Summary
Each year on November 12th, Bahá'ís throughout the world observe a Holy Day celebrating the birth of Bahá'u'lláh, the Founder of the
Baha'i Faith. Bahá'u'lláh was born Mirza Husayn Ali at dawn on 12 November 1817 in Tehran, Persia. Baha'is commemorate His Birth by abstaining from
work and holding joyous meetings open to all. There are no prescribed rituals but gatherings usually involve prayers, devotional readings, music and
fellowship.
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"The face of him on whom I gazed I can never forget, though I cannot describe it. Those
piercing eyes seemed to read one's very soul; power and authority sat on that ample brow.... No need to ask in whose presence I stood,
as I bowed myself before one who is the object of a devotion and love which kings might envy and emperors sigh for in vain!"
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Cambridge University Orientalist Edward Granville Browne in 1890 |
Born in Persia, Bahá'u'lláh began at age 27 an undertaking that has gradually captured the imagination and loyalty of
several million people from virtually every race, culture, class, and nation on earth. The phenomenon is one that has no reference points in the
contemporary world, but is associated rather with climactic changes of direction in the collective past of the human race. For Bahá'u'lláh claimed
to be no less than the Messenger of God to the age of human maturity, the Bearer of a Divine Revelation that fulfills the promises made in earlier
religions, and that will generate the spiritual nerves and sinews for the unification of the peoples of the world.
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"The Revelation of Bahá'u'lláh, whose supreme mission is none other but the achievement
of this organic and spiritual unity of the whole body of nations, should, if we be faithful to its implications, be regarded as
signalizing through its advent the coming of age of the entire human race. It should be viewed not merely as yet another spiritual
revival in the ever-changing fortunes of mankind, not only as a further stage in a chain of progressive Revelations, nor even as the
culmination of one of a series of recurrent prophetic cycles, but rather as marking the last and highest stage in the stupendous
evolution of man's collective life on this planet.” |
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Shoghi Effendi, The World Order of Bahá’u’lláh, p. 163 |
If they were to do nothing else, the effects which Bahá'u'lláh's life and writings have already had should command the earnest attention of
anyone who believes that human nature is fundamentally spiritual and that the coming organization of our planet must be informed by this aspect of
reality. The documentation lies open to general scrutiny. For the first time in history humanity has available a detailed and verifiable record of
the birth of an independent religious system and of the life of its Founder. Equally accessible is the record of the response that the new faith has
evoked, through the emergence of a global community which can already justly claim to represent a microcosm of the human race.
Bahá'u'lláh's Writings
No uncertainty surrounds the nature of the generating impulse. Bahá'u'lláh's writings cover an enormous range of subjects from social issues
such as racial integration, the equality of the sexes, and disarmament, to those questions that affect the innermost life of the human soul. The
original texts, many of them in His own hand, the others dictated and affirmed by their author, have been meticulously preserved. Here are a few of
his matchless Writings:
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"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. It
behoveth them to cleave to whatsoever will, in this Day, be conducive to the exaltation of their stations, and to the promotion of their
best interests...Soon will the present-day order be rolled up, and a new one spread out in its stead." |
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Bahá'u'lláh, Gleanings from the Writings of Baha'u'llah, p. 5
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O SON OF SPIRIT!
Noble have I created thee, yet thou hast abased thyself. Rise then unto that for which thou wast created. |
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Bahá'u'lláh, The Arabic Hidden Words #22
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"O peoples of the world! Forsake all evil, hold fast that which is good. Strive to be
shining examples unto all mankind, and true reminders of the virtues of God amidst men. He that riseth to serve My Cause should manifest
My wisdom, and bend every effort to banish ignorance from the earth. Be united in counsel, be one in thought. Let each morn be better
than its eve and each morrow richer than its yesterday. Man's merit lieth in service and virtue and not in the pageantry of wealth and
riches. Take heed that your words be purged from idle fancies and worldly desires and your deeds be cleansed from craftiness and
suspicion. Dissipate not the wealth of your precious lives in the pursuit of evil and corrupt affection, nor let your endeavours be
spent in promoting your personal interest. Be generous in your days of plenty, and be patient in the hour of loss. Adversity is followed
by success and rejoicings follow woe. Guard against idleness and sloth, and cling unto that which profiteth mankind, whether young or
old, whether high or low. Beware lest ye sow tares of dissension among men or plant thorns of doubt in pure and radiant hearts.
O ye beloved of the Lord! Commit not that which defileth the limpid stream of love or destroyeth the sweet fragrance of friendship. By
the righteousness of the Lord! Ye were created to show love one to another and not perversity and rancour. Take pride not in love for
yourselves but in love for your fellow-creatures. Glory not in love for your country, but in love for all mankind. Let your eye be
chaste, your hand faithful, your tongue truthful and your heart enlightened. Abase not the station of the learned in Baha and belittle
not the rank of such rulers as administer justice amidst you. Set your reliance on the army of justice, put on the armour of wisdom, let
your adorning be forgiveness and mercy and that which cheereth the hearts of the well-favoured of God. |
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Bahá'u'lláh, Tablets of Baha'u'llah, p. 137
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O SON OF BEING!
Busy not thyself with this world, for with fire We test the gold, and with gold We test Our servants. |
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Bahá'u'lláh, The Arabic Hidden Words #55
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"The world's equilibrium hath been upset through the vibrating influence of this most
great, this new World Order. Mankind's ordered life hath been revolutionized through the agency of this unique, this wondrous System—the
like of which mortal eyes have never witnessed.
Immerse yourselves in the ocean of My words, that ye may unravel its secrets, and discover all the pearls of wisdom that lie hid in its
depths. Take heed that ye do not vacillate in your determination to embrace the truth of this Cause—a Cause through which the
potentialities of the might of God have been revealed, and His sovereignty established. With faces beaming with joy, hasten ye unto Him.
This is the changeless Faith of God, eternal in the past, eternal in the future. Let him that seeketh, attain it; and as to him that
hath refused to seek it—verily, God is Self-Sufficient, above any need of His creatures." |
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Baha'u'llah, Gleanings from the Writings of Bahaullah, p. 135
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O SON OF MAN!
Wert thou to speed through the immensity of space and traverse the expanse of heaven, yet thou wouldst find no rest save in submission
to Our command and humbleness before Our Face. |
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Bahá'u'lláh, The Arabic Hidden Words #40
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| "Verily I say, this is the Day in which mankind can behold the Face, and hear the Voice, of the
Promised One. The Call of God hath been raised, and the light of His countenance hath been lifted up upon men. It behoveth every
man to blot out the trace of every idle word from the tablet of his heart, and to gaze, with an open and unbiased mind, on the signs of
His Revelation, the proofs of His Mission, and the tokens of His glory." |
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Bahá'u'lláh, Gleanings from the Writings of Bahá'u'lláh, p. 9
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Learn More
I would invite you to learn more about Bahá'u'lláh's life and mission; to study the prayers and sacred
writings revealed by Him; and to investigate His astounding claim to be "the Promised One of All Ages" and His
promise of a future when "these fruitless strifes, these ruinous wars shall pass away, and the `Most Great Peace'
shall come."
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