Ridván, also known as the Most Great Festival, celebrates Baha’u’llah’s time in the garden of Ridván on the outskirts of Baghdad in 1863 where He publicly declared His station as a Manifestation of God. The Ridván Festival is 12 days long and is also the time of year where Baha’is elect their local and national governing bodies, and every five years, the international governing body for the worldwide Baha’i community.
“Rejoice with exceeding gladness, O people of Baha, 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. “ (Bahá’u’lláh)
The Ninth Day of Ridván began during the period when the Tigris River reached flood stage in the spring of 1863. In late April, Baha’u’llah and a handful of his followers crossed over the river to the Najibiyyih garden, a park-like setting on an island filled with rose bushes and the lilting songs of nightingales. There they set up their tents and prepared spiritually for their imminent overland journey to Constantinople (now Istanbul) – Baha’u’llah’s next place of government-imposed exile. On that fragrant island they began to observe a divine springtime, that holiest of human celebrations, when a new prophet of God has come. “Abdu’l-Bahá, in a speech he gave in the United States in 1912, described it this way:
“This time of the world may be likened to the equinoctial in the annual cycle. For, verily, this is the spring season of God. In the Holy Books a promise is given that the springtime of God shall make itself manifest; Jerusalem, the Holy City, shall descend from heaven; Zion shall leap forth and dance; and the Holy Land shall be submerged in the ocean of divine effulgence … It is a day of joy, a time of happiness, a period of spiritual growth.”
Baha’u’llah’s declaration of His mission to a few followers in the Garden of Ridván gave new inspiration to everyone around him, infusing the entire gathering in that garden of paradise with joy and life. Each year Baha’is commemorate these joyous emotions during the twelve-day Ridván Festival, and Bahá’í communities all over the world host parties and gatherings that welcome everyone in the spirit of the unity of the human family.
There is a spiritual connection between the life of the soul and harmony with nature. It is not surprising that while the world celebrates Earth Day, Baha’is are reflecting on the spiritual springtime that has been ushered in Baha’u’llah and are reminded of the imperative to live in harmony with all of creation.
“Nature in its essence is the embodiment of My Name, the Maker, the Creator. Its manifestations are diversified by varying causes, and in this diversity there are signs for men of discernment. Nature is God’s Will and is its expression in and through the contingent world. It is a dispensation of Providence ordained by the Ordainer, the All-Wise.” - Bahá’í Writings
Bahá’u’lláh wrote:
“Every man of discernment, while walking upon the earth, feeleth indeed abashed, inasmuch as he is fully aware that the thing which is the source of his prosperity, his wealth, his might, his exaltation, his advancement and power is, as ordained by God, the very earth which is trodden beneath the feet of all men. There can be no doubt that whoever is cognizant of this truth, is cleansed and sanctified from all pride, arrogance, and vainglory.” Therefore “ it behooveth you to abandon vainglory which causeth alienation and to set your hearts on whatever will ensure harmony.”
Links—bahai.org
--bahai world news-One Planet One Habitation