Fifth Reflection

The fifth Reflection on Sacred Words: Ridvan, the inception of a new heaven and a new earth Nader Saiedi

Baha’u’llah writes: On the first day of His arrival in the garden designated the Ridván,…the Tongue of Glory uttered three blessed verses. First, that in this Revelation the use of the sword is prohibited. Second, that whoso layeth a claim ere the expiration of a thousand years is assuredly in grievous error... And third, that the one true God, exalted be His Glory, at that very moment shed the splendors of all His Names upon the whole creation. The 12 days of Ridvan (April 21-May 2 , 1863) are the most important Baha’I festivals. Baha’is celebrate these 12 days because it was during these 12 days that for the first time the message and mission of Baha’u’llah was formally unveiled. The first day of Ridvan is described by Baha’u’llah as a day in which the two opposite signs of separation and union are united together. That was the day of separation because on that day the enemies of the new faith had finally succeeded to convince the Ottoman authorities to exile Baha’u’llah from Baghdad to a remote place in the empire. It was a day that the forces of intolerance, traditionalism, and hatred had apparently triumphed in their attempt to extinguish the light of God and silence the word of God. Yet, God turned that apparent defeat in absolute victory. On that same day Baha’u’llah receives the divine call to proclaim his inner secret, to usher the Day of God, to achieve victory over the forces of hatred by affirming a culture of universal love. The day of exile becomes the day of absolute union, the day of defeat turns into the day of utter victory. Therefore, the days of Ridvan are a symbol of the active but non-violent response to oppression and of turning injustice into justice, separation into union, culture of hatred into culture of love, hell into paradise. Ridvan means overcoming oppression by a culture of universal love. The most important event of these 12 days is precisely the very declaratory words of Baha’u’llah on the afternoon of April 21st when he arrived in the garden outside of Baghdad. Fortunately, we know the exact words that he proclaimed on that day because in a number of his writings he has recounted those words. The three words he uttered are: First, that in this Revelation the use of the sword is prohibited Second, that whoso layeth a claim ere the expiration of a thousand years is assuredly in grievous error third, that the one true God, exalted be His Glory, at that very moment shed the splendors of all His Names upon the whole creation. These above statements constitute the manifesto of Baha’i revelation. Each of the three statements represent a fundamental principle of the Baha’i worldview. Together, they reveal Baha’u’llah’s approach to the world. The first emphasizes the essence of the social teachings of Baha’u’llah. The second unveils his historical consciousness. The third, explains the metaphysical foundation of the uniqueness of this Age and its requirement. 1. Universal Peace

The first of my 19 reflections dealt with the first divine words received by Baha’u’llah. The essence of that message was rendering the Cause of God victorious by good deeds and pen. The formal declaration of Baha’u’llah on the first day of Ridvan is likewise the affirmation of the culture of peace. This prohibition of sword becomes the essence of Baha’u’llah’s social teachings. In addition to forbidding religious coercion and discrimination, Baha’u’llah is affirming the need for universal peace and oneness of humankind. These teachings will be elaborated throughout the next 29 years of his writings. In general, Baha’u’llah believed that the regulating principle of social life must be transformed. The culture of jungle and prejudice, when one identifies with a particular group, and sees others as strangers or enemies must be replaced by a culture of unity in diversity, universal peace, friendly association with all people of the world, and oneness of humanity. 2. Historical Consciousness The second statement of Baha’u’llah is both affirmation of the inception of a new religion by himself, and the emphasis on the fact that he is not the last prophet of God. Instead, in 1000 years or more, a new messenger of God with a new religion will appear in the world. This historical consciousness— namely, the idea that human societies are dynamic and progressive, and therefore, all social institutions need to change overtime in accordance with the requirements of the time—is a categorical rejection of the static culture of traditionalism which reduces humanity to dead objects and ossifies culture. What is unique about the historical consciousness of Baha’u’llah is that he applies this dynamism to the realm of religion and divine revelation as well. Therefore, for Baha’u’llah the word of God is a living reality which takes new forms in accordance with the need of humanity. Religion is a dialogue of God with humanity and consequently with the change of the capacities and needs of humanity, this dialogue is renewed and reconstructed. Therefore, the truth of all religions and all prophets of God is one and the same. But that same divine truth has unlimited manifestations and theses manifestations are historically-specific. In other words, religion must be a cause of development of civilization and not an obstacle against such advancement. The first statement abrogated the traditional culture of warfare, avoidance and prejudice, and offered an alternative culture. The reason for such transformation is the historical dynamics of the world and of religion. 3. Universal Revelation The third statement of Baha’u’llah is in fact the synthesis and the ground of the previous two statements. The first statement brings new commandments for this new age. The second statement affirms the historical nature of the word of God. The third statement unveils the underlying uniqueness of this age. In this third statement Baha’u’llah says that God “ at that very moment” has revealed himself with all his names and attributes upon all beings. This is indeed a world-historic event. For Baha’u’llah, the truth of everything has ever been and will ever be the reflection of divine names and attributes. Everything is spiritual. The truth of all material things is also spiritual. But this truth of everything has remained hidden in human history. It had been a potentiality for perfection that was ignored and unrealized. But this time is a different time. With the declaration of Baha’u’llah, the Day of God begins, the day that God is universally revealed by everything. The age has come that the inner truth of things become manifest reality. That is the mission and message of Baha’u’llah: to proclaim that the time has come to see all people and all beings as sacred, beautiful, and endowed with rights. We must see in everyone their truth, the divine attributes, and therefore, we need to deal with everyone with respect and dignity.

Baha’u’llah’s third statement is the basis of his new conception of identity. Humanity so far has reduced the identity or truth of human beings to factors that separate humans from each other. Place of birth, family, race, gender, social class, caste, age, language, nationality, religion and the like have been the defining feature of our identity. But reducing human beings to these particularistic characteristics turns other human groups to strangers or enemies. The oppressors have been defining identities in this way, and the battle of the oppressors against oppression has also been waged under the same internalized framework. The result is that even challenge of oppression itself usually helps to perpetuate the logic of oppression and hate. Baha’u’llah, on the first day of Ridvan, offered a different concept of identity. The real identity of all humans and all beings is that they are all reflections of divine attributes. Therefore, all are one, all are sacred, all are beautiful, all are endowed with rights. In other words, the first day of Ridvan announced the inception of a new day, the Day of God, the day of sanctity of all people, the day of universal love and universal human rights.