Bahai faith, a religion with 6 million followeres in 225 countries. The founder is buried right here in Bahai Garden in Haifa. Since 2008, the place is chosen as UNESCO world heritage site. The view is spectacular from here. For many tourists from non-Christian background, this is the top destination in Israel. So what’s so special about this place? And what is Bahai faith about?
The garden has 3 parts. Think it as 3 different parks because entrances are separated, opening hours are different and they are not connected to each other.
- Upper Garden (45 Yefe Nof Street)：Free Guided Tour Meets Here! English Tour at 12 PM and sometimes 10 AM (Entrance is allowed only with a guided tour. Go to Balcony for good views on 61 Yefe Nof Street if you miss the tour)
- The Shrine (80 Hatzionut Avenue)：Open till 12 PM
- Lower Garden (German Colony Plaza)：9AM-5PM
This is the view from Upper Garden. You have to attend a guided tour (free) to see this.
And the view from the lower garden is like this. It’s still nice but not as nice.
You’ll notice this park from afar. And you will see how pretty it is from outside. The lower garden (9am-5pm) is from the entrance here to the first white balcony in this picture. That’s it! So I would recommend taking the free panorama tour to see the upper garden!
Free Panorama Tour
There is no tour on Wednesday. Tours in English are available at noon. I think I high season, the extra tour is available at 10 am as well. Always check the official website for details. Plan to arrive 10 minutes before starting time.
The exact location is marked Upper Terrace Tour on Google Maps.
It’s 2 minutes walk from the bus stop.
Panorama Route would take you from upper garden to the shrine. From 45 Yefe Nof Street, you’ll end at 80 Hatzionut Avenue. And if you wish to return to Yefe Nof Street for Louis Promenade… you cannot walk through the garden. (So plan your trip accordingly! Leave some time to visit the promenade first). And the shrine only opens till 12. So if you attend the tour at 12, you won’t be able to see the shrine inside.
Things to Know
Eating, chewing gum, touching plants are not allowed. Turn your phone on silent. Be careful with slippery floor etc. Photography is allowed. Modest clothing required (no pants above knees for men and women).
If there are more than 50 people, they might not take more visitors. But from my experience, there were 2 guides and we were split into two groups, with about 30 people in each group.
Before entering, bags will be checked. Your food will not be confiscated but you are not allowed to eat anything inside the garden.
The Origin of Bahai Faith
According to the guide, there were two founders of Bahai Faith. The first founder was born as Siyyid `Alí Muhammad, a Shiite Muslim from Iran (Persia). When he was 24 years old, he founded Bahai faith in 1844. He said he was the Messiah, and his name changed to Báb, the meaning is “door”. He was influential and had many followers, and so he was persecuted and killed at the age of 30.
His followers were persecuted, but still, some chose to hide his bones (very risky). And later in 1909, his remains were brought to Mt.Carmel, and he was buried where the shrine is. Mt. Carmel, “God’s vineyard” in Hebrew, is holy to Jews, Christian, Muslim, Druze and to Bahai believers too.
Before Báb died, he prophesied that someone like Elijah and John the Baptist would come. And this successor would expand Bahai faith. Many claimed to be this second prophet, but finally, Bahá’u’lláh (the name means “Glory of God) came. He was also a Persian from a prominent family. Though he was persecuted too, he was only imprisoned and expelled in various prisons in the Ottoman Empire, with Akko being the last stop. He wrote many articles in prison, he was married three times and had many children. When he was still alive, he was allowed to visit Haifa, so he came to this spot in Haifa 4 times with his son. And finally, he buried Báb‘s remains here.
Out of the 6 million believers of Bahai faith, most of them are in Asia, particularly 2 million of them are in India. If you’ve been to New Delhi, you might have seen this ‘Lotus Temple’ right? This is one of the 7 Bahai house of worship in the world.
Bahai Garden
Why so many people visit Bahai Gardens in Haifa? I wondered that. Most people on the tour I attended were not Bahai followers. But this place attracts people as it carries the fame of UNESCO world heritage site since 2008, great views, and probably we all have the curiosity to Bahai faith…. and this is a free thing to do in Israel!
Why is it free? The guide said, “It’s a gift for everybody”.
Báb‘s shrine was built in 1953. Then the garden was built from 1989 to 2001 by another Canadian Bahai follower. Each year, 650 volunteers from all over the world come to take care of the garden. According to Bahá’u’lláh‘s law, it is forbidden to start a Bahai community in Haifa. So all volunteers are from overseas. Why did Bahá’u’lláh make this rule? There’s no explanation but his followers think that’s his wisdom. So Bahai faith found a place to exist here.
Why are there so many levels?
From the upper garden to the shrine in the center is 9 levels. Plus the shrine is 1 level. And then there are 9 levels in the lower garden. So the total is 19 levels.
19 is an important number to Báb because when he said he was the Messiah, h had 18 followers in the beginning. (Plus himself, so 19).
The guide said except for the number 19, every other symbol seen in this garden doesn’t have any special meaning. The plants chosen don’t have meanings.
We were mostly taking pictures. Our guide didn’t talk much. We simply enjoyed this beautiful garden. 
It’s free and open to visitors because Bahai followers want to show people a serene and beautiful world. They stress on ‘peace’, and that ‘we can make this world that we live in a beautiful place’. So this Bahai Garden is a sample, to demonstrate Bahai belief.
It’s not hard to understand, because the concept of paradise garden originated from Persia.
