House of Worship dependencies
Documents concerning[edit]
(Flexible) order for building of dependencies[edit]
Need to build up accessories (around the administrative center) to the Mashriqu'l-Adhkar without pause or rest as circumstances permit[edit]
"That those who have boldly carried so weighty a resolution may without pause or respite continue to labor and build up, as circumstances permit, around this administrative nucleus such accessories as the machinery of a fast evolving administrative order, functioning under the shadow of, and in such close proximity to, the Mashriqu'l-Adhkar, must demand, is the object of my incessant and fervent prayer."
- (Shoghi Effendi, This Decisive Hour, 4 July 1939, sec. 57.2, p. 37)
Gradually to erect the dependencies of the House of Worship and provide for their future development during successive stages in the Divine Plan[edit]
"The completion of the interior ornamentation of the Temple, following upon its exterior decoration, and fitting it for the purposes for which it was ordained, and coinciding with the fiftieth anniversary of its inception, will, in itself, pave the way for the gradual erection of those dependencies which are designed to supplement the functions which the Central Edifice is destined to perform, and whose future development must needs be provided for during successive stages in the unfoldment of the Divine Plan itself."
- (Shoghi Effendi, This Decisive Hour, 15 June 1946, sec. 158.9, p. 119)
A local centre's social/economic activities can be the embryonic precursors of the House of Worship dependencies[edit]
See no. 6 below.
Institutions to surround Mashriqu'l-Adhkár[edit]
(The first five (and presumably also the sixth?) are referred to in this statement: "Every Mashriqu'l-Adhkar is connected with these five things." (see no. 3 below))
- School (for orphans) (educational) (1, 3)
- University for advanced studies/high sciences (educational) (1, 2, 3)
- Hospital (humanitarian) (1, 2, 3)
- Drug dispensary/Pharmacy (humanitarian) (1, 3)
- Traveler’s hostel/pilgrim's house/hospice (to be included in the Hazíratu'l-Quds) (humanitarian) (1, 2, 3)
- Hazíratu'l-Quds (administrative and also service)
- Other (potential) service institutions for the poor, elderly, incurables/disabled, etc.;
- Other (potential) social, cultural institutions, hosting:
- festivals (9)
- spiritual gatherings/services (9)
- conventions 9
- public meetings (9) (see also Hazíratu'l-Quds which is to have an Assembly hall (a Foundation Hall))
Purposes covered[edit]
- See also Mashriqu'l-Adhkár (central edifice) for the spiritual and artistic (singing, architectual, etc.) (2, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9; 9)
- practical (4)
- educational (5)
- scientific (2, 4)
- service/humantarian/philanthropic (2, 4, 7, 8)
- economic development (6)
- administratve (7, 8, 9)
- cultural (8, 9)
- social/social development (4, 6, 9)
1. "Now the day has arrived in which the edifice of God, the divine sanctuary, the spiritual temple, shall be erected in America! I entreat God to assist the confirmed believers in accomplishing this great service and with entire zeal to rear this mighty structure which shall be renowned throughout the world. ... The Temple is the most great foundation of the world of humanity and it hath many branches. Although the Temple is the place of worship, with it is connected a hospital, pharmacy, pilgrims' house, school for the orphans, and a university for the study of high sciences. ... The Temple is not only a place for worship; nay, it is perfect in every way...."
- ('Abdu'l-Bahá, Bahá'í World Faith, p. 416))
2. "When these institutions, college, hospital, hospice and establishment for the incurables, university for the study of higher sciences, giving post-graduate courses, and other philanthropic buildings are built, the doors will be opened to all the nations and religions....Thus....religion will become harmonized with science, and science will be the handmaid of religion, both showering their material and spiritual gifts on all humanity."
3. "The Mashriqu'l-Adhkar is one of the most vital institutions in the world, and it hath many subsidiary branches. Although it is a House of Worship, it is also connected with a hospital, a drug dispensary, a traveller's hospice, a school for orphans, and a university for advanced studies. Every Mashriqu'l-Adhkar is connected with these five things. My hope is that the Mashriqu'l-Adhkar will now be established in America, and that gradually the hospital, the school, the university, the dispensary and the hospice, all functioning according to the most efficient and orderly procedures, will follow. Make these matters known to the beloved of the Lord, so that they will understand how very great is the importance of this `Dawning-Point of the Remembrance of God.' The Temple is not only a place for worship; rather, in every respect is it complete and whole."
