WHAT IS THE BAHA'I FAITH

THE BAHA'I FAITH - INTERESTING LINK

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Today the Bahá’í community brings together people from over 2000 ethnic backgrounds in about 235 countries and territories throughout the world.

A World Religion
The Bahá’í Faith is an independent world religion whose purpose is to unite all the races and peoples in one universal Cause and one common Faith.

WHAT IS THE PURPOSE OF LIFE?

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Baha'is believe that the purpose of human existence is fundamentally spiritual: to develop our spiritual and intellectual potentiality by coming to know and worship God and thus contribute to an ever advancing civilization.

More Information >

WHO ARE THE BAHA'IS

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One Religion, Different Names

Some people view the world’s religions as opposing groups competing for supporters. Bahá’u’lláh did not see it that way. He said they were all one. Their central truths are harmonized; the social laws, however, change according to the times.
Recognizing this unity among religions will help us create a peaceful global society.

How do I become a Bahá’í?

A person becomes a Bahá’í by recognizing Bahá’u’lláh as the Messenger of God for this age and accepting to follow His laws and teachings and the administrative institutions He established for the unification of humankind. People enroll in a Bahá’í community by signifying such belief and commitment, orally or in writing, to the responsible Bahá'í institution.
More Information>

You are invited to investigate.

Contacting the Bahá’ís Internationally
Baha'is in Perth
Or email me boab@iinet.net.net.au

Baha'i Mysticism Resources

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Baha'i Mysticism Resources

"I AM the Mystic Fane which the Hand of Omnipotence hath reared. I am the Lamp which the Finger of God hath lit within its niche and caused to shine with deathless splendour."
(Selections from the Writings of the Báb, p74)

This utterance clearly establishes the mystical source of the Bahá'í Faith in the supernal station of the Manifestation of God. We invite you to read the mystical writings of our beloved faith, and then, wherever you journey, may this blessing of Bahá'u'lláh go with you:

"Peace be upon him that inclineth his ear unto the melody of the Mystic Bird calling from the Sadratu'l-Muntahá!"
(Bahá'u'lláh, Kitáb-i-Íqan, p257)

More here

BAHA'I RESEARCH

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Bahai Research .com provides a tool to search, research, investigate and deepen on the writings of most of the major world religions including: Baha'i, Buddhist, Christian, Hindu, Islam, Judaism, Sikh, Tao and Zoroastrian.

By combining simple Google-like searching and a simple tree view, this application will give you comprehensive online access to these holy books.

Sincerely,
Ian Vink,
Perth, Australia

ONE COMMON FAITH

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ONE COMMON FAITH

WORLD ACCORDING TO BOB

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WORLD ACCORDING TO BOB

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Baha'i Childrens Classes Perth Australia

BWNS

Baha'i Classes Find Wide Appeal

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Baha'i classes find wide appeal

In Perth, Western Australia, volunteer teacher Faeghe Evans teaches a Baha'i Religious Education in stste scfools (BSRE) class. Photo by Ryan Lash.

SYDNEY, Australia, 5 April 2005 (BWNS) -- About 6,000 primary school children in Australia are attending Baha'i classes, which are offered in more than 300 state-run schools.

The classes are offered mainly to provide religious instruction to Baha'i children. Yet more than 90 percent of the children in Baha'i classes are from families who are not members of the Baha'i Faith -- indicating the wide appeal of the Baha'i approach to religious education. "

Baha'i World News Service
More information BWNS: Baha'i classes find wide appeal:

WHO IS BAHA'U'LLAH?

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"Who is Baha'u'llah?
Baha'u'llah is recognized by millions throughout the world as the Messenger of God for this age. The Baha'i Faith is founded on His teachings. Born in 1817 to a prominent family in Iran, He showed from childhood an unusual intellectual precocity, although unschooled in the kind of learning prevalent in 19th century Iran; He demonstrated, too, a particular devotion to relief of the condition of the poor. His given name was Mirza Husayn Ali but He identified Himself as Baha'u'llah, which means "Glory of God," a title by which He was addressed by His Forerunner, the Bab. Because of His teachings, He was banished into an exile, eventually lasting forty years, that took Him to the Holy Land. It was there that He passed away in 1892. "

More
Who is Baha'u'llah?:

Beliefs and Practices

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Complementary to its transformative effect on society, religion fosters the spiritual development and transformation of the individual soul.

