Tuesday, March 11, 2008 at 1:01am
The way home
Column: Life at First Sight
When I made a Baha'i pilgrimage to Haifa, Israel, last month, I experienced a reunion with my worldwide family, with my own heart, and with the One whose love is, for me, a generating point of true unity.
The nine-day Baha'i pilgrimage offers the followers of Baha'u'llah the opportunity to visit those places associated with their faith's prophet founder during the last half of the 1800s, when He and His family lived in this part of the world as prisoners of the state after various governments, determined to suppress His world-embracing message, exiled Him here from His native Iran. The fact that these prisoners, women and children among them, survived that harsh journey of exile and incarceration at all is a miracle story in itself.
During their pilgrimage, Baha'is visit two places on earth that they regard as especially precious. One is the resting place of the faith's forerunner, known as The Bab (the "Gate"), situated under a golden dome on the slopes of Mount Carmel. And, for every Baha'i, the pinnacle of pilgrimage is reaching the threshold of the Shrine of Baha'u'llah Himself, located in the vicinity of Akka, the ancient walled city named for Joan of Arc, where He and His loved ones were imprisoned for nearly a quarter of a century.
Back in the days when Baha'u'llah dwelt here, Baha'i pilgrims walked hundreds of often-dangerous miles from other parts of Asia to reach this place. Usually, they were refused entry at the gate of the city and, standing at a moat outside the citadel that held Him, rejoiced if they chanced to see His hand wave to them through a window.
This is the place where much revelation flowed from Baha'u'llah's pen, including a proclamation of His divine mission to the political and religious leaders of that day, which urged them to adopt the vision for peace that is God's intention for this stage of humanity's spiritual evolution.
Now, thousands of fortunate Baha'i pilgrims offer their prayers from within that prison cell itself, which serves as a tangible reminder that no Messenger of God ever brought revelation without suffering cruelty and injustice at the hands of blind imitation, suspicion, envy and ignorance. Today's lucky pilgrims also draw close to every place connected with Baha'u'llah's life during His years in the Holy Land before His death in 1892 - plus experience a veritable feast of reunion with their fellow pilgrims.
That worldwide family hails from every nation, religious background and conceivable social stratum. More than 2,100 ethnic groups and nationalities are represented in the worldwide Baha'i community. Those world leaders may have chosen not to listen to Baha'u'llah in His time, but His message has still managed to reach the hearts of millions of souls worldwide.
Today they are the fruit, the very lifeblood, of His efforts - the many souls who have embraced His Message that one God, out of love, created the human family in oneness and has now, as promised through the ages, provided all the means by which it may be spiritually and materially united. It is a promise that, while asking humanity to accept new guidance from God, also honors every single Messenger that God has sent previously.
As we strive to accept the invitation Baha'u'llah extended to the whole human family, Baha'is rely on faith, daily prayer and meditative study of the sacred texts to bring about the transformation of character necessary for the spiritual maturity that a united world requires. But beyond an experience of personal salvation, we're also seeking to help create the kind of civilization that will draw out the spiritual gems treasured in each individual, and fashion patterns of unity more powerful than any of the barriers that human minds and cultural assumptions have conceived.
In His writings and teachings, Baha'u'llah repeatedly used light as a metaphor for spiritual illumination, and green vistas and gardens as indicators of spiritual growth and life. Greenery and light are two things He loved dearly, and was deprived of for much of the time that He was a prisoner and exile.
In spite of that deprivation, one landmark in His ministry — His declaration as a Manifestation of God's revealed truth — transpired in a garden in Baghdad. And today, the surroundings of His shrine and that of the Bab on Mount Carmel include some of the most beautiful gardens on the planet. They were created so that any who visit this area may enjoy them and, like the faith itself, the "inhabitants" of these green sanctuaries come from every part of the earth. There are even trees and plants right in the center of Baha'u'llah's Shrine which, like that of the Bab, is flooded with light.
