For the last 40 years, Baha'is in the Washington, D.C., area have been hosting a birthday celebration, open to the public, for the most important person in their lives -- Baha’u’llah, Founder of the Baha'i Faith, who was born on Nov. 12, 1817, in Tehran, Persia (now Iran).

"It's our gift to the Faith," says Kimberly Gilmer, who has been going to the celebration all her life. Her parents, Van Gilmer, director of the Baha'i House of Worship choir in Wilmette, Ill., and the late Cookie Gilmer, started the event, which draws as many, if not more, non-Baha'is than Baha'is. Anywhere from 90 to 120 people attend.

The banquet, which this year is to be held on Tuesday, Nov. 11, at the Tantallon Country Club in Fort Washington, Md., features guest speakers relating how they came into the Faith and stories about Baha'u'llah. This year, Van Gilmer will be the speaker.


The Shrine of Baha'u'llah Baha’u’llah is recognized by close to six million followers around the world as the Manifestation of God, or Divine Teacher for this age. He taught that all of the Manifestations of God -- which include Moses, Abraham, Christ, Muhammad, Krishna and Buddha -- have been sent by a loving Creator at intervals throughout history to help us know and worship Him and bring human civilization to ever-higher levels of achievement.

Baha’u’llah's central message for humanity in this day is one of unity and justice. In two oft-quoted passages He wrote, "The earth is but one country, and mankind its citizens,” and "The best beloved of all things in My sight is justice. He also stated, "The well-being of mankind, its peace and security, are unattainable unless and until its unity is firmly established.”

While such statements have become part of mainstream thinking in the contemporary world, we can only imagine the startling effect they would have had on someone like Edward Granville Brown, a renowned early-19th-century Oriental scholar, to whom Baha’u’llah uttered the following remarkable statement:

“Thou hast come to see a prisoner and an exile.... We desire but the good of the world and the happiness of the nations; yet they deem us a stirrer-up of strife and sedition worthy of bondage and banishment.... That all nations should become one in faith and all men as brothers; that the bonds of affection and unity between the sons of men should be strengthened; that diversity of religion should cease, and differences of race be annulled -- what harm is there in this? ...Yet so it shall be; these fruitless strifes, these ruinous wars shall pass away, and the `Most Great Peace' shall come...”

Born into a noble family in 19th century Persia, Baha’u’llah's destiny would seem to have been one of wealth and ease. Yet from an early age He showed little interest in following in His father's footsteps at the Shah's court, preferring to spend His time and resources in ministering to the poor. Later, His recognition of the religion of His forerunner, the Bab, caused Him to be cast into prison and subsequently exiled.

It was during His initial imprisonment that Baha’u’llah first experienced divine revelation. Of it, He wrote:
“During the days I lay in the prison of Tihran, though the galling weight of the chains and the stench-filled air allowed Me but little sleep, still in those infrequent moments of slumber I felt as if something flowed from the crown of My head over My breast, even as a mighty torrent that precipitateth itself upon the earth from the summit of a lofty mountain. Every limb of My body would, as a result, be set afire. At such moments My tongue recited what no man could bear to hear.”

Throughout His long years of exile, Baha’u’llah revealed divinely inspired passages equivalent to more than 100 volumes. This revelation comprises mystical writings, social and ethical teachings, laws and ordinances, and a fearless proclamation of His message to the kings and rulers of the world, including Napoleon III, Queen Victoria, Pope Pius IX, the Shah of Persia, Kaiser Wilhelm I of Germany and the Emperor Franz Joseph of Austria.

Baha’u’llah's son, Abdu'l-Baha, who was appointed by Him as His successor, described the mission of His Father in these words:

“He bore these ordeals, suffered these calamities and difficulties in order that a manifestation of selflessness and service might become apparent in the world of humanity; that the Most Great Peace should become a reality; that human souls might appear as the angels of heaven; that heavenly miracles would be wrought among men; that human faith should be strengthened and perfected; that the precious, priceless bestowal of God, the human mind, might be developed to its fullest capacity in the temple of the body; and man become the reflection and likeness of God, even as it hath been revealed in the Bible: `We shall create man in Our own image.”

Baha’u’llah passed on in 1892, still nominally a prisoner in Palestine. The day of His birth and Ascension (May 29) are two of nine holy days on which Baha'is suspend work and school.

 

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Read The Story of Baha'u'llah by Druzelle Cederquist