The Holy Land
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The Bahá'í Faith assumes a priori that religious revelation is not final but progressive, and that Judaism, Christianity, and Islam are all divine in origin.[01] Referring to the various world religions, Bahá'u'lláh (1817-1892), the prophet-founder of the Bahá'í Faith, wrote,
These principles and laws, these firmly-established and mighty systems, have proceeded from one Source, and are the rays of one Light. That they differ one from another is to be attributed to the varying requirements of the ages in which they were promulgated.[02]The Holy Land of the Jews, Christians, and Muslims thus retains its significance and sacredness to the Bahá'ís. The Bahá'ís uphold the Torah, the New Testament, and the Quran as divinely inspired, and the fact that many of the historical figures mentioned in these great religious books actually lived and walked on the Holy Land is, by itself, sufficient reason for many Bahá'ís to revere the Holy Land. It has even been speculated that the Holy Land may bear some indirect relationship to other religions.[03]
But the Holy Land's significance to the Bahá'ís is not just a result of the Holy Land's association with previous religions. The Holy Land has a historical link to the Bahá'í Faith. The historical association is possibly the primary reason behind the great importance which Bahá'ís attach to the Holy Land.
Bahá'u'lláh's prophetic mission began in Persia in 1852 and he formally founded the Bahá'í Faith in 1863. He revealed many prayers, spiritual teachings, and social principles. Examples of his spiritual teachings include the oneness of God, the oneness of religion, and the oneness of mankind. Examples of his social teachings include universal education, world government, the abolishment of clergy, the abandonment of all forms of prejudice, the adoption of an auxiliary international language, and equal rights for men and women. Many of Bahá'u'lláh's ideas were too radical for the society in which he lived. The history of the persecution of the Bahá'í Faith dates back to the days of Bahá'u'lláh. From Persia he was exiled consecutively to Baghdad, to Constantinople, to Adrianople, and finally to the Holy Land.[04]
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Moreover, the spiritual capital of the Bahá'í Faith is also in the Holy Land. To the Bahá'í, the holiest spot on earth is the resting place of Bahá'u'lláh's mortal remains: the Shrine of Bahá'u'lláh at Bahjí, north of `Akká. Bahá'ís, when reciting their prayers, turn towards the Shrine of Bahá'u'lláh in the same way that Muslims turn to the Kaaba in Mecca. The Shrine of Bahá'u'lláh is the qiblih of the Bahá'í world.[07]
Evidence exists for the two-fold origin of the Holy Land's sacredness to Bahá'ís. The description of the Holy Land by Shoghi Effendi given below shows that the Holy Land's significance to the Bahá'ís has its origin both in Bahá'í belief in the divine origin of older religions, and in early Bahá'í history. Shoghi Effendi describes this region of the earth as
...the Holy Land-the Land promised by God to Abraham, sanctified by the Revelation of Moses, honoured by the lives and labours of the Hebrew patriarchs, judges, kings, and prophets, revered as the cradle of Christianity, and as the place where Zoroaster, according to `Abdu'l-Bahá's testimony, had ``held converse with some of the prophets of Israel,'' and associated by Islám with the Apostle's night-journey, through the seven heavens, to the throne of the Almighty. Within the confines of this holy and enviable country, ``the nest of all the prophets of God,'' ``the Vale of God's unsearchable Decree, the snow-white Spot, the Land of unfading splendor'' was the Exile of Baghdád, of Constantinople and Adrianople condemned to spend no less than a third of the allotted span of His life, and over half of the total period of His Mission. ``It is difficult,'' declares `Abdu'l-Bahá, ``to understand how Bahá'u'lláh could have been obliged to leave Persia, and to pitch His tent in this Holy Land, but for the persecution of His enemies, His banishment and exile.''[08]The Bahá'í pilgrim to the Holy Land is thus brought into contact with the sacred sites of four successive divine dispensations: Judaism, Christianity, Islam, and the Bahá'í Faith. As David Ruhe, former member of the Universal House of Justice, explains,
A pilgrimage to Israel constitutes a journey in progressive Revelation, an experience confirming the reality of the concept of evolution in religion.[09]
Bahá'í Pilgrimage
Pilgrimage serves an important function in the Bahá'í community. Bahá'ís rely upon faith in God, daily prayer, and meditative study of the sacred texts to effect the transformation of character necessary for personal growth and maturity. But the aim of the Bahá'í community is to create a world civilization that will in turn react upon the character of the individual. To Bahá'ís the concept of personal salvation is linked to collective salvation. Bahá'ís believe that ``the world of humanity is a composite body'' and that ``when one part of the organism suffers all the rest of the body will feel its consequences.'' Guided by these principles, the Bahá'í community has accumulated over a century of experience in creating models of unity that transcend race, culture, nationality, class, and differences of sex and religion. Today over 2,100 ethnic groups and nationalities are represented in the worldwide Bahá'í community.[10] The heart of this global Bahá'í organism is the Bahá'í World Centre, and the flux of pilgrims to and from the Holy Land serves to maintain a sense of connectedness between the World Centre and the Bahá'í community at large. It is also a powerful force which inspires and revitalizes the Bahá'ís. The flow of pilgrims to the Holy Land has been compared to the life-blood of the Bahá'í community.[11]
Pilgrimage is a privilege and an obligation in the Bahá'í Faith for those who can afford it. It is enjoined by Bahá'u'lláh in his most important work, the Kitáb-i-Aqdas (Most Holy Book), his Book of Laws.[12] There are three places to which pilgrimage is binding. The first of these is the former residence of the Báb (1819-1850), the prophet-founder of the Bábí religion, in Shiraz, Iran. The Báb was the forerunner of Bahá'u'lláh, and the Bábí and Bahá'í religions are intimately related.[13] The Báb's residence was demolished during the Islamic Revolution in Iran and has not yet been rebuilt. The second place of pilgrimage is the former residence of Bahá'u'lláh during his banishment and exile in Baghdad. Pilgrimages to Shiraz and Baghdad have been suspended due to conditions unfavorable to Bahá'ís in those lands. The third place of obligatory pilgrimage is the Shrine of Bahá'u'lláh at Bahjí.