It was in the golden glow of the Bab's shrine that the reality of the spiritual reunion I am part of came home to me in a sweetly unexpected way. It was close to sunset on the eve of the Jewish Sabbath, when many in the Haifa area close their shops or leave work early to prepare for this day kept sacred. A mood of impending reverence and quiet settled in as the streets grew vacant.
As I sat quietly in the shrine in prayer and reflection, aware of the atmosphere of spiritual preparation going on all over the city, I suddenly heard the tolling of bells from the Carmelite monastery located near one of the caves of the Old Testament prophet Elijah. More lovers of God turning to prayer as the day drew to a close.
Then, from the minaret of a nearby mosque, the melodious call to prayer began to sound with soul-stirring beauty.
And here, we Baha'is, assembled from throughout the world, lovers of all faiths, with personal roots in many different ones, were all gathered in the spot that honors one whose martyrdom, akin to Christ's, aimed to help free mankind from its deepest bondage, and help it finally come home together.
As human beings grow, they lead the most spiritually actualized lives not when they cling to the small circle of family and what is familiar, but as they learn to embrace ever-widening circles and bonds with others. The pain in the world today seems directly proportionate to the degree to which we haven't yet found the love for God and our fellow beings that will transcend our own limited knowledge and assumptions, that will make us eager to seek our Beloved, by whatever name we call Him, in every face.
Baha'u'llah's invitation to do this still extends itself to all of us, as it did when He walked in the Holy Land more than a century ago, and travels in the hearts of His loved ones. The changeless faith of God, eternal in the past, eternal in the future, draws a circle meant to include each and every one.
— — —
Phyllis Edgerly Ring, mother of two, is a writer and editor. Her current book project addresses how adults can recognize and nurture children's spiritual nature. She is a former program director at Green Acre Baha'i School in Eliot, Maine, and has been a member of the Baha'i Faith for more than 30 years. Email her at {email columns@bahai.us}columns@bahai.us{/email}. See the website of the Baha'is of the United States for more information. © Copyright 2008 by Phyllis Edgerly Ring.
The nine-day Baha'i pilgrimage offers the followers of Baha'u'llah the opportunity to visit those places associated with their faith's prophet founder during the last half of the 1800s, when He and His family lived in this part of the world as prisoners of the state after various governments, determined to suppress His world-embracing message, exiled Him here from His native Iran. The fact that these prisoners, women and children among them, survived that harsh journey of exile and incarceration at all is a miracle story in itself.
During their pilgrimage, Baha'is visit two places on earth that they regard as especially precious. One is the resting place of the faith's forerunner, known as The Bab (the "Gate"), situated under a golden dome on the slopes of Mount Carmel. And, for every Baha'i, the pinnacle of pilgrimage is reaching the threshold of the Shrine of Baha'u'llah Himself, located in the vicinity of Akka, the ancient walled city named for Joan of Arc, where He and His loved ones were imprisoned for nearly a quarter of a century.
Back in the days when Baha'u'llah dwelt here, Baha'i pilgrims walked hundreds of often-dangerous miles from other parts of Asia to reach this place. Usually, they were refused entry at the gate of the city and, standing at a moat outside the citadel that held Him, rejoiced if they chanced to see His hand wave to them through a window.
This is the place where much revelation flowed from Baha'u'llah's pen, including a proclamation of His divine mission to the political and religious leaders of that day, which urged them to adopt the vision for peace that is God's intention for this stage of humanity's spiritual evolution.
Now, thousands of fortunate Baha'i pilgrims offer their prayers from within that prison cell itself, which serves as a tangible reminder that no Messenger of God ever brought revelation without suffering cruelty and injustice at the hands of blind imitation, suspicion, envy and ignorance. Today's lucky pilgrims also draw close to every place connected with Baha'u'llah's life during His years in the Holy Land before His death in 1892 - plus experience a veritable feast of reunion with their fellow pilgrims.
