 The Bahá'í House of Worship,
New Delhi, India.
The Bahá'í House of Worship is a very recent architectural
marvel of the Bahá’í faith, located in Kalkaji,
south of Delhi. Shaped like a half opened Lotus flower, this temple
is made of marble, cement, dolomite and sand. It is open to all faiths
and is an ideal place for meditation and obtaining peace and tranquility.
To the people of India the lotus flower signifies purity and peace,
a representation of the Manifestation of God. This ancient symbol has
been given a modern and contemporary form in the structure of the Bahá’í
House of Worship drawing into its sanctum sanctorum people from all
races, religious backgrounds and culture from around the globe. It represents
the Bahá’í faith, - an independent world religion;
divine in origin, all embracing in scope, broad in its outlook, scientific
in its method, humanitarian in its principles, and dynamic in the influence.
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.
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