Baha'i Faith

Lotus Temple - Delhi

By shanidevji on | From traveltoindias.blogspot.com

The Bahá'í House of Worship is situated in Delhi, India. It is famous by the name of Lotus Temple in all over world. The temple shape is like a Lotus that’s why its name is Lotus Temple. It is made of marble, cement, dolomite and sand. It is open to all faiths. It is an ideal place for meditation and obtaining peace and tranquility. The lotus is the symbol of purity and tenderness. Its significance is deeply rooted in the minds and hearts of the Indian people. In the epic poem Mahabharata, the Creator Brahma is described as having sprung from the lotus that grew out of Lord Vishnu’s navel when that deity lay absorbed in meditation. There is a deep and universal reverence for the lotus, which is regarded as a sacred flower associated with worship throughout many centuries. In Buddhist folklore, the boddhisatua Avalokiteswara is represented as born from a lotus.

It is a very recent architectural marvel of the Baha’i faith. The Bahai faith is the youngest of the world’s independent religions. Its founder Baha-u-llah (1817-1892) is regarded by Bahai’s as the most recent in the line of messengers of God, which stretches back beyond recorded time. It includes Abraham, Moses, Buddha, Zoroaster, Christ and Muhammad. The central theme of Baha-u-llah’s message is that humanity is one single race that the day has come for its unification in one global society. God Baha-u-llah said, has set in motion historical forces that are breaking down traditional barriers of race, class, creed and nation that will, in time, give birth to a universal civilization. The earth is to accept the fact of their oneness and to assist the processes of unification.

The structure of the Bahá'í House
Fariborz Sahabh, Canadian architect of Iranian origin, spent 10 years in designing and project management of the Bahá'í House. The temple had completed with the help of a team of about 800 engineers, technicians, artisans and workers. The construction was completed in 1986. The structure of the House is composed of three ranks of nine petals building above the surrounding plain. The first two ranks curve inward, embracing the inner dome and the third layer curves outward to form canopies over the nine entrances.

History of Baha’i Faith in India
The history of the Baha’i Faith in India started with the inception of the faith in Iran when the Bab (literally, the Gate) inaugurated a new era in the history of the women race. The Bab himself had appointed one of the Indian believers as the ‘Letter of Living’ in 1844-45, the first years of His Ministry. Since then, India is spirituality connected with the Baha’i Faith.
As foretold by the Bab, the promised One of the all ages and peoples, Baha’u’llah (literary the Glory of God) revealed himself in 1863. He, Himself, dispatched on of the distinguished Baha’I teachers, Jamal effendi (left). Travel to many states and was successful in attracting many learned people and few Nawabs (ruler of the states) including the Nawab of the Rampur state (now in U.P.) to the faith.

First Hindu Background Baha’i :
Narayenrao Rangnath Shethji is believed to be the first Baha’i from Hindu Background. Better known as Vakil, was born in a well known Hindu Family in Nawsari. He learnt about the Baha’i Faith from Mirza Mahram. To him giving the Message of Baha’u’llah to others was an essential duty. He became a Baha’I in 1909.

First Sikh Background Baha’i :
Professor Pritam singh is believed to be the first member of the Sikh community in India to accept Baha’i faith and the first to publish a Baha’i weekly magazine in India. He was born on November 16, 1881, in Punjab.
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