The Bahá’í Centenary 1844-1944/The Bahá’í House of Worship
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PART FIVE THE BAHA’l, HOUSE OF WORSHIP
The Bahá’í House of Worship.
THE completion of the exterior ornamentation of the Bahá’í House of Worship discloses a physical edifice impressive in size, striking in architecture, and superb in its clear white surface carved to the pattern of symbolic design.
In appearance the structure suggests to the western mind an oriental influence. To
the casterner it conveys the effect of occidental tradition. The Bahá’í Temple blends and harmonizes, without artificial effort, many of the creative elements which characterize the historical cultures of mankind. What is familiar acquires new significance by association with what has been remote and strange. The essential spirit of this
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THE Bahá’í HOUSE OF WORSHIP
edifice is too universal to be confined within the form and mold of any race or creed.
Here the utilitarian function of structure has become esthetically fulfilled in the achievement of a means suitable for unified worship of the one true God. A sense of the living cosmos attaches to the building, as if the architect had striven, with physical material, to encompass a holy place, and had learned measure and proportion, height and depth, stillness and motion, by observation of the flight of suns and stars through the heavenly world. Outwardly the House of Worship reflects a passionate, yet reverent spiritual reality. embodying a fullness of welcome, a certitude of truth, and an integrity of peace which the soul of religion contains before faith is darkened by doctrine and narrowed by creed.
Features of Us Design
Certain important elements of design in harmonious relationship compose the dynamic nature of the unity which this kingly jewel of temples exemplifies.
The edifice rests upon a great platform, circular in shape, surrounded by eighteen ascending steps. From this foundation rises a nine-sided architectural unit, the main story, each side constituting an entrance arch buttressed by pylons or towers. The nine symmetrical sides form a series of concave arcs intersecting the line of the circle marked by the towers. This main story becomes, in its turn, a platform supporting the gallery, the clerestory and the dome. The gallery unit. likewise nincwsidcd, sets back from the circumference of the main story. lt repeats the effect of the entrance arches below in its series of nine window arches, but the nine smaller towers of this level do not coincide vertically with the nine pylons below. They rise at points midway between the lower pylons, and their coincidence is with the perpendicular lines formed by the nine ribs which spring from the base of the clerestory to meet above the top of the dome. Clerestory and dome. set back from the outer line of the gallery, form circles and not nonagons, their circumference being divided into nine convex arcs by the ribs. The dome itself is a hemisphere, but the great ribs meeting above it transform the
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effect of finality and resignation emanating from domed structures into the upward thrust of aspiration fulfilled in answered prayer.
In the solution of the unique problem set for him in designing this house of worship of a world faith, the architect has been less the conventional draftsman than the sculptor. One feels that his material has not been arranged by thought but subdued by
_ will. He has wrestled with titans of atheism
and anarchy; he has struggled through jungles of materialism. It is in the essence of spiritual victory that he achieved this structure of massive weight. immovable power, patterned motion and soaring altitude, to provide a shrine for the mention of
Having designed the structure, the architect then proceeded to treat each wall as if it were a facet for the transmission of radiant light from the sun to the interior, and from illumination inside the temple to the world at night. The outer surface is, in reality, a series of patterned windows, for the physical function of wall has been transferred to pylon, tower, rib and column. These elements carry the weight. The surface between these elements can therefore become a medium for light and not its interference. This intention has been realized through the development of architectural concrete, a process by which in plastic condition a mixture of white quartz and cement has been poured into molds made from hand-carved models, emerging as units of a surface hard and enduring as granite, clear in texture, and bearing a design delicate as lace.
Symbol of a New Era
The Bahá’í Temple at Wilmette, Illinois. has not arisen as the meeting place of a local congregation. It is the central shrine and house of worship of the followers of Bahá’u’lláh in North America. In the western world. this edifice is the first public expression made by the believers of the creative energy and spiritual aims of the Faith of Bahá’u’lláh. Its construction, however, has been made possible by the contributions given by Bahá’ís of Europe, Asia and Africa. Australia and New Zealand, as well as of the United States, Canada, and South America.
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The undertaking has been a world project when one realizes that the Bahá’í community of East and West is representative, in the racial and religious background of its members. of the diverse families of mankind. The period of time covered by the undertaking, from the original intention to the completion of the structure and its exterior decoration, has been about forty years.
