Birth of Baha'u'llah | Baha'i Holy Day Program

A suggested program for this Baha'i Holy day.

This is the Day in which God's most excellent favors have been poured out upon men, the Day in which His most mighty grace hath been infused into all created things.

It is incumbent upon all the peoples of the world to reconcile their differences, and, with perfect unity and peace, abide beneath the shadow of the Tree of His care and loving-kindness.

-Baha'u'llah

When Bahá’u’lláh was still a child, His father arranged for one of His older brothers to marry. The festivities lasted for seven days and nights, and on the final day, there was a puppet show. A large number of princes, dignitaries, and notables gathered from the capital for the occasion, and Bahá’u’lláh was sitting in one of the upper rooms of the building, watching.

A tent was pitched in the courtyard, and from it soon some tiny human-like figures emerged, crying, “His Majesty is coming! Arrange the seats at once!” Other figures came out, engaged in sweeping and sprinkling of water, and then the chief town crier bade the people assemble for the audience with the king. Bahá'u'lláh recounts that this was a grand puppet show about a famous king and the politics and warring of his kingdom.

After the show had ended, He saw a man come out from behind the tent carrying a box under his arm. “What is in the box?” Bahá’u’lláh asked. The man replied, “All these lavish trappings, the king, the princes, and the ministers, their pomp and glory, their might and power, everything you saw, are all now contained within this box.”

Of this event, Bahá’u’lláh wrote: “… ever since that day, all the trappings of the world have seemed in the eyes of this Youth akin to that same spectacle. They have never been, nor will ever be, possessed of any weight though it be to the extent of a grain of mustard seed…. Erelong these outward trappings, these heaped-up treasures, these earthly vanities, these amassed battalions, this gorgeous finery, these proud and overweening souls – all shall pass into the confines of the grave, as though in that box. In the eyes of those possessed of insight, all this conflict, dissension and vainglory hath been, and will ever be, like unto the sport of children.”

Professor Edward Granville Browne of Cambridge University meets Baha’u’llah in 1890 and recounts:

From His early youth, Bahá’u’lláh was regarded by those who knew Him as bearing the imprint of destiny. Blessed with saintly character and uncommon wisdom, He seemed to be touched by heaven’s kindly light. Yet He was made to endure forty years of suffering, including successive exiles and incarcerations at the decree of two despotic monarchs, campaigns to vilify His name and condemn His followers, violence upon His Person, shameful attempts on His life—all of which, out of a boundless love for humanity, He bore willingly, with radiance and forbearance, and with compassion for His tormentors. Even the expropriation of all His worldly possessions left Him unperturbed. An observer might wonder why One Whose love for others was so complete should have been made the target of such hostility, given that He had otherwise been the object of universal praise and admiration, famed for His benevolence and high-mindedness, and had disavowed any claim to political power. To anyone who is familiar with the pattern of history, the reason for His ordeals is, of course, unmistakable. The appearance of a prophetic Figure in the world has invariably given rise to ferocious opposition from wielders of power. But the light of truth will not be put out. And so, in the lives of these transcendent Beings one finds sacrifice, heroism and, come what may, deeds that exemplify Their words…

Message from the Universal House of Justice, October 2017

The diverse religions of the world are shown to be expressions of a single underlying truth, related to one another by a common origin, and also by a common purpose: to transform humanity’s inner life and outer conditions. Bahá’u’lláh’s teachings testify to the nobility of the human spirit. The society He envisions is one worthy of that nobility and founded on principles that guard and reinforce it. The oneness of the human family He places at the core of collective life; the equality of women and men He unequivocally asserts. He reconciles the seemingly counteracting forces of our own age—science and religion, unity and diversity, freedom and order, individual rights and social responsibilities. And among His greatest gifts is justice, manifested in institutions whose concern is for the progress and development of all peoples. In His own words, He has “blotted out from the pages of God’s holy Book whatsoever hath been the cause of strife, of malice and mischief amongst the children of men” and, concurrently, “laid down the essential prerequisites of concord, of understanding, of complete and enduring unity”.

Message from the Universal House of Justice, October 2017