The links explain the Bahaha'i teachings on life after death, our spiritual nature and growth, morality, and the importance of prayer and meditation. Subcategories
The Baha'i Concept of God
Our Spiritual Nature and Purposes
Oneness of Religion
Prayer, Meditation, and Fasting
Life after Death
Morality and Spiritual Growth
Independent Investigation of the Truth
More info
The Bahaha'i: Beliefs and Practices:

Moral and Spiritual Education for the Next Generation

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"Moral and Spiritual Education for the Next Generation
The Baha'i writings attach great importance to the periods of childhood and youth, providing clear guidance to parents and communities to raise children in a nurturing and unambiguous environment.
Youth are encouraged to develop a strong sense of purpose, empowering their own transformation and leading them to contribute to the advancement of society. Young people's spiritual capacity, the basis for their own happiness and sense of well-being, is a powerful force for social change.
Baha'is believe that moral, spiritual, and values-based training for children and youth is essential in order to nurture these capacities.
Thus, Baha'i communities sponsor moral education classes for children and youth of all backgrounds. The classes seek to develop essential virtues such as the knowledge of God, trustworthiness, honesty, and justice. They aim to build a strong moral framework that will assist children to achieve excellence in material, intellectual, and spiritual aspects of life.
"Regard man as a mine rich in gems of inestimable value," wrote Bah'u'llah. "Education can, alone, cause it to reveal its treasures, and enable mankind to benefit therefrom."

PS This refers to complete education eg. "spiritual and general"

More
Moral and Spiritual Education for the Next Generation:

GOOD AND EVIL

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In contrast to a number of other religious doctrines and philosophies, the Baha'i Faith does not teach that the physical desires of human beings are 'evil' or 'bad.' Everything in God's creation is regarded as essentially and fundamentally good. In fact, the very purpose of the human body and its physical faculties is to serve as a proper vehicle for the development of the soul . As the energies of the body are gradually brought under the conscious control of the soul, they become instruments for the expression of spiritual qualities. It is only undisciplined physical passions that become causes of harm, and hinder spiritual progress.
For example, the human sexual urge is considered to be a gift from God. Its disciplined expression within the legitimate bonds of marriage can be a powerful expression of the spiritual quality of love. However, the same sexual urge, if misused, can lead one into perverse, wasteful, and even destructive actions.
Since the body is the vehicle of the rational soul in this life on earth, it is important to maintain and care for it. Bah�u'll�h strongly discouraged any form of asceticism or extreme self-denial. His emphasis was on healthy discipline. Therefore the Baha'i writings contain a number of practical laws relating to the care of the human body: proper nutrition, regular bathing, and so forth. Underlying these, as with many other aspects of Baha'i belief, is the principle of moderation: things that are beneficial when kept within the limits of moderation become harmful when taken to extremes. "

Continued
On Good and Evil:

Fear of God

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Baha'i Mysticism - What if Fear Extinguished?

Doesn't fear also derive from the power of attraction? Isn't it love and desire which cause fears to exist? And isn't it also true that if all fears were extinguished then "the phenomena of human life would disappear"? And if only all our earthly fears were extinguished then a phenomenal spiritual life would appear!

Everything I hear about how to deal with fear seems to be what I call fear management. It offers methods for dissolving the fears we find limiting, but it only expands our sphere of fearlessness, only pushes back our limitations. It never offers a means for escaping earthly fearfulness entirely. I think our Writings offer us that means, that They offer to burst the bubble of this sphere of all our earthly fears, forever.

This concept is quite simple. Whatever we love, we are attached to it emotionally, whether it's a person, a thing, an idea, or even a feeling. So when we experience or even contemplate its loss we are ruled by fear. "Love is always accompanied by fear."1 So we cannot avoid attachments but we can upgrade them toward attachment to naught save God.