During this period of time the nature of man’s collective life has been transformed. The authority and control of ancient religion over human destiny has failed. Royal and imperial thrones have toppled to the dust. Aggressive social philosophies, nurtured in class conflict intensified by the industrial revolution, have become the creed and hope of millions of men. National sovereignty, the particular spiritual achievement of the old era, the most potent instrument for internal order yet created, has encountered the world spirit of the new cycle, refusing so far to subdue itself to the higher sovereignty of truth. Under the impact of two international wars, a major depression and many domestic upheavals, the claim to self-sufficient power and independent policy has jeopardized the very life of mankind. The Bahá’í House of Worship. built by those who knew the destiny of these years as clearly foretold in the Bahá’í sacred writings, has reflected the spirit of the new era arising amidst the agony of the old.
For the Healing of All the World
The nine selected utterances of Bahá’u’lláh carved above the entrances of the Temple reveal its fundamental meaning in the life of our age:
"The earth is but one country; and mankind its citizens."
"The best beloved of all things in My sight is Justice; turn not away therefrom if thou desirest Me."
"My love is My stronghold; he that enterest therein is safe and secure."
'fBreathe not the sins of others so long as thou art thyself a sinner."
"Thy heart is My home; sanctify it for My descent."
"l have made death a messenger of joy to thee; wherefore dost thou grieve?"
"Make mention of Me on My earth that
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in My heaven I may remember thee."
"0 rich ones on earth! The poor in your midst-are My tnist; guard ye My Trust.”
"The source of all learning is the knowledge of God, exalted be His glory."
The Bahá’í Temple expresses the renewal of religion. It realizes a faith which relates the soul to a universal, a revealed and a divine truth wherein all human beings, of whatever race, class or creed. (tan meet and share the true equality emanating from their common dependence upon God. It serves a teaching which goes beyond all the social philosophies to make possible a world order capable not only of coordinating and guiding economic effort but also of safeguarding and fostering the highest ‘qualities of man. Bahá’u’lláh declared the oneness of mankind, a spiritual creation inaugurating the universal era of knowledge, justice and peace which ancient Prophets foretold and promised the people would come.
"There can be no doubt whatever that the peoples of the world," He has written, “of whatever race or religion, derive their inspiration from one heavenly Source and are the subjects of one God." The theme unfolds in these clear, majestic truths:—"The utterance of God is a lamp, whose light is these words: Ye are the fruits of one tree. and the leaves of one branch. Deal ye one with another in the utmost love and harmony. . . . So powerful is the light of unity that it can illuminate the whole earth!” "The well-being of mankind, its peace and security, are unattainable unless and until its unity is firmly established. This unity can never be achieved so long as the counsels which the Pen of the Most High hath revealed are suffered to pass unheeded." It sweeps to its fulfilment in this passage taken from Bahá’u’lláh’s message written to Queen Victoria of England from His prison in ‘Akita, Palestine, more than seventy years ago: "That which the Lord hath ordained as the sovereign remedy and mightiest instrument for the healing of all the world is the union of all its peoples in one universal Cause. one common Faith.”
The Real Temple Is the Word
‘Abdu’l-Bahá, eldest son of Bahá’u’lláh. and Center of His Covenant, traveled in
THE BAH.-i'l HOUSE OF WORSHIP
America during 1912, proclaiming the Bahá’í teachings and promulgating the principles of universal peace. On one occasion He addressed a national gathering of Bahá’ís held at Chicago in the interests of this Temple. "Among the institutes of the Holy Books," ‘Abdu’l-Bahá said, “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. . . . 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,—iust 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.”
For many persons universality in religion has been difficult to grasp. Its essential sim
‘Penian word meaning "Source of the mention «I God."
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plicity has proved elusive. They consider that elaborate complication is required, as if universality were obtained by adding together all things that are not universal. Thus the view arose at one time that the Bahá’í House of Worship when completed would house the shrines and invite the ceremonies and worship of diverse sects and creeds. arguing that tolerance of differences represents the final and utmost victory of divine truth on earth. The Bahá’í Faith, having no professional clergy. no ritualistic service, but maintaining that one’s life itself is one’s practice of faith. preserves the universality which came into being by divine creation in the Revelation of‘ Bahá’u’lláh unadulterated by sectarian influence. The Bahá’í recognizes the sublime truth that revealed religions are fulfilled, not by the perpetuation of creeds and sects, but by transformation into the later and larger Revelation.
