The Baha'i faith

[Rowan]

The Bahá'í Faith is practiced throughout the world today by millions of believers of all races, cultures and economic backgrounds. Bahá'ís believe in one God who communicates with His creatures by means of messengers, or Manifestations of God. Some of these Manifestations include Moses, Jesus, Mohammed, Zoroaster and Buddha. In our time, the two Bahá'í Manifestations include The Báb (or "Gate") and Bahá'u'lláh ("The Glory of God", pronounced ba-ha-oo-la).
The Bahá'í Faith began in 1844, in what was then Persia (now the country of Iran), when The Báb declared His mission. This was to prepare the faithful for He who was to follow, much as John the Baptist in the Christian faith prepared his followers for the coming of Christ. The Báb revealed many prayers and scriptures during His short ministry, which ended when He and over 10,000 of His followers were martyred. Many of the remaining believers were impoverished and forced into exile. Among the exiles were Bahá'u'lláh and His family, including His young son 'Abdu'l-Bahá. In 1863, while in exile in Iraq, Bahá'u'lláh declared His mission. Bahá'u'lláh spent the rest of His life in prison and exile, where He revealed the scriptures that guide the lives of present-day Bahá'ís.

Today, Bahá'ís in every corner of the globe practice the teachings of Bahá'u'lláh and Abdu'l-Bahá, and their revealed prayers form the core of the believers' devotions.

Bahá'ís believe in one God, in the elimination of all forms of prejudice and intolerance, and in the basic agreement of science and religion. Bahá'ís encourage charity and hospitality, education, and unity. There are no Bahá'í clergy.

**Michael Micheletti

This is the faith im integrating with my many other practises lately.

[Laurasia]

I have heard of this path before, though not many of the specifics. Thanks for posting this Rowan. Like I said, I don't really know anything about this path so a thought crossed my mind...if you would like to add items to it, I could create a forum for the Bahá'í path like the others above. Let me know if you would be interested in that.

[Rowan]

Thanks Laurasia
Adding it there would be nice.
its still very much a quiet religion/path because it has a principle of attraction rather than promotion.Thats one of the 1st things that i admired about it.
Still today followers of Baha'u'llah are tortured and persecuted for holding steady in their devotion, mainly in the middle east countries.
Many , if not all have willingly gone to their deaths rather then deny their beliefs.
thanks for your interest
Rowan

[Brandybuck]

Thanks indeed for posting this Rowan. I admit that I know next to nothing about the Baha'i faith. I would be very interested to learn more about it.

Laurasia wanted me to tell you that she will get that forum up for you as soon as possible.

[Laurasia]

its still very much a quiet religion/path because it has a principle of attraction rather than promotion.

Really?! Well than I definately need to learn more about it. I was very turned off by it when I was younger because the person that was trying to "introduce it to me" was actually trying to shove it down my throat.

[Rowan]

Really?! Well than I definately need to learn more about it. I was very turned off by it when I was younger because the person that was trying to "introduce it to me was actually trying to shove it down my throat.

Thats awful Laurasia .
It goes against what Baha'u'llah and the Universal house of Justice teach. I suppose you always get a few in every religion who maintain a self righteous attitude.I apologise for his behaviour on behalf of the community in a broad sense.
The opposite is recommended . If a person chooses to speak about their own beliefs , bahai's are supposed to respect and encourage them and not mention their own faith until asked .

Heres a little on this from one of the Bahai websites and a link to that site. www.bahai.org/faq#FE70B4CA-AE6D-512A-7564E3CD3B3BC9D0 . Its a FAQ page that pretty much covers everything .

*******
How do the Bahá’ís relate to other religions?

Bahá’u’lláh called upon the Bahá’ís to associate with the followers of all religions in a spirit of love and friendship. Bahá’ís see no intrinsic conflict with other religious communities, as they believe all the revealed faiths originate from the same Source, God, and are essentially one.

and also here..

How do Bahá’ís spread their beliefs?
Bahá’u’lláh has stated that each Bahá’í has the duty to share the Faith with others but forbids the practice of proselytism. Thus, no pressure must be put on anyone to accept it, since independent investigation of truth is a fundamental right and responsibility of each individual.

[Laurasia]

Well what do you know about that?! Those two statements are eerily similar to my own views regarding spirituality. LOL!

[Brandybuck]

It also seems to resound similarily with the Buddhist faith.

[Rowan]

Laurasia
Those two statements are eerily similar to my own views regarding spirituality.

Brandybuck
It also seems to resound similarily with the Buddhist faith.

I agree with both of you.
As far as i know , it emcompasses the nicer aspects of most major faiths, the aim is unity and so the emphasis is on non-judgement of anybody else practises.
Baha'u'llah dosnt contradict much that i already hold dear.He actually adds to it .
I wonder what other people will make of it.

[hadassah]

Sounds like a peaceful religion . Christianity was supose to be that. But not all the followers followed Jesus's teachings on love and pece which gave Christianity a bad name.