Historical "tidbits":

[arthra]

I love to study history and so thought it would be good to start a thread on Baha'i history so as we come across something of interest historically we could enter it here... I just found this tidbit about Mount Carmel's history from Ugo Giachery:


Mt. Carmel is about twenty-two miles[*] long and stretches from east to west, coming to an abrupt end on reaching the Bay of Haifa where it presents a steep rampart, falling away to sea level. On the summit of the western end of this rampart the newly-created religious order of Our Lady of Mount Carmel built, in the twelfth century, the monastery Stella Maris, on land granted by King Baldwin of Jerusalem after the conquest of that city in 1099. He was the brother of Godfrey of Bouillon, one of the leaders of the First Crusade. There is no doubt that during all the intervening centuries the voices of those pious monks were raised daily in songs to the Glory of God, invoking the coming of the Kingdom of God on earth. Seven centuries were to elapse before the realization of mankind's hope, with the appearance of Bahá'u'lláh, the Redeemer, on that spot and the establishment of the 'throne' of God on that holy mountain.

* Approximately thirty-five kilometres.

It may also be noted here that in the years to come, on the ridge of that same mountain and very near the monastery, the great Mashriqu'l-Adhkar of the Bahá'í Faith will be erected, on land consecrated by the footsteps of the Blessed Beauty, Bahá'u'lláh, land that came into Bahá'í possession through the wise and timely purchase by Shoghi Effendi in 1955, with the munificent assistance of the much-loved and distinguished Hand of the Cause of God and vice-president of the Bahá'í International Council, Mrs. Amelia E. Collins. In the future that holy Temple will be filled with the joyous chants of pilgrims of every race, coming from every continent and from all the lands of the world, singing praise and thanksgiving to the Glory of God.

(Ugo Giachery, Shoghi Effendi - Recollections, p. 209)

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After this article I have another one about Mount Carmel that I hope to share.

- Art

[arthra]

More about Mount Carmel as quoted from the Catholic Encyclopaedia:

In the fourth century B.C. the neo-Platonic philosopher Iamblicus, in his life of Pythagoras, speaks of Mt. Carmel as "sacred above all mountains and forbidden of access to the vulgar". The great Roman historian, Tacitus, mentions an altar as erected there without temple or image: "tantum ara et reverentia"; and Suetonius, in his "Lives of the Caesars", narrates that before making war against the Jews Vespasian went to Carmel and consulted the oracle of its god. After the destruction of Jerusalem by Titus (A.D. 70), the Jews did not lose sight of the mountain of Carmel and of its connection with Elias.

Source:

http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/03352a.htm

[arthra]

Mount Carmel in the Jewish Encyclopaedia:

A well-known mountain ridge in Palestine; ("the garden" or "garden land," with the definite article) is usually given in the Bible. It is known in later Hebrew as , and in modern Arabic as "Kurmul," but more usually "Jabal Mar Elyas." Extending from the plain of Esdraelon to the Mediterranean, it terminates in a steep promontory in that sea, about nine miles south-west of Acre. The formation is of limestone withan admixture of flint. The highest point is 1,742 feet above the sea, and the slope is covered with a luxuriant vegetation. Oaks, pines, olives, and laurels abound.

Carmel is renowned in Jewish history, and occurs frequently in the imagery of the Prophets (Isa. xxxiii. 9, xxxv. 2; Jer. xlvi. 18, 1. 19; Amos i. 2, ix. 3; Micah vii. 14; Nahum i. 4; Song of Solomon vii. 5). It fell to the lot of the tribe of Asher (Josh. xix. 26), "the king of Jokneam of Carmel" being one of the Canaanitish chiefs who was defeated by Joshua (Josh. xii. 22). It is also famous as the place where the prophet Elijah brought Israel back to its allegiance to Yhwh, and where he slew the priests of Baal (I Kings xviii. 40). Here within the numerous grottoes he lived concealed during the reign of Ahab; and here, too, at his word were consumed the two "captains" with their "fifties" (II Kings i. 9-12). Here also Elisha received the visit of the Shunammite woman, whose son he restored to life (II Kings iv. 25).

It is reasonable to suppose that from very early times Carmel was considered a sacred spot. This is evidenced by the facts that an altar to Yhwh existed there before the introduction of the worship of Baal into the kingdom (I Kings xviii. 30); that Elijah chose it for the place of the assembly of the people; and that Elisha visited it from Jericho before going to Samaria (II Kings ii. 25) and even made it his abiding-place (II Kings iv. 23). In later times Pythagoras, according to his biographer Iamblicus, was attracted to it by its sacred reputation; and Vespasian went thither to consult the oracle of God, "without image or temple" (Tacitus, "Hist." ii. 7).

