Senryu – lotus illuminated = lotus illuminé


Senryu – lotus illuminated = lotus illuminé

Bahá’i temple  
all humankind lotus
illuminated

senryu bahai temple

temple Bahá’i 
l’humanité lotus
illuminé

Richard Vallance

Set in the Andean foothills, just beyond Santiago, Chile, the Bahá’i Temple of South America is a domed, luminous structure echoing the rolling typography of the mountains where it is located.

This senryu is based on the famous quote of Bahá’u’lláh (1817-1892), founder of the Bahá’i religion, whose name means “The Glory of God”, as follows:

“The earth is but one country and mankind its citizens.”  

What is a senryu? 

A Senryu (also called human haiku) is an unrhymed Japanese verse consisting of three unrhymed lines of five, seven, and five syllables (5, 7, 5) or 17 syllables in all. A Senryu is usually written in the present tense and only references to some aspect of human nature or emotions, or a Japanese poem similar in structure to haiku, but more concerned with human nature, and is often humorous or satiric -- usually in three lines of seventeen kana.   This senryu is concerned with human emotion, or more accurately, human spirituality. It is not meant to be humorous or satirical. Unlike haiku, senryu do not contain season words = kigo.
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vallance22

Historical linguist, Linear B, Mycenaean Greek, Minoan Linear A, Arcado-Cypriot Linear C, ancient Greek, Homer, Iliad, only Blog ENTIRELY devoted to Linear B on Internet; bilingual English- French, read Latin fluently, read Italian & ancient Greek including Linear B well, Antikythera Mechanism

6 thoughts on “Senryu – lotus illuminated = lotus illuminé”

    1. Thank you, Rita! So to I. The Bahai faith is the most recent of the great religions in the world, and unlike all previous major religions, Judaism, Christianity, Islam etc. etc., the Bahais believe there is only one universal spirituality, and that all humankind is one nation only. This is a vast improvement over the old religions!

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    1. It most certainly is. It is to my mind one of the loveliest buildings in the entire world, and it reflects the universality and simplicity of the Bahai faith.

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