This sacred day, when the sun illumines equally the whole earth, is called the equinox, and the equinox is the symbol of the Manifestation of God. The Sun of Truth rises on the horizon of Divine Mercy and sends forth its rays. This day is consecrated to commemorate it. It is the beginning of Spring.
When the sun appears at the equinox, it causes a movement in all living things. The mineral world is set in motion, plants begin to shoot, the desert is changed into a prairie, trees bud and every living thing responds, including the bodies of animals and men.
The rising of the sun at the equinox is the symbol of life, and likewise it is the symbol of the Divine Manifestations of God, for the rising of the Sun of Truth in the Heaven of Divine Bounty established the signal of Life for the world. The human reality begins to live, our thoughts are transformed and our intelligence is quickened. The Sun of Truth bestows Eternal Life, just as the solar sun is the cause of terrestrial life.
Abdu’l-Baha’, Star of the West, Vol. 5, p. 4
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A prayer revealed by Abdu’l-Baha in memory of the Day of Naw-Ruz. Translated by Shoghi Effendi:
O Lord, my Lord!
This is the day which Thy Sacred Tongue and Thy Pen of Glory both have sanctified, and made it a day of heavenly blessings, of divine benediction and favour. Thou hast honoured it with Thy bestowals, endued it with Thy Grace, and invested it with Thy Glory, and caused it to be a day of joy and gladness unto them that have turned to the Light of Thy Divine Revelation; that the hearts may thereby be gladdened, that the radiance of happiness may illumine the lives of them that remember the manifestation of Thy Glory upon Thy Sacred Mount.
Hallow it, 0 Lord, with Thy grace, and make it a day of joy and blessedness for Thy loved ones that have stood fast and firm in Thy Covenant, Thy friends that have sung Thy praise, and especially for this servant of Thine that hath turned his face to Thy Holy Kingdom, supplicated the glory of Thy might and power, circled Thy throne of grandeur and fell prostrate at Thy threshold of Divine Mercy. Thou art the Gracious, the Bountiful, the All Merciful.
Abdu’l-Baha, Star of the West, Vol. 14, p. 82.
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