Bahá'u'lláh and the New EraEsslemont, J. E. (John Ebenezer)
Religion
Bahá'u'lláh and the New Era
Esslemont, J. E. (John Ebenezer)
Bahai Faith; Bahá'u'lláh, 1817-1892
Bahá’u’lláh left instructions that temples of worship should be built by
His followers in every country and city. To these temples He gave the name
of “Ma_sh_riqu’l-A_dh_kár,” which means “Dawning Place of God’s Praise.”
The Ma_sh_riqu’l-A_dh_kár is to be a nine-sided building surmounted by a
dome, and as beautiful as possible in design and workmanship. It is to
stand in a large garden adorned with fountains, trees and flowers,
surrounded by a number of accessory buildings devoted to educational,
charitable and social purposes, so that the worship of God in the temple
may always be closely associated with reverent delight in the beauties of
nature and of art, and with practical work for the amelioration of social
conditions.(35)
In Persia, up till the present, Bahá’ís have been debarred from building
temples for public worship, and so the first great Ma_sh_riqu’l-A_dh_kár
was built in I_sh_qábád,(36) Russia. ‘Abdu’l-Bahá dedicated the site of
the second Bahá’í House of Worship, to stand on the shore of Lake Michigan
a few miles north of Chicago, during His visit to America in 1912.(37)
In tablets referring to this “Mother Temple” of the West, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá
writes as follows:—
Praise be to God, that, at this moment, from every country in the
world, according to their various means, contributions are
continually being sent toward the fund of the
Ma_sh_riqu’l-A_dh_kár in America.... From the day of Adam until
now, such a thing has never been witnessed by man, that from the
furthermost country of Asia contributions were forwarded to
America. This is through the power of the Covenant of God. Verily
this is a cause of astonishment for the people of perception. It
is hoped that the believers of God may show magnanimity and raise
a great sum for the building.... I want everyone left free to act
as he wills. If anyone wishes to put money into other things, let
him do so. Do not interfere with him in any way, but be assured
that the most important thing at this time is the building of the
Ma_sh_riqu’l-A_dh_kár.
... The mystery of the edifice is great, and cannot be unveiled
yet, but its erection is the most important undertaking of this
day. The Ma_sh_riqu’l-A_dh_kár 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 incapable, college for the higher scientific education, and
hospice. In every city a great Ma_sh_riqu’l-A_dh_kár must be
founded after this order. In the Ma_sh_riqu’l-A_dh_kár services
will be held every morning. There will be no organ in the Temple.
In buildings nearby, festivals, services, conventions, public
meetings and spiritual gatherings will be held, but in the Temple
the chanting and singing will be unaccompanied. Open ye the gates
of the Temple to all mankind.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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