If we love physical things, we are ruled by our physical world. If we love people, we are ruled by our social relationships. If we love heavenly things, we are ruled by our heavenly condition. If we love only God, then we are ruled only by His will and good pleasure.

Further information
http://www.planetbahai.org/resources/mysticism/refeara.html

Prayer, Meditation, and Fasting

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The Baha'is: Prayer, Meditation, and Fasting:

"Prayer, Meditation, and Fasting
Links Prayer, Meditation, and Fasting
For Bah�'�s, the purpose of life is to know and love God, and thus to progress spiritually. As in most other religions, prayer and meditation are primary tools for spiritual development.

More
The Baha'is: Prayer, Meditation, and Fasting:

BAHA'IS AND POLITICS

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"How do Baha'is relate to politics?

Baha'is take their civic responsibilities seriously and uphold the authority of established governments through loyalty and obedience to the laws of their country. While participating in elections for their government, they abstain from partisanship, and so do not join political parties or factions. Baha'is may serve their government in administrative posts but do not accept political appointments or run for elected office. Such service reflects the practice within the Baha'i community, which holds elections for its administrative councils that are entirely without nominations or campaigning.

More
http://bahai.org/misc/politics

HOMOSEXUALITY

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"What is the Baha'i attitude towards homosexuality?
Baha'i law limits permissible sexual relations to those between a man and a woman in marriage. Believers are expected to abstain from sex outside matrimony. Baha'is do not, however, attempt to impose their moral standards on those who have not accepted the Revelation of Bahau'u'llah. While requiring uprightness in all matters of morality, whether sexual or otherwise, the Baha'i teachings also take account of human frailty and call for tolerance and understanding in regard to human failings. In this context, to regard homosexuals with prejudice would be contrary to the spirit of the Baha'i teachings. "

Further reading
The Bah�'�s: What is the Bah�� attitude towards homosexuality?:

LACK OF HUMAN RIGHTS IN IRAN

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Dismay at lack of human rights resolution on Iran as persecution worsens:

GENEVA, Switzerland, 14 April 2005 (BWNS) -- The Baha'i International Community today expressed its dismay and disappointment at the failure of the UN Commission on Human Rights to even consider a resolution on human rights in Iran, given the worsening situation in that country and in particular the persecution of the Baha'is.
"In view of the sharp increase of human rights violations against the Baha'i community of Iran, it is nothing less than shocking that the Commission on Human Rights has for the third year in a row failed to renew international monitoring of the situation," said Bani Dugal, principal representative of the Baha'i International Community to the United Nations.

Further Reading
http://news.bahai.org/story.cfm?storyid=367

SOCIAL CAPITAL

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social capital: civic community, organization and education

Social Capital
The notion of social capital is a useful way of entering into debates about civil society – and it is central to the arguments of Robert Putnam and others who want to ‘reclaim public life’. It is also now being used by the World Bank with regard to economic and societal development and by management experts as a way of thinking about organizational development. We examine it's nature - and some of the issues surrounding its use.

