the
Bahá'í
INTRODUCTION
TO A WORLDWIDE COMMUNITY
Founded 150 years ago, the Bahà'ì
Faith today is one of the most rapidly developing
religions. In at least 233 countries and territories
there are more than five million followers;
it has become the second most widespread faith,
exceeding, in geographical diffusion, all others
except Christianity. The bahà'ì
followers are in more than 120,000 places the
world over, an expansion that reflects their
dedication to the ideal of world citizenship.
The
principle aim of the Bahà'ì Faith
is mirrored in the composition of its community.
Representing a cross-section of humanity, the
Bahà'ì followers come from practically
every nation, ethnic group, culture, profession,
social and economic class. More than 2,100 different
ethnic and tribal groups are represented.
The
Founder of the Bahà'ì Faith was
Bahà'u'llàh, a Persian noble from
Teheran, who towards the mid-nineteenth century
left a princely existence, comfortable and secure,
for a life of persecutions and privations.
He proclaimed to be the new and independent
Messenger of God. His life, His works and His
influence are equal to those of Abraham, Krishna,
Moses, Zoroastro, Buddha, Christ and Muhammad.
The bahà'ì followers consider
Him to be the most recent in the succesion of
Divine Messengers.
" This is the Day in which the most excellent
favours of God have been lavished on mankind,
the Day in which His most mighty grace has been
infused in all things created." - Bahà'u'llah
The
essential message of Bahà'u'llah is that
of unity. He taught that there is only one God,
only one mankind and that all religions have
been phases in the revelation of the will and
aims of God for mankind. On this day, He said,
all mankind has reached maturity. As announced
in all the Scriptures of the world, the moment
has arrived to unite all the populations in
one pacific and integrated global society. "The
earth is one country and humanity its citizens."
The youngest of independent religions, the Faith
founded by Bahà'u'llah is different from
the others in several ways. It has one system
of global administration with governing councils
freely elected in more than 18,000 places.
It faces contemporary social problems in a different
way (and sometimes radical). The Scriptures
of the Faith and the Multiform activity of its
members face in practice each important vision
of the modern world, from the new conception
of cultural diversity and the environmental
preservation to the decentralization of decisions,
from a renewed commitment in family life and
for new morale to the call for a "New Worldwide
Order".
The quality that characterizes the Bahá'í
community, however is its unity. As opposed
to other religions - not to mention the majority
of social and political movements - the Bahà'ì
Faith has resisted with success to the recurring
impulse to divide into sects and factions. It
has maintained its unity despite its turbulent
history common to all other ancient religions.
In the century following the one in which Bahà'u'llah
lived, the process of global unification that
He had proclaimed, continued its advance. Through
historic processes, the traditional barriers
of races, classes, beliefs and nations have
been firmly pulled down. He predicted that the
impulses would have brought about the beginning
of a universal civilization. The main challenge
that the world population has to face is that
of accepting the fact of their singleness and
collaborating in the creation of this new world.
"The
vitality of man's faith in God is dying everywhere;
nothing but His wholesome remedy can ever awaken
it again."-Bahà'u'llàh.
For a global society to flourish, says
Bahà'u'llàh, it must be based on
certain fundamental principles. These include:
the elimination of all forms of prejudice; total
equality between sexes; recognition of the essential
singleness of the prominent world religions; elimination
of extreme poverty or wealth; universal instruction;
harmony between science and religion; sustainable
balance between nature and technology, and the
setting up of a worldwide federative system based
on the collective security and the singleness
of mankind.
The
worldwide bahà'ì followers express
their commitment to these principles above all
in the individual and collective transformation.
Among the many ways, commitment is reflected
in the large number of small rural projects
of economic and social development that the
bahà'ì communities have launched
over these last few years.
Forming
a unified network of local, national and international
councils, the followers of Bahà'u'llàh
have created a different worldwide community
projected towards the future - marked by a definite
lifestyle and activity - that offers an encouraging
model for cooperation, harmony and social action.
In a world caught up in a thousand ideals, this
is in itself a singular goal.
"A
passage from I Bahà'ì, a publication
of the Bahà'ì publisher"
The second "global" religion
The bahà'ì followers have founded
"significant" communities in more
countries and territories than any other independent
religion except for Christianity.
According
to the Book of the Year 1992 of the Britannica
Encyclopedia the Bahà'ì Faith
was established in 205 sovreign countries and
dependent territories.
This fact was brought to light for the first
time in 1982 by the World Christian Encyclopedia.
This volume reported the work of approximately
500 demographic and statistic students that
had lead an initial general survey on the believers
all over the world.
Moral
and Social Teachings
A balance between progress and tradition based
on unity
There
has never existed a forerunner of the times,
a futurologist or a prophet whose visions have
so accurately foreseen the critical points of
the situation that is unfolding before mankind.
One
of the extraordinary characteristics of the
writings of Bahà'u'llàh is the
degree of precision with which He foresees the
critical points that humanity has had to face
ever more frequently.
Bahà'u'llàh,
in his writings, launched an appeal to reach
a complete, global restructuring of the social
order. His vision of renewal touches all aspects
of existence, from personal morale to economy
and administration, from community development
to religious practice.
The main theme in the writings of Bahà'u'llàh
is that humanity is one race and the day has
come for its unification into a planetary society.
Through an irresistible historic process, the
traditional barriers of race, class, belief,
faith and country will fall. These forces, He
says, in time will give life to a new universal
civilization. The crises that currently torment
the planet is placing all the populations into
the necessity of accepting their unity and to
work for the creation on earth of a global society.