Universalify of Worship
The Guardian of the Faith. Shoghi Effendi, has plainly set forth the nature of the Bahá’í House of Worship in this passage of a letter addressed to the American Bahá’í: in 1929:
"It should be borne in mind that the central Edifiee of the Mashriqu’l-Adhkár, round which in the fullness of time shall cluster such institutions of social service as shall afford relief to the suffering, sustenance to the poor. shelter to the wayfarer, solace to the bereaved, and education to the ignorant. should be regarded, apart from these Dependencies, as a House solely designed and entirely dedicated to the worship of God in accordance with the few yet definitely prescribed principles established by Bahá’u’lláh. . . . It should not be inferred, however, from this general statement that the interior of the central Edifice itself will be converted into a conglomeration of religious services conducted along lines associated with the traditional procedure obtaining in churches, mosques, synagogues, and other temples of worship. Its various avenues of approach, all converging towards the central Hall beneath its dome. will not serve as admittance to those sectarian adherents of rigid formulae and man-made creeds, each bent, according to his way, to observe his rites, recite his prayers, perform his ablutions, and display
us THE B.~\HA‘I
the particular symbols of his faith, within separately defined sections of Bahá’u’lláh’s Universal House of Worship. . . . The central House of Bahá’í worship, enshrined with the Mashriqu’l-Adhkár, will gather within its chastened walls, in a serenely spiritual atmosphere, only those who, discarding forever the trappings 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, inithe 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, can not 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 B.th:'t'u’llah the source whence this celestial light proceeds, they will irresistibly feel attracted to seek the shelter of His House, and congregate therein unhampered by ceremonials and unfettered by creeds, 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."
Facilities for Social Servin In the foregoing explanation the Guardian of the Bahá’í Faith refers to a number of institutions of social service which will be associated with the completed House of Worship. In the Mashriqu’l-Adhkár the modern world has been given an embodiment of spiritual tmth in its maturity and power. The Bahá’í House of Worship is to have .1 direct relation to a number of other buildings which are to be constructed in accord CENTENARY
ance with the directions clearly set forth by ‘Abdu'l-Bahi: "The Mashriqu’l-Adhkár must have nine sides, doors, fountains, paths, gateways. columns and gardens, with the ground floor. galleries and domes, and in design and construction it must be beautiful. The mystery of the edifice is great and can not be unveiled yet. but its erection is the most important undertaking of this Day.
"The Mashriqu’l-Adhkár has important accessories, which are accounted of the basic foundations. These are, school for orphan children, hospital and dispensary for the poor, home for the incapacitated, college for higher scientific education, and hospice. . . . When these institutions . . are built, the doors will be opened to all the nations and religions. There will be absolutely no line of demarcation drawn. Its charities will be dispensed irrespective of color and race. Its gates will be flung wide open to mankind; prejudice towards none. love for all. The central building will be devoted to the purpose of prayer and worship. Thus . . . religion will become harmoniied with science, and science will be the handmaid of religion, both showering their material and spiritual gifts on all humanity."
This is the new, the universal concept of religion which Bahá’u’lláh has revealed today: the source of faith is the Prophet, the Manifestation of God. not the man-made creed, doctrine, rite, ceremony or church, for the will and the love of God are con .veyed to humanity in each age by His
chosen and inspired Messenger; and the expression of faith is in direct service to human needs, sacrifice for the sake of world peace, and consecration to the cause of the oneness of mankind. Belief in a sectarian creed, and spiritual acceptance of only the fellow members of one’s own sect, with indifference for the needs and rights of the souls of all others, no longer meet the needs of a world perishing for lack of unity, and are not accepted as real faith by Bahá’u’lláh.
The Bahá’í House of Worship. in this larger ultimate meaning, discloses the coming of the universal truth able to connect, and unify, the world's agencies for religion and its agencies for humanitarian service. now dissociated and incapable of healing
Tl-ll-3 BAHA'l HOUSE OF WORSHIP
human ills. It joins them as one spirit permeating one body. Witliout the body. the spirit of religion has no power to act; without the spirit, the body is lifeless. The Bahá’í teachings condemn passive worship on the one hand, and action without spiritual guidance on the other.
The Door of Hope
The Bahá’í teachings create a religious society in which all human relations are transformed from social to spiritual problems.
The social problems of the age are predominantly political and economic. They are problems because human society is divided into nations each of which claims to be an end and a law unto itself, and into classes each of which has raised an economic theory to the level of a sovereign and exclusive principle. Nationality has become a condition which overrides the fundamental humanity of all the peoples concerned, asserting the superiority of political considerations over ethical and moral needs. Similarly, economic groups uphold and promote social systems without regard to the quality of human relationships experienced in relation to religion. But when human relationships are held to be political or social problems they are removed from the realm in which rational will can operate under the guidance of divine law. Only spiritual problems can be solved, for only those issues submitted to revealed truth are brought into the arena of unity. In essence, the fatal disruption of international relations arising from war and revolution is the visible sign that the instigator of strife seized a political instrument to express an action contravening spiritual truth and law. Outside that truth and law there is no solution. The result of violent onslaught is eventual ruin.
