The Life of Bahá’u’lláh
Ruhi Grade 4--Lesson 3 Declaration in the Garden of Ridvan
Gather all people beneath the shadow of Thy bounty and cause them to unite in harmony, so that they may become as the rays of one sun, as the waves of one ocean, and as the fruit of one tree. May they drink from the same fountain. May they be refreshed by the same breeze. May they receive illumination from the same source of light. Thou art the Giver, the Merciful, the Omnipotent.
~Abdu’l-Bahá
“Glorified art Thou, O God of all names and Creator of the heavens! I render Thee thanks that Thou hast made known unto Thy servants this Day whereon the river that is life indeed hath flowed forth from the fingers of Thy bounty, and the springtime of Thy revelation and Thy presence hath appeared through Thy manifestation unto all who are in Thy heaven and all who are on Thy earth.”
–Bahá’u’lláh
“Glorified art Thou, O God of all names and Creator of the heavens! I render Thee thanks that Thou hast made known unto Thy servants this Day whereon the river that is life indeed hath flowed forth from the fingers of Thy bounty, and the springtime of Thy revelation and Thy presence hath appeared through Thy manifestation unto all who are in Thy heaven and all who are on Thy earth.”
–Bahá’u’lláh
“Glorified art Thou, O God of all names and Creator of the heavens! I render
Thee thanks that Thou hast made known unto Thy servants this Day whereon
the river that is life indeed hath flowed forth from the fingers of Thy bounty,
and the springtime of Thy revelation and Thy presence hath appeared through
Thy manifestation unto all who are in Thy heaven and all who are on Thy earth.”
–Bahá’u’lláh
Bahá’u’lláh came to establish the oneness of mankind.
All great religions have taught about a time when God would send humanity a Manifestation who would establish peace and harmony.
Injustice, hatred and war would disappear and the nations and peoples of the world would live in friendship.
Baha’u’llah tells us that peace will not be established on earth until humanity is united.
His teachings create love in our hearts for everyone.
Think of the flowers of a garden. Each flower has a different color, fragrance, texture. These differences make the garden beautiful.
Although in appearance we are different from one another we are all children of one God Who loves us, cares for us and wishes us to grown together in harmony.
Baha’u’llah wishes us to show love to all humanity--every race, nationality and religion.
Who is the Promised One of All Ages?
What has Baha’u’llah come to accomplish?
What should we have in our hearts for one another?
What is the result of the diversity of flowers in a garden?
What should be the result of the diversity of the human race?
If we remember the love that God has for each one of us, how will we deal with one another?
What does Baha’u’llah want His followers to show towards every race, nationality and religion?
“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 behooveth 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.”
–Baha’u’llah
Bahá’u’lláh revived the Babi community through His love and wisdom and the power of His words. Many people in the city came to love and respect Him.
Story
“I saw the Prophets and the Messengers gather and seat themselves around Me, moaning, weeping and loudly lamenting. Amazed, I inquired of them the reason, whereupon their lamentation and weeping waxed greater, and they said unto me: ‘We weep for Thee, O Most Great Mystery, O Tabernacle of Immortality!’ They wept with such a weeping that I too wept with them. Thereupon the Concourse on high addressed Me saying: ‘…Erelong shalt Thou behold with Thine own eyes what no Prophet hath beheld…Be patient, be patient.’ …They continued addressing Me the whole night until the approach of dawn.”
In the spring of 1863 Bahá’u’lláh received an invitation from the Prime Minister of the Ottoman empire to travel to Constantinople, along with mounted escort and money for His travels.
“Every day ere the hour of dawn, the gardeners would pick the roses which lines the four avenues of the garden, and would pile them in the center of the floor of His blessed tent. So great would be the heap that when His companions gathered to drink their morning tea in His presence, they would be unable to see each other across it. All these roses Baha’u’llah would, with His own hands, entrust to those whom He dismissed from His presence every morning to be delivered, on His behalf, to His Arab and Persian friends in the city…
One night, the ninth night of the waxing moon, I happened to be one of those who watched beside His blessed tent. As the hour of midnight approached, I saw Him issue from His tent, pass by the places where some of His companions were sleeping, and begin to pace up and down the moonlit, flower-bordered avenues of the garden. So loud was the singing of the nightingales on every side that only those who were near Him could hear distinctly His voice.
He continued to walk until, pausing the midst of one of these avenues, He observed: ‘Consider these nightingales. So great is their love for these roses, that sleepless from dusk till dawn, they warble their melodies and commune with burning passion with the object of their adoration. How then can those who claim to be afire with the rose-like beauty of the Beloved choose to sleep? For three successive nights I watched and circled round His blessed tent. Every time I passed by the couch where one He lay, I would find Him wakeful, and every day, from morn till eventide, I would see Him ceaselessly engaged in conversing with the stream of visitors who kept flowing in from Baghdad.”
Gathered now at the mystic hour, in the Garden of Ridván.Circling ’round His blessed tent, in the Garden of Ridván. And the nightingales sing, and the souls are on fire. As the crimson-colored ark sets sail in the presence of the Best Beloved of the worlds, in the Garden of Ridván.
The fragrance of the roses strong, in the Garden of Ridván. The friends are silent, struck with awe, in the Garden of Ridván.As the Ancient of Days lifts a myriad of veils of light and the new creation sings with joy in the presence of the Best Beloved of the world, in the Garden of Ridván.
The Lord of names ascends his throne in the 12 days of Ridván.Approach him now and walk your fill in the Garden of Ridván.Everlasting life from the hands of his grace Bestowed upon all humankind in the presence of the Best Beloved Of the world, in the Garden of Ridván.
Behold the Blessed Beauty riding on a red roan.Behold the wind-swept mountain, the valley and the plain. From the prison cell He rose up to recreate mankind. Revealed his ancient Beauty, a Beauty for all time.Behold the Blessed Beauty, ancient, everlasting.The image of his Beauty reflected in all things.From the prison cell He rose up to recreate mankind Revealed His ancient Beauty, a Beauty for all time. Behold the Blessed Beauty.