78. Things to do in Chicago: The Bahá'í House of Worship (Trust me!)

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The Shark Deck. Johnny mcann travel
is back today, but it is something

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different. We're going to visit the
Behigh House of Worship in Wilmot, Illinois,

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just north of Evanston, which is
where Northwestern University is, which is

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just north of Chicago. I was
recently out there and I said to my

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wife, you gotta come see the
temple, and maybe temple wasn't the right

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word, and she was like why, so hopped up about this temple.

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But when we get there, it
is this big, gigantic, beautiful building

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in the middle of a residential neighborhood. I'll tell you all about it in

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a second. It's just really,
really cool. The Behigh House of Worship

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stands as a testament to a unity, peace, and the harmony of religions.

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It's been an awe inspiring beacon of
faith and inclusivity since it's completion in

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nineteen fifty three. It's one of
only seven behind temples in the world.

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It serves as a gathering place where
people of all backgrounds and beliefs. It's

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striking architecture, inspired by both Eastern
and Western influences, is a testament to

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the universal principles of the High faith, which emphasizes the unity of all religions

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and the oneness of humanity. The
nine sided structure, with its white marble

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facade and intricate detailing, as a
site to behold is as if you're stepping

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into a sacred space that transcends the
boundaries of time and place. Yeah,

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so it's just a street parked across
the street is just somebody's house, typical

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residential street. And then you just
see this big, beautiful building. The

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landscaping around it is like a botanical
gardens kind of thing, just so beautiful.

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The central dome, adorned with a
radiant lotus flower, serves as a

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focal point, inviting visitors to turn
their attention inward and connect with their innermost

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selves. The temple was designed by
French Canadian architect Lewis Bourgeois. Bourgeois incorporated

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a variety of religious architecture and sybils. Construction began in Earnest in the early

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nineteen twenties, was delayed significantly through
the Great Depression of World War Two.

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Construction picked up again in nineteen forty
seven, and the temple was decaded in

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a ceremony in nineteen fifty three.
Be high houses of worship are intended includes

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several social, humanitarian, and educational
institutions clustered around the temple, although none

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have been built to such an extent. The temples are not intended as a

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local meeting place, but are instead
open to the public and used as a

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devotional space for people of any faith. Takeaway grew up as a Roman Catholic

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and reading all the inscriptions on the
walls, my takeaway was, Hey,

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basically, we're all kind of saying
the same thing and arguing about the details

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and our various religions, and anytime
I go there, I come away just

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feeling really good about things. The
ceiling of the dome is one hundred and

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thirty eight feet high. The dome
is seventy two feet in diameter. The

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auditorium seats eleven ninety one people.
Since nine is the last number in the

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decimal system, Bahis believe it symbolizes
perfection and completion. Nine is also the

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value of the word baja and Arabic. Thus, many elements of the building

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occur in groups of nine. For
example, there are nine entrances to the

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auditorium, nine interior alcoves, nine
dome sections, and nine fountains in the

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garden area. Many intricate details are
carved into the concrete. Various writings are

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inscribed above the building entrances inside the
interior alcoves, Symbols of many religions,

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such as the Christian Cross, the
Star of David, and the Star and

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Crescent, can be found in each
exterior pillar. The pillars are also decorated

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with a symbol use by Hindus and
Buddhists in a form of a swastika.

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At the top of each pillar is
a nine pointed star, symbolizing the Behind

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Faith. In nineteen seventy eight,
the House of Worship was added to the

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National Register of Historic Places. The
Illinois Office of Tourism is named at one

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of these seven Wonders of Illinois.
I'm telling you, if you're in the

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Chicago area, and if you've got
a car, make the effort go up

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there. I believe me. I
understand as you're listening to me, you're

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like, what am I going to
go see? When you go see it,

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you'll be like, oh wow,
I'm so glad I did this.

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So, if you're curious, Behind
Faith is a world religion that has its

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own law, secret writings, and
Holy Day and like every other religion,

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its own calendar. However, it
is no clergy, and the administration at

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various levels is handled by elected assemblies. Some of the major principles of the

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Behigh Faith include unity, abolition of
discrimination of all sorts, compulsory education for

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all, and striking harmony between science
and religious truth. There are seven behind

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temples. Let me tell you where
they are, all right. One just

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told you about just north of Chicago. Two Sydney, Australia, located near

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the northern beaches of Sydney. I
wish I had known about any of this

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when I was down in Sydney.
I would have gone out of my way

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to at least been like, oh, I've seen two of them. If

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they ever make my way back to
Sydney, I will do that. The

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Sydney one has a dome rising thirty
eight meters above the floor. Number three

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is in Uganda, built in nineteen
sixty two, it took four years to

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complete. This one has a green
colored dome made of mosaic tiles acquired from

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Italy. The glass windows add beauty
to the interior with its all green,

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white, and blue amber colors.
As the nine doors open, you're captivated

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by the stunning interior that resembles the
fields on the skies on a sunny day.

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Number four Frankfurt, Germany, situated
in a scenic location at the foot

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of the Tras Mountain range in Germany. This one opened in nineteen sixty four.

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The fifth one is in Panama.
This was completed in nineteen seventy two.

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This dome has thousands of tiles which
are oval shaped. The entrance gates

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have three dimensional designs. The temple
looks like a giant sized egg. Number

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six, completed in nineteen eighty four, is in Samoa. It is considered

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the mother temple of Pacific Islands.
This dome is ninety two feet. The

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prayer garden houses over sixty species of
plants, trees, and flowers. Number

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seven is in New Delhi, India. Resembles a lotus flower. This construction

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was completed in nineteen eighty six.
The twenty seven petal like structures with three

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in a cluster, formed the nine
entrances. And I think I read somewhere

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that they're working on another one in
China, but don't hold me to that

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anyway. The one by Chicago,
it is probably the easiest to get to

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depending on how you travel, but
this is a road trip show and I

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definitely drove they get there. Last
week I told you about the Brookfield Zoo

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in Chicago, and there are other
Chicago based episodes in the feet if you

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want to check those outs. You
can follow this program for free on Apple

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Podcasts or Spotify. You can smash
the light button on YouTube. This a

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YouTube version as well. No pictures, It's just the audio version and I'll

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see you next week. Trail's back. All right, enough with the negativity.

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Hi, I'm Johnny Mack, host
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