That is why, when faith weakens and conscience grows blind, the world falls into strife and confusion; for the instigator of violence does not bear the entire responsibility of the war. He could not hope to precipitate overturn for power and profit unless the moral force of the rest of the world was indifferent or divided. At such times, when the way is darkened, the Prophet returns to mankind, renewing the law and
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extending the dominion of truth. Those who still believe that the world can endure the present war, and attain lasting world order, security and peace. without the unity of conscience produced by mutual faith, fall behind the march of destiny together with those who protest that no social form greater than the nation is needed to safeguard vital interests of the race throughout future time. Spiritual and social evolution have characterized the whole course of human history to this hour. Whoever denies the possibility of one organic religion and one organic social order for humanity, denies the movement of life itself and places his own limitations upon the will of God. For the man of true faith. however. it is enough to recall the ancient prayer which invoked the victory of the divine will on earth as in heaven.
No one can close the door of hope which ‘Abdu’l-Bahá flung open in these words addressed to a public audience in America during 1912:“Religion is the outer expression of the divine reality. Therefore it must be living, vitalized, moving and progressive. If it be without motion and non-progressive it is without the divine life; it is dead. The divine institutes are continuously active and evolutionary; therefore the revelation of them must be progressive and continuous. All things are subject to re-forrnation. This is a ceiitury of life and renewal. Sciences and arts, industry and invention have been reformed. Law and ethics have been reconstituted, reorganized. The world of thought has been regenerated.
"Will the despotism of former governments answer the call for freedom which has risen from the heart of humanity in this cycle of illumination? It is evident that no vital results are now forthcoming from the customs, institutions and standpoints of the past. In view of this, shall blind imitations of ancestral forms and theological interpretations continue to guide and control the religious life and spiritual development of humanity today? Shall man, gifted with the power of reason, unthinkingly follow and adhere to dogma, creeds and hereditary beliefs which will not bear the analysis of reason in this century of effulgent reality?
Y R A N E T N E c .A H A B E H T
Detail of Exterior Ornamentation, Bahá’í House of Worship.
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"From the seed of reality, religion has grown into a tree which has put forth leaves and branches, blossoms and fruit. After a time this tree has fallen into a condition of decay. The leaves and blossoms have withered and perished; the tree has become stricken and fruitless. It is not reasonable that man should hold to the old tree, claiming that its life forces are undiminished, its fruit unequalled, its existence eternal. The seed of reality must be sown again in human hearts in order that a new tree may grow therefrom and new divine fruits refresh the world. By this means the nations and peoples now divergent in religion will be brought into unity, imitations will be forsaken and a universal brotherhood in the reality itself will be established. Warfare and strife will cease among mankind; all will be reconciled as servants of God."
The Mission of Peace
The final meaning associated with the Bahá’í Temple bears upon the means of attaining world order and universal peace. The location of the House of Worship in the central heart of North America is not less important than its architectural design.
The coming of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá to America in 1912 represented the working out of His clear vision of the events and conditions which were to culminate in the establishment of peace on earth. ln the process of attainment, North America has been endowed by destiny with the sublime mission of leadership among the nations. On many occasions, and in weighty words, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá explained this mission to the American people. The present world outlook, and the constructive social vision, of America proceeds, directly and indirectly, from the truths which He expounded in daily meetings and interviews held for nine months
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in 1912. He addressed large audiences in churches of many denominations, in synagogues, universities, liberal clubs and peace societies. In these talks He created the program and policy which leading individuals and institutions have taken over and are now promoting without full realization of its spiritual source.
The Bahá’í House of Worship preserves the vital truth which ‘Abdu’l-Bahá conveyed as the most important element of His message, but which has been neglected by a generation which came to believe that public policy. if good and helpful, will prevail by its own impetus. What ‘Abdu’l-Bahá pointed out as the essential condition is the power of the Holy Spirit flowing through the Manifestation. The Mashriqu’l< Adhkár is the monument raised by the Bahá’ís to Bahá’u’lláh, and not merely a public testimonial to a system of liberal truths.
"The body of the human world,” ‘Abdu’l-Bahá declared, "is sick. Its remedy and healing will be the oneness of the kingdom of humanity. Its life is the Most Great Peace. Its illumination and quickening is love. its happiness the attainment of spiritual perfections. It is My wish and hope that in the bounties and favors of the Blessed Perfection (i.e., Bahá’u’lláh) we may find a new life, acquire a new power and attain to a wonderful and supreme source of energy so that the Most Great Peace of divine intention shall be established upon the foundations of the unity of the world of men with God. May the love of God be spread from this city. from this meeting, to all the surrounding countries. Nay, may America become the distributing center of spiritual enlightenment and all the world receive this heavenly blessing. For America has developed powers and capabilities greater and more wonderful than other nations."
