All religions celebrate signature events in their history. The Jewish religion marks the exodus of the Israelites from bondage in Egypt and that has become a symbol of their freedom. Christians mark the resurrection of Jesus as a sign of good triumphing over evil.  Muslims mark the night journey of Muhammad as a symbol of spiritual transformation. The Day of Ridvan is today being marked by Baha’is and it has a broader significance to the whole world, for reasons that are worth trying to explain.  What follows is a humble attempt to explain why Baha’is feel this way.

As note in previous posts, Baha’u’llah taught that all the great religions are from the same God. As all are part of the unfoldment of fundamentally one religion, each revelation is like a renewal of the same Faith of God.  It is a divine springtime and the birth of a new revelation is an event of extraordinary significance.  On the most basic level, it is a proof that our lives have meaning and purpose, as each of the great revelations have confirmed that we all live for the purpose of moral and spiritual growth. It means that all the tragedy, all the incredible sadness that millions of peoples live with each day is not in vain. It has an ultimate goal.  Baha’u’llah referred to the revelations of God as the “proof of His loving kindness”. It is the quenching of the thirst of existential doubt we all feel.  It is the unveiling of our Beloved to us again.

When Baha’u’llah and His companions set up tents and hordes of people came out the city of Baghdad to pay homage to him in the Garden of Ridvan, they were all experiencing something that few human beings will ever experience- the birth of a new revelation from God- a revelation that will feed the souls of people for a thousand years, under whose banner they will educate their children, celebrate their births and deaths, structure the principles of their society. It is a more momentous moment than anything anyone will ever experience in their life. If history is any guide, nothing you have ever heard about, no event that people talk about, will ultimately be of more significance than the birth of a new revelation from God.   

It is in that context we can understand the language that Baha’u’llah uses to celebrate that day.

Rejoice with exceeding gladness, O people of Bahá, as ye call to remembrance the Day of supreme felicity, the Day whereon the Tongue of the Ancient of Days hath spoken, as He departed from His House, proceeding to the Spot from which He shed upon the whole of creation the splendors of His name, the All-Merciful. God is Our witness. Were We to reveal the hidden secrets of that Day, all they that dwell on earth and in the heavens would swoon away and die, except such as will be preserved by God, the Almighty, the All-Knowing, the All-Wise.

Baha’u’llah helps us give context for this moment and invites us to join in its beauty.

In the Rose Garden of changeless splendor a Flower hath begun to bloom, compared to which every other flower is but a thorn, and before the brightness of Whose glory the very essence of beauty must pale and wither. Arise, therefore, and, with the whole enthusiasm of your hearts, with all the eagerness of your souls, the full fervor of your will, and the concentrated efforts of your entire being, strive to attain the paradise of His presence, and endeavor to inhale the fragrance of the incorruptible Flower, to breathe the sweet savors of holiness, and to obtain a portion of this perfume of celestial glory. Whoso followeth this counsel will break his chains asunder, will taste the abandonment of enraptured love, will attain unto his heart’s desire, and will surrender his soul into the hands of his Beloved. Bursting through his cage, he will, even as the bird of the spirit, wing his flight to his holy and everlasting nest.

Baha’u’llah furthermore declared that this Day was particularly significant.  He would later teach with great clarity that His revelation was intended to help humanity put away the prejudices of the past and build a world civilization based and peace and justice.  The entire purpose of religion was being restated and redefined. This was the Day in which God says to “look not upon the creatures of God except with the eye of kindliness and of mercy, for Our loving providence hath pervaded all created things, and Our grace encompassed the earth and the heavens.”

In the Garden of Ridvan, Baha’u’llah held back on revealing all the elements of His religion. Those would unfold over the next few decades but there was one teaching that was revealed on that day- that religion can no longer be the source of discord or disunity. At that time in history, the discord between religions and religious sects had reached a deplorable depth and Baha’u’llah first abrogated any laws and standards from previous religions that were a source of dissension. For instance, people of different religions were often considered “unclean” and people would wash their whole house if someone had come into it who was of a different faith. Baha’u’llah specifically abrogated any such concept.

God hath, likewise, as a bounty from His presence, abolished the concept of “uncleanness”, whereby divers things and peoples have been held to be impure. He, of a certainty, is the Ever-Forgiving, the Most Generous. Verily, all created things were immersed in the sea of purification when, on that first day of Riḍván, We shed upon the whole of creation the splendours of Our most excellent Names and Our most exalted Attributes. This, verily, is a token of My loving providence, which hath encompassed all the worlds. Consort ye then with the followers of all religions, and proclaim ye the Cause of your Lord, the Most Compassionate; this is the very crown of deeds, if ye be of them who understand.

He also abolished the “law of the sword” or “jihad”, as it is known in Islam, stating that the Faith of God must be spread with kindness and through the power of “understanding”. 

Consort with the followers of all religions in a spirit of friendliness and fellowship….Ye are the fruits of one tree, and the leaves of one branch. Deal ye one with another with the utmost love and harmony, with friendliness and fellowship. He Who is the Daystar of Truth beareth Me witness! So powerful is the light of unity that it can illuminate the whole earth

Baha’u’llah declared unity to be the “distinguishing feature” of the Revelation of God for our time.

O ye that dwell on earth! The distinguishing feature that marketh the preeminent character of this Supreme Revelation consisteth in that We have, on the one hand, blotted out from the pages of God’s holy Book whatsoever hath been the cause of strife, of malice and mischief amongst the children of men, and have, on the other, laid down the essential prerequisites of concord, of understanding, of complete and enduring unity. Well is it with them that keep My statutes.

Throughout these Tablets, He spoke with the authority of God, revealing God’s message to all humanity- and that message was one of unity.   He told his community to keep unity at the center of all they do.

O YE children of men! The fundamental purpose animating the Faith of God and His Religion is to safeguard the interests and promote the unity of the human race, and to foster the spirit of love and fellowship amongst men. Suffer it not to become a source of dissension and discord, of hate and enmity. This is the straight Path, the fixed and immovable foundation. Whatsoever is raised on this foundation, the changes and chances of the world can never impair its strength, nor will the revolution of countless centuries undermine its structure.

For Baha’is, the time of Ridvan is about renewal, but it is also about unity. It’s a celebration of the unity of the human race and future generations will mark it as a moment in history when God made this formally known to us.

The summons and the message which We gave were never intended to reach or to benefit one land or one people only. Mankind in its entirety must firmly adhere to whatsoever hath been revealed and vouchsafed unto it. Then and only then will it attain unto true liberty.