Baha'i: The Ultimate Global Religion?
For years I've pondered the area of religion. My father's family is old Pennsylvania Quaker. My mother is Episcopalian. I went to Episcopal boarding school and Episcopal church. But in college I dated many Catholics. In my thirties, it was atheists and Jews. When I married, it was to someone who rarely thinks about religion of any type whatsoever.
But it is still of interest to me - and more not less than it was say 15 years ago. Just yesterday I was at a friend's house for dinner. She is a Conservative Jew married to a non-practicing Christian. We talked about the differences between being spiritual and being religious. We talked about the differences within religions - between Catholics and Episcopalians and between Orthodox and Conservative Jews, etc. It was really interesting. She is so clear and grounded in her faith. I am so conflicted. My views and values are clear. But, I find the practice of organized religion - virtually any of them - confusing. Each of the major faiths in the world has something I value and respect and am moved by. But each also seems to have something I find disturbing or jarring with who I am and what I stand for. Perhaps that's why I have most recently gravitated more toward the Quaker faith as it feels to me to involve a basic and fundamental spiritual sense, with limited ritual and ceremony but a lot of substance.
That was until a few weeks ago when I learned about a whole new faith - one I knew virtually nothing about until then.
Having lived literally all over the world, it was pretty surprising to me to find what I think is perhaps the ultimate in global religion right here, down the street, in Wilmette Illinois. At the Baha'i Temple. I am certainly no expert - having only spent a few hours studying it thus far - but its core principles are why I say it may be the ultimate global religion. According to the brochure I picked up at the temple, the core principles of the Baha'i faith are as follows:
• Elimination of all forms of prejudice
• Equality between men and women
• Harmony of science and religion
• World peace upheld by a world government
• Spiritual solutions to economic problems
• Universal education
I know there are many in the world that would not choose to live with these principles but for me I thought, wow! This is the closest I've come to finding a group where - on the surface at least - there was nothing for me to disagree with. I'm not fully sure I understand what "spiritual solutions for economic problems" means, but I kinda like the sound of it if it means we'll have to use more than a calculator to solve the economic inequalities in the world between the "haves" and "have nots". So, I for one found this religion an intriguing discovery. (For those who've known about it forever, pardon my ignorance. I am not nor have ever been anything like a religious expert or scholar and so it's not surprising I guess that my religious education was clearly incomplete.)
Anyway, I am not trying to convert anyone here. I'm not even sure what I myself will actually do with this learning. But in times like these where religion is at the heart of so many problems in the world, I think it is worth reflecting on how and whether it is possible for us all to move to a more global approach, one based on faith and spirituality more than dogma. And whether we could, without losing our own identities, opt for a broader, more inclusive approach to the questions we face as global citizens in order to perhaps find some lasting solutions to long term disputes. Naïve perhaps but perhaps that's just what we need. To look beyond the experts and the entrenched and move toward a more pragmatic and inclusive solution. Perhaps less is more when it comes to a global approach to these types of questions and perhaps the Baha'i Faith has something to teach us all... Just a thought...from someone still searching for her own answer...
Perry Yeatman is an SVP at Kraft Foods and co-author of the award-winning book, Get Ahead by Going Abroad.
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Take the goodness from all the religions you come across, the part for the common good of humanity and other living creatures, discard those that sow disunity and you will be spiritually happy. Not bind by beliefs, conflicts and not be mislead that is the free spirit within us.
In college I had an Iranian room mate who was into Baha'i. He also had a banner that was on his wall with arabic script on it and was half burned that he prayed to. I didn't get a good feeling from Baha'i at the time.
Baha'is pray to God. And God is an unknowable Essence, the Creator of the entire universe, not a burned banner. Perhaps it had some meaning for him from suffering persecution for his religion in Iran. Perhaps it was a reminder for him of some kind. The Baha'is there have been having many acts of arson committed against them lately, where their entire houses are being burned down because of their religion. They've been facing this kind of abuse for many years. Perhaps if you had asked him about what he believed, you would have had a better feeling. Baha'is don't generally force their teachings on those who aren't interested. Perhaps he sensed you didn't want to know so he didn't tell you. I'm just guessing though. I can't speak for him, of course.
I suspect that what your Iranian roomate had posted in his room was what Baha'is refer to as "Greatest Name." But he wasn't praying to that script. My guess is he had simply placed in ta place to mark the Qiblih which is the direction towards which Baha'is face when they say some of their prayers.
