It's the height of autumn's radiant color here in New Hampshire. As I look at the oranges and reds and yellows of the maple trees in the yard, I reflect on one of the divine attributes: uniqueness. Not only every tree, but every leaf on every tree that has ever existed or ever will exist is unique. This difference lends to the beauty and overall harmony of the earth, and it is a sign of the sacred uniqueness that is an aspect of the human soul.
Today, Baha'is in 188 countries worldwide celebrate the Birth of Siyyid Ali-Muhammad, the Herald of our Faith, whom we know as the Bab, a title that means both "Door" and "Gate" in Arabic. The first of the two Manifestations of God -- Prophets -- of our faith, the Bab was born in 1819 in Persia, today's Iran. The Baha'i writings state:
The appearance of the Bab resembles the dawn, for the dawn holds the promise of the sun. The dawn of the Bab promised the rising of the sun of truth that is to envelop the whole world.
To Baha'is, his birth represents the dawn of a divinely promised Day in humanity's life, the age that will witness the maturity of the human race. That maturity will be reflected both in its collective unity and in the uniqueness of its individual elements. This is the dawn of a day during which we Baha'is believe the human race will create "a world organically unified in all the essential aspects of its life, its political machinery, its spiritual aspiration, its trade and finance, its script and language, and yet infinite in the diversity of the national characteristics of its federated units."
In the 1840's, the Bab called humanity to unity:
We have created you from one tree and have caused you to be as the leaves and fruit of the same tree, that haply ye may become a source of comfort to one another. Regard ye not others save as ye regard your own selves ... It behooveth you all to be one indivisible people.
His advent signaled the termination of the "Prophetic Cycle" and the inception of the "Cycle of Fulfillment." He publicly claimed to fulfill the promises of all faiths:
I am, I am, I am, the promised One! I am the One whose name you have for a thousand years invoked, at whose mention you have risen, whose advent you have longed to witness, and the hour of whose Revelation you have prayed God to hasten.
When he sent his first disciples into the world to proclaim his Faith, he summoned them to loftiness, to sacrifice for the proclamation of the truth and to a unified view of the world's great faiths:
O My beloved friends! You are the bearers of the name of God in this Day. You have been chosen as the repositories of His mystery. It behoves each one of you to manifest the attributes of God, and to exemplify by your deeds and words the signs of His righteousness, His power and glory. The very members of your body must bear witness to the loftiness of your purpose, the integrity of your life, the reality of your faith, and the exalted character of your devotion ... The time is come when naught but the purest motive, supported by deeds of stainless purity, can ascend to the throne of the Most High and be acceptable unto Him.
In his farewell address to these disciples he quoted verses and used imagery from the Hebrew Bible, the Gospel of Matthew and the Quran, and he sent one of his disciples to the peoples of India.
He was intolerant of mediocrity, and wrote that "Everything must be brought to its utmost limit of perfection." We Baha'is often emphasize unity, but the call in our Faith to uniqueness is no less important. Each of us is compared to "a mine rich in gems of inestimable value." We are assured that in this day the "potentialities inherent" within us will be attained, and the "innate excellence" of our reality will be demonstrated. Experience tells us that our destiny, our ultimate self-awareness, comes through our common service to humanity.
These two aspects of spiritual maturity -- the expression of our own identity, and the harmonization of our beliefs and goals -- will only be brought about by the utmost effort. Our writings, speaking of the attainment of world civilization, state:
A few, unaware of the power latent in human endeavor, consider this matter as highly impracticable, nay even beyond the scope of man's utmost efforts. Such is not the case, however. On the contrary, thanks to the unfailing grace of God, the loving-kindness of His favored ones, the unrivaled endeavors of wise and capable souls, and the thoughts and ideas of the peerless leaders of this age, nothing whatsoever can be regarded as unattainable. Endeavor, ceaseless endeavor, is required. Nothing short of an indomitable determination can possibly achieve it. Many a cause which past ages have regarded as purely visionary, yet in this day has become most easy and practicable. Why should this most great and lofty Cause -- the daystar of the firmament of true civilization and the cause of the glory, the advancement, the well-being and the success of all humanity -- be regarded as impossible of achievement? Surely the day will come when its beauteous light shall shed illumination upon the assemblage of man.
This effort is worthy of the wholehearted commitment of our life's energies. Today, we celebrate the birth of One who gave his life for this goal.
More can be read about the Bab here and a selection of his Writings is available here. A fuller version of this article, with citations to quotations and additional thoughts, is found on my blog.
Celebrating the birth of the Bab, Baha'u'llah's forerunner | Bahai ...