4. "Divorced from the social, humanitarian, educational and scientific pursuits centering around the Dependencies of the Mashriqu'l-Adhkár, Bahá'í worship, however exalted in its conception, however passionate in fervor, can never hope to achieve beyond the meagre and often transitory results produced by the contemplations of the ascetic or the communion of the passive worshiper....Nor will the exertions, no matter how disinterested and strenuous, of those who within the precincts of the Mashriqu'l-Adhkár will be engaged in administering the affairs of the future Bahá'í Commonwealth, fructify and prosper unless they are brought into close and daily communion with those spiritual agencies centering in and radiating from the central Shrine of the Mashriqu'l-Adhkár. Nothing short of direct and constant interaction between the spiritual forces emanating from this House of Worship centering in the heart of the Mashriqu'l-Adhkár, and the energies consciously displayed by those who administer its affairs in their service to humanity can possibly provide the necessary agency capable of removing the ills that have so long and so grievously afflicted humanity."
"It cannot afford lasting satisfaction and benefit to the worshiper himself, much less to humanity in general, unless and until translated and transfused into that dynamic and disinterested service to the cause of humanity which it is the supreme privilege of the Dependencies of the Mashriqu'l-Adhkar to facilitate and promote."
5. "The oneness of mankind . . implies the achievement of a dynamic coherence between the spiritual and practical requirements of life on earth. The indispensability of this coherence is unmistakably illustrated in His ordination of the Mashriqu'l-Adhkár, the spiritual center of every Baha'i community ... "
- (The Universal House of Justice, 10 October 1983, A Wider Horizon, p. 7)
6. "With regard to your first query concerning the institution of the Mashriqu'l-Adhkár, as you know, it is envisioned that a House of Worship and its dependencies will eventually be established in every locality. The upraising of the Temple, the central edifice and spiritual heart of the community, is to be followed by the erection and functioning of the various dependencies dedicated to the social and economic upliftment of the community. However, long before a Baha'i community reaches the stage of building its own Mashriqu'l-Adhkár, this process begins in an embryonic way. Even the first local centre that a Baha'i community acquires can begin to serve not only as the spiritual and administrative centre and gathering place of the community, but also as the site for other aspects of community life. Clearly, then, social and economic development projects need not await the building of a Mashriqu'l-Adhkár and are, themselves, worthy pursuits, provided that the community has the capacity to initiate and sustain such activity. Some of the entities created in this process may even later become dependencies of the Mashriqu'l-Adhkár once it is built. What is important to remember is that, as is the case with the institution of the Mashriqu'l-Adhkár, central to the development process are the spiritual illumnation of hearts and the enlightenment of minds.
- (Letter from the Dept of the Secretariat at the Bahá'í World Centre to an individual in the UK, dated 15 February 1994, cited at https://bahai-library.com/compilation_mashriq_adhkar_mcglinn )
7. "The seat round which its spiritual, its humanitarian and administrative activities will cluster are the Mashriqu'l-Adhkár and its Dependencies."
- (Shoghi Effendi, World Order of Bahá'u'lláh, pp. 156-157)
8. "The central edifice of the Mashriqu'l-Adhkar, which is exclusively devoted to purpose of worship, represents the spiritual element, and therefore fulfils a primary function in every Baha'i Community, whereas all other Temple accessories, whether of a strictly administrative, cultural or humanitarian character, are secondary, and come next in importance to the House of Worship itself."
- (From a letter written on behalf of Shoghi Effendi to the National Spiritual Assembly of the United States and Canada, January 28, 1939, Lights of Guidance, no. 2057, p. 607)
9. "In the Mashriqu'l-Adhkár services will be held every morning. There will be no organ in the Temple. In buildings near by, 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."
To-dos for this page[edit]
- Incorporate Star of the West, vol. 6, issue 17, pp. 136-137, including within the section indicating a need to gradually build dependencies.