It was a long time ago, 1973, so my memory is alittle foggy, but I felt at the time he was a fanatic, which didn't jive with what the Bahai's message was. But he was the driving force for the Bahai's in our college town.
The best religion is the one not yet invented.
Looks like they are all human inventions and none of them are worth bothering with.
If you ever investigated the history and teachings of the Baha'i Faith, you might change that tune. It is hard to understand how someone like Baha'u'llah, who lived a rich and comfortable life as a nobleman, could have given all that up for a life of banishment and deprivation, torture, imprisonment, and a lifelong death sentence. Seemed to me when I heard about all this that a manmade religion would not have such sacrifice exhibited by its founder. I could be wrong, of course, but I have read His writings, too, and what they say and how He lived these teachings were also very compelling. Up to you, of course. All I can say is I'm glad I didn't let my own skepticism keep me from looking at this. :)
Why do we need a religion at all?
Treat others how you want to be treated...
The Golden Rule is common to all religions. It's a shame it doesn't get practiced more.
I met some Ba'hai kids in college who brought me to some meetings to learn more about their religion. Their search for tolerance and understanding and their universalist message WAS very appealing and seemed very modern. However, I soon learned that they are a traditional religion in that they are very rule based; no drinking, no sex for fun, etc. I agree that moral guidance is something a religion is there for; but demanding COMPLETE abstinance from activities that are fine in moderation (like drinking) just says to me that they are trying to control their members, not help them spiritually. I feel like supression of desire is just as destructive to an individual's well being as overindulgance in desire.
For the same messege I would recommend Unitarians. They also are universalists in their messege but don't have strict (and often arbitrary) dogma you HAVE to adhere to.
Gravity is a law, I don't see too many people claiming it's too restrictiv
So, really, Baha'u'lllah didn't set up a list of "Commandments", humanity is too advanced for that to be effective, as your comments demonstrate. He explained and demonstrated how things really are and then suggested what we might do to keep true to our 'reality'. To to take your example, "no drinking" one thing Baha'u'llah has said is:
I created thee rich, why dost thou bring thyself down to poverty? Noble I made
thee, wherewith dost thou abase thyself?
Baha'is just choose to try not to do things that would compromise their nobility.
I don't have room to go into it much more, for those interested there are Baha'is to meet all over, not just in Wilmette. And you can buy books printed by "Baha'i Publishing" at Borders, Barns & Noble or from Amazon.
DJeef and Eeyore,
I guess this is just where we agree to disagree. I was raised Catholic and was always made to feel guilty about wanting to indulge the very desires God gave to me. I don't think things that are pleasurable (drinking, sex) are harmful in any way if they are done responsibly and in moderation. I don't find that they distract me from the important things in life. When I was Catholic I was plagued by guilt at how I WANTED to do these "bad" things. I was much more distrated from my spiritual path when I was restriced from these activities than when I was allowed to indulge in them. I don't think they are sinful or bad, and I would not want to adopt a religion that tells me that they are. I am a Buddhist now, and I really apreciate that Buddha himself said that you should never do or not do something JUST because a religious leader told you. In Buddhism you just have to be MINDFUL of how you indulge in these behaviors, that they do not become destructive to you or others.
I do appreciate that some people (like yourselves) will not feel controlled or restricted by Baha'i teachings. I, however, am not one of those people.
How lucky we are that there are so many religious paths there are available in this world so that we can all find what works for us!
DJeef,
Gravity isn't a choice, therefor it is not analagous to depriving ourselves of things like sex. Humans have long wanted to fly. Whenever I was a kid and we'd play that game of "if you could have ANY superpower, what would it be" at least 75% of kids always picked flying. The advent of the airplane and the moon landing were HUGE milestones in human society because it allowed us to overcome our normal earthbound lives and dream of soaring through the skies. Most people WOULD cast off gravity at will if they were ABLE to and could fly around. But we don't have that CHOICE so we don't do it or bother worrying about not being able to do it. If gravity was a CHOICE for humans I assure you that MANY people would indulge in a non gravitational state and fly around.
A river in flood is free of restrictions. It is also very destructive, and subject to becoming polluted by inflows that are not in its course when it remains within its banks. When it is within its banks, the river's energy is focused. It can generate electricity or carry barges with goods that promote economic well-being. It can foster aquatic life--fish, frogs, snakes, manatees, all of which can be poisoned by the pollution of a flooded river.
I am a Baha'i. No one controls me. I control myself by choosing to live within the bounds of the laws of spiritual health revealed by Baha'u'llah.