The exact site of the contest between Yhwh and Baal, where fire, descending from heaven, proved the God of Israel to be the true God (I Kings xviii. 17-40), has not been identified. Traditions, preserved in the monastery founded on Mt. Carmel in 1156 by Berthold, count of Limoges, and among the Druses of the neighboring villages, indicate, as the scene, the eastern end of the ridge, at a spot called El-Maharrakah ("the burning").

Source:

http://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/vi...d=169&letter=C

[arthra]

On my pilgrimage way back in 1975 I visited the Carmelite headquarters at Mount Carmel.. as I recall, in front of the Monastery was an area that memorialized the troops of Napoleon Bonaparte that were left stranded after the French failed to capture the fortress of Akka.

This was not to be the only abandonment by Napoleon of his troops as he later abandoned more on his return from Russia around 1812.

But I wanted to find out what the year was that Napoleon abandoned his troops after his attempt to capture Akka.

Julia Grundy an early Baha'i pilgrim from her notes Ten Days in the Light of Akka (1907) gives an answer:

"To the right we saw the hill Tel el Fukhar upon which Napoleon I planted his batteries and laid siege to ‘Akká in 1799. Unable to overcome it, he abandoned the siege, saying, “My fortune has been arrested by a grain of sand; were it not for ‘Akká I would have conquered the world.”

Source:

http://bahai-library.com/books/tendays/index.html

A Turkish account reads:

"After the last unsuccessful assault, Bonaparte ordered withdrawal on 21 May 1799. Undefeatable French army of the revolution was now defeated. Bonaparte, to conceal his failure, issued a declaration that he had defeated the Turkish army marching toward Egypt and Syria expedition was so finalized, nobody believed him. French soldiers left their heavy weapons and could hardly turn back to Hayfa desperately."

Source:

http://www.ozturkler.com/data_englis.../0004_30_2.htm

Notice the spelling of "Hayfa" for Haifa.

- Art

[arthra]

Two very good recordings from the late thirties of Martha Root have made their way into the youtobe.com archives at:

http://youtube.com/watch?v=8teej1FAe...elated&search=

and

http://youtube.com/watch?v=BS2j7fQjo...elated&search=

These recordings are accompanied by videos... photographs of Martha Root.

Who was Martha Root and why is she important to Baha'is?

Read her biography and find out why...

http://bahai-library.com/?file=francis_root_biography

- Art

[arthra]

Somehow those "youtube" citations for the recordings of Martha Root's voice above were malformed or something so these below should be accurate:

http://youtube.com/watch?v=8teej1FAew4

http://youtube.com/watch?v=BS2j7fQjoE4

My apologies..

- Art

[arthra]

Bahíyyih Khánum Pronunciation: baw-hee-aw kaw-noom (also Bahá'íyyih Khánum)

The Greatest Holy Leaf, daughter of Bahá'u'lláh , sister of 'Abdu'l-Bahá. Designated by Shoghi Effendi as 'the outstanding heroine of the Bahá'í Dispensation', she was born in 1846 in Tihrán. She accompanied Bahá'u'lláh on every stage of His exiles. When a young girl she decided to devote herself to the service of the Faith of her Father; therefore she never married. Following the passing of Bahá'u'lláh , she stood by her brother, 'Abdu'l-Bahá, and assisted Him greatly at the time when the activities of the Covenant-breakers were at their height.

Perhaps her greatest hour of service was after the passing of 'Abdu'l-Bahá when Shoghi Effendi, overwhelmed by the responsibilities thrust upon him, decided to leave the affairs of the Cause in the hands of Bahíyyih Khánum while he retired to recuperate and contemplate the tasks ahead.
Of her character Shoghi Effendi has written: 'A purity of life reflected itself in even the minutest details of her daily occupations and activities; a tenderness of heart that obliterated every distinction of creed, class and colour; a resignation and serenity that evoked to the mind the calm and heroic fortitude of the Báb; a natural fondness of flowers and children that was so characteristic of Bahá'u'lláh ; an unaffected simplicity of manners; an extreme sociability which made her accessible to all; a generosity , a love, at once disinterested and undiscriminating, that reflected so clearly the attributes of 'Abdu'l-Bahá 's character; a sweetness of temper; a cheerfulness that no amount of sorrow could becloud; a quiet and unassuming disposition that served to enhance a thousandfold the prestige of her exulted rank; a forgiving nature that instantly disarmed the most unyielding enemy — these rank among the outstanding attributes of a saintly life which history will acknowledge as having been endowed with a celestial potency that few heroes of the past possessed.'


