The
Greatest Name displayed here in the Portland Oregon, Bahá'í Center is pronounced
"Yá Baha'u'l-Abhá." This design is often placed in Bahá'í homes on the
wall that faces the Shrine of Bahá'u'lláh, the Qiblih of the Bahá'í Faith (B-52).
The Greatest Name designed on the
Shrine of the Báb in Haifa, Israel. This form is worn honorably on rings and
necklaces. |
When
designing Bahá'í architecture, architects first consider the guidelines given in the
Sacred Writings and pray that their designs will serve God and the people who will use
them. These guidelines allow for architecture to reflect the many cultures in which
they are built. Thus, Bahá'í architecture will look very different from region to
region.
Some features, such as the display of
a group of diverse religious symbols together, are commonly included in Bahá'í
architecture. Bahá'ís believe that humanity continually receives guidance from
Divine Teachers sent from the same God such as: Abraham, Krishna, Moses, Zoroaster,
Buddha, Christ, Muhammad, the Báb, and Bahá'u'lláh (F-1). Also, multiples of nine
are common because nine is a sacred number. Nine can be symbolic of fulfillment and
completeness (T-52).
Perhaps the most common features are
the calligraphic forms of Arabic word "Baha," which means "Glory".
These are called the Greatest Name. One of the two main forms, (top
left) is the invocation "Yá Bahá'u'l-Abhá," which translates to "O glory
of the all-Glorious (T-52)." Another form (bottom left) is also symbolic
in shape. The letters that make up three parallel lines can represent the three
levels of reality: God, the Divine Teachers, and Man, and the line through all three can
represent the Holy Spirit. The two stars symbolize the Báb and Bahá'u'lláh,
the Divine Teachers of the Bahá'í Faith. Bahá'ís believe They are the most
recent of God's Divine Teachers.
The Báb
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