When I encountered the Baha'i Faith in 1970 as an agnostic and a skeptical free-thinker, I was dating a girl who had become a Baha'i, and I studied up on it to learn enough to debunk it and talk her out of it. By the time I knew enough to do that, I had concluded that it would be intellectually dishonest of me not to become one myself.
A number of people posting here are taking potshots at the Baha'i Faith from a basis of extremely limited knowledge about it. I invite you to do what I did. Study up until you know enough to debunk it successfully.
My Baha'i contacts tell me the wisdom of the Bab is old. It seems that Baha'i people have been persecuted for more than a century in Iran & Iraq. To be arch, since a lot or all of Baha'i's wisdom is almost ancient, Baha'i is simply new to you.
It is not old. It was formed in 19th century Persia.
Yes, like most monotheistic religions it came from the mideast.
The wisdom of the religion, although revealed in the 19th century is based on the wisdom of God, which, in theory, is pretty darned old.
I appreciated the article a lot since I've been a Baha'i for almost 45 years. I found it when I was in college, and it struck me both on an intellectual level and an emotional one. When I heard the name of Baha'u'llah (the Prolphet-Founder of the Faith), I felt a huge emotional response in my heart. Somehow, I just knew He is for real. Baha'is are just people, like everyone else, struggling to put our principles and laws into practice. Some of us succeed and some don't. But we know God is more forgiving than just, according to the Baha'i writings, and we know that as we gradually become more in tune with the teachings, this affects both our own lives and those around us for the better. As for world government that so many seem so afraid of, the early colonists in America were afraid of the colonies uniting under one government as well. They didn't want to lose their sovereignty. But the results have been pretty spectacular when you think about how free we all are to go from state to state. Any religion that has as its core principle the oneness of humanity can't be all that bad. :) www.bahai.
My religion is the perfect one: Zoroastrianism. "Good Thoughts, Good Words, Good Deeds".
Baha'is also believe Zoroaster was a Messenger of God and also believe in good thoughts, good words, and good deeds. We believe Baha'u'llah is the promised one of all religions, including Zoroastrianism (He is the Shah Bahram they await). It is interesting to note that there are far more believers in Zoroaster as Baha'is than there are actual Zoroastrians these days. It would seem Baha'is have resurrected Zoroaster from a rather obscure corner of religious history it had occupied for many hundreds of years after a glorious beginning thousands of years ago when it was responsible for the great Persian culture they are so proud of. :) BTW, Baha'is also believe in Moses, Jesus, and the other Founders of the world's great religions. They all have laws, but Baha'u'llah's laws make sense for today even if they seem kinda tough to those who don't want any boundaries. They're actually very freeing, imho.
I see some inherent problems..
• Elimination of all forms of prejudice.
• Equality between men and women... sounds nice and emotionally appealing, but really, men and women are not equal
• Harmony of science and religion..
• World peace upheld by a world government
• Spiritual solutions to economic problems..
• Universal education.
how about a new religion..
In regards to the harmony of science and religion, both science and religion are about knowledge but they are knowledge of different things. Science is knowledge about the phenomenal world which is gained by means of experience and experimentation whereas religion is knowledge of the values and morals which is gained by means of divine revelation. Science tells us the "how" of creation whereas religion tell us the "why." Religion without science descends into superstion. Science without religion gets used for wrong purposes.
I hope you don't mind my addressing your objections, at least a little. It could be argued that there is no religious teaching that is possible. After all, there are always going to be exceptions we could consider reasonable. How many of us practice the Golden Rule all the time? Yet should God not encourage us to aspire to something better? Does a tree fulfill its purpose by burying itself in the dirt or by growing up towards the light and producing fruit? If prejudice is seen as a moral issue, people will be inclined to try to avoid it. If equality is seen as a basic truth, people will be inclined to practice it. If peace is seen as a desireable goal, people will try to work towards it. And education should be, as Baha'is believe, to the child's capacity in the sciences and arts as well as virtues education. Baha'u'llah also told us never to try to force beliefs on anyone. So far, no one has proved Him wrong to me, but maybe you could? Give it a try, why don't you. :)
A Baha'i might say, "with God, all things are possible."
I might say, how do you know until you try?
This is not a religion. It's common sense. There will never be a "world-wide" religion. Too many variables between nations and cultures. I am suspect of all orthodox religions, and even more so with the "new, " ones. I prefer Nature religions such as the Tao Te Ching and others. I can see Nature. I can touch it, taste it, smell it, hear it and be it. Nature is God on earth. Heaven and Hell are right here too.
