At this moment the
sun appears at the meridian and the day and night are equal. Until today the
north pole has been in darkness. This sacred day [Naw-Ruz] when the sun
illumines equally the whole earth is called the equinox and the equinox is the
symbol of the divine messenger. The sun of truth rises on the horizon of divine
mercy and sends forth its rays on all. This is the beginning of the 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 sprout, 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 the human reality is revivified;
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 (Words of ‘Abdu’l-Baha, from a talk given on 21 March 1913, Paris; Star of the West, vol. 5, no. 1,
March 21, 1914)
