In the rural neighborhood of New Hampshire where my wife and I live, there is a Congregational church that dates back to the 1800s. What possible connection could there be between this charming New England church, with its warm and inviting spirit, and the martyrdom of the Bab in Persia 160 years ago, which we Baha'is today commemorate?
The ministry of the Bab -- the first of two Founders of the Baha'i Faith -- began in 1844 in Persia (present day Iran). ("Bab" is a title meaning "gate" or "door" in Arabic.) In that year, His first act was to unveil deeper significances to the story of Joseph, a narrative found both in the Book of Genesis and in the Qur'an. Joseph is a prophetic figure who crosses many lines, being revered by Jews, Christians, Muslims and Baha'is.
Even taken as a historical event, the story of Joseph and his brothers is one of the most moving stories in the world's literature -- a story of spiritual superiority and the jealousy it engendered; of treachery and forgiveness; of reconciliation and peace.
Briefly, Joseph's brothers asked their father to entrust Joseph to them, promising to take care of him. Jealous of his favor in their father's eyes, they instead threw him into a pit, and later sold him into slavery. Years later during a time of famine, they went to Egypt to buy food. During those intervening years Joseph had suffered, had eventually risen to a position of eminence, and was in charge of the stores of food. The brothers entered the presence of Joseph but did not recognize him. Joseph served them bread; they re-entered his presence and he made himself known to them. Finally, they recognized him. Happy to be reunited with his brothers, he told them not to be angry with themselves, and he embraced them and wept.
I would like to share my personal understanding of the significance of this story. "Indeed in the story of Joseph and his brothers there are messages for all who search after truth" (Qur'an 12:8). I have written more fully on this subject on one of my blogs.
I understand this story to symbolize the greatest of all events on earth: The succession of Messengers, whom Baha'is call Manifestations of God, coming to the earth throughout the ages to bring the renewed Word of God. The promise of Joseph's brothers to their father to take care of Joseph symbolizes the Great Covenant between God and humanity -- God's promise to send these spiritual guides, and humanity's promise to God to treat His Manifestations well, and to heed their guidance. And though humanity awaits their appearance eagerly, when the Manifestations of God come, humanity does not recognize them, rejects them, and persecutes them. Finally they are recognized, and they assume their rightful place of eminence.
The key point is the recognition: In the story, the brothers do not recognize Joseph's physical features, but the significance is much deeper. Humanity does not easily recognize its greatest benefactors -- not without first suffering from the lack of guidance. The same elements are found in the story of the disciples' failure to recognize Jesus Christ, in the post-resurrection narratives, such as on the Road to Emmaus in the last chapter of the Gospel of Luke.
There is a further significance, and this is specifically a Baha'i interpretation. The Bab foretold the coming of the "true Joseph," another Manifestation of God, Baha'u'llah, Who would soon succeed Him and suffer at the hands of His brother. Cast into an underground prison in Tehran known as the Black Pit, Baha'u'llah, the Founder of the Baha'i Faith, strove "to quicken the world and unite all who dwell on earth." Indeed, the Baha'i Writings view this as the mission of every divine Manifestation. Baha'u'llah wrote, "The Divine Messengers have been sent down, and their Books were revealed, for the purpose of promoting the knowledge of God, and of furthering unity and fellowship amongst men."
Persia in those days was gripped with millennial zeal -- and this brings me back to the church in our community. The pastor of this church left his pulpit in 1844 to join the Millerites, a group anticipating the return of Christ from the heavens in 1843 or 1844, based on Daniel's prophecy of 2300 days. The year 1844 coincided with the prophecies of 1260 days found in the Book of Revelation and, unknown to them, the year 1260 in the Muslim calendar. Jewish, Christian and Muslim prophecies coincided.
By 1850 the Bab's greatest followers had all been killed, and the Bab himself imprisoned. On July 9 of that year, under remarkable circumstances narrated in detail here, the Bab was put to death by firing squad.