That worldwide family hails from every nation, religious background and conceivable social stratum. More than 2,100 ethnic groups and nationalities are represented in the worldwide Baha'i community. Those world leaders may have chosen not to listen to Baha'u'llah in His time, but His message has still managed to reach the hearts of millions of souls worldwide.
Today they are the fruit, the very lifeblood, of His efforts - the many souls who have embraced His Message that one God, out of love, created the human family in oneness and has now, as promised through the ages, provided all the means by which it may be spiritually and materially united. It is a promise that, while asking humanity to accept new guidance from God, also honors every single Messenger that God has sent previously.
As we strive to accept the invitation Baha'u'llah extended to the whole human family, Baha'is rely on faith, daily prayer and meditative study of the sacred texts to bring about the transformation of character necessary for the spiritual maturity that a united world requires. But beyond an experience of personal salvation, we're also seeking to help create the kind of civilization that will draw out the spiritual gems treasured in each individual, and fashion patterns of unity more powerful than any of the barriers that human minds and cultural assumptions have conceived.
In His writings and teachings, Baha'u'llah repeatedly used light as a metaphor for spiritual illumination, and green vistas and gardens as indicators of spiritual growth and life. Greenery and light are two things He loved dearly, and was deprived of for much of the time that He was a prisoner and exile.
In spite of that deprivation, one landmark in His ministry — His declaration as a Manifestation of God's revealed truth — transpired in a garden in Baghdad. And today, the surroundings of His shrine and that of the Bab on Mount Carmel include some of the most beautiful gardens on the planet. They were created so that any who visit this area may enjoy them and, like the faith itself, the "inhabitants" of these green sanctuaries come from every part of the earth. There are even trees and plants right in the center of Baha'u'llah's Shrine which, like that of the Bab, is flooded with light.
It was in the golden glow of the Bab's shrine that the reality of the spiritual reunion I am part of came home to me in a sweetly unexpected way. It was close to sunset on the eve of the Jewish Sabbath, when many in the Haifa area close their shops or leave work early to prepare for this day kept sacred. A mood of impending reverence and quiet settled in as the streets grew vacant.
As I sat quietly in the shrine in prayer and reflection, aware of the atmosphere of spiritual preparation going on all over the city, I suddenly heard the tolling of bells from the Carmelite monastery located near one of the caves of the Old Testament prophet Elijah. More lovers of God turning to prayer as the day drew to a close.
Then, from the minaret of a nearby mosque, the melodious call to prayer began to sound with soul-stirring beauty.
And here, we Baha'is, assembled from throughout the world, lovers of all faiths, with personal roots in many different ones, were all gathered in the spot that honors one whose martyrdom, akin to Christ's, aimed to help free mankind from its deepest bondage, and help it finally come home together.
As human beings grow, they lead the most spiritually actualized lives not when they cling to the small circle of family and what is familiar, but as they learn to embrace ever-widening circles and bonds with others. The pain in the world today seems directly proportionate to the degree to which we haven't yet found the love for God and our fellow beings that will transcend our own limited knowledge and assumptions, that will make us eager to seek our Beloved, by whatever name we call Him, in every face.
Baha'u'llah's invitation to do this still extends itself to all of us, as it did when He walked in the Holy Land more than a century ago, and travels in the hearts of His loved ones. The changeless faith of God, eternal in the past, eternal in the future, draws a circle meant to include each and every one.
— — —
Phyllis Edgerly Ring, mother of two, is a writer and editor. Her current book project addresses how adults can recognize and nurture children's spiritual nature. She is a former program director at Green Acre Baha'i School in Eliot, Maine, and has been a member of the Baha'i Faith for more than 30 years. Email her at {email columns@bahai.us}columns@bahai.us{/email}. See the website of the Baha'is of the United States for more information. © Copyright 2008 by Phyllis Edgerly Ring.