Visiting Bahá’í Holy Places/Preface
Preface[edit]
"Holy places", the Master assures us, "are undoubtedly centres of the outpouring of Divine grace, because on entering the illumined sites associated with martyrs and holy souls, and by observing reverence, both physical and spiritual, one's heart is moved with great tenderness."
The Bahá’í World Centre is rich in places intimately related to the Revelation which gave birth to the Faith of Bahá’u’lláh and the global community of His followers. Foremost among them are the Shrines housing the mortal remains of the Founder of the Faith, His Forerunner and the Centre of His Covenant. Residences occupied by the Holy Family at different stages in their exile, the resting places of its most distinguished members and sites associated with events that shaped the development of the Cause, all combine to provide the visitor with the opportunity for a spiritual experience unique in religious history. To this precious legacy is added the magnificent panorama of the edifices and gardens spread across the slopes of Mount Carmel, constituting the administrative heart of the Bahá’í world.
Prepared under the guidance of the Universal House of Justice, this material provides believers coming to the Holy Land with a selection of excerpts from the Sacred Word and the writings of the Guardian and the Universal House of Justice related to the Holy Places at the World Centre of the Faith, together with explanatory text. Visitors will find the collection an invaluable aid to reflection on the significance of the sites.