Up to the end, the Bab spoke courageously and exhibited great tenderness. He had written, "The path to guidance is one of love and compassion, not of force and coercion." These are the traits I reflect on, on this solemn day: Courage in stating God's truth to one another, as we see it, and gentleness in giving from the fullness of our hearts to one another, even when we are misunderstood. Can we seek the deeper significance of one another's Scriptures, and see their common foundation?
Joseph embraced his brothers and wept. Must we, too, wander afield for more years of conflict before we embrace each other and weep? Or can we heed the advice of the Holy Books, and the example of Joseph, and strive, in Baha'u'llah's words, to "revive the world, to ennoble its life, and regenerate its peoples"?
The Martyrdom of the Bab - A Baha'i Holy Day
Baha'is commemorate martyrdom of the Bab, forerunner of Baha'u ...
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perceived as being a particular something. The same entity folding and shaking in a particular
One difference between the two said perception
An entity remains totally unchanged by the act of being perceived or not. What does totally change is the perception itself. This is one reason why so many almost never react to things; but only react to their own perception
What one sees when an entity shakes, is informatio
Meaning is the measuremen
The retextural
The giving of new measuremen
The greatest suffering and divisions come from lack of humility before God and not trying to practice the virtues the Divine Teachers embodied.
now his followers are an interestin
I have followed that religion and its teachings for years.
they claim an open mind to all teachings.
but dont be fooled they are just another religion.
their beliefs become thee beliefs.
their guy is thee guy.
like most followers of any religion they have turned great teachings into religious dogma.
their claim to be open to other teachings has an underlying agenda.
to get you to join their church their beliefs.
the guy that followed bab put his son and grandson in charge after he died.
how is that for keeping it in the family. $$$$$$$$$$
"As my post shows, we Baha'is dedicate ourselves to enhancing the unity of the followers of all faiths"
only if those faiths agree with their religion.
dont kid yourselfs americans this is another religion. beware.
Whether we believe his claim or not, the records are clear that there was no personal or financial benefit for him and his family in this. They could have renounced everything and lived in luxury as courtiers in Persia.
Christ said that we will know true prophets by their fruit. If this religion has created tolerance and understand
Fanned.
As for our beliefs about the unity of religion, religion is one thing, it's people who divide it and make up teachings according to their own desires. The Baha'i Faith is based entirely on its sacred writings, which anyone can read and decide for themselves whether or not to follow. The older religions we see as being part of a divine process. They agree on the important issues but disagree on the less important issues, so we concentrat
Please share what one must beware of when encounteri
Most people no long want a God. They want to live without the guise of consequenc
We can't even take care of our own planet, let alone penetrate the vale of space responsibl
Deny it.
But...
Their stance on homosexual
But there is one, whose Law is --
Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the Law.
and
Love is the law, love under will.
93* 93/93
T.'.
And at that, I don't know if you caught it, but there was a story recently about a potential side effect of a drug treatment for a fetal genital disorder afflicting females. Lesbian advocacy groups are opposed to the treatment because the drug apparently makes the girls treated more likely to grow up to be heterosexu
The ethical problem with asserting that you're born gay is that means someone can come along with a drug cure for gayness. If, OTOH, you assert homosexual
BTW I on most issues related to equal rights I'm with the gay advocacy groups. The exception - and I want to reiterate this is just me personally - is marriage. In the US, if we're to respect the separation of church and state, government should only sanction civil unions for couples of whatever gender, and should not discrimina
The divisions come when we think that one is superior to the other; like school children fighting over which teacher is a true teacher. They are all true teachers.
http://bah
Brent
The new divine revelation
http://ref
Baha'is believe that Baha'u'lla
http://ref
I agree -- persecutio
Then again, perhaps you know my family... Hmmm... You seem to have some very minimal historical accuracy that could make this interestin
Create the Bab, who was assassinat
I'm not an adherent of that religion but your take on it is nonsense. Plenty of political ploys. Bahai's may not be the Second Coming. But don't intermingl
http://en.
According to Islam a Siyyid or Seyyed is a direct descendant of Mohammed the Prophet. Also, a Siyyid or Seyyed wears a green turban. That’s the history.
Of course, Bahaiis like you will disagree.