The Greatest Holy Leaf passed away on 15 July 1932 and is buried under a Shrine in the Monument Gardens on Mount Carmel.

http://bahai-library.com/books/bahiyyih.khanum/156a.jpg

[9Harmony]

Here is my favorite quote of hers.

"We ought to show something greater than forgiveness in meeting the cruelties and strictures in our lives. To be hurt and forgive is saintly, but far beyond this is the power to comprehend and not be hurt. This power we may have...acceptance without complaint and it should be associated with our name. We ought never be known to complain or lament. It is not that we would make the best of things, but that we may find in everything, even in calamity, the gems of enduring wisdom. We ought to be as incapable of impatience as one would be of revolt. This not being so much long suffering as a quiet awareness of the forces that operate in the hours of dark or years of waiting and inactivity. Always we ought to move with the larger rhythm, the wider sweep, towards our ultimate goal, in the complete acquiescence, that perfect chord which underlies the spirit of the Faith itself."
Bahiyyih Khanum

[Postmaster]

were it not for ‘Akká I would have conquered the world.”

If he conquered the world there would have been one government and one country?

[arthra]

Originally Posted by Postmaster

If he conquered the world there would have been one government and one country?

That's where dictators have a problem...believing that through conquest they can subject others to their will and control.... Napoleon controlled news media and didn't let on that he had lost thousands and thousands of soldiers in the snows of Russia and to plague. He claimed victories and had medals minted with him as a great conquerer and so on...

While Baha'u'llah was a prisoner in a Turkish Penal Colony of Akka He posed the concept of a world parliament in 1868-1870 to the world powers of His day it was to be a representative democratic parliament where those involved could focus on reducing armaments and lowering taxes for war machines. The total reverse of a Napoleon or a Hitler.

"In His tablets to the Kings Bahá'u'lláh called upon them to assemble and take measures for the maintenance of political peace, the reduction of armaments and the removal of the burdens and insecurity of the poor. But His words make it perfectly clear that their failure to respond to the needs of the time would result in wars and revolutions leading to the overthrow of the old order...."

- from Baha'u'llah and the New Era

[Postmaster]

So you saying there’s a significant symbolic coincidence between Akka, Bahá'u'lláh and Napoleon. Could well be. I'm a true believer in passiveness being a stronger force then aggressiveness..

[arthra]

Hmmmm... I suppose you could say that Akka was where Napoleon with his aggressive forces into the Middle East was humbled, while Baha'u'llah even though a prisoner of the Sultan of the Ottoman Empire was eventually able to triumph.

Some people associated Akka with this verse from scripture:

"Therefore, behold, I will allure her, and bring her into the wilderness, and speak comfortably unto her. And I will give her her vineyards from thence, and in the valley of Achor, a door of hope—and she shall sing there, as in the days of her youth, and as in the day when she came up out of the land of Egypt."

Hosea 2:14, 15

Sort of a spiritual restoration of "Israel" if you will..

Shoghi Effendi in "God Passes By" wrote:

Akká, itself, flanked by the “glory of Lebanon,” and lying in full view of the “splendor of Carmel,” at the foot of the hills which enclose the home of Jesus Christ Himself, had been described by David as “the Strong City,” designated by Hosea as “a door of hope,” and alluded to by Ezekiel as “the gate that looketh towards the East,” whereunto “the glory of the God of Israel came from the way of the East,” His voice “like a noise of many waters.” To it the Arabian Prophet had referred as “a city in Syria to which God hath shown His special mercy,” situated “betwixt two mountains … in the middle of a meadow,” “by the shore of the sea … suspended beneath the Throne,” “white, whose whiteness is pleasing unto God.” “Blessed the man,” He, moreover, as confirmed by Bahá’u’lláh, had declared, “that hath visited Akká, and blessed he that hath visited the visitor of Akká.” Furthermore, “He that raiseth therein the call to prayer, his voice will be lifted up unto Paradise.” And again: “The poor of Akká are the kings of Paradise and the princes thereof. A month in Akká is better than a thousand years elsewhere.” Moreover, in a remarkable tradition, which is contained in Shaykh Ibnu’l-‘Arabí’s work, entitled “Futúhát-i-Makkíyyih,” and which is recognized as an authentic utterance of Muhammad, and is quoted by Mírzá Abu’l-Fadl in his “Fará’íd,” this significant prediction has been made: “All of them (the companions of the Qá’im) shall be slain except One Who shall reach the plain of Akká, the Banquet-Hall of God.”

