What is that about?
Well, in the history of the Baha'i Faith, there have been two Manifestations of God that made possible the birth of this new Revelation. The One to appear first was The Bab -that literally translates to "The Gate". He had this title because He was the "Gate" or the way to Bahá'u'lláh who was to come after Him, a few years later. Now, the closeness of their appearance in the world of humanity has never happened in the past between two Manifestations of God.
To have a better understanding, here is a VERY brief historic recollection from a book called: "The Twin Manifestations" from the Ruhi Institute:
The Báb was born on October 20th 1819 in Shiraz, Iran. He was from a noble family that gave Him the name of Siyyid 'Ali-Muhammad. Ever since He was a child, He showed signs of innate knowledge, power and greatness. The evening of the 23rd of May 1844, He declared that He was the Promised One when He was only 25 years old. Soon after, as His fame and followers increased numerously, the opposition of the clergy and the government were clearly visible. The Báb endured 6 years of constant persecution, banishment and cruelty that lead to His martyrdom only 6 years after His Declaration -exactly 59 years ago on July 9th 1850 (details of His Martyrdom will appear on my next post). The Báb's mission was to prepare the people for the coming of "Him Whom God shall make manifest". Among those blessed souls that recognized His position during His life was Bahá'u'lláh.
Bahá'u'lláh was born in Tehran, Iran the 12th of November 1817. His Name was Mirzá Husayn-'Ali. Like The Báb, He was also born into a noble and very wealthy family. From His childhood, He showed signs of greatness and wisdom. He did not pay attention to the luxury and comfort He was born into but dedicated His time defending the poor and helping the needy. When The Báb declared, He was 27 years old and three months later He sent The Báb a scroll in which Bahá'u'lláh recognized His Station. As the rest of the followers of The Báb, Bahá'u'lláh endured suffering and persecution in the hands of the opposition of this new Faith that was spreading throughout the region like wildfire.
After the martyrdom of The Báb in Tabriz, Iran, the attacks on the Babis increased looking to exterminate this new religion. Bahá'u'lláh was amongst those that remained steadfast and taught this Faith fiercely. He was a prisoner for 40 years of His Blessed life and was exiled many times. However, it was not all gloomy and sadness for the Babis. During one of His exiles (from Baghdad to Istanbul) and after receiving the revelation from God, Bahá'u'lláh announced in April 1863 that He was the One, the Promised One of all ages! (Baha'is in the world celebrate this Most Great Festival for 12 days from the 21 of April to the 2 of May). Bahá'u'lláh wrote to the kings and rulers of the world during that time, proclaiming to rejoice on that blessed day where a new Messenger of God had come.
Bahá'u'lláh after years and years of imprisonment, cruelty and false accusations left this mortal world near the city of Akka (where he was last exiled to) on the 29th of May 1892.
The Báb, as well as Bahá'u'lláh wrote hundreds of Tablets, prayers and Books. A prayer revealed by The Báb that is very close to my heart is this:
"Is there any Remover of difficulties save God? Say: Praised be God! He is God! All are His servants and all abide by His bidding!".