of windows might be severe were it not unexpectedly capped by a cornice with impertinent tip-tilted ends like the roof of a Chinese pagoda. Nothing could break more perfectly the law of tradition, nothing could be more beautiful, and one laughs on observing it with supreme satisfaction, as did most of the architects. A row of columns surround this story also, but they are purely ornamental and will bear electric torches. Five doors beneath the great windows open into the Temple and give access to the terrace, to which the visitor ascends through elevators in the lovely towers of the lower range. One feels that when the Temple is complete this terrace will become a thing of joy through fragrant flowers.
The third story is Romanesque in character and simple in decoration, since it is the support of the great dome to whose beauty it must be subordinated. This third story, however, has also its terrace, above which rises the magnificent glittering completion of the structure, which when it is finished must be recognized as the most lovely and perfect dome of all architectural construction. In the original design it is larger than the dome of St. Peter’s, but in the Chicago building it is somewhat lessened in size.
The effect of the Temple as a whole is one of supreme grace and airy beauty. It rises gradually into the splendor of the dome which is so fully a part of the structure that the whole lower portion seems ascending into it, to find its evolutionary completion in its aerial beauty.
But the Bahá’í Temple is not only a spot
of beauty such as has been described in the
preceding pages; it is to be a universal
center of religious and social service for the
entire community in which it arises. The
only temple of the sort previously erected
is that of ‘Ishqábád, Russia, and when Lenin
discovered how completely it was used
and [Page 204]
loved by the whole
city he refused to persecute it, though
he had threatened to destroy it.
The Temple building is to be a center of worship in which only worship shall be carried on, but it must be nonsectarian and universal. The building contains a great central auditorium in which the Bahá’í forms of prayer and praise will be used.
While the Temple itself will be set aside for worship alone, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá taught always that the beneficent results of worship must be evident in the outer life. Therefore every Bahá’í Temple should be surrounded by a lovely garden in which fountains play and flowers bloom, and the use of which shall be free to all. Moreover, every temple shall have from five to nine accessory buildings maintained from its center, in which the activities of life flowing from religion are manifest. These buildings must include a hospice or place of entertainment, a hospital, a home for crippled children and a college for the study of the higher sciences, because true religion must never be divorced from the search after truth.
This plan reminds one somewhat of the huge monastic institutions of the past in which one finds the cathedral always a radiating hive of diversified activity. But such activity in the past was always distinctly sectarian, and the world has never seen an organized center for worship and universal service which has no sectarian bias. This will constitute the purely novel element in the creation of the Bahá’í Temple, and no one can term it chimerical or Utopian because such an institution has been in operation for ten years in the city of ‘Ishqábád so successfully that it survived the severe investigation of Lenin himself.
‘Abdu’l-Bahá has uttered many pregnant words in regard to the erection of the Temple. It is fitting to close with a few of them. He says:
“The more the world aspires to civilization the more this important matter of cooperation and assistance becomes manifest. Therefore, in the world of humanity one sees this matter of helpfulness attain to a high degree of efficiency; so much so that the continuance of humanity entirely depends upon this inter-relation. The believers of God must especially fortify the foundation of this reality among themselves, so that all may help each other under all circumstances, whether in the degree of truth and significances or in the stations of this world of matter, and especially in founding public institutions which shall benefit all the people, and still more the founding of the Mashriqu’l-Adhkár (Bahá’í Temple) which is the greatest of the divine foundations. . . .
“The Mashriqu’l-Adhkár of Chicago is of the greatest importance. This is a Bahá’í Temple, a supreme House of Worship, a place of spiritual gathering and of the manifestation of divine mysteries. . . . The importance of the Mashriqu’l-Adhkár cannot be confined within any measure or limit, because it is the first Divine Institution in that vast continent, and from this Mashriqu’l-Adhkár, which is now in the process of construction (at Wilmette, suburb of Chicago), hundreds and thousands of Mashriqu’l-Adhkárs will be born in the future.. . . Its building is the most important of all things. This is the spiritual foundation; for that reason it is the most important of all foundations; from that spiritual foundation will come forth all manner of advancement and progress in the world of humanity.”