Shrine of the Báb and new terrace
The purpose of pilgrimage to the Holy Land is to pray at the Shrine of Bahá'u'lláh and, to a lesser extent, the Shrine of the Báb (see below). On the first day the pilgrims visit the Shrine of the Báb. From the second day onwards, the pilgrims visit the sites roughly in a descending order of spiritual significance, starting with the Shrine of Bahá'u'lláh. Although there is no ritual associated with Bahá'í pilgrimages, there are some practices which are quite common amongst the Bahá'ís. Circumambulation of the shrines and recitation of the Tablet of Visitation (see appendix) are two such practices.
Bahá'í pilgrimages began during the period of Bahá'u'lláh's banishment in Adrianople. Following the formal proclamation of his message to the Christian and Muslim rulers of the earth in 1867, Bahá'u'lláh asked one of the well-known Bahá'ís, Nabíl-i-A`zam, to go on pilgrimage.[14] Shoghi Effendi writes,
It was during those same days that Bahá'u'lláh instructed this same Nabíl to recite on His behalf the two newly revealed Tablets of the Pilgrimage, and to perform, in His stead, the rites prescribed in them, when visiting the Báb's House in Shíráz and the Most Great House in Baghdád -- an act that marks the inception of one of the holiest observances, which, in a later period, the Kitáb-i-Aqdas was to formally establish.[15]Much change has taken place since the first pilgrims visited Bahá'u'lláh in prison in 1868. Pilgrimage then was a dangerous experience. By 1944, Shoghi Effendi was able to note,
we can even bear witness to the marked improvement in the conditions surrounding the pilgrimages performed by its devoted adherents to its consecrated shrines at its world center -- pilgrimages originally arduous, perilous, tediously long, often made on foot, at times ending in disappointment, and confined to a handful of harassed Oriental followers, gradually attracting, under steadily improving circumstances of security and comfort, an ever swelling number of new converts converging from the four corners of the globe, and culminating in the widely publicized yet sadly frustrated visit of a noble Queen [Marie of Rumania], who, at the very threshold of the city of her heart's desire, was compelled, according to her own written testimony, to divert her steps, and forego the privilege of so priceless a benefit.[16]Today, Bahá'í pilgrimages can be arranged by contacting the appropriate department of the Bahá'í World Centre. Pilgrims converge in the Holy Land from all parts of the world. At present, pilgrimages last nine days. Special arrangements are made at the Bahá'í World Centre to provide local transportation to the Bahá'í properties and to ensure that the pilgrims receive guidance and explanations about the histories of the various sites. Every effort is made to enrich to the utmost these especially auspicious days in the lives of the Bahá'í pilgrims.
The future is expected to lead to a fuller and richer pilgrimage experience. Although pilgrimages to Iraq and Iran are at present impossible, the Bahá'ís are optimistic, and hope that one day the situation will change. The Bahá'í Faith is also growing very rapidly, and the number of pilgrims is very likely to increase in the near future. David Ruhe writes,
It is proper to expect that, with the spread of the Cause [sic] throughout the world and its increasing membership, the corresponding development of the [Bahá'í] World Centre will produce a great expansion of the pilgrimage experience. Just as the `flow of pilgrims ...constitutes the life-blood' of that Centre, so the World Centre itself, which is the spiritual heart, is growing larger and stronger as it beats the pulse of the new Bahá'í society.[17]A Spiritual Journey
What is the significance of pilgrimage? If God is omnipresent, then why go to the Holy Land for pilgrimage? Why are holy places special if God transcends the physical universe? Since God created everything, how can some places be more holy than others? Is pilgrimage a physical act, or is it a spiritual journey?