The Birth of the Bab - A Baha'i Holy Day
The Birth of the Bab- Beliefnet.com
Friday, Oct. 20: Celebrating the Birth of the Bab - Bahai Faith ...
This religion doesn't provide anything that Christianity doesn't already. Also, for what it's worth, it does directly deny the finality of the Koran. It's a rejection of Islam, in other words.
We can opine all 'peace' all we want -- (Who isn't talking about their religion being the religion of peace nowadays?) -- but it's just a bunch of meaningless words if the religion doesn't stand for and serve to bring action in the service of social justice.
"Be excellent to each other."
-- Bill S. Preston, Esquire and Ted "Theodore" Logan
It is a human ego thing of wanting to be special. That wanting not wanting thing.
It is not a sin to want to feel special; it is a natural phase of the soul’s evolution of consciousness process.
This phase of soul development creates our unique “self” identity, then with time and experiences we begin to see we are all manifestations of the Infinite that most call God.
Once one comes to have knowledge of the involution and evolution of consciousness process this helps them to see that no one is special in this sense that someday we will all be known by some as gods or prophets. I.e. we all evolve in consciousness.
Here is the most interesting part the Bahai’s that read this; they will reject it outright as their paradigm has become that our prophet is indeed the last prophet for the next 1000 years. Oh the power of that paradigm effect.
This is what I mean by religion even the atheists are religious as is every political party, etc. For me to hate religion as someone accused me on this post would be to hate all those that have beliefs. We all do, this author included, it is again an example of the evolution of consciousness process.
the bahaullah's writings are very profound but his son's and grandson's are less profound and lack the understanding of some of this prophets writings. that is the danger of having a son and grandson as follow up prophets. it is very suspect to have son and grandson as the only persons in charge and can add to your teachings after you the prophet cross over.
but I can tell this religion is very important to you and that can be a good thing and this religion has some profound spiritual teachings. not the most advanced I have seen but better then many religions.
"there is only love and the want of love". chinese monk.
if one understands this simple axiom then one knows all spiritual teachings are in the realm of this quote. it is the want of love that leads to these misguided desires that can be so troublesome.
all souls are manifestations of the infinite no exceptions. the difference is the evolution of consciousness process. the masses need a prophet to look up to, some even need a king image, some even a savior image, most need a god made in the image of humans.
these prophets are spiritual teachers and their words need to be studied but all souls are advancing some faster than others.
again this kind of thinking is making a god in the image of humans and this is common among religions. once we join a religion any religion the discovery process is over and we will defend those religious teachings in spite of the evidence.
even materialists do the same, this phenomena is not just due to religion it is part of the evolution of consciouenss process. a phase of soul development so to speak.
Bahá'ís do NOT make God into our image, quite the opposite. We are endeavoring to be made in the image of God, to do His Will in our lives, to become close to God spiritually, out of our love for our Creator. We don't require that God look like a human being or act like one for this relationship to occur, nor do we expect we will be perfect and always be godly. It is a process of spiritual growth and development.
Again, before you start making generalizations about what our Faith is, you might want to do some actual research into it through reading or getting together with some of the believers. After all, it's practically impossible to find out what Bahá'ís really believe unless you actually talk to one.
www.bahaiawareness.com
"And Bahais have not been able to reconcile these differences nor explain why no book of the Bab is "approved" by the UHJ."
if these things are true and this person is considered a major manifestation of God?
we are all manifestations of the infinite. no one is special but some have evolved to a higher level of consciousness. and holy wars are not at a high level of consciousness. holy wars are of the ego not the spirit.
interesting website.
Religion is not about the prophet’s teachings. Those teachings may be profound or full of half-truths or whatever. Even half-truths have some truth to them and should be studied. Religion is about those that follow a prophets teaching. Once the human mind thinks that “it knows reality, the discovery process” is over. Hence the word religion; the mind shuts down.
History has shown us that if a new prophet comes along and presents teachings that are more advanced or different than the prevailing religious teachings that prophet has a good chance of being put to death or thrown out of the country. The followers of that existing religion think their religion is “thee” religion and anyone that challenges their cherished beliefs is in for a rough ride or worst.
The Bab and Jesus are living proof of this phenomenon. The Catholics have put many to death that believed or taught something different. Wars are fought over religious beliefs. Even a materialist that has become a confirmed atheist will reject any teachings not in alignment with their materialistic beliefs. Again “religion” is a human phenomenon of “I know” and not just about a prophet’s teachings.
This Religion like all religions rejects any teachings that are beyond its own prophets unless of course those teachings are in alignment with its prophet. Hope that made sense about religion from my viewpoint. Most will disagree I am sure. :-)
bahai is a religion and like all religions they share something in common.
they have decided their prophet is the lastest prophet and will be thee prophet for the next 1000 years. that is what I call the religion part and that males control the teachings. ie most religions are male dominated. even the buddhists.
