Baha’i Principles: The World’s Newest Spiritual Teachings

In his speaking tour throughout North America in 1912, Abdu’l-Baha, Baha’u’llah’s eldest son and designated successor, made a very favorable impression on hundreds of huge audiences. 

But there was one polite criticism that Abdu’l-Baha later addressed, as mentioned in Part 95 of this series of essays: 

All confessed that the teachings of Baha’u’llah were, in truth, unparalleled, and that they constituted the spirit of this age, the illumination of this century. At most, such criticism as was voiced against them did not extend beyond the claim that similar teachings had been enunciated in the Gospel, in reply to which we said: “Among these teachings is the unity of mankind — show us in which book this is recorded.”

Here, the word “book” refers to the Bible and, by extension, the sacred scriptures of other world religions as well.

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In his talk on November 15, 1912, at the home of Miss Juliet Thompson, 48 West Tenth Street, New York, Abdu’l-Baha advanced a monumental claim about the distinctive nature of Baha’u’llah’s principles and teachings:

I have spoken in the various Christian churches and in the synagogues, and in no assemblage has there been a dissenting voice. All have listened, and all have conceded that the teachings of Baha’u’llah are superlative in character, acknowledging that they constitute the very essence or spirit of this new age and that there is no better pathway to the attainment of its ideals. Not a single voice has been raised in objection. At most there have been some who have refused to acknowledge the mission of Baha’u’llah, although even these have admitted that He was a great teacher, a most powerful soul, a very great man. Some who could find no other pretext have said, “These teachings are not new; they are old and familiar; we have heard them before.” Therefore, I will speak to you upon the distinctive characteristics of the manifestation of Baha’u’llah and prove that from every standpoint His Cause is distinguished from all others. It is distinguished by its didactic character and method of exposition, by its practical effects and application to present world conditions, but especially distinguished from the standpoint of its spread and progress.

Does this claim withstand scrutiny? As one test case and a case-in-point, let’s take the declaration that “Work is worship” as a distinctive Baha’i principle, as set forth by Abdu’l-Baha in the same talk:

He [Baha’u’llah] has also proclaimed the principle that all mankind shall be educated and that no illiteracy be allowed to remain. This practical remedy for the need of the world cannot be found in the text of any other sacred Books.

He teaches that it is incumbent upon all mankind to become fitted for some useful trade, craft or profession by which subsistence may be assured, and this efficiency is to be considered as an act of worship.

The teachings of Baha’u’llah are boundless and without end in their far-reaching benefit to mankind. The point and purpose of our statement today is that they are new and that they are not found in any of the religious Books of the past. This is in answer to the question, “What has Baha’u’llah brought that we have not heard before?” Therefore, it is conclusive and evident that the Manifestation of God in this day is distinguished from all former appearances and revelations by His majesty, His power and the efficacy and application of His Word. 

Here, one could point out that a comparable “work ethic” may be found in the teachings of other world religions. Necati Alkan, an independent Baha’i scholar, kindly brought this to my attention. Certainly, we would first want to understand and appreciate what Abdu’l-Baha meant by this line of discourse. In my reading of it, these statements cited above are not absolute, but relative. The idea that Baha’u’llah brought new teachings is a relative one, grounded in the bedrock Baha’i concept of progressive revelation. 

I can tell you that, growing up as a Christian, the idea of “work as worship” never came up in my experience. During my graduate studies in the academic study of religions at the University of Calgary and the University of Toronto, this was never stated as a fundamental Christian principle, either.

That said, of course, I read about the “Protestant work ethic” (also known as the “Calvinist work ethic” or the “Puritan work ethic”). However, this is primarily a sociological concept set forth by Max Weber, in his 1905 classic work, “The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism.”

Also, it has been pointed out to me that the Hebrew word, avodah, means both “work” and “worship.” Etymologically, avodah has a long and venerable history of sundry meanings. In ancient Hebrew (as in the Torah), avodah simply meant “worship.” In modern Hebrew, avodah came to mean “work.” When both ancient and modern meanings are conflated, avodah can mean both “worship” and “work.” Thus, “Work is worship.” As a modern formulation, this idea has gained currency and has enjoyed popularity.

Comparative studies of various concepts, contexts and configurations of the “work as worship” ethic also exist in the secondary literature of many faith traditions, including Islam, Hinduism, and several others. To varying degrees, these studies discuss the valorization of work (as worship), and are selectively representative, not exhaustive. Moreover, they tend to focus on modern history and the contemporary period, after the Baha’i principle of work as worship was put forth by Baha’u’llah in the mid-19^th century:

It is enjoined upon every one of you to engage in some form of occupation, such as crafts, trades and the like. We have graciously exalted your engagement in such work to the rank of worship unto God, the True One. Ponder ye in your hearts the grace and the blessings of God and render thanks unto Him at eventide and at dawn. Waste not your time in idleness and sloth. Occupy yourselves with that which profiteth yourselves and others. Thus hath it been decreed in this Tablet from whose horizon the daystar of wisdom and utterance shineth resplendent.

So the concept of “new” in Abdu’l-Baha’s public discourses is presented in comparison and contrast with past scriptural texts within the overarching Baha’i concept of progressive revelation, which may be regarded as part of the overall history of ideas within the world’s social evolution. After all, ideas evolve, too. Over time, throughout history, any given idea can be traced, from antiquity to modernity, as part of a trajectory that may be mapped out across centuries.

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As the Baha’i philosopher Alain Locke wrote: 

What we need to learn most is how to discover unity and spiritual equivalence underneath the differences which at present so disunite and sunder us, and how to establish some basic spiritual reciprocity on the principle of unity in diversity.

This principle is basic in the Baha’i teaching. It may lead us to another dangerous partisanship to assert it is exclusively Baha’i; but there is no escaping the historical evidences of its early advocacy and its uncompromising adoption by the Baha’i prophets and teachers. But it is not the time for insisting on this side of the claim; the intelligent, loyal Baha’i should stress not the source, but the importance of the idea, and rejoice not in the originality and uniqueness of the principle but rather in its prevalence and practicality. The idea has to be translated into every important province of modern life and thought, and in many of these must seem to be independently derived and justified. Suffice it, if the trend and net result are in the same general and progressive direction and serve to bring some values and behaviour nearer to the main ideal. Through the realization of this, and the welcome acceptance of all possible collaboration, a spiritual leadership and influence can be exerted that is otherwise impossible. And no narrow cultism, however pious and loyal, can accomplish this. The purity of Baha’i principles must be gauged by their universality on this practical plane. Do they fraternize and fuse with all their kindred expressions? Are they happy in the collaborations that advocate other sanctions but advance toward the same spiritual goal? Can they reduce themselves to the vital common denominators necessary to mediate between other partisan loyalties? 

This seminal Baha’i principle of work as worship, then, has certainly been discussed before the Baha’i Faith began — but clearly, its proclamation as a major principle of any religion first occurred when Baha’u’llah revealed it.