The Baha’í Faith
The Baha'í Faith is the youngest of the world's
independent religions. Its founder, Bahá'u'lláh
(1817-1892), is regarded by Bahá'ís as
the most recent in the line of Messengers of God that
stretches back beyond recorded time and includes Abraham,
Moses, Buddha, Zoroaster, Christ and Muhammad.
The central theme of Bahá'u'lláh's message
is that humanity is one single race and that the day
has come for its unification in one global society.
God, Bahá'u'lláh said, has set in motion
historical forces that are breaking down traditional
barriers of race, class, creed, and nation and that
will, in time, give birth to a universal civilization.
The principal challenge facing the peoples of the earth
is to accept the fact of their oneness and to assist
the processes of unification.
One of the purposes of the Bahá'í Faith
is to help make this possible. A worldwide community
of some five million Bahá'ís, representative
of most of the nations, races and cultures on earth,
is working to give Bahá'u'lláh's teachings
practical effect. Their experience will be a source
of encouragement to all who share their vision of humanity
as one global family and the earth as one homeland.
Baha’í Houses of Worship
Bahá’í houses of worship are open
to all peoples. Although their architectural styles
differ widely, the nine sides and central dome common
to all of them symbolize at once the diversity of the
human race and its essential oneness. Devotional programs
are simple, consisting of prayers, meditations, and
the reading of selections from the sacred scriptures
of the Bahá'í Faith and other world religions.
Music is provided by unaccompanied choirs.
The Grand Structure of Bahá’í
Temple
In the raising of the House of Worship in New Delhi
traditional Indian means of construction were employed
coupled with the most modern Western engineering design.
Fariborz Sahba, Canadian architect of Iranian origin,
spent 10 years in designing and project management,
and with the help of a team of about 800 engineers,
technicians, artisans and workers brought to realization
one of the most complicated constructions in the world.
Rising pure and unsullied above stagnant, muddy waters,
the Indians have seen this flower as worthy of emulation,
teaching them to be detached from material preoccupations.
This temple joins six other Bahá’í
temples around the world. Each of these Houses, while
sharing some basic design concepts, has its own distinct
cultural identity embodying the principle of unity in
diversity. The structure of the House of Worship in
New Delhi is composed of three ranks of nine petals;
each springing from a podium elevating the building
above the surrounding plain. The first two ranks curve
inward, embracing the inner dome; the third layer curves
outward to form canopies over the nine entrances.
The petals, constructed of reinforced white concrete
cast in place, are clad in white marble panels, performed
to surface profiles and patterns related to the geometry.
Nine arches that provide the main support for the superstructure
ring the central hall. Nine reflecting pools surround
the building on the outside, their form suggesting the
green leaves of the lotus flower. Translating the geometry
of the design, in which there are virtually no straight
lines, into the actual structure presented particular
challenges in designing and erecting the framework.
Not only was it difficult to align, so as to produce
accurately the complex double-curved surfaces and their
intersections, but also the closeness of the petals
severely restricted workspace. Nevertheless the task
was carried out entirely by the local labourers. To
avoid construction joints, petals were concreted in
a continuous operation for approximately 48 hours.
Concrete was carried up the staging by women bearing
50-pound loads in baskets balanced on their heads. All
the steel reinforcing for the shells of the lotus petals
was galvanized to avoid rust stains on the white concrete
in the prevailing humid conditions, guaranteeing the
life of the delicate shell structure of 6 to 18 cm thick
shells of the petals.
The architect believes that this design could not have
been executed anywhere else because it is rare to find
the combination of traditional craftsmanship, pride
in one's work, empathy for spiritual undertaking, perseverance
under all odds and ample patience, as can be found in
the Indian subcontinent. As commented by Progressive
Architecture of USA in their article on the Bahá’í
Temple "It goes to prove that high-tech concepts
do not always demand high-tech solutions."
The Indian visitors, from the most sophisticated to
the most simple, expressed perplexity at the absence
of any idols. It has been a hard task since explaining
to them that the all-pervasive Almighty cannot be put
in any limited form. Hence, over the years the visitors
from India have begun to understand that the purpose
of the Bahá’í House of Worship is
to unite the hearts of the people and bring them closer
to their Creator.
Since its inauguration to public worship in December
1986, the Bahá’í House of Worship
in New Delhi has drawn to its portals more than 50 million
visitors, making it the most visited edifice in the
world. People have come regardless of the scorching
summer heat of Delhi, which sometimes rises above 40°C
during the months of June to September, and have braced
the chill and cold rains that Delhi experiences during
winter. They have admired the beautiful lotus form of
the Temple, and have been fascinated by the teachings
of the Bahá’í Faith, which believes
in oneness of God, oneness of religions and oneness
of mankind.
The recently opened Information Centre of the House
of Worship, a self explanatory panel tour with audiovisual
facilities, furthermore provides richly detailed information
about the history of the Bahá'í Faith,
the different Bahá'í temples around the
world, the construction of the temple in New Delhi,
as well as the social and economic development projects
which the Bahá'ís are involved in. |
