Excuse me if I don't follow everything and may jump in the middle of something, but can you tell me if anyone saw Bahaullah's ascension? Which I suppose means that he went to heaven, or a higher place than the earth (since the word ascension is used, even though one side goes up and the other side such as the South Pole would have people 'ascend' in the opposite direction). thank you.
The ascension of Baha'u'llah is the same for all Messengers. They leave the physical body behind and return to the spiritual realms.
There is an eyewitness story given by two believers that followed Baha'u'llah from Akka one night to Bajhi, it shows that this world and the next world are part of each other.
The Story
The Holy Land was part of the Turkish Empire in September 1878 when Bahá'u'lláh, its noble and illustrious prisoner, took up residence in the Mansion of Bahjí for the remainder of His days on this earthly plane. He was buried there upon His passing in 1892. Bahá'u'lláh stated that Bahjí is the most sublime vision for all mankind. Today Bahjí, its magnificent gardens and Bahá'u'lláh's Shrine, adjacent the Mansion, is the point of adoration and pilgrimage for all Bahá’ís.
Bahá'u'lláh had been living in another Mansion called Mazareh about 10 kilometres north of Akko. His beloved son and successor, Abdu’l-Bahá was living in Akko. Abdu’l-Bahá rented, and then later purchased the Mansion of Bahjí which is closer and more convenient to Akko. Also, the Mansion’s scale and dimensions were more befitting of Bahá'u'lláh's station.
As September in the Holy Land is hot and humid any travel movement is best in the early morning or evening. So it was 2 hours after sunset that Bahá'u'lláh and His secretary rode their donkeys through Akko's streets through the land gate of the ancient fortress and on to the Mansion of Bahjí about 4 kilometres away to take up residence.
The story of the events described in the
song are to be found in Adib Taherzadeh's 4th volume of his books titled The Revelation of Bahá'u'lláh. The two Followers, the poet, Nabil-Azam and the historian Haji Muhammad-Tahir-i-Malmiri (who is Adib Taherzadeh's father) were two people enraptured by the sight and presence of Bahá'u'lláh, typical of his followers they were the planets to His sun, captivated in His orbit. They waited by their window overlooking the street near the Akko Land Gate to see him ride by, on the spur of the moment, and without His permission they followed Bahá'u'lláh from Akko to Bahjí keeping a respectful distance.
When he arrived in the Holy Land, Haji Muhammad-Tahir and a fellow pilgrim had delivered a gift from devoted Bahá’ís. It was a special oil lantern with 3 wicks which was placed in the Mansion’s window as a beacon to follow that night. Upon arrival Bahá'u'lláh entered the mansion, so Haji Muhammad-Tahir and Nabil decided to prayerfully circumambulate the mansion. As they proceeded, they realised that “the walls of the Mansion were packed with people” devoted prayerful souls had assembled against the four walls of the Mansion of Bahjí. They heard their murmuring so they moved about 30 paces away and continued to circumambulate in prayer. Since they knew no others would be in their position they concluded that the souls they saw that night were the souls of all the previous Prophets of the past and the Concourse on High whom were also circumambulating the Throne of their Lord.
They returned home spiritually ablaze, unable to sleep, keeping vigil through the night. Nabil writing poems about the sights they had witnessed that night and about other events in the life of Bahá'u'lláh. Muhammad-Tahir spent the night in discussion with Nabil about what they had witnessed and making tea to keep them awake. In the morning they sent the poetry and a gift of cones of sugar to Bahá'u'lláh and a message describing the mysterious events they’d witnessed.
When Bahá'u'lláh received the note, poems, and the sugar cones, He revealed a Tablet in their honor and conferred the title of Bulbul (Nightingale) on Nabil and Bahhaj (Blissful) on Muhammad-Tahir. He graciously accepted their Pilgrimage to the mansion.
Regards Tony