I consider these beliefs ignorance of the evolution of consciousness process and it shuts down new discoveries during that person's lifetime. ie our prophet is the end all.
but everyone has a path and this religion is as good as any as a religious path.
as far as compassionate you know not what you speak. compassion is based on understanding the mask behind the personality not sympathy or empathy.
non violent is not compassionate it can become very violent as a resistance movement.
it may be effective to bring about change (or not) but that does not mean it is based in compassion.
it is based in a wanting and not wanting; both self confirmatory ideation. ie ego thing. :-)
“The House of justice, however, according to the explicit text of the Law of God, is confined to men, this for a wisdom of the Lord God's, which will ere long be made manifest as clearly as the sun at high noon.”
What is it about the human mind that is unable to see the contradiction in this statement below??? The universal house of justice is open to men only and ran by men only. Admit it and move on. This is just another religion it may be a very good religion as religions go that was not my point. It is right in there with the catholics as a male driven organization. The male ego thing.
“Third - This same Universal House of Justice, both itself, and the community it guides as an institution, have been and are now actively, unceasingly advancing the status of women as equal to men”
The statement “are now actively unceasing advancing the status of women as equal to men” is about as condensending as one could write and I know it will be impossible for you to see that. As you now identify with that religion; paradigm paralysis has set in. That is the power of the paradigm effect that few see in the world very few.
it this was not so ignorant it would be funny.
bet the catholics would say the same thing about their all male priests advancing the status of women.
this response is not about your prophet's teachings, it is about religion and once we become a confirmed believer in any religion or even a political party the discovery process becomes nil.
this is why politics and religion as so alike in their paradigm paralysis.
if paradigm and paradigm effect are fancy words to you then study them as we view the world through our paradigms.
How convenient.
it works for the christians.
it works for the muslims.
it works for the buddhists but it is much harder to see.
it is an ego thing, my religion is thee religion.
oh this religion will accept other prophets teachings as long as they support their prophets teachings.
challenge their prophets teachings and you are not welcome but this applies to all religions.
even the atheists will give out personal insults if you challenge their beliefs.
the human ego seeks comfort in its beliefs and "like attracts like": this also brings comfort to the ego.
The Bab, Baha'is believe, came to prepare the way for Baha'u'llah. Baha'u'llah attests very clearly that He is by no means the last Manifestation of God. God will continue to send Messengers.
how many lives? that is the variation of soul development. some more than others.
religion can blind us or it can be a path to create a higher level of awareness.
this is the advice of this religion on homosexuality.
remember this is a religion controlled by 12 men. what they say is law.
you can bet there is some homophobia going on big time in that group of 12 as we see today in our religions.
I have found not data to support the belief that homosexuality is a great burden to the soul.
this is again judging by appearances. it is religion and like most religions they dont view the world from a soul's perspective but by the human condition and all of its invalid beliefs.
the great burden is to the people judging others and trying to put their truths on others.
There are some very relevant facts that any fair-minded observer would have to be aware of:
First - the highest individual station in the Bahai faith is that of International Couselor, and these positions are held by women and men.
Second - the Universal House of Justice's membership being limited to men is not and never has been a statement about the weakness, inferiority of women or anything like that. The Baha'i writings simply say that women are exempt from membership on it, and the teachings never have nor do now say it is because they are incapable or deficient. Which is a lot more than some secular leaders say.
Third - This same Universal House of Justice, both itself, and the community it guides as an institution, have been and are now actively, unceasingly advancing the status of women as equal to men. This is not in dispute. Ask any women's organization on the planet at they will tell you you will find no more reliable partner than the Baha'is, the Universal House of Justice, in the struggle to advance the equality of women.
The Bab claimed and is seen by Baha'is to be no less than a fully independent Manifestation of God in his own right, like Jesus, etc. Not even Muslims believe the Hidden Imam will be that. If you are interested in these aspects of the religion/Baha'i faith I would be happy to direct you to references.
Have you had a chance to study the Baha'i Faith through its primary writings? The Book of Certitude is a fabulous place to start if you are interested in seeing how at least Christian and Muslim prophecies are seen to be fulfilled by Baha'is today.
all are a manifestation of the Infinite. no exceptions.
please note readers that last sentence how all christian and muslim prophecies are seen to be fufulled by the bahai's today.
translated my religion is thee religion. we humans love being special. ie ego thing.
please note I stated we and I am part of that we human thing. :-)
they believe another prophet like bab will not come along for another 1000 years.
sorry bab followers but you have created for yourselves another religion.