Bahà'u'llàh outlined some fundamental
principles that constitute the basis for this
new civilization: the elimination of all forms
of prejudice, total equality between the sexes,
recognition of the substantial unity of the
prominent world religions, elimination of extreme
poverty or wealth, universal instruction, a
high level of personal conduct, harmony between
religion and science, a stable balance between
nature and technology, the creation of a worldwide
federal system based on collective security
and the singleness of humanity.
These
principles, touching subjects such as women's
role, racial relations, economic justice and
worldwide order, illustrate themes that have
nourished the most dynamic movements of the
century and therefore they have become the principle,
topical points of the political and social life
of humanity.
There
has never been a forerunner of the times, a
futurologist or a prophet whose visions have
been so accurately precise about the critical
points of the social situation. The themes that
Bahà'u'llàh focussed on, instead
of diminshing, a century after His existence,
have become predominant in the collective life
of mankind.
The theme of unity
The gradual approach of
the Bahà'ì Faith to human society
finds its origins in the emphasis that Bahà'u'llàh
places on unity. Indeed, if we should characterize
His teachings in one single word, this would
be: unity.
In His writings Bahà'u'llàh underlines
the importance and the reality of unity and
singleness. Above all God is one: even all the
prominent religions are one and represent the
responses of men to the revelations of the word
and will of God for humanity through the succession
of Messengers that have come from the one God.
These assumptions are the basis of the concept
of unity in the teachings of Bahà'ì.
Other principles emerge from this fundamental
concept of religious and divine unity. Bahà'u'llàh
teaches us that all human beings, as creatures
of God, are a single population. The distinction
of race, nationality, class or ethnic origins
becomes ephemeral when seen in this context
and any theory of individual, tribal, provincial
or national superiority is rejected by the Bahà'ì
Faith. Speaking by means of Bahà'u'llàh,
the voice of God proclaims:
"Do you not know why you were all created
from the same dust? In order that nobody should
exalt over another: constantly remember in your
hearts in what manner you were created. Since
you were all created from the same substance,
it is your duty to be as one being, to walk
with the same feet, eat with the same mouth
and live together on the same earth, so that
from your inner self, from the mercy in your
conduct and your actions, the signs of singleness
may come forth with the essence of sacrifice".
The Spiritual Belief
of the Bahà'ì Faith
WHAT BAHA'U'LLAH TEACHES
ON GOD, RELIGION, AND HUMAN NATURE
The coming of new Messengers of God represents
historical turning points, since these bring
a renewed spiritual impulse, stimulating personal
transformation and social progress. The revelation
of Bahà'u'llàh, with the spiritual
impulse that accompanies it, is particularly
meaningful because it coincides with the period
of the maturity of humanity.
There
is only one God, the Creator of the Universe.
Throughout history, God has revealed Himself
to humanity with a series of divine Messengers,
each one founding a religion. These Messengers
were Abraham, Krishna, Zoroastro, Moses, Buddha,
Jesus and Mohammed. This succesion of divine
Teachers reflect one historic "Plan of
God" to illuminate humanity about their
Creator and to cultivate moral, intellectual
and spiritual capacities of the human race with
the aim of preparing the way to a single, global
civilization in constant progress. The knowledge
of the will of God for humanity of the modern
period was revealed just over a hundred years
ago by Bahà'u'llàh, who is the
last of these Divine Messengers.
This is the essence of His teachings on God,
religion and humanity. Often the Bahà'ì
followers express this faith by talking simply
about the singleness of God, of religion and
of mankind.Unity is by far the most important
theme of the Bahà'ì belief; in
theological terms, this is shown in the understanding
that the only Creator has a sole plan for all
humanity.
Together
with these ideas there is the conviction that
human nature is fundamentally spiritual. Although
human beings exist on the earth with a physical
appearance, the essential identity of each person
is defined by an eternal soul, rational and
invisible.
"Know
for certain that the essence of all Prophets
of God is one and the same…."-Bahà'u'llàh
The
soul that gives life to the body, and distiguishes
human beings from animals, grows and develops
only through the relationship of the individual
with God, mediated by His Messangers. This relationship
is strengthened by prayer, knowledge of the
scriptures revealed by these Teachers, love
of God, moral self discipline and the service
rendered to humanity. It is this process that
gives a meaning to life. Cultivating the spiritual
side of life gives numerous benefits. Most of
all the individual develops step by step those
innate qualities that are the basis of human
happiness and social progress such as: faith,
courage, love, compassion, trustworthiness and
humility. When these become even more evident,
the society itself advances as one.
Another
effect of the spiritual development is the harmony
with the will of God. The continual approach
prepares the individual for the afterlife. The
soul, after the death of the body, continues
to live facing a spiritual journey towards God
through countless 'worlds' or levels of existence.
In traditional terms, the progress carried out
on this journey is compared to 'paradise', whereas
if the soul stops growing and remains distant
from God, talking in traditional terms, it experiences
'hell'.
The coming of new Messengers of God represents
historical turning points since they bring a
new spiritual impulse that stimulates personal
renewal and social advancement. The revelation
of Bahà'u'llàh and the spiritual
impulse that accompanies it, takes on a particular
significance because it coincides with the period
of the maturation of humanity.
Bahà'u'llàh teaches us that humanity,
having reached maturity, can now reach out for
new horizons. Undertakings such as the realizationof
world peace, a universal social justice and
the promotion of a harmonious balance between
technology, development, human values and the
safeguarding of natural environments.
Photographer: DENNY ALLEN
