My view:
1. Because the Manifestations of God deserve it.
In the Third Chapter of the Gospel of John it states:
"Then took Mary a pound of very costly oil of spikenard, anointed the
feet of Jesus, and wiped His feet with her hair. And the house was
filled with the fragrance of the oil. But one of His disciples, Judas
Iscariot . . . said 'Why was this fragrant oil not sold for three
hundred denarii [a man's wage for a year's work] and given to the poor?'
. . . But Jesus said, 'Let her alone, she has kept this for the day of
My burial. For the poor you have with you always, but Me you do not
have always.'"
Jesus, who was poor and who was devoted to the poor, did not say, "This
is a sacrament. Once a year take oil of spikenard and anoint each
other's feet."
Rather, He reserved this act for Himself. It was a sign of His
sovereignty. He deserved the best.
The same is true for the Shrines of the Manifestations in this Day.
As the Bab Himself wrote,
"Everything must be brought to its utmost limit of perfection... And
anyone who has the power to perfect a thing and does not do so is
culpable." "Everyone is bound to do everything in the most perfect way.
For instance, it is very bad to begin to build a house and then not
finish it in the most perfect way of which it is capable, for then it
cries out to God for a curse on the maker who has failed to perfect it."
(The Persian Bayan, pp. 355 and 376, "Selections from the Writings of
E.G. Browne")
If a house for humans should be built to perfection, how much more the
Tomb of Him "acclaimed by Bahá'u'lláh as the "Essence of Essences," the
"Sea of Seas," the "Point round Whom the realities of the Prophets and
Messengers revolve," "from Whom God hath caused to proceed the knowledge
of all that was and shall be," Whose "rank excelleth that of all the
Prophets," and Whose "Revelation transcendeth the comprehension and
understanding of all their chosen ones," had delivered His Message and
discharged His mission. He Who was, in the words of 'Abdu'l-Bahá, the
"Morn of Truth" and "Harbinger of the Most Great Light," Whose advent at
once signalized the termination of the "Prophetic Cycle" and the
inception of the "Cycle of Fulfillment," . . . He, as affirmed by
Himself, "the Primal Point from which have been generated all created
things," "one of the sustaining pillars of the Primal Word of God," the
"Mystic Fane," the "Great Announcement," the "Flame of that supernal
Light that glowed upon Sinai," the "Remembrance of God" concerning Whom
"a separate Covenant hath been established with each and every Prophet".
. . He the "Qá'im" (He Who ariseth) promised to the Shí'ahs, the "Mihdi"
(One Who is guided) awaited by the Sunnis, the "Return of John the
Baptist" expected by the Christians, the "Ushidar-Mah" referred to in
the Zoroastrian scriptures, the "Return of Elijah" anticipated by the
Jews, Whose Revelation was to show forth "the signs and tokens of all
the Prophets", Who was to "manifest the perfection of Moses, the
radiance of Jesus and the patience of Job" . . . The "Second Woe,"
spoken of in the Apocalypse of St. John the Divine. . . and the first of
the two "Messengers," Whose appearance had been prophesied in the
Qur'án. . . The first "Trumpet-Blast", destined to smite the earth with
extermination, announced in the latter Book, had finally been sounded. .
. . The "time of the end" had been ushered in, and the first of the "two
Witnesses" into Whom, "after three days and a half the Spirit of Life
from God" would enter, had arisen and had "ascended up to heaven in a
cloud." . . . The "Man Child," mentioned in the Book of Revelation . .
. (Shoghi Effendi, God Passes By, p. 58)
2. Because of the spiritual impact it has on pilgrims
Pilgrims are described by the Guardian as the "lifeblood of the Cause."
The sanctity of the experience they have is very important not only to
their own spiritual lives, but to the advancement of the Faith, and to
the aims of the Faith. The beauty, elegance and refinement of the
terraces and gardens attracts the pilgrims to holiness, and a holy life
is one of the keys to the advancement of the Cause (The Advent of Divine
Justice, p. 29).
God is extravagant in the beauty with which He endows the least of His
creatures. So the divine way is to make the Baha'i World Centre as
beautiful as humanly possible.
3. Because the beauty attracts the people to the Teachings
More than 90% of the people of Israel, in a survey, said that they
intended at some point in time to visit the Baha'i Gardens. The
Palestinians came too, they helped to build these terraces. The Arab
population of Israel loves the gardens; they come and take their wedding
photos there. As the beauty of the flower attracts the insect to
propagate the pollen, so the beauty of the Shrines and the gardens
attracts the people to the Call of God. Everyone who enters these
places is given an introductory pamphlet, describing the Teachings, with
quotations. Do you think that this does some good, not only in that
troubled land, but worldwide?
4. Because beauty holds a central role in Baha'i practice.
As Ruhiyyih Khanum wrote, concerning the beautification of the holy
places and the selection of architecture, "the Guardian desired to
safeguard the Cause, to maintain for it and its precious institutions a
standard of dignity and beauty that would protect its Holy Name, the
sacred nature of its institutions, its international character, its
newness and promise, from the whims and caprices of an age in transition
and from the undue influence of a corrupt, wholly western
civilization." (The Priceless Pearl, p. 359)
The order, sanctity and refinement evident in every least aspect of the
Gardens, have their effect in a world of chaos and disharmony. The
Truth re-orders the world.
I recall during the construction of the Terraces, the friends in Oregon
contacted the Universal House of Justice. They wanted to raise the
funds for one of the Terraces, and they asked the cost. The House of
Justice replied that the approximate cost of each one of the nineteen
terraces was about one and one-half million dollars. In a few months,
these friends, to their eternal credit, raised that amount.
Brent
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