The Declaration in the Ridvan Garden
By
1863, Bahá’u’lláh concluded that the time had come to begin acquainting some of
those around Him with the mission which had been entrusted to Him in the
darkness of the Siyah-Chal. This decision coincided with a new stage in the
campaign of opposition to His work, which had been relentlessly pursued by the
Shi‘ih Muslim clergy and representatives of the Persian government. Fearing that
the acclaim which Bahá’u’lláh was beginning to enjoy among influential Persian
visitors to Iraq would reignite popular enthusiasm in Persia, the Shah's
government pressed the Ottoman authorities to remove Him far from the borders
and into the interior of the empire. Eventually, the Turkish government acceded
to these pressures and invited the exile, as its guest, to make His residence in
the capital, Constantinople. Despite the courteous terms in which
the message was couched, the intention was clearly to require compliance.19
By this time, the devotion of the little
company of exiles had come to focus on Bahá’u’lláh’s person as well as on His
exposition of the Báb’s teachings. A growing number of them had become convinced
that He was speaking not only as the Báb’s advocate, but on behalf of the far
greater cause which the latter had declared to be imminent. These beliefs became
a certainty in late April 1863 when Bahá’u’lláh, on the eve of His departure for
Constantinople, called together individuals among His companions, in a garden to
which was later given the name Ridvan (“Paradise”), and confided the central
fact of His mission. Over the next four years, although no open announcement was
con- sidered timely, the hearers gradually shared with trusted friends the news
that the Báb's promises had been fulfilled and that the “Day of God” had dawned.
The precise
circumstances surrounding this private communication are, in the words of the
Bahá’í authority most intimately familiar with the records of the period,
“shrouded in an obscurity which future historians will find it difficult to
penetrate.”20
The nature of the declaration may be appreciated in various references which
Bahá’u’lláh was to make to His mission in many of His subsequent writings:
The purpose
underlying all creation is the revelation of this most sublime, this most holy
Day, the Day known as the Day of God, in His Books and Scriptures – the Day
which all the Prophets, and the Chosen Ones, and the holy ones, have wished to
witness.21
...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 behooveth 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.22
As repeatedly emphasized in
Bahá’u’lláh's exposition of the Báb's message, the primary purpose of God in
revealing His will is to effect a transformation in the character of humankind,
to develop within those who respond the moral and spiritual qualities that are
latent within human nature:
Beautify your tongues, O people, with truthfulness, and adorn your souls with
the ornament of honesty. Beware, O people, that ye deal not treacherously with
any one. Be ye the trustees of God amongst His creatures, and the emblems of His
generosity amidst His people....23
Illumine
and hallow your hearts; let them not be profaned by the thorns of hate or the
thistles of malice. Ye dwell in one world, and have been created through the
operation of one Will. Blessed is he who mingleth with all men in a spirit of
utmost kindliness and love.24
The aggressive proselytism that had
characterized efforts in ages past to promote the cause of religion is declared
to be unworthy of the Day of God. Each person who has recognized the Revelation
has the obligation to share it with those who he believes are seeking, but to
leave the response entirely to his hearers:
Show
forbearance and benevolence and love to one another. Should any one among you be
incapable of grasping a certain truth, or be striving to comprehend it, show
forth, when conversing with him, a spirit of extreme kindliness and
good-will....25
The whole
duty of man in this Day is to attain that share of the flood of grace which God
poureth forth for him. Let none, therefore, consider the largeness or smallness
of the receptacle....26
Against the background of the bloody
events in Persia, Bahá’u’lláh not only told His followers that “if ye be slain,
it is better for you than to slay,” but urged them to set an example of
obedience to civil authority: “In every country where any of this
people reside, they must behave towards the government of that country with
loyalty, honesty and truthfulness.”27
The conditions surrounding Bahá’u’lláh’s
departure from Baghdad provided a dramatic demonstration of the potency of these
principles. In only a few years, a band of foreign exiles whose arrival in the
area had aroused suspicion and aversion on the part of their neighbors had
become one of the most respected and influential segments of the population.
They supported themselves through flourishing businesses; as a group they were
admired for their generosity and the integrity of their conduct; the lurid
allegations of religious fanaticism and violence, sedulously spread by Persian
consular officials and members of the Shi’ih Muslim clergy, had ceased to have
an effect on the public mind. By May 3, 1863, when He rode out of Baghdad,
accompanied by His family and those of His companions and servants who had been
chosen to accompany Him to Constantinople, Bahá’u’lláh had become an immensely
popular and cherished figure. In the days immediately preceding the leave-taking
a stream of notables, including the Governor of the province himself, came to
the garden where He had temporarily taken up residence, many of them from great
distances, in order to pay their respects. Eyewitnesses to the
departure have described in moving terms the acclaim that greeted Him, the tears
of many of the onlookers, and the concern of the Ottoman authorities and civil
officials to do their visitor honor.28
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