http://www.infed.org/biblio/social_capital.htm for further reading

Social Capital an Individual Baha'i View

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Social capital is a concept that tries to capture the interconnectedness between people in communities, areas such as reciprocity, trust, togetherness, collective social action, informal relationships, information channels and bonds of friendship. It has been given greater attention over recent decades by a broad spectrum of disciplines, including sociologists, community development researchers and public health practitioners, due to the increasingly recognised importance that this form of 'capital' is for healthy individuals and communities.
Social capital is generally positive and beneficial. Communities with high levels of social capital are attractive and safe, makes us feel good, make us feel part of a bigger purpose and family and is actually good for our physical and mental health. Recent examples of real-estate agent advertisements that portray areas of new land releases as a close, warm, friendly community that fosters friendship and civic involvement are trying to market their area as possessing high levels of social capital.
The Baha'i community can be characterised as having high levels of social capital. It is one marked by high levels of trust and information sharing, relationships and reciprocity. One of the hallmarks of the community is service and love. Social capital can also be potentially negative - the commonest example given is when it becomes exclusive so others cannot join. More controversial is the concept that if the social capital is built up around an adversarial and negative philosophy, such as urban street gangs, they can be characterised in some ways as organisations with high levels of internal social capital but characterised by destructive codes of conduct. This has relevance with the Faith in that it has high social capital, but it is often directed inwards. Some inwards direction is good and essential - it maintains community, bonds, friendship - but is unhealthy if not balanced with a complementary outward orientation for service, teaching and interaction with the general community.
The Baha'i Faith, due to its core values such as orientation to service, work seen as worship and commitment to the betterment of the whole world, avoids the extremes of such inwardly-orientated close-nit communities. However, due to our unique patterns of communication, language and relationships, some people may benefit from an 'orientation manual/road map to the Perth Baha'i community' to understand some aspects of it. Everyone with contact with the community needs to know how to participate - accessing information on the Faith and community, details of activities and generally participating in the building up of a world civilisation founded upon the principles of Baha'u'llah.Thus, it is not only expected, but natural that a community with high levels of social capital, such as the Baha'i community, will have some of its own patterns of communication, its own language and its own relationships. However, whilst this is an inherent strength, it is recognised that this can be an unintentional barrier for the wider community to interact and participate in the Baha'i community to the fullest extent that may be possible. Finding ways to connect these people to the Baha'i community, whilst not diminishing the high levels of social capital that currently exists within the community, is a fundamental area of learning and experimentation. This may also mean that, after reflection and analysis of initial attempts, some minor modifications to non-essential patterns of communication and practice will be vital in ensuring that our community is more open and accessible for the general community.
This awareness of the value of social capital also avoids casting it in any negative light and any pattern of 'blaming' communities for having high social capital. It also avoids an unnecessary erosion of social capital with the aim of making the Baha'i community more accessible for the general community. Rather, we should view it as something to build upon, as a great strength and find ways in which we can share these bonds of love and fellowship with a broader section of the community who are attracted to the Faith in some measure.
Kynan Feeney

CAPITAL PUNISHMENT BAHA'I

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UHJ Letter: capital.punishment.html

LETTER TO AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL FROM BAHA'I INTERNATIONAL OMMUNITY

Secretary General
Amnesty International

Thank you for advising us of the campaign that Amnesty International is launching on the subject of the death penalty and for your invitation to express the views of the Baha'i International Community. As capital punishment is a subject that is dealt with explicitly in the Baha'i Scriptures, we feel that we can best respond by sharing with you the attached copy of a statement we have recently drafted, elaborating the relevant principles as we see them. We hope that this is of assistance.

CAPITAL PUNISHMENT
The past two or three decades have seen a growing trend in many countries to re-examine the question of capital punishment. In the view of the Baha'i community this discussion is a development much to be welcomed. It is clear from contemporary reports in the media, together with submissions made by such responsible agencies as Amnesty International, that the way in which civil authorities in a number of countries are using this most serious of punishments can in no way be reconciled with the principles of the United Nations instruments to which the governments of those countries have subscribed. In yet other jurisdictions, disproportionately high percentages of persons representing ethnic minorities among the executed raise disturbing doubts of yet another kind. Nor can one be indifferent to the body of evidence suggesting that, in a great many cases, capital punishment is accompanied by conditions that impose an unnecessary and unacceptable degree of suffering.

It is now generally accepted that society's most powerful instrument in influencing behaviour is education. The same age that is witnessing the inexorable unification of the human race and the emergence of something that may reasonably be termed a universal conscience, also finds itself possessed of an understanding of human nature not available to previous civilizations. For the past several decades the social sciences have made steady progress in exploring the roots of human motivation and in developing educational measures designed to tap this immense resource. If the results still fall far short of the ideals that have impelled the research, this in no way calls into question the potentialities of the educational process nor casts doubt upon the premise that it represents humanity's best hope for a peaceful and orderly world. It reflects merely the human race's continuing attachment to political, racial, and sectarian prejudices that confuse the goals and severely limit the context within which the educational process must seek to do its work.

To continue
http://bahai-library.com/published.uhj/capital.punishment.html

SET COUNTER 900 12 FEB 2006

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