Today’s hike took me to the Baha’i Gardens a beautiful garden in Haifa which spreads from the bottom to the top of Mount Carmel. The green space which is enjoyed today by thousands began with vegetable plantings in the early 1900’s. Baha’u’llah, the chief prophet of the Baha’i faith shared dreams of something more while he was still alive. In 1987, Canadian Fariborz Sabba stepped forward with plans for today’s beautiful place of meditation, and the garden which is seen today was soon created.
Two entrances to the garden exist on top of Mount Carmel. The most obvious is only an observation point. All who wish to enjoy can walk down one level in order to enjoy a bit of quiet and a phenomenal view through the middle of the garden from top to bottom.
About a hundred meters west of the central terrace the Baha’i offer free guided tours through the garden. Most tours are in Hebrew, but if most (or all) of the participants on a tour speak English, the guide will give the tour according to preference.
The waiting area for the tour contains several succulents, aloe, pines, cacti, pampas grass, and various flowers.
The guide takes guests down several levels at a time, giving a lecture at appointed areas, where there is shade. He tells the history of the garden and the history of the church.
The terraces on each level contain similarities, but are different. There are palm trees, fountains and bronze peacocks. On some terraces they are at rest, on others their tail feathers are spread in display.
The birds, plantings and fountains are not religious objects, only items of beauty. Baha’u’llah and the Bab enjoyed were admirers of the beauty which God created across the earth.
The Baha’i faith began with the teachings of the Bab, born as Siyyid ‘Ali Mohammad in 1819. When yet a young merchant of Persia in 1844, he announced that he received a vision, sent by God, to prepare mankind for a new era and the imminent appearance of a Messenger greater than himself.
At a time when equality, unity of religions and peace were not commonly accepted, the Bab pushed these values in an Islamic world. Within the first year he had eighteen followers, and the movement grew. The Bab told the faithful that he was a herald, and his mission was to announce a coming teacher. He was rejected and martyred in 1850. His body was thrown outside the city without a burial, but his followers retrieved the corpse and hid it away, trusting there would be a time the Bab would receive a proper burial.
Baha’u’llah, born Mirza Husayn-’Ali in 1817, was the son of a Persian nobleman. His assumed name means “the Glory of God,” and he continued proclaiming the teachings of the Bab more forcefully, and drew more followers.
Baha’u’llah could not be killed, because of the power of his father, so he was imprisoned in Baghdad. While in jail he continued to preach, drawing inmates and guards to his new faith. He also shouted out the windows of his cell and reached drew many followers from the city.
He was sent away to Constantinople and then to Akko where others followed the movement. He gained favor of his jailor and the local governor, who soon allowed him to travel about.
He redeemed the body of the Bab, and buried it in Haifa. He also shared the dream of building a garden around the tomb as a place for people to meditate. The garden was completed in the late 20th century, and people come from across the globe to enjoy its beauty.
The gardens contai the gold domed tomb of the Bab, a Universal House of Justice fro which members of the Baha'i faith are ruled, a center for study of the original texts of the Baha'i faith, and a teaching center.
The archives are built in a manner identical to the Parthenon in Greece, and of the same marble.
The Bahai teach that their mission is to combine all faiths of the world into one body. They are rejected by other religious groups because there are inconsistencies which will not allow unity between world religions.
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