A TEMPLE OF LIGHT1
STRUCTURALLY, the Temple is remarkable in that it will comprise a steel, reinforced concrete and glass framework, on which will be placed the highly ornamental
1Quoted from The Technology Review, October, 1930.
surface material. It is a nonagon, or
nine-sided structure; each side having the form
of a circular arc, with a large doorway in
the center; and the whole edifice giving
the appearance of extending welcoming
arms to the approaching people from
every [Page 205]
direction. Pylons
forty-five feet in height
stand like sentinels at the corners of the first
story. Above the gallery, the clerestory and
the dome are also nine-sided but with the
ribs rising from midway of the first story
sides.
To get a mental picture of the Temple, imagine a lofty cylindrical room topped with a hemispherical dome of 75 feet interior diameter and extending to a height of 135 feet in the center, formed of glass supported in a metal framework. The glass roof and sides protect the interior of the building from the weather. When completed, the glass will be concealed within the exterior and interior surface ornamental material, which will act as perforated screens through which the light will pass.
The weight of the structure and the dome is carried principally at nine points equally distant from the center, and the superstructure is supported on a circular platform or foundation, 202 feet in diameter at the ground surface, and rising by 18 concentric steps to the main floor of the Temple, which is 153 feet in diameter.
Entering any one of the nine doors, one will pass through a hallway into the central circular room or auditorium. Out of this main hall open radially (and separated by the hallways) nine smaller rooms, comparable to chapels in a cathedral. Looking upward toward the dome, will be seen a gallery 36 feet above the main floor, and above this a second (or singers’) gallery 61 feet above the floor level. Above the second gallery is a 19 foot clerestory from which springs the dome. The galleries project 10 feet into the central hall, giving the latter a clear interior diameter of 75 feet. The dome will be in three parts; the outer dome of perforated concrete or metal, the concealed wire glass weather—proof dome, and the inner dome of perforated material, decorative in character. The central domed hall will have an area of about 4,000 square feet and seat about 700 people. The nine small rooms opening out of the main hall are about 20 feet wide, 24 feet deep and with ceilings 33 feet high. These auxiliary rooms will seat about 100 persons each.
The construction of the ornamental surface structure may involve new materials and a new technique of construction. Studies are being made concerning the possible use of such materials as architectural concrete, terra cotta, cast iron and the aluminum alloys.
The very nature of this remarkable design precludes the use of natural stone on account of the expense of carving and lack of permanency under the severe climatic conditions that obtain at the site of the Temple. On the other hand, a plastic material such as concrete or a metal is especially adapted for this structure. Architectural concrete or cast stone would be economical as the component materials are available universally, and are relatively low in cost. As there will be a great deal of duplication of tracery and ornamentation, the same molds and forms can be used repeatedly to cast the surface structure in sections to be subsequently erected.
A STATEMENT BY THE ARCHITECT
THE Master, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, told us that the Mashriqu’l-Adhkár will symbolize the body of the Manifestation among men. Of supreme importance, then, to all Bahá’ís, and especially to those of us who live in America is the building of this great edifice at Wilmette, Illinois, by the shores of beautiful Lake Michigan.
The history of this Temple, as step by step it unfolds, is so unique that already the story will fill a book. Its inception was not from man for, as musicians, artists, poets receive their inspiration from another realm, feel themselves to be a receiver by whose means a heavenly melody is transmitted, a new idea is given to the world, so the Temple’s architect through all his years of labor was ever conscious that Bahá’u’lláh was the creator of this building to be erected to His glory. And the architect’s belief was confirmed in a talk with the beloved Master.
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When the man-made creeds are
stripped away from all the religions we find
nothing left but harmony. Today, however,
religion is so entangled in the superstitions
and hypotheses of men that it must needs be
stated in a new form to be once again pure
and undefiled. Likewise in architecture those
fundamental structural lines which originated
in the faith of all religions are the
same, but so covered over are they with the
decorations picturing creed upon creed and
superstition after superstition that we must
needs lay them aside and create a new form
of ornamentation.