Actually, it is a religion. :) And common sense. And world wide. Over 2100 ethnic groups are represented in the Baha'i community, people from every conceivable religious background, too. It's actually the most diverse yet unified organization of any kind on this planet. And though it has no clergy and no public rituals, it still has the basic qualifications of a religion, such as a vast body of sacred scripture, Prophet-Founders the followers revere, Temples for the worship of God, and various disciplines that help us grow spiritually, such as daily prayer and fasting once a year.
Call it what you like, it seems a little suspect to me. What qualifies a religion?
Great article.
I think another of the problems between religion and science--is that (I'm sure by no accident either)-that religion does not seem to want to change with human emtions or to grow with the changing views of the world..
On the flip side of this, science has claimed to "know it all".
Science is rooted in cause & effect-knowing the why of something.
It does not take into account either-that new discoveries could be made in the future to refute these discoveries--an takes on an egotistic air of "absolute certainty" when it is simply not the case..
So neither group does anyhting to actually get any of our current problems on energy policy or other problems of the environmen
We, the public, are held hostage to the egos of fundies and scientists---who both refuse to acknowledge that maybe the public does not need to know the outcome or the process of a different approach.
But while Mac and the GOP seem to be throwing out alternatives to the current crisis of simply a change in strategy.
It is clear for visionary thinking--one must have learned from the bad results of such strategy and to have good judgement, belief, optimism, hope for 21st century thinking..
Americans know fromt he results of the past 40 years how bad some of the strategy has been-so rather than repeating it-want a new way forward..
..
What is needed is the actual WILL to try.
Science does not claim to know it all.
Absolutely true o fishy one,
But some scientists do claim to know it all. In that way Science and Religion [in the form of scientists and religionists] are similar.
You never heard of them? They used to advertise. TV, even bus ads. I seem to remember some misgivings at the time I heard of them, but I haven't read up on them lately myself. I will say that if a certain candidate, who's been linked to 3 or 4 other religions, had expressed any interest in this one, they'd be the most-maligned group in America. Also, as somebody else said, world government? Don't even get people started on that one.
I did find problems with this faith. A perfect global religion would actually do as it claims and be for everyone. It is not.
"Homosexuality is not viewed as a valid sexual orientation, and is instead considered as a kind of handicap, “a condition which an individual should control and overcome.” The only valid or approved sexual relationship is between a man and a woman in marriage. Again, I do not mean to imply that the Baha’i fiath sees gay men and women as any worse than other Baha’i’s, but their orientation is certainly considered to be a transgression against the faith, similar to adultery.
Homosexuals are told that through counseling, diligence, and prayer they can overcome this affliction. Although they claim that homosexuals are not prejudiced or condemned, the very stance the Baha’i faith takes on the matter is counter to this philosophy. Claiming that homosexuality is somehow deviant and not in line with the norm implies a prejudice, even if it isn’t acted upon. In this view homosexuals will always be considered second class, something that is not the norm, and must strive further to be fully accepted.
Here we have an idea that I cannot abide, and that seems to contradict the rest of the Baha’i faith. Indeed it seems to be a leftover from a time and society that was generally homophobic, yet we seem powerless to change the doctrine, as this would put the supremacy of our own intellect over God’"
The heart wants what it wants, and no amount of, "counseling," is going to change that. And why should it?
I worked for a Baha'i man for a year and a half. Met lots of his friends, his family members. All very nice people. One of my co-workers started attending Baha'i meetings and really enjoyed the fellowship (and the food). I read quite a bit about it, but I have never been one to subscribe to any religions, even one as benign-sounding as this one.
And let me tell you, their concept of equality for men and women can be taken to the extreme. My former boss's wife cheated on him with a very close friend of his and in the divorce, he let her have everything she wanted, to the point where it almost broke him. Even though she was in the wrong and he was the injured party, he would not do anything to hurt her. And he worships his daughters. Another thing that troubled me was how much he trusted anyone else who was Persian and Baha'i to his own detriment. He got involved with a very slick pyramid scheme and lost milions.
And the one thing that really scares me is the Baha'i longing for a world government. I hear the religion is very popular at the UN.
I appreciated this article. We do need something more inclusive than most religions are.
Try the Tao Te Ching. The Tao accepts everybody, and there's no supreme being. No condemnation, no Heaven or Hell, no dogma, no "scripture," no penetence.
And a lot of confusing poetry that you get to interpret.
It is kind of like astrology. But with bones to throw on the ground.
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