Image of the Mystic Flower, The: Exploring the Lotus Symbolism in the Bahá'í House of Worship, by Julie Badiee, in Journal of Bahá'í Studies, 10:1-2 (2000). The design of the temple in India creates the visual effect of a large, white lotus blossom emerging from the pools of water around it. Besides many other deep and old cultural meanings, flower imagery symbolizes the appearance of the new Manifestation. [about]