Into this new design, then, of the Temple is woven, in symbolic form, the great Bahá’í teaching of unity—the unity of all religions and of all mankind. There are combinations of mathematical lines, symbolizing those of the universe, and in their intricate merging of circle into circle, of circle within circle, we visualize the merging of all the religions into one.
On the first floor of the Bahá’í Temple there will be the great auditorium of the building, above which will rise the stately dome, 162 feet high. A corridor encircles the dome on the outside, and inside the building is a circle of rooms, or alcoves, all opening upon the main auditorium. A circle of steps, eighteen in all, will surround the structure on the outside and lead to the auditorium floor. These eighteen steps represent the eighteen first disciples of the Báb, and the door to which they lead stands for the Báb himself.
In the rear of the building will be steps leading to the first and second balconies which, tier above tier, follow the circular dome. In the second balcony choirs of children will sing their songs of praise to God, the all-glorious.
The auditorium under the dome, with its beautiful molded tracery, will be protected inside by a glass dome and in the space between the stone dome and the glass dome will be placed electric lights which will shine through the auditorium. On the dome’s pinnacle there will be a sunken room and this will house a mighty search light. Through the nine faces made by the ribs which will bind the dome into a unity this search light will radiate its star—like rays.
DEDICATION OF THE TEMPLE
HOW can one diffuse the fragrances from the twenty-third annual Bahá’í convention to one not present? Surely one would need a powerful pen to do this.
To separate the spirit of the convention from the atmosphere of the Temple is impossible. In the seven and a half months from the middle of September, 1930, to the first of May, 1931, the superstructure of the Temple had been erected. Complete in outline and form, if not in detail, finish, and ornamentation, it stood ready to greet Bahá’ís coming from all parts of the United States and from Canada. Could anyone look at it for the first time without a sense of its meaning, without a spiritual uplift? As one stands under the dome he is unconscious of the heavy ribs and pillars of steel and concrete, which are but a framework to hold the walls and dome of glass. For the Temple is designed not to shut out but to let in the pure white light. By day its beautiful dome and sides of glass seem to bring together and absorb the light of the sun from every direction. By night it will send out its beacon light for miles in every direction from its own illumination.
The delegates and believers had come from every direction to bring light and information to each other on important and pressing problems, and to get more light, more spiritual insight through consultation, meditation, and prayer, under the dome of light. The problems discussed and faced, although on subjects seemingly disconnected with the Temple yet in reality centered in it, ramified out from it and intricately connected themselves with it and with each other. The light of the Temple symbolized the light earnestly sought for the solution of these problems, the light of the Spirit of God.
On May first, 1931 (exactly nineteen years after the day when ‘Abdu’l-Bahá stood
Dedication of the First Bahá’í House of Worship in the Western World and first devotional service in the new structure, celebrated May 1, 1931, on the 19th anniversary of the dedication of the grounds by ‘Abdu’l-Bahá.
[Page 208]
upon this site and blessed
the effort to establish this first
Mashriqu’l-Adhkár in the
West), the believers stood on the large
auditorium floor for the purpose of
dedicating this universal Temple to
prayer and the praise of God. According
to the instructions of Bahá’u’lláh, and
emphasized by ‘Abdu’l-Bahá and Shoghi Effendi,
the services held in this auditorium are always
to be simple, informal and confined to the
Words of Bahá’u’lláh, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, and the
great prophets of the ages. The hearts
overflowed with joy and gratitude as the
words of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá were heard and the
beginning of their fulfillment was sensed:
"When the Mashriqu’l-Adhkár
is accomplished, when the lights are
emanating therefrom, the
righteous ones are presenting themselves
therein, the prayers are performed with
supplication toward the mysterious Kingdom
(of heaven), the voice of glorification is
raised to the Lord, the Supreme, then the
believers shall rejoice, the hearts shall
be dilated and overflow with the love of the
All-living and Self—existent (God). The
people shall hasten to worship in that
heavenly Temple, the fragrances of God will be
elevated, the divine teachings will be
established in the hearts like the establishment
of the Spirit in mankind; the people will
then stand firm in the Cause of your Lord,
the Merciful.”