[Postmaster]

Hmmmm... I suppose you could say that Akka was where Napoleon with his aggressive forces into the Middle East was humbled, while Baha'u'llah even though a prisoner of the Sultan of the Ottoman Empire was eventually able to triumph.

Exactly!

Bar Kokhba was the only guy to successfully fight off the Romans in Jerusalem which at that time was the only place it happened within whole of the Roman empire, Jews always been proud of there heritage and gave alot of resistance. He was accepted by many Jews to be the promised messiah, in the end the Romans became more determined to gain back what they lost and eventually did pointlessly at the cost of more lives. At the same time there were Jews that accepted Jesus and his message. In the end the passive guys legacy lived on more then anyone could imagine, even accepted by the very people that crucified him.

[arthra]

OK.. We can accept Jesus Christ and His message for the time and I think there was a kind of passive resistance to it...for survival, like going the extra mile to carry a burden or turning the other cheek or loving your enemy... this also was along the same lines of Baha'u'llah Who abrogated Jihad or Holy Wars and refused to authorize any organized military defence of the Faith. Baha'is are also non-partisan and avoid partisan politics. Our stance in the military is non-combatant. But we also are supposed to obey the laws of the land and not rebel against authority...

Our long range view is that the nations will eventually see the wisdom of a world parliament and international court of arbitration.

- Art

[arthra]

The Báb (1819-1850)

Báb, the Gate. The title assumed by Siyyid 'Ali-Muhammad, the Forerunner of Bahá'u'lláh, and Prophet-Founder of the Bahá'í Faith.

Born in Shiráz on 20 October 1819, Siyyid 'Ali-Muhammad was raised by His uncle Hájí Mirzá Siyyid 'Ali, a merchant. As a child, He showed uncommon wisdom, although He received little formal schooling. He became a merchant and earned a high reputation for fairness. In 1842 He married Khadíjih-Bagum and they had one son, Ahmad, who died in infancy. On May 23, 1844, He announced Himself to be the Báb, or "Gate of God" to the Shaykhí disciple Mullá Hussayn-i-Bushrú'í, the first of eighteen individuals who sought and discovered the Báb.

The Báb proclaimed Himself to be the Promised One of Islam, the Qá'ím, and said that the Mission of His Dispensation was to alert the people to the imminent appearance of the Messenger of God awaited by all the peoples of the world.

As the Báb gained followers, His doctrines inflamed the Shí'ih clergy, who determined to stamp out the new faith. Muhammad Sháh's Grand Vazier, Hájí Mírzá Aqásí, imprisoned the Báb in the fortress of Máh-Kú, then, when sympathy for Him spread there, moved Him to Chihríq. In 1848 the Báb was subjected to a trial before a Muslim divines of Tabríz and punishment by bastinado. While the Báb was imprisoned, a group of Bábís met at the Conference of Badasht. It was here that Táhirih boldly exemplified the break with Islám by appearing unveiled in public and that Bahá'u'lláh demonstrated His leadership.

The Báb's followers were subjected to swift and savage persecution at the hands of the dominant Muslim clergy, along with the forces of the Persian government throughout the country, notably in Mázindarán at the fort of Shaykh Tabarsí, Zanján, Nayríz and Tihrán. On July 9, 1850 the Báb was brought before a firing squad in the barracks square of Tabríz, along with a young follower. Some 20,000 of His followers perished in a series of massacres throughout Persia. His remains were hidden by His followers and in 1899 transferred to Palestine where in 1909 'Abdu'l-Bahá Himself interred them in the sepulchre on Mount Carmel known as the Shrine of the Bab.

Today, the majestic building with the golden dome, overlooking the Bay of Haifa, Israel, and set amidst beautiful gardens, is the Shrine where the Báb's earthly remains are entombed. Bahá'ís revere the Báb as the Forerunner or Herald of Bahá'u'lláh, but also as a Manifestation of God in His own right, considering His Writings to be Holy Scripture. The beginning of the Bahá'í Era is dated from the day of His declaration. The Declaration of the Báb, His birth and the day of His Martyrdom are observed as Bahá'í Holy Days on which work is suspended.
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