Bahá'í theology and theophanology very much influence and shape the Bahá'í pilgrimage experience. A discussion of Bahá'í pilgrimage which makes no reference to how Bahá'ís relate to God is ipso facto incomplete. God, Bahá'u'lláh says, is ``sanctified above all attributes and holy above all names.'' [18] Humanity thus requires an intermediary, a prophet, to reveal the will of God. Bahá'ís use the term Manifestation of God to refer to these intermediaries.[19]
Every one of these Manifestations of God, Bahá'u'lláh says, has two stations: ``the station of pure abstraction and essential unity,'' and ``the station of distinction.''[20][21] In the latter station, they are distinct servants of God. In the former station, they are all identically the Manifestation of God:
Were any of the all-embracing Manifestations of God to declare; ``I am God,'' He, verily speaketh the truth, and no doubt attacheth thereto. For it hath been repeatedly demonstrated that through their Revelation, their attributes and names, the Revelation of God, His names and His attributes , are made manifest in the world....And were they all to proclaim , ``I am the Seal of the Prophets,''they, verily, utter but the truth, beyond the faintest shadow of doubt. For they are all but one person, one soul, one spirit, one being, one revelation. They are all the manifestation of the ``Beginning'' and the ``End,'' the ``First'' and the ``Last,'' the ``Seen'' and the ``Hidden'' -- all of which pertain to Him Who is the Innermost Spirit of Spirits and Eternal Essence of Essences. And were they to say, ``We are the Servants of God,'' this also is a manifest and indisputable fact. For they have been made manifest in the uttermost state of servitude, a servitude the like of which no man can possibly attain.[22]Pilgrimage thus assumes a special significance for the Bahá'í. Pilgrimage to the abode of the Manifestation of God is almost like pilgrimage to the abode of God. To the Bahá'í, praying to the Manifestation of God is equivalent, in a sense, to praying to God. Obedience to the Manifestation of God is obedience to God. Bahá'ís thus have a very special place in their hearts for the great Manifestations of God. They love Bahá'u'lláh almost in the same way that they love God. This is why sites associated with Bahá'u'lláh are so special to Bahá'ís.
The wall of the Shrine of the Báb
Variations in the way Bahá'ís relate to Bahá'u'lláh obviously lead to variations in the way in which Bahá'ís perceive the Holy Land and the Bahá'í Holy Places. The pilgrimage experience is subjective. Not only is each Bahá'í an individual who responds to God and religion in a unique way, but the absence of any clergy in the Bahá'í religion encourages the pilgrim to respond in an unfettered way to numinous stimuli. Each pilgrimage is bound to be different.
In view of the subjective nature of the pilgrimage experience, it may be of some benefit to the reader for this author to share his recollections of his pilgrimage. In July 1992 the author, then aged twenty-two, went on pilgrimage to the Holy Land. The Bahá'í community was then commemorating the one hundredth anniversary of Bahá'u'lláh's ascension, and 1992-3 was proclaimed a Bahá'í Holy Year. Going on pilgrimage during the Holy Year was an inestimable privilege in the eyes if this author, and I will never forget those blessed days of my life. In anticipation of my pilgrimage, I had memorized the Tablet of Visitation (see appendix) and was able to recite it by heart at the Shrine of the Báb and the Shrine of Bahá'u'lláh. I spent quite a bit of time there praying. I put a special effort not to ask God to fulfill my personal wishes, but instead I asked God to do with me as He pleased, and to allow me to live a life of service and sacrifice. Not only were those nine days in Israel some of the happiest in my entire life, but I believe that my character took a change for the better as a result of my pilgrimage. It was an eschatological event in my life, whose significance I am yet to understand in its full measure.
The mystical purpose of pilgrimage is to evoke in the individual a spiritual response. It is an opportunity for the individual to find new motivation in living a pure, holy life dedicated to God. `Abdu'l-Bahá explains,
Holy places are undoubtedly centres of the outpouring of Divine grace, because on entering the illumined sites associated with martyrs and holy souls, and by observing reverence, both physical and spiritual, one's heart is moved with great tenderness.[23]Bahá'í Holy Places
Pilgrims visit a number of Bahá'í Holy Places in the Holy Land. The sites have a special significance to Bahá'ís because of the historical associations with the birth and development of the religion. Each site has its own history and to some Bahá'ís the relationship of the site to the historical figures of the Bahá'í Faith is as important as the site itself. David Ruhe writes,
In the Haifa-`Akká area the Bahá'í Holy Places include a number of places large and small, developed or to be developed, which have been hallowed by the Dust of the Forerunner [the Báb] and by twenty-four years of Revelation of the Supreme Prophet [Bahá'u'lláh], have witnessed fifty-three years of devoted service and teaching by the Master, `Abdu'l-Bahá, and bear the imprint of a lifetime of selfless and indefatigable labour by the Guardian [Shoghi Effendi]. [24]
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