At 4am on the 29th May 1892, Bahá’u'lláh, he prophet-founder of the Bahá’í faith, passed away peacefully at Bahji, outside Acre in modern day Israel.
“Be not dismayed, O peoples of the world, when the day-star of My beauty is set, and the heaven of My tabernacle is concealed from your eyes. Arise to further My Cause, and to exalt My Word amongst men. We are with you at all times, and shall strengthen you through the power of truth. We are truly almighty. Whoso hath recognized Me will arise and serve Me with such determination that the powers of earth and heaven shall be unable to defeat his purpose.“
Bahá’u'lláh, Gleanings from the Writings of Bahá’u'lláh p.137
For some years now the Bahá’ís of North East England have been gathering to mark this occasion at St Mary’s Lighthouse in Whitley Bay, on the coast just east of Newcastle upon Tyne. St Mary’s Island has a long and interesting history, but was a home to some of the Christian Hermits who inhabited many of the rocky islands off the Northumbrian coast until the Viking invasions. Later a monastery was established on the island, with a tower to act as a lighthouse, a function the island continued to perform until 1984.
Last year the morning was very cold and there was a bitter wind, but this year the weather was perfect, and though it was a bit nippy, the prayers warmed our hearts and touched our souls. We prayed facing east towards Bahji, which is, at least in the North East of England, the same direction that the sun rises from, so metaphorically we chose to witness the sun rising as if witness the ascension of the Ancient Beauty himself.
We had a short devotional prepared by Chris Lee from North Tyneside, James Herbet read the Tablet of Visitation , after which we chanted the fist line from the Tablet of Ahmad.
“He is the King, the All-Knowing, the Wise!”
Following this made our way over to the island, being careful not to disturb the
residents, some of us then wandered onto the rocks to get as close to the sunrise as possible.
When it started to come up, it came fast, and it was an absolutely glorious sight, the sky was clear and the weather was just so perfect that we truly could appreciate its majesty.
The Ascension of Bahá’u'lláh is one of the nine holy days on which Bahá’ís suspend work, so I am off and have been reading some of the holy scriptures, and I realise the amount of priceless spiritual teachings that Bahá’u'lláh left to the world. He has given us a template for a new world order and a way to move forward and create a better world for all mankind.
Most of Baha’u'llahs’ life was spent in prison and exile, he suffered greatly to bring these teachings to mankind, but he did so willingly so that we might see a brighter future, he wrote:-
“The Ancient Beauty hath consented to be bound with chains that mankind may be released from its bondage, and hath accepted to be made a prisoner within this most mighty Stronghold that the whole world may attain unto true liberty. He hath drained to its dregs the cup of sorrow, that all the peoples of the earth may attain unto abiding joy, and be filled with gladness. This is of the mercy of your Lord, the Compassionate, the Most Merciful. We have accepted to be abased, O believers in the Unity of God, that ye may be exalted, and have suffered manifold afflictions, that ye might prosper and flourish. He Who hath come to build anew the whole world, behold, how they that have joined partners with God have forced Him to dwell within the most desolate of cities!”
Bahá’u'lláh, Gleanings from the Writings of Bahá’u'lláh p.99
I hope you are all well on this most glorious of days.
The photos I took can be seen here.
God Bless
Michael