The exultant significance of the occasion seemed to urge those present to shout for joy even while they heeded the words: “The Lord is in His Holy Temple, let all the earth keep silent before Him.” Then from out of this silence were heard in supplication further words of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá beginning: “In the name of God, the Most High! Lauded and Glorified art Thou, Lord God Omnipotent! Thou before whose wisdom the wise falleth short and faileth—before Whose Light the enlightened is lost in darkness." The hearts responded also to the selection from the “Discourse of the Temple” including the words, "Glory be to Him who hath caused the signs to descend.” Surely this material temple was one of the signs, erected by sacrificial gifts from loving Bahá’í believers in all Corners of the world as well as Americans.
The simple service ended with the reading in English and chanting in Persian of the Tablet of Visitation made precious by its use at the sacred shrines of the Báb, Bahá’u’lláh and ‘Abdu’l-Bahá. Thus for the first time in history the praises of God dawned from a universal house of worship in America, this Temple where all religions blend into one religion, where all races are one race, where all creeds and prejudices are destined to vanish.
A GLORIOUS GIFT—FROM A SHRINE TO A SHRINE
THE photograph on page 209 illustrates one of the most exquisite and sacred tributes which have thus far been offered toward the enrichment of the Mashriqu’l-Adhkár in America, and in order that the history of this marvellous example of Oriental craftmanship may be preserved and made known to all, a brief account of its origin and journeyings has been secured from the friend through whose loving devotion it first found its way into the Cause.
The carpet, one of the most exquisite pieces ever woven in Persia, was made in Khurásán, Province of Persia, some twenty-five or thirty years ago by the most expert weaver in that country (not a Bahá’í), and is of the purest silk, patterned as a rose garden and bordered with heavy twisted cord of real gold. It was purchased from some merchants outside of Persia immediately following the World War, and the difficulties of travel and transportation at that time necessitated it being brought through Afghanistan and India to its destination in Haifa.
After many weary weeks the pilgrim finally reached Haifa and carried the carpet to the Pilgrim House on Mt. Carmel, adjacent to the Tomb of the Báb, where it was spread on the floor. When ‘Abdu’l-Bahá came to the house He immediately inquired of the caretaker whose carpet that was, and upon being told, He said that so valuable a work of art should not be on the floor where
The Most Valuable Ornament of Bahá’u’lláh’s Shrine.
[Page 210]
it might become soiled, and
He gave instructions for it to be rolled up
and put away. The pilgrim then told ‘Abdu’l-Bahá
that the carpet had been brought for Him
and He replied that so beautiful a gift
should be placed in the Shrine of Bahá’u’lláh,
and that He would place it there Himself.
Accordingly, after a few days the Master, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, announced that on the morrow the visiting pilgrims together with a few of the resident believers might accompany Him to Bahjí. The little party went by train and on arrival at ‘Akká they found a carriage awaiting them and the older pilgrims were thus by His loving care provided with easy transportation, while He, Himself rode the white donkey and the younger friends walked. The narrative here would best be told in the words of the pilgrim himself, as it is fraught with a love and unselfish devotion, and with that sense of spiritual exhilaration which could only be experienced in such a Presence and under such circumstances.
He says: “I offered the Master some chocolate and this He shared with some others. Then I remember I spoke to the Master of the difficulties which some of the friends in Russia, Persia and Turkey were experiencing and of their desire to come to Haifa. The Master then said: ‘Those who wish good for all and everyone will always have their wishes fulfilled, but those who wish only for themselves will have to meet difficulties.’ Then we asked permission of the Master to sing and when He graciously permitted us, we began to sing. I do not remember what the songs were, whether they were our chants or other songs, but I know that I never felt so happy in my life as then when singing in the presence of the Master, and I am sure all the others felt the same way. After we reached Bahjí we had dinner and then ‘Abdu’l-Bahá spread the carpet in the Holy Shrine, and thus my hope was realized.”
