|
"Its inception," the architect of the Temple has himself testified, "was not from man, for, as musicians, artists, poets receive their inspiration from another realm, so the Temple's architect, through all his years of labor, was ever conscious that Baha'u'llah was the creator of this building to be erected to His glory." "Into this new design," he, furthermore, has written, "...is woven, in symbolic form, the great Baha'i teaching of unity-- the unity of all religions and of all mankind. There are combinations of mathematical lines, symbolizing those of the universe, and in their intricate merging of circle into circle, and circle within circle, we visualize the merging of all the religions into one." And again: "A circle of steps, eighteen in all, will surround the structure on the outside, and lead to the auditorium floor. These eighteen steps represent the eighteen first disciples of the Bab, and the door to which they lead stands for the Bab Himself." "As the essence of the pure original teachings of the historic religions was the same ... in the Baha'i Temple is used a composite architecture, expressing the essence in the line of each of the great architectural styles, harmonizing them into one whole."
(351:2)
|