Day 5, Part Deux: The Archives

This is the International Baha'i Archives building. It houses many precious relics and treasures related to the Holy Family and the Central Figures of the Baha'i Faith. Today at 4:00 p.m., we met eight of our fellow pilgrims and an Archives guide for our visit into this most special place. We set out on foot from the Pilgrims' Reception Center and made our way through the Monument Garden to the Archives.

The interior of the Archives is a single large room, with second-floor balconies along each side. As soon as we had all removed our shoes, deposited our belongings in the anteroom, and come inside, we were ushered to the far end of the room where three cabinets stood in front of a large stained-glass window. We both held our breath in anticipation of what was about to happen.

Slowly and deliberately, our guide opened the cabinets. The rightmost cabinet contained a small painting of the Blessed Bab in His green turban, sitting on a mat on a rooftop. He looked tall, handsome and serious; as though he knew what was in store for Him.

The second cabinet contained a triptych of small paintings of Baha'u'llah. Mary Lou's first though was "He is SO beautiful!" The center of the triptych shows Baha'u'llah in an attitude of benediction with his hands slightly upraised, surrounded by angels. The right-hand image shows him dressed as a dervish (from His time in the mountains), and the left-hand image shows him as he appeared at the public baths of the day, bareheaded and wrapped in a white sheet or towel.

Finally, the cabinet on the left contained the only photograph of Baha'u'llah, which was taken for His passport shortly after the near-successful attempt on His life. Although one can clearly see this is the same person depicted in the paintings, one can also see the toll the years and the attempt on His life had taken on Him.

We were given more than half an hour to be in the presence of these blessed images. We were able to get really up close and personal, bending close to the protective glass to take in all the details. It was quite an experience. We looked, prayed, sat on the rug, looked some more, prayed some more, drew close, stepped away, and generally just reveled in this once-in-a-lifetime experience.

Finally the doors to the cabinets were closed, and other cabinets were opened. Among the treasures we saw were tablets in the hand of Baha'u'llah and of the Bab, personal artifacts including locks of the Blessed Beauty's hair (lovingly collected one hair at a time by the Greatest Holy Leaf).

Okay, let's talk about that for a minute. The Greatest Holy Leaf, the daughter of Baha'u'llah whose given name was Bahiyyih Khanum, devoted her life to the service of her father and His Cause. She is considered the foremost heroine of the Baha'i Faith. We learned yesterday that she secretly kept the remains of the Blessed Bab in her bedroom until His Shrine could be completed. And today we learned that she collected the hairs from Baha'u'llah's precious head, one at a time, from His hairbrush, pillowcase, and clothing, and carefully saved them for presentation to some of the early believers.

Wow. Just... wow.

Here is the shrine where the Greatest Holy Leaf is interred, in the monument garden just below the buildings on the Arc.

Other amazing relics in the Archives included full suits of clothing worn by all of the Central Figures: Baha'u'llah, the Bab, 'Abdu'l-Baha and even the Beloved Guardian. (Turns out the Bab was quite a dapper dresser!) Gary was particularly taken with the individual letters written by the Bab to nine of the 18 early believers he named the Letters of the Living. Mary Lou was enchanted by a letter written by Tahireh, the Persian poetess and heroine of the Babis, who scandalized everyone by removing her veil in public. Although we certainly can't read the language, Mary Lou thought she was able to see a distinct difference between Tahireh's feminine calligraphy and the more masculine writing of Baha'u'llah and the Bab.

Some of the tablets and letters were preserved as they were written, but others had been beautifully illuminated with gold and brilliant colors. One set of prayers had been assembled into an accordian-folded portfolio that could be unfolded and placed on a mantel or shelf for use when the prayers were said.

Perhaps the most poignant relics were those relating to Mirza Mihdi, the Purest Branch. We viewed the blood-stained shirt that had to be cut off of him after he fell from the skylight in the prison at Akka. Displayed next to the shirt was a box containing five small, smooth pebbles. These pebbles were found in Mirza Mihdi's pocket after his death -- apparently he just liked the feel of them between his fingers. At 22 years of age, he was still enough of a boy to enjoy having such small possessions even in such horrible circumstances. Similarly, we saw a small smooth stick -- like a walking stick but smaller -- that was one of his few possessions. Such small details, and so heartbreaking! Oy! And it is just amazing to think that the family was able to keep these precious items safe during the tragedy of his death and the many subsequent moves.

On a lighter note, we solved a mystery. In the Mansion of Bahji, and indeed in all of the houses we've visited in the last two days, we've seen many lovely pieces of art featuring birds. Today we learned that those birds are roosters. What is the significance of a rooster, you ask?

He signals the dawn of a new day.