The history and the preceding incidents make it very clear why the Guardian, Shoghi Effendi, should have worded his cablegram as he did when notifying the National Spiritual Assembly of his determination to send this carpet “from a Shrine to a Shrine” as his most treasured offering toward the realization of the cherished hopes of the believers throughout the world. He mentions it at one time as “a crowning gift on the altar of Bahá’í sacrifice,” and at another he says: “Am sacrificing the most valuable ornament of Bahá’u’lláh’s Shrine in order to consecrate and reinforce the collective endeavors of the American believers speedily to consummate Plan for Unified Action.”
Again he says:—“Moved by an impulse that I could not resist, I have felt impelled to forego what may be regarded as the most valuable and sacred possession in the Holy Land for the furthering of that noble enterprise which you have set your hearts to achieve. With the hearty concurrence of our dear brother, Ḍíyá’ulláh Aṣgharzádih, who years ago donated it to the Most Holy Shrine, this precious ornament of the Tomb of Bahá’u’lláh has been shipped to your shores.”
THE SPIRITUAL SIGNIFICANCE OF THE MASHRIQU’L-ADHKÁR
MY well-beloved friends:1
Ever since that remarkable manifestation of Bahá’í solidarity and self—sacrifice which has signalized the proceedings of last year’s memorable Convention, I have been expectantly awaiting the news of a steady and continuous support of the Plan which can alone insure, ere the present year draws to its close, the resumption of
1This statement is quoted from a letter written by Shoghi Effendi to the American Bahá’ís.
building operations on our beloved Temple.
Moved by an impulse that I could not resist, I have felt impelled to forego what may be regarded as the most valuable and sacred possession in the Holy Land for the furthering of that noble enterprise which you have set your hearts to achieve. With the hearty concurrence of our dear Bahá’í brother, Ḍíyá’ulláh Aṣgharzádih, who years ago donated it to the Most Holy Shrine, this
[Page 211]
Delegates and friends in attendance
at the Twenty-third Annual Convention of the Bahá’ís
of the United States and Canada, held in the
Foundation Hall of the Bahá’í Temple at Wilmette, Ill.,
May 1, 2, 3, 1931. Group photographed
on steps leading to one of the main entrances
of the Temple now in course of construction.
[Page 212]
precious ornament of the Tomb
of Bahá’u’lláh has been already shipped to your
shores, with our fondest hope that the proceeds
from its sale may at once ennoble
and reinforce the unnumbered offerings of
the American believers already accumulated
on the altar of Bahá’í sacrifice. I have longed
ever since to witness such evidences of
spontaneous and generous response on your
part as would tend to fortify within me a
confidence that has never wavered in the
inexhaustible vitality of the Faith of
Bahá’u’lláh in that land.
I need not stress at this moment the high hopes which so startling a display of unsparing devotion to our sacred Temple has already aroused in the breasts of the multitude of our brethren throughout the East. Nor is it I feel necessary to impress upon those who are primarily concerned with its erection the gradual change of outlook which the early prospect of the construction of the far—famed Mashriqu’l-Adhkár in America has unmistakably occasioned in high places among the hitherto sceptical and indifferent towards the merits and the practicability of the Faith proclaimed by Bahá’u’lláh. Neither do I need to expatiate upon the hopes and fears of the Greatest Holy Leaf, now in the evening of her life, with deepening shadows caused by failing eyesight and declining strength swiftly gathering about her, yearning to hear as the one remaining solace in her swiftly ebbing life the news of the resumption of work on an Edifice, the glories of which she has, from the lips of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, Himself, learned to admire. I cannot surely overrate at the present juncture in the progress of our task the challenging character of these remaining months of the year as a swiftly passing opportunity which it is in our power to seize and utilize, ere it is too late, for the edification of our expectant brethren throughout the East, for the vindication in the eyes of the world at large of the realities of our Faith, and last but not least for the realization of what is the Greatest Holy Leaf’s fondest desire.
