Monologue: "A Woman who 'met' Baha'u'llah"

For one event in honor of the Bicentenary of the Birth of Baha'u'llah, we made a tent and I portrayed a woman who had met Baha'u'llah. One child asked me, "How OLD are you?"!!!! I'll include the monologue below. 

A Woman who “met” Baha’u’llah  (monologue)  by Anne Perry, with stories (*Between*) from The Story of Baha'u'llah by Druzelle Cederquist--see http://bit.ly/XxNohE


Bahá’u’lláh was born in 1817 (200 years ago!) to a noble family in Tihrán, Persia (now Iran). From childhood, it was clear that Bahá’u’lláh was unique. He didn’t attend school, yet He was remarkably wise. He understood difficult religious teachings, and He was always kind and generous.

As a young man, he was offered an important job in the government, but He didn’t accept it. Instead, He shared His time and money with those in need. People called Him “Father of the Poor.” When
He was 27 years old, Bahá’u’lláh became a follower of a Messenger of God called the Báb (which means “the Gate”). The Báb taught that a new Messenger of God would soon appear. But the Persian authorities wanted to stop the Báb’s growing faith. They persecuted thousands of His followers.  Bahá’u’lláh was put in heavy chains and thrown into a filthy dungeon called the “Black Pit.” 
 
In that terrible prison, Bahá’u’lláh had a divine vision and began to reveal sacred writings.
Over the next 40 years, Bahá’u’lláh was exiled and imprisoned for His teachings. He won the hearts of people everywhere He went. He taught that all people are part of one human family. . . .
I always felt wonder and awe in His presence . . . His eyes seemed to draw you in, see into your soul!  Many who met Him—even those who did not believe He was a Messenger of God—felt His Power. . Some were unable to speak around Him.  

When Baha’is were invited into Baha’u’llah’s home, they were often filled with so much joy that they were unable to recognize their friends or hear people speaking to them. . . . 

Sometimes children had the honor of meeting Baha’u’llah—one boy met Him when he was 8 years old. Baha’u’llah asked the boy what he had learned about religion and was so happy with the boy’s knowledge that He called him, “His honor, the Baha’i teacher.” 

*In Baghdad, Baha’u’llah would walk along the Tigris River. He thought about the questions in people’s hearts: Is there a God Who created and cares for us? Is there a purpose to this life? What happens at the close of our days?  Now, as He walked along the banks of the Tigris, Baha’u’llah revealed short verses, which He called the Hidden Words. These were God’s eternal answers to humanity’s deepest questions.  (If children are present, you could ask if they want to read a few of these and invite them up to read:)

“O Son of Man! I loved thy creation, hence I created thee. Wherefore, do thou love Me, that I may name thy name and fill thy soul with the spirit of life.

“O Son of Being! Thou art My lamp and My light is in thee. Get thou from it thy radiance and seek none other than Me. For I have created thee rich and have bountifully shed My favor upon thee.

“O Son of Man! Thou art My dominion and My dominion perisheth not, wherefore fearest thou thy perishing? Thou art My light and My light shall never be extinguished; why does thou dread extinction? . . .”

This was the Word of God. Baha’u’llah called it “the master key for the whole world.” With this key, He said, “the doors of the hearts of men, which in reality are the doors of heaven, are unlocked.” Don’t we all want our hearts unlocked?

The religious leaders of Baghdad tested Baha’u’llah with their most difficult spiritual questions. It was not only the profound knowledge and wisdom of His answers, but the majesty of His spirit, that soon made them true admirers of Baha’u’llah. Visitors of all kinds came to Baha’u’llah’s home, from princes to peasants, from poets to mystics to government officials. There were the curious, the seekers of truth, and those needing help – the poor, the sick, the aged, the victims of injustice. Baha’u’llah received them all.

At that time, Baha’u’llah’s house was modest, made of mud and straw. The roof was low, the garden small, the simple couch where Baha’u’llah sat made from the branches of palms. Yet to many, Baha’u’llah’s presence made it paradise.

A prince decided to build in his own home an exact copy of His room. Baha’u’llah smiled when He heard this. “He may well succeed in reproducing outwardly ... this . . . room made of mud and straw,” He said. But “What of his ability to open onto it the spiritual doors . . . to the hidden worlds of God?”

One man came who said,      “I had been told . . . that these people “had no moral principles whatsoever! I went to investigate for myself and found Purity within Purity. I was filled with amazement at the sanctity of that place, and bewildered to find the exact opposite of that which I had heard. I am firmly convinced,” he told his friend, “that This is the Truth.”

The mullas in Baghdad wanted a miracle. They drew up a list of difficult spiritual questions. If He could answer these, they might believe in the truth of His Cause.

To every challenging question Baha’u’llah gave a clear answer. Their last question. Could Baha’u’llah perform a miracle? A miracle, the mullas had agreed, would prove beyond doubt that Baha’u’llah was a Messenger of God.

“Although you have no right to ask this,” Baha’u’llah replied, “for God should test His creatures, and they should not test God, still I allow and accept this request.”

But the mullas must all agree on one miracle, said Baha’u’llah. But they could not agree.

Not long after, a man approached Baha’u’llah with his own request. Though he wanted to believe, he had questions that troubled him. Baha’u’llah told the man to go home, to write down all his questions and return the next day. This he did. In two days and two nights Baha’u’llah revealed two hundred pages to answer his questions. He opened the true story of the Prophets, All sent by One God, Each entrusted with a unique mission. They kindled love in the hearts of enemies, brought strangers together under one tent, through the power of the Word of God. These were the true miracles and proofs of the Prophets of God, wrote Baha’u’llah, Who called these pages the Book of Certitude.*                 

Baha’u’llah is called many things . . . The Divine Physician . . . Who has come to help heal our planet  from all of its troubles . . . . The Blessed Beauty, the Prince of Peace . . . .   He is also called the Most Great Tree.  May all the peoples of the world “seek the shelter of its shade!"