Actually, I saw this and felt quite relaxed. The garden is well maintained. It isn’t hard to understand why people are drawn to know Bahai faith! 
Bahai Faith and Beliefs
There are many articles online. So below is what my guide said, and I will share my perspective as a Chinese Christian afterward:
Bahai believes in 1 God. This God is the God who created the world, and He wants people to know Him. There are many religions in the world, and each era has its own prophet(s) who spoke to that generation. Hence there will be new prophets conveying the words of God. But all religions believe in 1 same God. From Abraham to Bahá’u’lláh, one God.
Bahai faith stresses on
- Equality: Men and women, rich and poor, everyone is equal.
- Democracy: Everyone is a creature. There are no clergymen in Bahai faith. Everyone can pray and search the truth independently. One can pray anywhere and in any way as there’s no formality in prayers and rituals.
- Peace: Bahais are making this world a better place NOW instead of waiting for the world to come. Bahai will help the society to mature in spiritual things, and bring peace. Then there will be no wars.
In Bahai’s democratic system, a community (with more than 10 members) can vote. A country will have 9 voted council member. Each year 9 global council members will be voted and will stay in Universal house of Justice here in Bahai gardens for 5 years! They will do administration work here. There’s also a media outreach center, archive library and research center etc.
The guide said all Bahai followers pray in their own native tongue. The prayer book Bahá’u’lláh wrote is translated into 800 languages!
Alright, so most people who were paying attention to our guide looked marveled. They appreciated what was presented to them, because doesn’t this sound nice? Everyone is equal, no need for going to church, everyone can pray and this is how our society needs this peace…
When our guide finished, she asked us if anyone had any question. I asked a few, maybe it is too practical, but I could see how that changed the directions to the questions raised afterward.
- Who will visit the sick and pray for the sick?
- Is abortion allowed?
- What’s the view on LBGT or transgender in Bahai faith?
Well, the guide said everyone could pray for the sick. Abortion is not allowed because that equals to killing life. And transgender is allowed because everyone is equal. And there’s no homosexual issue in the time of Bahá’u’lláh so we don’t know. But Bahá’u’lláh said new prophets would give teachings to their generations.
As someone who comes from a Chinese background, there’s Daoism and Buddhism. So I am well aware of how evil spirits haunt people, and how it is preached that by meditating harder, or trying harder than you will be able to achieve a higher status. So that is why spiritual things don’t work that way, you can never reach find ‘peaceful mind’ by meditation. The reality is that we are living in this life, and we have so many issues.
Some are suicidal, some have depression, some keep seeing ghosts, some live in accusations, some are raped from a young age, some have marital problems and some are drug addicts etc.
So how is faith isn’t about formality or religious appearance and rituals? When people are in pain, they need real strength, hope, and strength. It is POWER! If you are drowning in water, you cannot imagine yourself standing on the shore, and then you’ll have peace of mind. Well… you’ll still be drowning in that case.
There are so many people in Chinese society who found out the difference between church and all those mysticism, folk beliefs and other philosophies which sounded nice, is the JOY, HEALING, HOPE, STRENGTH that they find here because of one true God has provided a way out for us.
God acts as the powerful force that pulls people from drowning lives, or darkness we say. God let us know ‘He can!’ and not “I can”. He is the one who stands on the shore, from another world and another level, and pulls us, all of us. His love is a gift to us, it’s redemption. Only He paid the price so we may live. He paid our ransom so we may have freedom. There’s been an exchange.
This Creator God is not asking us to be ‘better selves’. His focus isn’t on this temporary world, but how we as creatures have a relationship with Him as friends, father-son, husband-wife, king-servant. He wants our lives to be filled with His love after going through brokenness so we can touch other souls and share this great news of what He has done. We are here not because we have to make this world a better place, but that He wants us to know Him.
God is light. Eventually, He will take back the glory that belongs to Him. We are His. Peace is found when we are touched by His gentleness and love, and we will realize how we are not alone in this world. Relying on philosophies or ideologies or eastern mysticism cannot give you that, I am so sure.
And finally, if I’m now to talk about how Bahai faith contradicts to Christian beliefs, it would be endless. It won’t be possible that Buddhist, Muhammed, 33 million Hindu gods, Chinese gods are all one God.
The Bible has many prophecies that point to redemption, for example, being born in Bethlehem, a branch of Jesse, a Nazareth, entering Jerusalem on a colt, and having a pioneer like Elijah. Jesus (Yeshua) perfectly fulfilled more than 30 of those prophecies. And His birth, death and second coming to align with the God of Israel’s festivals (moadim). He is the Passover Lamb. He is the high priest who atoned for our sins. He is the atonement. He is the firstfruit. And the Holy Spirit was poured down and the gentile world gets to know about this Jewish Messiah. And finally Sukkoth, a feast of the tabernacle. He will be with us because His name is “Emmanuel” God is with us.
There’s only one path, one door. And one God who deserves to be praised. As a Christian, I’m not expecting a successful or easy life. But we know where real hope comes when we face persecution. We know Yeshua is the door of salvation, that takes us to redemption. In fact, Yeshua means to save in salvation. There is no other way or other truth.
However, the tour is free! It’s always nice to learn something new. For example, the founder of Bahai faith created this faith when he was only 24 years old…. and his followers died for him and what they believed. Well, how are we doing as Christians today? No wonder God doesn’t want us to be lukewarm. His love for us has never been just lukewarm.
Oh! And there’s toilet (free to use)!