As I have already intimated in the course of my conversations with visiting pilgrims, so vast and significant an enterprise as the construction of the first Mashriqu’l-Adhkár of the West should be supported, not by the munificence of a few but by the joint contributions of the entire mass of the convinced followers of the Faith. It cannot be denied that the emanations of spiritual power and inspiration destined to radiate from the central Edifice of the Mashriqu’l-Adhkár will to a very large extent depend upon the range and variety of the contributing believers, as well as upon the nature and degree of self—abnegation which their unsolicited offerings will entail. . . .
True, we cannot fail to realize at the present stage of our work the extremely limited number of contributors qualified to lend financial support to such a vast, such an elaborate and costly enterprise. We are fully aware of the many issues and varied Bahá’í activities that are unavoidably held in abeyance pending the successful conclusion of the Plan of Unified Action. We are only too conscious of the pressing need of some sort of befitting and concrete embodiment of the spirit animating the Cause that would stand in the heart of the American Continent both as a witness and as a rallying center to the manifold activities of a fast growing Faith. But spurred by those reflections may we not bestir ourselves and resolve as we have never resolved before to hasten by every means in our power the consummation of this all—absorbing yet so meritorious a task? I beseech you, dear friends, not to allow considerations of number, or the consciousness of the limitation of our resources, or even the experience of inevitable setbacks which every mighty undertaking is bound to encounter, to blur your vision, to dim your hopes, or to paralyze your efforts in the prosecution of your divinely appointed task. Neither, do I entreat you, to suffer the least deviation into the paths of expediency and compromise to obstruct those channels of vivifying grace that can alone provide the inspiration and strength vital not only to the successful conduct of its material construction, but to the fulfilment of its high destiny.
And while we bend our efforts and strain our nerves in a feverish pursuit to provide the necessary means for the speedy construction of the Mashriqu’l-Adhkár, may we not pause for a moment to examine those state
[Page 213]
The Mashriqu’l-Adhkár of ‘Ishqábád, Turkistán.
[Page 214]
ments which set forth the
purpose as well
as the functions of this symbolical yet so
spiritually potent Edifice? It will be readily
admitted that at a time when the tenets of
a Faith, not yet fully emerged from the
fires of repression, are as yet improperly
defined and imperfectly understood, the
utmost caution should be exercised in
revealing the true nature of those institutions
which are indissolubly associated with its
name.
Without attempting an exhaustive survey of the distinguishing features and purpose of the Mashriqu’l-Adhkár, I should feel content at the present time to draw your attention to what I regard as certain misleading statements that have found currency in various quarters, and which may lead gradually to a grave misapprehension of the true purpose and essential character of the Mashriqu’l-Adhkár.
It should be borne in mind that the central Edifice of the Mashriqu’l-Adhkár, round which in the fulness 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—Aqdás. 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 manmade 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 h provisions of the Aqdás and irreconcilable with the spirit it inculcates, the central House of Bahá’í worship, enshrined within the Mashriqu’l-Adhkár, will gather within its chastened walls, in a serenely spiritual atmosphere, only those who, discarding forever the trapping of elaborate and ostentatious ceremony, are willing worshipers of the one true God, as manifested in this age in the Person of Bahá’u’lláh. 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 Bahá’u’lláh 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-Adhkár, as designated by Bahá’u’lláh, is destined to play in the organic life of the Bahá’í community. Divorced from the social, humanitarian, educational and scientific pursuits centering around the Dependencies of the Mashriqu’l-Adhkár, Bahá’í worship,
[Page 215]
Bahá’ís celebrating the Riḍván festival in the hall on the grounds of the
Mashriqu’l-Adhkár in ‘Ishqábád.
Part of garden, Temple grounds.
[Page 216]
however exalted in its conception,
however passionate in fervor, can never hope to
achieve beyond the meager and often transitory
results produced by the contemplations
of the ascetic or the communion of the passive
worshiper. It cannot afford lasting satisfaction
and benefit to the worshiper 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. 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 centering 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 centering in the heart of the
Mashriqu’l-Adhkár, 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 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-Adhkár
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.
Dearly beloved friends! May we not as the trustees of so priceless a heritage, arise to fulfil our high destiny?
