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Hence these superannuated and tattered dogmas which are current among present day religions must be totally abolished, and, thus, freed from past traditions, mankind will be able to investigate the real objects of divine religion; for inasmuch as the foundation of the religion of God is One, and that One is absolute reality, and reality is indivisible and not amenable to multiplicity, therefore complete unity and amity between all religions shall be instituted and the true religion of God shall become unveiled with the utmost beauty and sublimity in the assemblage of the world of humanity. – Abdu’l-Baha, Abdu’l Baha in Egypt, p. 21.
The Baha’i Faith isn’t just another religion. It doesn’t simply add one more belief system to a long list of them. The Baha’i Faith did not emerge as a sect of any other Faith. Instead, it represents something completely new:
Baha’is in Rwanda
The Revelation of Baha’u’llah, whose supreme mission is none other but the achievement of this organic and spiritual unity of the whole body of nations, should, if we be faithful to its implications, be regarded as signalizing through its advent the coming of age of the entire human race. It should be viewed not merely as yet another spiritual revival in the ever-changing fortunes of mankind, not only as a further stage in a chain of progressive Revelations, nor even as the culmination of one of a series of recurrent prophetic cycles, but rather as marking the last and highest stage in the stupendous evolution of man’s collective life on this planet. The emergence of a world community, the consciousness of world citizenship, the founding of a world civilization and culture… should, by their very nature, be regarded, as far as this planetary life is concerned, as the furthermost limits in the organization of human society, though man, as an individual, will, nay must indeed as a result of such a consummation, continue indefinitely to progress and develop.
That mystic, all-pervasive, yet indefinable change, which we associate with the stage of maturity inevitable in the life of the individual and the development of the fruit must, if we would correctly apprehend the utterances of Baha’u’llah, have its counterpart in the evolution of the organization of human society. A similar stage must sooner or later be attained in the collective life of mankind, producing an even more striking phenomenon in world relations, and endowing the whole human race with such potentialities of well-being as shall provide, throughout the succeeding ages, the chief incentive required for the eventual fulfillment of its high destiny. – Shoghi Effendi, The World Order of Baha’u’llah, p. 163.
Baha’is believe that Baha’u’llah’s new Faith has ushered in the age of maturity of the entire human race.
That remarkable claim, which Baha’is invite all seekers to carefully examine and investigate, has enormous implications for our individual and collective future:
The time has arrived for the world of humanity to hoist the standard of the oneness of the human world, so that solidarity and unity may bind together all the nations of the world, so that dogmatic formulas and superstitions may end, so that the essential reality underlying all the religions founded by the Prophets may be revealed.
That reality is one.
It is the love of God, the progress of the world, the oneness of humanity.
That reality is the bond which can unite all the human race.
That reality is the attainment of the benefits of the most great peace, the discarding of warfare.
That reality is progressiveness, the undertaking of the colossal tasks in life, the oneness of public opinion.
Therefore strive, O ye people! and put forth your efforts, that this reality may overcome the lesser forces in life, that this king of reality may alone rule all humanity.
Thus may the world of mankind be reformed. Thus may a new springtime be ushered in and a fresh spirit may resuscitate mankind.
The individuals of humanity, like refreshed plants, will put forth leaves and blossoms and fruit, so that the face of the earth will become the long promised and delectable paradise, so that the great bestowal, the supreme virtues of man will glisten over the face of the earth. Then shall the world of existence have attained maturity. – Abdu’l-Baha, Star of the West, Volume 8, p. 97.
David Langness writes and edits for BahaiTeachings.org and is a journalist and literary critic for Paste Magazine. He and his wife Teresa live in the Sierra foothills in Northern California.
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Comments
Was is new is that Baha'u'llah makes it possible for us to umderstand the common spirital origins of all, and that by doing so, opens up an entirely new perspective on the possibilities of a global civilization premised on the understanding that we are all part of a common human family, and that the teachings, ideals, principles, laws and community structures the Revelation provides makes it entirely possible for us to attend to ...the challenges and opporunities that we face as a civilization.
Bahaullah's good intentions don't change the divisive, and discriminatory nature of Abrahamic religions.
The Baha'i Faith isn't just another religion; is that a quotation from a letter of the Guardian? I seem to remember reading it long, long ago and can't remember where?
Thanks Brian
Further, we can add the uniqueness of our fundamental principles and that for the first time in history the Founder has penned those in His own hand and in doing so has foiled forever the succession problem and its impish accomplice - the elitism that creeps into religious admins and bureaucracies.
Baha'i love.
Paul.