Baha'u'llah in Exile

Establishing new religions involves a long process with sudden changes along the way. Meetings and conferences were used to pray, establish titles, and gain acceptance into a group of people. During the Conference of Badasht in 1848, the foundations of Baha’u’llah’s religion were discussed. “One of the functions of the conference of Badasht was to make the Babis aware that their religion was not just a reform of Islam but was a new religion, abrogating the Islamic dispensation.” (17-18). They were then educated about the implications of the change and tested later on by a woman revealing her face. This produced a shock, causing some followers to kill themselves. The shock is an example of sudden change, unnecessary, yet effective to abandon former religious practices, especially if that new religion borrows from many other teachings. Baha’u’llah borrowed from Christian texts and had an exact knowledge of the Old and New Testament. He keeps everyone together and in times of opposition miraculously changed minds, backed by only his virtue. If Baha’u’llah were to die than he was destined to die for a principal reason. There was no compensation in his firm teachings (as a prominent leader of a new religion).
There were many pilgrimages for Baha’u’llah from many countries to another, making it difficult to establish acceptance within a group of people. The Pilgrimage to Karbala in 1851-52 was “the customary way in Iran of exiling prominent persons who could not be kept in prison.” (24). Baha’u’llah’s influence was a powerful determinant upon whether he was put into a prison or not. Where he or his allies had little influence (on the foreign soil of Persia, for example) Baha’u’llah and the Babis were imprisoned in the dark and damp of Siyáh Chál (The Black Pit), where little correspondences were possible. However, during this exiled period, Baha’u’llah “had an experience which he himself designates as the birth of his mission.” (31). After four months in the Black Pit, the government ordered the release of Baha’u’llah with the condition that he goes into exile again. He was also offered asylum in Russian and British territory. Baha’u’llah refused these proposals because the Babi movement would have become “instruments of Russian (governmental) policy.” (33).
Finally, in Baghdad from 1853-63, Baha’u’llah proclaimed that he was “He Whom God shall make manifest’ and declared Ridván as a festival.” (64). As soon as Baha’u’llah had entered the garden of Ridván, proclaimed the Ridván festival and declared his mission explicitly and unambiguously. It took at least 15 years to get to the point of figuring out exactly what his mission was going to be.