So, what exactly is the Bahá’í Faith?

 

Finding the Bahá’í Faith was the most important thing that ever happened to me. I was 20 years old when I became a Bahá’í – I have now been retired for some years. It has guided my life, given my life a purpose, and given me hope for the future. For the last 5 years I have been writing a blog about current affairs, giving a Bahá’í viewpoint. I have covered dozens of different subjects. However, I have now realised that I have never even attempted to explain to the readers what the Bahá’í Faith actually is, and to give an overview of its teachings. I thought it was time to remedy this!
 
The Bahá’í Faith is a new world religion, although it builds on all its sister religions that have come before it. Like all religions, there is a belief that there is a spiritual purpose to life, and that for our souls to progress in the next world, we need to develop spiritual qualities in this life. The Bahá’í Faith is all about transformation – of one’s self and of society as a whole. Since I became a Bahá’í, the Bahá’í community has grown in so many ways. It now has a more obvious positive impact on the world, especially in countries where numbers are growing more quickly.
 
Bahá’ís believe that there is a purpose to Creation – that there is a First Cause, a creative force, a God. Because it created us, the essence of this First Cause is unknowable to mankind. It cannot be seen, or even understood. However, this doesn’t stop us trying! It is in the nature of humanity to strive. Through this same act of striving, human beings can develop positive attributes, or virtues, which bring us nearer to, and more like, God. The overall development of human beings towards perfection, and at the same time towards building a developing civilisation, is driven by a series of Messengers of God, such as Moses, Krishna, Jesus, the Buddha and Muhammad. Bahá’ís call them “Manifestations of God” because they manifest – or show – the attributes of God. Each One brings a religion suited for a particular time, building on the work of the previous religions, but taking human understanding and development a little further. After some time, however, the purity of the religion gradually becomes obscured by man-made ideas which often cause division. Eventually the time is right for another Messenger to move mankind forward again. This is a process without end.
 
The Bahá’í story actually begins with a young Messenger Who called Himself “The Báb”, meaning the “Door” or “Gate”. He claimed, in 1844, that He was the Gateway to a new age, and to a new Messenger Whom God would send. There is such a World Teacher promised in various ways in all the previous religions. After He had attracted tens of thousands of people to His new teaching, mostly in His native Persia (now Iran), He was executed by firing squad in 1850, for daring to announce a new religion. In 1853, in a dungeon in Tehran, one of the Báb’s followers known as Bahá’u’lláh (“The Glory of God”), had a vision, which revealed to Him that He was the One promised by the Báb. The authorities in Persia did not dare to kill Bahá’u’lláh, who was well-liked by the poor people of Tehran, and also well-respected by the various foreign ambassadors in the city. Therefore, He was exiled rather than killed, and spent the rest of His life in other countries – first in Iraq, then Turkey and finally Palestine. At the point of His departure from Iraq to Turkey, He announced what many people had already realised: that He was the Promised One of all religions.
 
Bahá’u’lláh proclaimed that all the major world religions were divine in origin. He declared that all human beings are one people, and should be in complete unity. He declared that men and women should have equal opportunities; that we should abandon all forms of prejudice; and that fairness and justice should be the guiding principles of human society. He called for a conference of the world’s rulers, in order to create a permanent peace treaty, and to prepare for the creation of a united world. He said that one language and one alphabet should be chosen, and then taught in all the schools of the world, so that everyone would be able to keep their own language but also have a common means of world communication. Bahá’u’lláh urged us to develop a form of world government, and laid down guidance for the formation of a body called the Universal House of Justice. Importantly, Bahá’u’lláh’s call for unity does not mean uniformity. In other words, oneness does not mean sameness. For example, encouraging the local indigenous culture is an important part of Bahá’í activity in many parts of the world.
 
Bahá’u’lláh passed to the next world in 1892, whilst in exile in Palestine. In His will, He asked all His followers to turn to His eldest son as a point of unity. This son, known as ‘Abdu’l-Bahá (“Servant of the Glory”), was an example of how a Bahá’í should live, and was the sole interpreter of His Father’s writings. ‘Abdu’l-Bahá was eventually released by the authorities in 1908, and, although now elderly, was then able to travel to Egypt, Europe and North America, announcing His Father’s Message. His two major tours were widely covered in newspapers at the time, and attracted a lot of attention from intellectuals, from other people of prominence, and from the ordinary people, who flocked to hear Him speak. However, because of the First World War He was unable to travel overseas again, and was actually under threat of crucifixion from the Turkish general based in Haifa. He was rescued by the British army, which sent a force of Indian cavalry on ahead to ensure His safety. ‘Abdu’l-Bahá received a knighthood from the British crown for His wartime work in providing food for the poor people of the area. 

Photo of Abdu'l-Bahá:
 

‘Abdu’l-Bahá, in turn, also left a clear Will and Testament, and asked the Bahá’ís to support His grandson, Shoghi Effendi, as Guardian of the Faith. Shoghi Effendi oversaw a huge expansion of the Bahá’í Faith, translated many of Bahá’u’lláh’s Writings into English, and generally guided the new religious community, until he died during a visit to London in 1957. Following the detailed guidance left in ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s Will, the Bahá’ís elected the Universal House of Justice which Bahá’u’lláh had ordained, and it is this body which is now leading the Bahá’í community into the future. There are no priests in the Bahá’í Faith, so local and national bodies are all elected without any nominations or canvassing, as is also the case with the Universal House of Justice. It is this clear transfer of responsibility which has kept the Faith united and will continue to do so in the future.
 
The Bahá’í community consists of several million people, found in virtually every single country and island group in the world. This community works to overcome prejudice, to promote the equality of the sexes, for the unity of all mankind, for the betterment of the world, and to spread the Bahá’í message amongst mankind. As a major thrust towards the rebuilding of a community spirit, the Universal House of Justice has encouraged the Bahá’ís in each area around the world to undertake a number of locally-based initiatives. These include classes promoting moral behaviour in children, junior youth groups where younger teenagers can find their place in life, and activities designed to bring spiritual enrichment for older youth and adults.
 
Obviously, I have missed out a huge amount of detail, and cannot even attempt to convey any sense of the spirit which animates Bahá’í meetings throughout the world, but perhaps the purpose of the Bahá’í Faith can best be summed up in Bahá’u’lláh’s own statement that, “The earth is but one country, and mankind its citizens.”
 
Bahá’ís have a positive outlook for the future. It may well be that on the way, mankind will have to go through severe trials, but in the end we will survive to build a civilisation where everyone will be treated justly and with respect, and will be able to reach their full potential. As Bahá’u’lláh said: “So powerful is the light of unity that it can illumine the whole world.”
 
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For further information, see www.bahai.org