




   The significance of the opening of the Terraces of the Shrine of the Bab  

How does one tell the story of the Terraces on Mount Carmel?  It is a complex 
story, rooted  
in more than 150 years of turbulent history, resonating with prophetic 
traditions dating back thousands of years, and intimately associated with the 
fulfilment of God's promise for this age and the transformative forces at work 
in the world today.  Here is one version of the storyline, told in contemporary 
language:  

          In Persia, in the middle years of the nineteenth century, the 
      first of the two Founders of the Baha'i Faith, a young man, known to 
      His followers as the Bab ("the Gate"), declared that the long-
      promised age had dawned that will witness the unification of 
      humankind.  Although the Bab died in 1850, at the hands of Shi'ih 
      fanatics who opposed His message, He left His followers with the 
      emphatic promise of the imminent appearance of One Who would fulfil 
      the work He had begun.  

         The second prophetic Figure, Baha'u'llah, inaugurated this mission 
      in 1863.  Throughout a lifetime of imprisonment, exile and privation, 
      Baha'u'llah succeeded in bringing into existence a community dedicated 
      to belief in the oneness of God, the oneness of all the great 
      religions and the oneness of the human family.  Today, this community 
      embraces some five million members resident in every part of the world 
      and representing the entire racial, religious and national diversity 
      of the human race. 

         The community's international center is the broad expanse of 
      properties surrounding the Bay of Haifa, where Baha'u'llah spent the 
      closing years of His ministry.  Rising above this complex of Shrines, 
      administrative buildings and historical restorations is Mount Carmel, 
      the "Vineyard of the Lord". 

         Through the efforts of Baha'is of every land, this historic 
      mountain, sacred to Jews, Christians and Muslims, as well as 
      Baha'is, has been transformed into a paradise of gardens, terraces, 
      fountains and running streams - a metaphor of Baha'u'llah's message 
      of unity in diversity. 

         On 22 May 2001, as the twentieth century draws to an end, Baha'is 
      from around the planet, a cross-section of the earth's diverse 
      peoples, will gather for the official opening of the project they have 
      collectively achieved.  The inauguration will pay tribute to the 
      martyred Bab, whose golden-domed Shrine rises above the gardens, at 
      the heart of the mountain. 

            For all who long to believe that our planet will eventually know 
      lasting peace, the existence of the Baha'i community provides convincing 
      evidence that the peoples of the world, in all their infinite variety, 
      can learn to live and work as one family, in one global homeland.  

      We are witnessing a miracle.  When Baha'u'llah stood on the mountain, it 
was barren, unappealing and without significance.  The revelation of the Tablet 
of Carmel, described by Shoghi Effendi as "the Charter of the World Spiritual 
and Administrative Centres of the Faith,"  set in motion a vast process of 
transformation, and we see now the mountain's splendor unveiled.  Through this 
Tablet, Baha'u'llah endowed Mount Carmel with a voice when He bade her to "Call 
out to Zion ... and announce the joyful tidings:  He that was hidden from mortal 
eyes is come!  His all-conquering sovereignty is manifest; His all-encompassing 
splendour is revealed."   





 




The significance of the opening of the                            5 April 2001
  Terraces of the Shrine of the Bab                                     Page 2


      By telling the story of the Terraces, we are amplifying the voice of the 
mountain and carrying out Baha'u'llah's wish when He stated, "Oh, how I long to 
announce unto every spot on the surface of the earth, and to carry to each one 
of its cities, the glad-tidings of this Revelation...."      

      In a letter dated 4 January 1994 to all National Spiritual Assemblies, 
the Universal House of Justice explained the profound significance of the 
projects on Mount Carmel:  "They represent much more than the erection of 
buildings to meet the expanding needs of the Baha'i World Centre."  They are 
"an endeavour which is central to the work of the Faith in eradicating the 
causes of the appalling suffering now afflicting humanity."  They are "a 
manifest expression of the emergence from obscurity of the Faith of Baha'u'llah 
and of the determining role it is ordained to play in the affairs of 
humankind....  When the buildings are completed, they will stand as the visible 
seat of mighty institutions whose purpose is no other than the spiritualization 
of humanity and the preservation of justice and unity throughout the world....  
The beauty and magnificence of the Gardens and Terraces now under development 
are symbolic of the nature of the transformation which is destined to occur 
both within the hearts  
of the world's peoples and in the physical environment of the planet." 

      Now that the projects are completed, we must give the mountain her 
voice.  We must amplify this voice and translate it into the language of the 
people.  The Gardens and Terraces are a symbol of hope for humanity, an 
expression of our belief in its future, and of our enduring commitment to the 
task of building a peaceful world.  





 
