Akko - Baha'i Garden

The Baha'i gardens in Akko, according to the informational signs posted there, is considered the "most holy place on earth" by Baha'is, since the founder of their faith, Baha'u'llah, is buried there. I have long been drawn to the Baha'i Faith, with its clear message of equality between all people regardless of race or gender. In this regard, it is similar to Sikhism, and I have often thought that it must be much easier for Baha'is and Sikhs to advocate for rights for women, for instance, than for Christians, when our tradition includes things like, "Women, submit to your husbands" (c.f. Ephesians 5) in our scriptures.

Since I first learned about The Baha'i Faith, I have felt drawn to it, and from my many engagements with the faith over the years, I have come to conclude that if I were not a Christian, I would likely be a Baha'i. (Baha'is do not see those terms as mutually exclusive, but the Church does.) The Baha'is I have known over the years have all been exceptionally kind, open-hearted, spiritually-grounded people. And the Baha'i Faith teaches that Baha'u'llah was the Second Coming of Christ. Even if this claim marks them as heretics in the eyes of the Church, it certainly provides food for thought on our own relationship with Judaism. We maintain that the Jews "got it wrong" as a whole in not recognizing that Jesus was the Messiah promised to Israel. In a similar fashion, Baha'is believe Christians have "gotten it wrong" in not recognizing the Second Coming of Christ when he was here on earth -- in the form of the prophet Baha'u'llah.

In any case, there were many reasons that I, as a Christian, felt drawn to visit the shrine of Baha'u'llah. Today was one of the days that the shrine and inner gardens are open to non-Baha'is, and I scheduled my visit intentionally so I could visit the shrine.

As I stepped inside the building where Baha'u'llah is buried, I felt a sense of peace and calm. The inside of the building has an interior courtyard with beautiful plants and flowers, and the floors of the entire building are covered in oriental rugs. We were barefoot, since it is required to remove one's shoes before entering. Off to the side of the courtyard are several empty rooms that the guide told us were used by Baha'is to pray when they come to this place on pilgrimage. I thought of my Baha'i friends back in Atlanta, with whom I used to share food and prayers and fellowship on Monday nights, and pictured them here, moving gracefully on bare feet from the side rooms over to the room where Baha'u'llah is buried, lifting their hands in prayer and praise, deeply absorbed in the holiness of this place.

I looked at the guide as she was directing the few other people in the shrine back outside.

"Would it be possible for me to stay and pray?" I asked.

"Of course," she said with a gentle smile.

I sat by the tomb of Baha'u'llah and read the Tablet of Visitation, the text that Baha'is read when they come on pilgrimage here. Then I closed my eyes and sat in my own silent prayer, thanking God for the witness of Baha'u'llah and for the people of this faith who have brought so much love and light to the world.

Although I had found the strict regulation of the flow of people into the shrine to be a bit intimidating and off-putting when I first arrived (I was told by a guard at the gate to the inner gardens that there were several groups inside the shrine currently and that I would have to wait 10 minutes or so before I could enter), once I was inside and praying I was very grateful for the regulation, which meant that each group of visitors were able to visit the shrine in a quiet and calm atmosphere, not amdist the hustle and bustle of large groups of people.